In his article, “The Myth of Violence in the Old West,” Roger D. McGrath attempts to rebut the common myth of the old west being plagued by high crime rate. Although McGrath agreed that the old west was violent, he maintained how the violence at that time was dissimilar from todays. To help illustrate his point, he compared today’s crime rate for burglary, robbery, and murder in major cities, with that of Bodie.…
The myth of redemptive violence is one that is told throughout history. It is one in which violence is the creator. Whether it be creation of the cosmos, peace, or some other result, in this myth violence results in redemption. This myth has been imbedded in our society to such a degree that it is naturalized and accepted as the way things are without much reflection. For example, many Christians probably don't contemplate the ways redemptive violence is at the heart of their religion. A classic example of the myth of redemptive violence is found in the elaborate poem The Odyssey. Many elements of violence and how we associate with violence are explored within the multitude of pages of this tale.…
Death, vengeance, violence. The three stories, “the most dangerous game” by Richard Connell, “the cask of Amontillado” by Ed Poe, “the interlopers” have the same mood of murder and horror. The majority of people seek to teach others a lesson that ‘revenge’ will always be the response to everything.…
Violence is never a single victim crime. Violence can have long lasting effects across more people than intended, and have effects more everlasting than can be believed by the person committing the violence. Truman Capote in his book “In Cold Blood” manages to convey the darker meaning of the actions of the characters in this novel. Capote manages to show the everlasting effects and what has been lost from the violence committed. Through his use of figurative language Capote depicted the harsh realism and the true effects of the violence.…
Voltaire presents the character of the protagonist called "Candide: or, all for the Best" and "Candide: or, The Optimist." learns the principles of optimism from his teacher, Dr. Pngloss, who lives constantly in fools optimism, based on abstract philosophical argument rather than intangible evidence or experiment. However, In the chaotic world of the novel. Pangloss and his student Candide maintain that “everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds” which the idea is a simplified version of the philosophies of a number of Enlightenment thinkers, most notably Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz. The earthquake in Candide is based on a real earthquake that leveled…
In Dracula and beloved cruelty is presented in many different ways. Cruelty In both of the books is based on people not accepting people who are different such as the black people in beloved and the vampires in Dracula. These characters are seen to be different, so they treat each other with cruelty.…
The story Candide or Optimism, written in 1759 by Francois Marie Arouet De Voltaire, is about a young man who experiences many misfortunes and who is exceptionally naïve. His development throughout his journey in life is contributed and influenced by the people he comes in contact with. In the story, Candide has the opportunity to experience many different views on philosophical optimism by meeting different people who have all suffered from different experiences and misfortunes. Some of these people, such as Pangloss, Cacambo, and Martin are individuals who had a major impact on Candide’s development and perspective of life.…
Bibliography: 1. Hilsum, Lindsey. "Men mad with killing drown nation in blood". The Independent. 1 May 1994.…
In Christopher Browning’s monograph, Ordinary Men (1992), he covered the answered the question of what transforms people into a cold-blooded killer. In synthesizing many different sorts of killings that place prior to and during the Holocaust, Browning studies the motives of the ordinary man, instead of the often-studied motives of Hitler and Himmler. By presenting the reader with a multitude of examples of killings varying in magnitude without presenting his theory of peer pressure as a cause, at the end, Browning allows the reader to arrive at their own conclusion.…
In 2012, 16259 people in the United States were murdered and another 1.8 million people were sent to the hospital due to assault. Humans resorting to violence and harming others is a daily occurrence, but why? Is it in our nature, are we instinctively violent, and why is it that these acts are not only happening in the United States but worldwide. Although the average person does not leave their home planning on harming somebody that day, under the right circumstances almost every single person in this world will commit an act of violence. Sometimes these acts are justified, such as when we are trying to protect ourselves or a loved one, but what about the smaller acts that we all do every day. Whether it is killing the spider you see crawling on the wall, or the bee flying around simply trying to do its job. We do not see these as acts of violence but in there essence they are. Why is it that our first instinct is to kill them when they are not causing us any harm? Howard Fast builds on this idea within the theme of his short story The Large Ant, where the narrator kills a creature that resembles an ant, purely out of instinct.…
Toward the beginning of the 18th century, a new ideology began to take hold of Europe. It was during this time that a radical and critical revolution took place to bring about the use of rational thought and enlighten the people about their own beliefs and values; thus igniting the period of Enlightenment. In this period many people followed the teachings of their forefathers, such as Socrates, who was considered a figure of skepticism and rational thought. Challenging all views and theorems was the main point of this new ideology. Voltaire, a very powerful and influential figure among the writers of the 18th century, was known for his rejection of religion and a devout deist. In one of his most famous works, Candide, he causes the reader’s to reflect on the beliefs and values of the Enlightenment.…
Society tries to diminish situations that involve someone killing themselves or attempting murder to one person for no reason. But, when a situation arises like above, society makes sure that the world will know about an accomplishment concerning his/her act. Anymore, a person will try to give themselves a name and try to “fit” in for personal reasons. Therefore, some will try performing evil acts to justify themselves.…
Often times in literature we see modern adaptations created by authors in order to display mild to significant changes on the original piece of work. These modern adaptations reimage themes displayed in traditional versions of the fairy tales. For example, violence is often tamed in modern adaptations but exaggerated in original versions such as “Snow White”, “Hansel & Gretel”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, and “Cinderella”. Fairy tales were originally written to entertain adult audiences but overtime they transitioned into children’s literature which explains why violence is more tamed in modern adaptations.…
How long in history has the Black individual been associated with violence? In various cases throughout literature Blacks have been portrayed as very simply, violent by nature. They are depicted as people who simply act violent for violence’s sake. But, does one ever hear of the origin of this violence and where it might be stemming from? The notion that Black individuals are violent just because, is baseless and just all around wrong. There is cause and effect at work with this notion. Violence as whole manifests itself in Black communities, largely as a response to forms of overarching, pervasive forms of violence pressed upon them from an imposing, dominant power. Amiri Baraka demonstrates this in his play, Dutchman, showing this dynamic at work in a manner that is jarring, but easily understood when analyzed.…
of violence was the Holocaust. Six million people were killed due to the acts of Adolf…