Adam Hochschild's "King Leopold's Ghost" is a lost historical account starting in the late 19th century continuing into the 20th century of the enslavement of an entire country. The book tells the story of King Leopold and his selfish attempt to essentially make Belgium bigger starting with the Congo. This was all done under an elaborate "philanthropic" public relations curtain deceiving many countries along with the United States (the first to sign on in Leopold's claim of the Congo). There were many characters in the book ones that aided in the enslavement of the Congo and others that help bring light to the situation but the most important ones I thought were: King Leopold, a cold calculating, selfish leader, as a child he was crazy about geography and as an adult wasn't satisfied with his small kingdom of Belgium setting his sites on the Congo to expand. Hochschild compares Leopold to a director in a play he even says how brilliant he is in orchestrating the capture of the Congo. Another important character is King Leopold's, as Hochschild puts it, "Stagehand" Henry Morton Stanley. He was a surprisingly cruel person killing many natives of the Congo in his sophomore voyage through the interior of Africa (The first was to find Livingston). Leopold used Stanley to discuss treaties with African leaders granting Leopold control over the Congo. Some of the natives he talked to weren't even in the position to sign the treaties or they didn't know what they were signing. And probably the most influential person in the book, E.D. Morel. Morel, an employee of a Belgian company that handled shipments to the Congo, noticed that the shipments coming to and from the Congo seemed really suspicious.…
In Adam Hochschild's book, King Leopold's Ghost,he uses his educational and life experiences as historian. Additionally, not only does this book reach from an education of politics but also human rights. Hochschild is questioning: How so many people accept the exploration stories of men filled with greed, charm, and cunning (Hochschild. p.6). Today, you rarely hear stories told from the Africans point-of-view. Hochschild thesis is that if, we had both point-of-views we could make stronger arguments. The author's concept is that after the Atlantic slave trade is responsible for the increase and brutality of slavery, as well as the large number of slaves.…
Ylianna Guerra's story begins when she was in high school, struggling to develop self confidence. She entered her first pageant, a local preliminary for Miss Texas USA the last semester of her senior year of high school. Growing up Ylianna was involved in dance, and after her production of the Nutcracker in December, she had a lot of time on her hands outside of school because dance was essentially over. The local recruiter convinced her to compete in the pageant, Ylianna figured it would be a good “distraction” because she was anxiously awaiting college acceptance letters. She ended up winning that preliminary competition, and was hooked from that moment forward.…
The films start off with Lord Farquaad sending the ogre to rescues the Princess instead thus proving Lard Farquaad as an unconventional character also. A traditional prince would be tall and handsome, but Lord Farquaad is neither.The use of setting in the film suggest that his castle is an evil place. The hooded figures and the torturing of the Gingerbread man attest to the castles evil nature. When Lord Farquaad come for the Princess he is all flattery and uses formal language, but after sunset he orders the knight to ‘Get that out of my sight’. Also he proclaim he is King even though the marriage never…
The era known as the Industrial Revolution was a period of unprecedented growth, not only limited to technology, but to economic systems, policies, and ideologies. Industrialization ignited great nationalism in industrialized countries, hence leading to the rise of the empire builders of Imperialism. King Leopold II was an empire builder of this age who "found a number of tools at his disposal that had not been available to empire builders of earlier times" (Hochschild 89). He cunningly employed these technologies to build an ethereal reputation amongst the Congolese; they were white men who rode on long steel snakes, possessed weapons that vomited fire, and had medications of a divine nature. Although these tools were a crucial part of Belgian's Imperialist endeavors, it was not solely based upon these physical and economic tools that allowed King Leopold's efficient colonization of Africa, but rather the clever and brutal exploiting of these factors of the Industrial Revolution itself to spark power over and terror amongst the Congolese, not dissimilar to the late Aztec Empire of Mexico. It was a "revolution" pertinently named, as it thoroughly and abruptly eradicated the old fashioned way of doing things, and altered the lives of the Congo and its natives for generations to come.…
On May 21, 1924, two nifty and wealthy Chicago teenagers attempted to commit the perfect crime. Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb kidnapped 14-year-old Bobby Franks, bludgeoned him to death in a rented car, and then dumped the boy’s body in a distant culvert.…
In the soliloquy from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II, King Henry is prodigiously vexed by his inability to sleep. In addressing sleep itself, with the use of an apostrophe, he hopes to persuade it to fall upon him by asking various rhetorical questions. He pleads with sleep for it to abandon its partiality and bestow upon him some rest, as it does upon the commoners. At the end of the passage, however, his indignation turns into resignation, as he realizes that he can do little to alter his situation. The transition in King Henry's state of mind is conveyed through the soliloquy's powerful images, revealing word choice, and peculiar sentence structure.…
Tiana is not isolated in a tower or castle, she is involved in and contributes to the world around her. In doing so, she finds herself so absorbed in getting what she wants that she forgets what she needs – to live, to have fun, to experience relationships – becoming a Disney princess who is hard-working but takes her work to an extreme. The film then introduces an equally extreme complement for Tiana: Prince Naveen. Although not a memorable prince, Naveen provides the opposite end of the spectrum from Tiana; he is charming, conceited, and barely motivated, but his path is incredibly similar to Tiana’s. Naveen, too, is focused on what he wants – a party life with plenty of money and women – and is oblivious to what he actually needs. By forcing each character into an external change by becoming frogs, the characters are forced through an internal change in their pursuit of a return to their normal lives.…
Throughout his reign as the King of the Belgians, Leopold II both followed and went against some of the ideas Niccolo Machiavelli lists in “The Prince”. One of the first things Leopold II did when he came into power in 1865 was pulling Belgium into neutrality in Europe due to recent shifts in the European balance of power. This goes against what Niccolo Machiavelli says in “The Prince” about what a prince must do to be esteemed. “A prince can also win prestige by declaring himself an ally of one side of a conflict. Neutrality alienates both the victor and the loser” (Machiavelli). He tells us in this quote that a prince should choose a side when making allies instead of staying neutral. He claims that the victor will see the nation as a “doubtful friend” while the loser will see them as a coward. Since Belgium was seen as a powerless country in Europe at the time, it probably would have been wise of him to choose a side with either France or Germany since they bordered Belgium and could have taken over at any time. In an instance where Leopold II did follow Machiavelli’s ideas, he lied in the Brussel’s Conference in 1876 by saying that by expanding into the Congo Free State, he was only “promoting scientific exploration of Africa for the advancement of knowledge and for the economic benefit of all humanity” (Blumberg, 161). Machiavelli states that “a prince who honors his word is generally praised by others”, but at the same time, he should be a master of deception by learning “how to fight both with laws and with force” (Machiavelli). Therefore, the best of all princes is one that keeps his promises, but knows when it’s the right time to lie. In this case, Leopold lied at the conference so that he could receive the Congo for his own benefit. Since Belgium was a Constitutional Monarchy in which the king had very little power over domestic affairs, he really didn't do much that would have affected the lives of his people directly. Therefore, by getting the Congo to…
Johonnes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart was Mozart’s full name. Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 with his mother Anna Maria and his father Leopold Mozart by his side. Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria where both of his parents lived. According to Volker’s Biography Mozart was often called “Wolfgang Amadeus” or “Wolfgang Gottlieb” (Boehm). He was also known as a prodigy or a young one endowed with special qualities.…
Between 1880 and 1920, the population of the Congo was slashed in half: some ten million people were victims of murder, starvation, exhaustion, exposure, disease, and a plummeting birth rate. Why do you think this massive carnage has remained virtually unknown in the United States and Europe?…
I have been waiting here for two whole dull years. It is dreadfully space less in this ridiculous lamp. Why did I believe that dirty street rat Aladdin to use my third wish to turn into a genie? I should have used it to be with Jasmine forever. I love her so much. My name is Jafar and I am (or was) the most powerful sorcerer in the world, until I turned into a genie, and I am a lover of Princess Jasmine of Agrabah. You see, I just wanted to be Jasmine’s love. I could not do that if there was another man involved! I had to get rid of him once and for all. It all started when I really knew that I had to be with her. I made a plan. I was following Jasmine in the market to make sure she was not acting as she was “on the market”, when I caught her run away with a dirty little peasant! He isn’t even a prince, being with him is strictly prohibited! I was so heartbroken, so I sent the palace guards to go find that boy, and capture him, saying it was for stealing, so that I could give him a little talk. They got him, so my plan was headed in the right direction. When Jasmine came back to the palace, she was mad at me for arresting this fool who she recalls is named “Aladdin”. What an ugly name! Mrs. Jafar tops Mrs. Aladdin by a long shot. I did not understand why she got upset about it, I was trying to make sure she was getting the best for her, (and I am the best). That night I went down to the cellar to talk to this “Aladdin”. I made sure I was in disguise so he couldn’t recognize me; I mean, who doesn’t know me? The wonderful-handsome-rich Jafar, Grand Vizier of Agrabah. I think he bought it, because he did not seem to be star-stricken. I made him trust me then I turned it all around when I set him into a trap! Legend has it, only a “Diamond in the Rough” can retrieve a magic lamp, currently in the Cave of Wonders. There was a genie with 3 wishes inside the lamp. I would use them all to call Jasmine my princess! I told him I could get him out…
Unlike the expected classic style based on order and control within defined limits, composers of the romantic era emphasized the freedom of expressions, and continuous pursuit of the unattainable. Program music during the Romantic Music Period was completely instrumental. Romantic composers wrote their music based on images or events. It tends to present the listener with a specific experience other than sitting in front of an orchestra. The structure and “experience” evoked by mystery piece number two is very similar to “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg. Therefore I believe the mystery piece number two must have been program music, or specifically in this case incidental music, from the romantic era.…
magic, and genies, mankind has the ability to control their lives. In the story the prince had the…
Belle, who symbolizes the ‘rose’ in the beast’s life, comes across his place in an eventful night. She is the one who eventually frees him from the spell cast upon him by falling in love with his inner character and not appearances. He subsequently finds comfort in being with her and risks his life to save her In the ending scene where he finally turns back to his human self.…