Moral Superiority Essays

  • Comparing the Moral Superiority of Grendel and Frankenstein

    2630 Words  | 6 Pages

    Comparing the Moral Superiority of Grendel and Frankenstein Seeking friends, they found enemies; seeking hope, they found hate. Social outcasts simply want to live as the rest of us live. Often, in our prejudice of their kind, we banish them from our elite society. Regardless of our personal perspective, society judges who is acceptable and who is not. Some of the greatest people of all time have been socially unacceptable. Van Gogh found comfort only in his art, and with a woman who consistently

  • Racism in Song of Solomon, Push and Life of Olaudah Equiano

    2543 Words  | 6 Pages

    and, in fact, this 'reverse racism' may easily develop into a feeling of superiority for Black people. Although both parties, Black and White racists, suffer from the belief that their own race is the superior one, it could be said that the Black community is oftentimes more justified in their beliefs. Black writer, Sapphire is quoted as saying "One of the myths we've been taught, is that oppression creates moral superiority. I'm here to tell you that the more oppressed a person is, the more oppressive

  • Colonialism and Imperialism - European Ideals in Heart of Darkness and The Hollow Men

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    appalling acts such as shrinking human heads and performing terrible sacrifices. Kurtz is armed with only the dubious sense of moral superiority of his culture and the desire to civilize the natives (Dahl 34). This front quickly crumbles when faced with the noble yet savage ways offered by Africa. The crumbling front only leaves a hollow void of desired ideas and morals. This hollowness is what Eliot builds on to develop his own idea of hollowness. Kurtz is an apt example of the hollowness of European

  • Comparing Antigone and Oedipus The King

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    Compare and contrast the part that the city or state (polis) plays in Antigone and Oedipus The King. Antigone is a play about the tension caused when two individuals have conflicting claims regarding law. In this case, the moral superiority of the laws of the city, represented by Creon, and the laws of the gods, represented bt Antigone. In contrast, Oedipus The King is driven by the tensions within Oedipus himself. That play both begins and concludes within the public domain, the plot being driven

  • Sri Lanka - Light at the End of the Tunnel?

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    question that the Sinhalese feel even more threatened because of that. Additional differences adding oil to the fire between the two groups are: language (Tamil vs. Sinhala); religion (mostly Hindu vs. Buddhist); history interpretations; moral superiority claims; question of the original inhibition of the island. The post-colonial government took the path of an extreme pro-Sinhalese mood, after coming into power on Februa... ... middle of paper ... ...n the weapons inflow. The LTTE have

  • Conflict in Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    emotions and robs us of all that is human. He uses the changes in Raskolnikov's mental state to provide a human example of modernism's effect on man, placing emphasis upon the student's quest for forgiveness and the effect of repressed emotion. The moral side of Raskolnikov's mind requires absolution in a Christian manner. This need obliviates his claim to be a Nietzchean superman, and illustrates that all humans have a desire for morality. Throughout the book, he constantly desires to confess,

  • Marlow's Racism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness

    3601 Words  | 8 Pages

    superficial boundaries of society have no meaning in the jungle, and Marlow has trouble dealing with this revelation”(Bancroft 37).  Marlow's inability to accept this initially prevents him from eliminating his intellectual arrogance and feelings of moral superiority over the savages.  For the most part, Marlow is unaware of his prejudicial attitude, but he eventually comes to realize the whole truth of the world. Marlow says that the colonizer who goes to Africa must meet the jungle with " 'hi...

  • The Righteous Conscience: an Interpretive Twist on “William Wilson”

    1928 Words  | 4 Pages

    The capacity of the mind is seemingly limitless. Understanding that, the formation of a completely separate entity within the mind of an already perspicacious individual becomes less remarkable. The ensuing battle between William Wilson and “a second William Wilson” is quite simply a conflict between the two most basic components of a person’s intellect – mankind’s perception of self, and the benevolently interloping conscience (Poe 1570). The conscience is a universal concept. The majority of people

  • Satire and Hypocrisy: Literary Criticism of Lewis’ The Monk

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    alternatives to these beliefs and is hence a destructive force despite the satirist's pretensions to social reform. Satire, she argues, "penetrates inwards until it has destroyed its object." The true satirist, therefore, seeks only to "establish his moral superiority over his readers." Campbell does not view Lewis in this light, but rather as a satirist of satire operating within the genre of satire, deconstructing the value of satire through satire itself as satire deconstructs the value...

  • Comparing the Social Criticism of Voltaire's Candide and Samuel Johnson's Rasselas

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    differences in the two tales to surface. The author's intentions diverge beyond superficial similarities and each work develops a unique vantage point from which to observe humanity. Neither work can be accused of being a realistic tale. These moral fables are set in a fantastic, utopian, and ludicrous world. The distance from the reader in each tale is quite different, however. Johnson places realistic characters in an unrealistic world. He remains on the same level with his characters, describing

  • Relative Moral Superiority and Proselytizing Vegetarianism

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    well-defined by modern science; these benefits include decreased risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Many vegetarians claim to feel better and more perceptive, and two of the top three sprinters in the world are vegan. Vegetarians often claim moral superiority over non-vegetarians through varieties of a “hurt no living thing” credo. Nevertheless, only 2.8% of American adults are vegetarian. The advantages to vegetarianism are well-known, and the disadvantages seem negligible, yet in most countries

  • Comparing the Role of the Noble Lie in the Iliad and the Republic

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Role of the Noble Lie in the Iliad and the Republic Lie – 2 : something that misleads or deceives Noble – 5 : possessing, characterized by, or arising from superiority of mind or character or of ideals or morals (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) The very thought of a noble lie is contradictory, yet Plato uses it as the basis for stability within his perfect republic. The concept that a lie so deeply ingrained in society will allow it to remain peaceful is generally thought to

  • Creation of the World

    3039 Words  | 7 Pages

    expounded within it in some sense provides the baseline from which “scientific” alternatives must deviate, at least within the Europe and America. In Genesis, the world, created wholly by God, is described by a divine order composed of a series of superiority relationships—that is to say, of hierarchies. As the Creator, God has authority over literally everything, but he soon imbues a similar authority into newly created Man by giving him “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air

  • Superiority of Races in Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt

    2156 Words  | 5 Pages

    Superiority of Races in Babbit Hatred, intolerance, prejudice, and narrow-mindedness are all terms that can be applied when describing someone who is a bigot.  By these terms George F. Babbitt, the protagonist in Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt, and many of his acquaintances are quite the bigots toward all those that appear different than he is especially immigrants and minorities in America.  The blame should not be placed squarely on these men's shoulders for possessing such hate filled beliefs

  • Superiority Ideas in the Formation of the United States

    3327 Words  | 7 Pages

    Superiority Ideas in the Formation of the United States Superiority ideas are the darkest elements of human nature. The people of the United States appreciate the notion that the nation is progressive and constantly pushing towards the equity and prosperity of all its citizens. However, the United States remains a nation of polarized cities and undemocratic schools. Within the country is a macroculture that forms the cultural norms of America; norms that alienate many of the diverse groups

  • Analysis Of Rosanas Rocker By Nicholasa Mohr

    1765 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rosana’s Rocker      As times change, everything changes with it. The roles that women take on have changed in certain cultures, but in some cultures they have remained the same. Before, men were treated with more respect and superiority, while women had no voices or say in the events that took place in their society. Today, there are situations where men are taken more seriously than women, but slowly, women are being treated with respect and play an active role in their community

  • American Superiority

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his series of essays and "letters" on American life, Michel-Guillaume-Jean de Crevecoeur gives his readers numerous examples of the superiority of America to all other countries of that time. He believes that one reason for superiority is that America is with out the aristocracy so prevalent in Europe at the time, which led to a hard working and socially equal society. Another reason Crevecoeur sees America as a superior society is the accepting, and assimilating into one new race, the poor peoples

  • The Satire of Gulliver's Travels

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    his time attempted to hide from reality. On his first voyage, Swift places Gulliver in a land of miniature people where his giant size is meant as a metaphor for his superiority over the Lilliputians, thus representing English society's belief in superiority over all other cultures.  Yet, despite his belief in superiority, Swift shows that Gulliver is not as great as he imagines when the forces of nature call upon him to relieve himself.  Gulliver comments to the reader that before hand

  • Essay on Toni Morrison's Beloved - The Character of Mr. Garner

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    considerate than others, they are all are still slave owners, and they are all cruel. Mr. Garner is a very insecure man with a lot of power. As a result of his insecurity, he feels that he has to prove his intelligence by the misuse of superiority. He proves his superiority by making the slaves feel that he is the superior to them. Due to Mr. Garners insecurity he makes his slaves believe that he is the most powerful man, and that they can not survive with out him. Mr. Garner compensates for his insecurities

  • Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness and the European’s Claim to Superiority

    2309 Words  | 5 Pages

    Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness and the European’s Claim to Superiority Incomplete Works Cited Just beyond the “biggest and greatest town on earth”, four men sit patiently on their boat, waiting for the serene waters of the Thames to ebb (65). One of the men, a Buddha, breaks the silence, saying, “and this also…has been one of the dark places of the earth” (67). This pensive and peaceful idol, Marlow, explains to his apathetic listeners how a great civilization is blindly made out of a darkness