In the first scaffold scene Dimmesdale is aware of his guilt and hypocrisy when he questions Hester but is too cowardly to confess his sin. Hester, while holding her child, stands in front of the public on the scaffold enduring humiliation and trial from the authorities of the town, in which they insist upon her to reveal the child’s father. Even Dimmesdale, as one of the authorities, says to her, “what can thy silence do for him, except… to add hypocrisy to sin?” However, she is unwilling to speak his name. Dimmesdale acts with great dishonesty and cowardice, deceiving the public into believing that he is not in the wrong - that he is a wise and benevolent pastor. He allows Hester to suffer the pain and humiliation alone. With this first stage of guilt, Dimmesdale only falls deeper into the sin he has committed.…
Hand’s like wolf paws and a bull-neck; both descriptions which were used to describe those who Elie saw at camps, it was as if they had gained animal-like characteristics. Throughout the book, there are plenty of examples of dehumanization one of many being how the Jews at the camps were treated as animals, and at times called pigs. The most shocking example being when there’s bread thrown into the train cart, after walking several miles and later being sent to a Gleiwitz for three days lacking in food and water the results of such a simple action as throwing bread to their cart were horrifying. Some even going against their own family in the fight for survival.…
She analyzes people’s behavioral conduct at the time of a public beheading. Whether people were watching the beheading in person or online their behaviors and emotions were the same. The evidence Larson shows is that: “…the majority of the people who come to see are either enthusiastic or, at best, unmoved. Disgust has been comparatively rare…” Today, when people watch videos of public beheadings they experience the same kind of emotions: “…the action takes place in a distant time and place, which gives the viewer a sense of detachment from what’s happening, a sense of separation.” That leads to people thinking it has nothing to do with them because it has already happened. Larson keeps on going with her appeal to…
This scene demonstrates that the people of the Puritan community enjoy watching public humiliation. They feel no sympathy and do not want…
He “spent hours looking at book after book trying in vain to find one that had my name on it” (12), he then realized that if he wanted to see his name on a book, he “was going to have to write it first” (12). Now, college students are reading his book with his name on the cover. There are many reasons, besides the fact he wanted to see his name on a book, that Daniel wrote this book. Today he is “living completely independently, with a loving relationship and a career” (12). Daniel says that if someone had “told my parents ten years ago” (12) that this is where he would be, they would not have believed it, and he may not have either. One reason Daniel gives for writing this book is, “Writing about my life has given me the opportunity to get some perspective on just how far I’ve come, and to trace the arc of my journey up to the present” (12). This book is a type of journal for Daniel; if he gets discouraged he can read it and realize the obstacles that he overcame and that he can still do much…
He reveals the suffering, anger and violence he encountered while he watched his loved ones,…
“When you point a finger at someone else, then three fingers point back at you” (My Second Grade Teacher). In the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne jeers at the absurd Puritan era and crime and punishment. But the renowned author touches on a more personal theme, an issue that everyone has come across: self evaluation. Even though Hester Prynne, a honest adulterer, and Arthur Dimmesdale, a untruthful priest, are first to sin it is still viewed that Robert Chillingworth, an abandoned husband seeking revenge, has “violated the sanctity of human heart” (Hawthorne 234). To compare the sin that was brought on by choice and sin initiated by another should not be evaluated.There is no argument that Chillingworth’s revenge on Dimmesdale is evil, he plotted against Dimmesdale soon as he confirmed he was Hester’s lover. But the aggravators of sin, Hester and Dimmesdale, must be held responsible for the effects of their actions. Unlike Hester, Dimmesdale refuses to confess to having premarital sex. Adulturing is sinful but the lies, acting, and observing others take the full…
“The Dummy” by Susan Sontag is about a man who creates dummies of himself and dehumanizes them. To dehumanize something is to deprive it of human qualities or attributes like: individuality, compassion, creativity, and civility. The creator of the dummies takes away their creativity by giving them a routine that they need to repeat daily. The routine includes; “ fighting for space in the subway during the rush hour, watching television, spanking the children.”(92) The repetitive tasks take away the original dummy’s creativity which dehumanizes him. Despite the dummy’s repetitive schedule, he eventually gains human qualities which causes him to turn against the creator. The dummy gains compassion and refuses to follow the creator’s instruction,…
What is meant by this is that taking another man's life becomes easier the more often you…
He remembered the beating they had given him and how he had signed his name to a confession, a confession which he had not even read. He had been too tired when they had shouted at him, demanding that he sign his name; he had signed it to end his pain.(“TMWLU” p.28)…
The word grotesque originated during the time of the high renaissance. It comes from the word grotto, from the Italian grottesco. The Grotesque is a term now used rather loosely in everyday speech. By definition, it is a style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity or ugliness. Although this is how the term is typically thought of, it does not necessarily have to contain such negative connotations of horror and evil. It can often connote captivation and emotion. So the term of the grotesque refers to a type of engagement with the subject rather than just a visual style. These ideas are conveyed in two ‘grotesque’…
“I feel I may have killed some of their parents and it makes me feel sick to know they have to go on with nothing” writes Daniel Bailey showing his guilt, not towards the parents he killed, but towards the…
American journalist Dorothy Thompson asks, “Can one preach at home inequality of races and nations and advocate abroad good-will towards all men?” Although technology keeps us up to date with stories of people around the world being animalized by others, we still give the impression of blindness to these hardships. By knowing about these atrocious actions and failing to relieve the amount of abuse, fear and violence these human beings face, we are subsequently adding to their dehumanization. The authors Preston, Hedges, and Urrea give clear depictions of just how some people are being dehumanized on a daily basis in their communities.…
<br>The "dehumanization" of one's victims does wonders to calm any qualms or misgivings an individual may experience about injuring another man. By evoking fear in the torturer and therefore, a sense of being threatened by a given…
Today i will be speaking to you about humans and their flaws. my goal is to open your eyes and allow you to truly think. i would absolutely love to talk to you about our beautiful side and how amazing we are, unfortunately I couldn't exactly pin anything that falls along those lines. you all probably have at least one example of how we are amazing, whether it being how we fight against racism or how we support equality. if we truly are that amazing, racism wouldn't exist and we wouldn't know anything other than equality. are any of you seeing my point yet? humans are creatures with flaws, together we can fix each and every flaw. for right now, please just take the time to think about what i have to say.…