In The Cog by Charles E. Fritch, The main character and narrator James Maxwell discusses that everybody has a role to play whether they like it or not. This theme can be extracted because James Maxwell talks about how everybody is cog in the machine that is society and that he is both pleased and dissatisfied with his role. However, some could argue that a certain person or group of people could be exempt from this rule. In reality, everybody is a part of something greater even though some role can be greater. James Maxwell claims that everybody is a cog in the machine that is society. As seen in the text “The world needed doctors, teachers, and even government officials. Everyone was a cog - from the president down to the lowest-paid worker”. This quote sums up what James is trying to say. Everybody has a different role in the great machine but each role is just as important the last.
Another quote that supports his claim is “James Maxwell was a cog, too. He had studied law. He had also been trained. The
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In the text, an entire block of text supports this statement. The paragraphs involve a man named Gerald Adams. In a nutshell, the paragraphs explain that even though Gerald Adams did something that would take him out of the machine. Some important quotes would be: “Gerald Adams had been the first astronaut to land on Venus. Later, he died in space, touching down on Mars.” and “To die in space was his destiny--and he would not have changed it for anything.” However, just before the bulwark of paragraphs, there is a single line that contradicts this. The line is “Yes, even the astronauts were cogs, he thought to himself. Even though Gerald had done something outside the machine, he was originally within the machine. Some might say that people can be and are exempt from this rule. This is just not the case because Gerald was a part of the machine even though he abandoned the
Atkinson, Rick. An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, Volume 1 of the "Liberation Trilogy." New York: Henry Holt, 2002.
The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth is a book by Alexandra Robbins which summarizes the story of seven different teenagers that have many different problems, which many of todays teenagers also have. I found myself having many similarities to the teenagers in the story, for example, when with her group Whitney, the popular bitch, thinks “You didn't day that when we were alone, but now that you're in front of a group you do” (Robbins 21). I can relate to this because I feel as though many people are pressured to say or do things they normally wouldn't whenever they are with their group or ‘clique’. Robbins has this idea that the freaks and geeks, or “cafeteria fringe” will someday grow up and use what they are criticized for to become more successful than the other peopler people. She calls this the ‘Quirk Theory’ (Robbins page 11). This helped me to learn that right now, in high school, not being ‘popular’ may seem like the end of the world, but the reality of it is that after these four years, it wont even matter, but what will be important is how you learned to grow as a person and the true friendships that were made. This makes me want to focus more on my education and learning to grow as a person instead of focusing on how many friends I have or who I sit with at lunch, because truthfully it wont matter once high school is over.
After reading the story, I found I had mixed emotions about it. To explain, when we were getting into detail and finally finding out what really happened the day of June 28th, I found myself completely interested and glued to the book. I also enjoyed the way the incident was explained because I felt like I was there watching it all happen from the great detail. I enjoyed Phillips style of writing because through his writing, he really came off as an intelligent person who is very familiar with the legal system. The book is an easy read, and I liked the non-pretentious style of writing. I did not find myself struggling with reading the book at all, which made the overall experience that much more enjoyable.
In the book, Apostles of Disunion, author Charles B. Dew opens the first chapter with a question the Immigration and Naturalization service has on an exam they administer to prospective new American citizens: “The Civil War was fought over what important issue”(4). Dew respond by noting that “according to the INS, you are correct if you offer either of the following answers: ‘slavery or states’ rights’” (4). Although this book provides more evidence and documentation that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, there are a few places where states’ rights are specifically noted. In presenting the findings of his extensive research, Dew provides compelling documentation that would allow the reader to conclude that slavery was indeed the cause for both secession and the Civil War.
Every one is scavenging for the next big gadget- the future is a standard that society strives to have in their grasp. However, Joel Achenbach a former humor columnist solves the mystery of the future in his article, “The Future is Now: it’s heading right at us, but we never see it coming” .he presents a sense of urgency describing that the future is not something that society needs to wait for it happens behind closed doors. He argues that the future is a fast pace entity that occurs all around us. Achenbach proves this point by sticking to his humorous style, with the use of witty allusions to Sci-Fi films.
Diana Moon Glampers, the United States Handicapper General is but one member of the government who demonstrates a failure to grasp the necessity of balancing fascism and extreme equitability. This also applies restriction in the sense of individualism and ideologies. To return to the original question: How does one 's perspective of an ideal society reflect their measure of self-worth? Through analyzing the text we resolved that when the standards of society are set by an individual’s perspective, others under the regulations will experience a lack of confidence, furthermore, dysphoria. In summation, although our strengths and weaknesses differ, we are “equal every which way”-Kurt Vonnegut
“Without Conscience" by Robert D. Hare is one aimed towards making the general public aware of the many psychopaths that inhabit the world we live in. Throughout the book Hare exposes the reader to a number of short stories; all with an emphasis on a characteristic of psychopaths. Hare makes the claim that close monitoring of psychopathy are vital if we ever hope to gain a hold over Psychopathy- A disorder that affects not only the individual but also society itself. He also indicates one of the reasons for this book is order to correctly treat these individuals we have to be able to correctly identify who meets the criteria. His ultimate goal with the text is to alleviate some of the confusion in the increase in criminal activity by determining how my of this is a result of Psychopathy.
The theme statement of Harrison Bergeron is that egalitarianism is inefficient, and will eventually be resisted by society. Competition is what drives society forward, and if everyone is equal, we are not developing as one. Many of the people in the story are unable to complete their basic tasks or jobs. “It wasn’t clear what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment.” this is unreasonable as it is the announcer’s job to broadcast the news, and when he is unable to do so, he has lost his purpose (61). Equality is everyone receiving the same, while justice is everyone receiving what they require. “She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous.” This is an example of the corrupti...
As Harriet Braiker once said: “Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.” There are many people that always seek for being perfect, but what does that leads to? In Waknuk society, “perfection” just led to destruction. Joseph Strorm, the father of the main character David Strorm and the leader of this society, started forgetting about the values he should have had and also he was forgetting about the love he needed to give to his family. In addition, God sent Tribulation because He wanted society to become better than what they were being. The citizens in Waknuk were seeking to look more like God, according to the people from the Fringes, which were people who were sent to another place because they were born with a deformation. At last, Waknuk was getting farther from perfection because they were trying to be more like the people from the past, the Old People, but at the same time there were many others like the Sealanders that saw perfection as something new; something any other society had had before, which was being able to communicate with telepathy. This and many other reasons are clues that show that Waknuk was getting father from perfection. In The Chrysalids by John Wyndam, diverse characters like Joseph Strorm, The Fringes People, and the Sealanders view perfection in three diverse ways.
This also parallels the way that society functions at times, where it is perceived that the need of the many outweighs the needs of the few or of the one. While this is sometimes correct, it can often be a road leading to disaster, especially if lives are thrown away or ignored for the sake of a fool's venture.
Plato (2007) says, “Well, musicians will hardly use their skill to make their pupils unmusical, or riding master make their pupils bad horsemen then will just men use their justice to make others unjust?”(335c p.13). For example, a person who goes out and steals a someone’s car they would be considered unjust because they feel they need and want to have something of someone else’s. Another example is that, if a doctor who simply does not care about treating their patients for a medical issue that happens, they are called unjust as well, because they are purposely ignoring their proper job title as a doctor. Lastly, a hair stylist can act unjustly because if she or he refuses to take a customer that appropriately belong to them. People who are unjust do not realize their positions based on their roles in life, or they treat someone worse than they deserve to be treated. In comparison, an unjust society does not succeed in carrying out the meaning of what a society should be. It is evident that it is a better to be just and worse to be unjust. In book IV, of The Republic, Socrates proposes that each individual person would be happy by performing in the workforce that suits their role best. The idea of going back to specialization were performing a task best is based
The Rules is quite possibly one of the greatest marketing ploys to have ever been created and has developed into in its own words "a creature unlike any other." By successfully exploiting the classic notion of "happily ever after," Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider have created a mega brand that has sold millions of dollars of nonsensical teachings to unsuspecting women for more than a decade. I call these teachings nonsensical not because they aren't effective, but because of, among other things, Fein and Schneider's lack of authority, a number of glaring contradictions, inappropriate use of cause and effect, and an overall lack of evidence to support their arguments.
Only once during the two years that we have him under view, does he venture
In Pouliuli, a novel written by Albert Wendt, Faleasa Osovae awakens to find the life he’s been living all along is a mere façade. Pouliuli invites readers into the Samoan community of Malaelua, which is turned topsy-turvy when Faleasa misleads his aiga and community by acting maniacal. Albert Wendt ties a famous Malaelua saga about a mythological hero named Pili to Faleasa Osovae’s life. In the myth as well as in Faleasa’s story, they both had the same goal, which was to live the rest of their life “free”. To accomplish this goal, they both had to accomplish three tasks. Pilis’ tasks were to eat a mountain of fish which the giant’s had caught that day, to race the giants down a river, and make himself disappear. Faleasas’ tasks were to destroy Filemoni, Make Moaula the new leader, and remove Sau and Vaelupa as council leader. Of course they couldn’t have done these tasks alone so both of them enlisted help from friends. Pili enlisted the help of Tausamitele, Lelemalosi, and Pouliuli. Faleasa enlisted the help of his long time friend Laaumatua and his son Moaula. Finally to get the freedom they so wished for they had to complete one last task. In Pili’s case it was to divide his kingdom among his children while Faleasa had to remove Malaga as congress of the village. In the end, they both end up with nothing. Both ending up in the darkness of Pouliuli.
Arthur Ashe once said, “From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however makes a life.” Such is the case in Nikolai Gogol’s short story The Overcoat. Gogol takes a man without a friend in the world and gives him a new overcoat. The new overcoat represents a new life and a new identity for the man and instantaneously he is much happier. The man, Akaky Akakievich, basis his “new life” upon the love that he gives to his overcoat, and what he feels it gives him in return. Before long, Akaky begins to care more about his beautiful coat and less about the people around him. Thus is the theme of the story. Often material things are more important in our lives than people, resulting in the emptiness of one’s heart and soul. One cannot be truly happy with his possessions alone. He needs more than that. He needs people his life, whom he can call friends.