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Relevances of moral development
Educational implications of moral development
Relevances of moral development
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The novel Cold Mountain is about two peoples’ independent journeys through different struggles and situations at the same time. One of these people is Inman, an injured soldier who is trying to find his way home after deserting from the fighting. He meets a lot of strange people along the way. Some of them help and some of them hinder. However, they all teach him something about himself, or something that he can relate to himself. There are some characters that are more significant in this respect than others and they have more of an actual influence on Inman’s journey. One of these characters is Veasey, the preacher. Inman meets him when he catches the preacher trying to throw a drugged, pregnant girl into the ‘Deep River’. Inman saves the girl from Veasey and leaves him to face his punishment. Later on in the story, Veasey returns with “his face…cut and marked by bruises”. Veasey is a general negative influence on Inman’s odyssey. He uses religion to justify his immoral acts and symbolises false faith and unrestrained selfishness. He is, however, company for Inman, even though Inman does not want it. They travel together and find a “grim roadside inn”. It is here that we see Veasey as being a danger to Inman. Veasey meets a prostitute called Big Tildy and makes a deal. Here, he picks a fight with a drunken, armed man who tries to take Big Tildy elsewhere. The two men draw their pistols at each other, but Tildy takes Veasey’s from him. Veasey wants to continue with the fight. Inman steps in and the drunken man goes away. “You’re set on getting us both killed.” Inman realises that Veasey is a danger and tries to leave him behind when he leaves, the next day. Veasey however, catches up to him again. Together they both meet Jun... ... middle of paper ... ...s ironic because all throughout the novel we have heard stories of Inman’s terrible ordeals in the war. Inman’s journey has been both negatively affected (Veasey) and positively affected (Sara). In my opinion, for all of the bad things that happen to Inman, something good happens. The best example of this is Veasey. Inman puts up with Veasey and his annoying habits for so long, and he saves his life in the end. Therefore, even the negative influences that Inman experiences on his odyssey, result in a positive outcome. Inman learns a lot from the people that he meets on his odyssey. Some affect his journey and some do not. There are characters that have not been mentioned because they are not as influential as the ones that have been. Characters like the gypsies, who show Inman that stereotypes cannot always be trusted, do not help him on his psychological journey.
...it may help us arrive at an understanding of the war situation through the eyes of what were those of an innocent child. It is almost unique in the sense that this was perhaps the first time that a child soldier has been able to directly give literary voice to one of the most distressing phenomena of the late 20th century: the rise of the child-killer. While the book does give a glimpse of the war situation, the story should be taken with a grain of salt.
These acts and examples show that Inman is developing back to his former self from before the war where life had meaning. Inman is on a spiritual journey rather than a mere physical journey back home. Inman’s journey is a deep part of the novel, and it is a key ingredient to the storyline. All of the examples in this paper point to the underlying conclusion that Inman is ultimately trying to redeem himself and fill in the empty beliefs that the war erased from his body.
In his short story, O’Brien unravels step by step the irony in the double meaning of truth, implied in this first statement, “This is true”, to the reader which is then woven through the entire story. By trying to characterize what constitutes a true war story, but never really achieving this goal, the true irony of his short story is revealed. Even though in some instances giving away his opinion explicitly, the sheer contradiction of honesty and reality becomes even more visible in an implicit way by following O’Brien’s explanations throughout the story while he deconstructs his first statement. The incongruity between his first statement and what is actually shown in his examples does not need any explicit statements to drive home his message.
Truman Capote finds different ways to humanize the killers throughout his novel In Cold Blood. He begins this novel by explaining the town of Holcomb and the Clutter family. He makes them an honest, loving, wholesome family that play a central role in the town. They play a prominent role in everyone’s lives to create better well-being and opportunity. Capote ends his beginning explanation of the plot by saying, “The suffering. The horror. They were dead. A whole family. Gentle, kindly people, people I knew --- murdered. You had to believe it, because it was really true” (Capote 66). Despite their kindness to the town, someone had the mental drive to murder them. Only a monster could do such a thing --- a mindless beast. However,
...is interactions with his wife are filled with tension and he is saddened when he reflects upon the men lost during war and the death of his brother.
The truth to any war does not lie in the depths of storytelling but rather it’s embedded in every person involved. According to O’Brien, “A true war story does not depend on that kind of truth. Absolute occurrence is irrelevant. A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth” (pg. 80). Truths of any war story in my own opinion cannot be fully conveyed or explained through the use of words. Any and all war stories provide specific or certain facts about war but each of them do not and cannot allow the audience to fully grasp the tru...
First, Odysseus and Thor both suffer from their pride. This results in both Odysseus and Thor to suffering hardships that aids their charters to develop in positive ways. For instance, Odysseus encounter with the Cyclops. Odysseus’ crewmen suggest to their leader to take the cheese and livestock back to the ships and set sail. However, because of Odysseus’ pride they stay to see what their host would look like and to receive a guest gift. This cost Odysseus the life of six crewmen. Furthermore, Odysseus reveals his name to the Cyclops; after blinding him. Resulting in angering
Capote's structure in In Cold Blood is a subject that deserves discussion. The book is told from two alternating perspectives, that of the Clutter family who are the victims, and that of the two murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. The different perspectives allow the reader to relive both sides of the story; Capote presents them without bias. Capote masterfully utilizes the third person omniscient point of view to express the two perspectives. The non-chronological sequencing of some events emphasizes key scenes.
However, the books present response to war in a contrasting way. The incorporation of repetition, balance, and the idea of little control of one’s fate display parallelism between Billy Pilgrim and the soldiers of The Things They Carried while still distinguishing the existing psychological and internal contrast between them. When Billy is leading a parade in front of the Dresdeners prior to the bombing, Vonnegut
Vonnegut uses irony very often to strengthen the readers’ contempt for war. Edgar Derby, the well-liked high sc...
The image of seductresses is a recurring motif in The Odyssey. These women are a temptation to Odysseus. They attempt to keep Odysseus from accomplishing his goal: his homecoming. Circe is a bewitching goddess. She entices Odysseus’ crew into her palace with her enchanting voice. However, after she feeds them, she promptly turns them into pigs. Circe also succeeds in enticing Odysseus; he stays with her one year as her lover. It is so long that his crew declares that it is “madness” (326). They say that it is “high time” that Odysseus thinks of his homeland (326). Later on, Odysseus and his crew encounter the sirens. Knowing the danger they pose, Odysseus has all his men’s ears stopped up with wax. However, Odysseus wishes to hear their song; so he asks his crew to tie him to the mast. The song of the sirens is so sweet and enticing. Their “ravishing voices” almost make Odysseus forget his desire to return home (349). His heart “throbbed” to listen longer; he signals for his men to let him go free. The grea...
Sometimes a character may be pushed over the edge by our materialistic society to discover his/her true roots, which can only be found by going back to nature where monetary status was not important. Chris McCandless leaves all his possessions and begins a trek across the Western United States, which eventually brings him to the place of his demise-Alaska. Jon Krakauer makes you feel like you are with Chris on his journey and uses exerts from various authors such as Thoreau, London, and Tolstoy, as well as flashbacks and narrative pace and even is able to parallel the adventures of Chris to his own life as a young man in his novel Into the Wild. Krakauer educates himself of McCandless’ story by talking to the people that knew Chris the best. These people were not only his family but the people he met on the roads of his travels- they are the ones who became his road family.
Tobias Wolff is framing his story Hunters in the Snow, in the countryside near Spokane, Washington, where three friends with three different personalities, decide to take a trip to the woods for hunting in cold, snowy weather. The whole story follows the hunting trip of these three friends. The reader can easily observe that the cold, hostile environment is an outward expression of how the men behave towards one another. Kenny, with a heart made of ice, is rather hostile to Tub, while Frank is cold and indifferent to Tub and his pleas for help. The environment is matching the characters themselves, being cold and uncaring as the author described the two from the truck when they laughed at the look of Tub: “You ought to see yourself,” the driver said.
McCandless is a very independent person, a person with high hopes, that has a lot of courage, and is a very brave man for going out by himself in the wild of Alaska of the Stampede Trail. Chris McCandless had a lot of courage on going to Alaska by himself at a young age. While Chris was at any city or anybody’s house, he was ready to go to Alaska. But while he was there, close to the end of his life, he left a note on the back of the bus saying, “S.O.S I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here i am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of god, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return by evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?” Chris McCandless was by himself at the time. He shows his courage because while by himself, he went back out even though he was near death. He went out for food. Food for his health. That shows how much courage he had for his trip. Chris McCandless encouraged many young men to ...
In this time frame, men are depicted anywhere between heroes, cowards, and casualties. Inman, the male protagonist of the novel, encounters men fit and unfit for the masculine roles expected by society. Due to the vast amount of soldier casualties, men were required to enroll in the war in 1863.