When most people sit down with their children to read bedtime stories, they usually do not look for any hidden connotation. However, if readers were to take a closer look, especially into Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, they might discover that the story itself covers themes appropriate to both adults and children alike. One of them being imperialism; the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries. Likewise, the collection of children’s stories, The Jungle Book is an allegory based on imperialism in India. This collection of stories, in other words, Mowgli’s journey to manhood displays how much Kipling has been “influenced by British imperialism and their prejudices.” (Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia) Correspondingly, the plot provokes the ideas of imperialism by showing the parasitic relationship of the Europeans desire to conquer foreign land and the hatred expressed by Shere Khan towards Mowgli. Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book illustrates true imperialistic ideas and the values of the British Empire during the early twentieth century through the allegorical central characters. In 1894, Kipling published The Jungle Book, his most memorable work, which consists of short stories that are meant to vitalize the European ideas and culture. For example, the fate of Shere Khan exhibits Britain’s small degree of tolerance for opposition to imperialism. He was always aware of the impermanence of dominion, the inevitable decline and succession of empires. He knew that Western perspectives—sometimes he even seemed to recognize that masculine perspectives—were inescapably limited. There is much in the world that a European male simply cannot comprehend, and much that he compre... ... middle of paper ... ...t demand anything which it is itself unable to supply." Essentially, Spinoza states that everything people know is determined by and springs forth from universal laws and exists and acts in a certain and determinate way. (Martinelli) Evidently, Spinoza would see Mowgli's return to the Law of Man as a self-aggravated necessity. Since Mowgli is man, and not an animal; it is his right that he returns to the Law of Man. Rudyard Kipling provides a complex mix of story telling in intertwining the tale of Mowgli and the saga of the animals of the jungle in The Jungle Book. The stories are often misinterpreted as the story of Mowgli, however, Kipling meant them to be the voice of the animals of the Jungle and how they view humanity. Therefore, Kipling uses the animals to teach Mowgli the “laws of the jungle” and what emerges is the stark differences between man and animal.
In The Jungle, Sinclair deeply understands his subjects and can make the plots real for the reader. Even in a small section of the book, Sinclair makes me feel, imagine and contemplate his words. Chapters 18 through 23, were chapters that Sinclair took time and effort to write and make it to perfection. In my own perspective, I think he achieved this accomplishment and made these chapters a realistic event.
Sinclair’s The Jungle, is his fictionalized report of Chicago's Packingtown. It traces a family of Lithuanian immigrants in Chicago, and describes the horrifying living and working conditions they endure. Through Jurgis, the protagonist, and his family, Sinclair unfolds the tragedy of suffering of all Packinghouse workers in their pursuit of the American Dream. He gives a detailed description about their ordeals, from their lodging at boardinghouses to their buying of cheated house,...
Imperialism has been a constant oppressive force upon societies dating back hundreds of years. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, illustrates this oppression by providing an instance of its occurrence in the Congo of Africa, while simultaneously setting the stage for The Poisonwood Bible, which is essentially the continuation of the story. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, demonstrates how the Congo is still affected by modern circumstances and ideology. Conrad’s novella acts as a sort of precursor to the events later depicted in Kingsolver’s novel, and this very connection between the stories illustrates the perpetual oppression of imperialism. This oppression is shown through the characterization of the pivotal characters of each respective text.
In Orwell’s reflective narrative, “Shooting an Elephant”, he reveals the truth on imperialism. Through the utilization of irony and the method of appeals, Orwell shows the reader that imperialism is just a definition because the people are in control, not Britain.
Spinoza cites the source of the misconception of freedom as man’s inability to understand himself and the causes of his actions. Spinoza expounds on this confusion, “So, experience itself, no less clearly than reason, teaches that men believe themselves free because they are conscious of their own, and ignorant of the causes by which they are determined, that the decisions of the mind are nothing but the appetites themselves, which therefore vary as the disposition of the body.”(p.157) Spinoza conceives decisions and determination to be the same thing, but considered under different lights. When being considered through the lens of thought, the idea is considered a decision; while through the light of extension, it is considered determination, an action caused by laws of motion and rest. Though considered differently, the source of both of these ideas are caused by the striving of the human will, and thus dependent on
Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden” articulates the imperialism of the English empire into India, Cambodia, China, and Africa. The English thought it their duty to go out and take over these barbaric nations to civilize them. They justified their act of westernizing and destroying others’ cultures as the “burden’ they were born to bear. “And when your goal is nearest the end for others sought, watch sloth and heathen folly bring all your hopes to nought.” They blamed the ineffectiveness of their efforts on the native’s laziness. They are the ones whose whole world is being flipped upside down; being submerged in a new culture with new laws and strange people. Yet, somehow they are the lazy ones and despite the trails for the white man at the end of the day it is beneficial to the savages.
In the present era of decolonization, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness presents one of fictions strongest accounts of British imperialism. Conrad’s attitude towards imperialism and race has been the subject of much literary and historical debate. Many literary critics view Conrad as accepting blindly the arrogant attitude of the white male European and condemn Conrad to be a racist and imperialists. The other side vehemently defends Conrad, perceiving the novel to be an attack on imperialism and the colonial experience. Understanding the two viewpoints side by side provides a unique understanding that leads to a commonality that both share; the novel simply presents a criticism of colonialists in Africa. The novel merely portrays a fictional account of British imperialism in the African jungle, where fiction offers maximum entertainment it lacks in focus. The novel is not a critique of European colonialism and imperialism, but rather a presentation of colonialism and the theme of darkness throughout the novel sheds a negative light on the selfishness of humanity and the system that was taking advantage of the native peoples. In Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, Conrad presents a criticism of British imperial colonization not for the purpose of taking sides, but with aims of bettering the system that was in place during Conrad’s experience in the African Congo. Conrad uses the character of Marlow and his original justification of imperialism so long as it was efficient and unselfish that was later transformed when the reality of colonialism displayed the selfishness of man, to show that colonialism throughout history displaces the needs of the mother country over the colonized peoples and is thus always selfish.
The Western philosophy of history has as its primary concept the concept of development, and many scholars have thus distinguished between the Western linear view of history and the non-Western cyclical one. What appears to be the case is that the dominant philosophy of history – otherwise more chillingly referred to as the ‘master-narrative’ – conceives of the history of the world as beginning with Judaism and progressing through classical antiquity and Christianity to the Enlightenment and modern liberalism.[6] What such a master-narrative leaves out, of course, is the period of the European Middle Ages (from the fifth to the fifteenth-century A.D.), a historical fact that renders more plausible – because more representative – a cyclical view of history as alternating between the Dark and the Golden Ages. Master-narratives leave no room for competing narratives, a case in point being Trevor-Roper’s statement that black Africa had no history prior to contact with the West. Trevor-Roper’s statement draws on a Hegelian relation between the concept of history and the Western concept of development. It was this Hegelian relation that allowed Hegel to essentially declare the end of history in 1806, when the Battle of Jena led to Napoleon defeating the Prussian monarchy and what Hegel presumed to be the victory of liberal democracy.[7] By the same Hegelian logic, Fukuyama was able to out-Hegel Hegel and
A nurse has many responsibilities in their job. While performing those duties, it is vital that they maintain good professional character. What is good professional character and how does it incorporate into the workplace? This paper will delve into the different character traits that the professional nurse should possess. These traits include the ability to tell “right from wrong, think and act rationally, keep promises and honor obligations, be accountable for their behavior, recognize and honor interpersonal boundaries, and promptly and fully self-disclose facts, circumstances, events, errors/omissions” (Nursing, Texas Board of, 2013).
Spinoza is a modern thinker who explains God as a cause as well. Spinoza is a monist who believes everything is one. Therefore, he believes God is the only substance and existence there is. Spinoza states that "by God I understand a being absolutely infinite, that is, a substance consisting of an inf...
In the beginning of the course of unraveling 17th and 18th century profound philosophers we became acquainted with Descartes dualism, by analyzing that extension according to Descartes are two of God’s distinct features in which we ought to perceive. Not only did Spinoza toss the conception that God actively alters the earth through Descartes proclaimed “natural laws”, but unlike Descartes he believed God to be the only definite substance. For Spinoza God and God’s creation weren’t two diverse, distinctive substances instead only god or as he phrased nature is the sole true substance. This paper will entail why he takes a monist stance and rejects traditional religious views through the building blocks of
Part 1: Choose one or two of the Spinoza´s Fourth Part of Ethics and explain the sense of the proposition. Add to your explanation an example and finally your own critical assessment of Spinoza 's position.
Yet apart from power and intrigue, Kipling’s portrays many aspects of the Empire as dull, lifeless and cruel compared with Indian culture. Kim’s first encounter with the British is characterized by the callous way in which a Protestant priest treats the lama, and his ignorance and disrespect towards native custom. Kim’s three years at boarding school are oppressive and the author only deigns to recount the boy’s holidays, when he takes to the road or learns practical skills from his mentors. All his schoolmates seem to do is administer beatings, boast, or look down on the
Spinoza's philosophy had a practical aim. What he wanted to do was to show the way to perfect peace of mind and joy offered by the life of reason. The Ethics is written as a guidebook to a happy, intellectually flourishing life. Basic in Spinoza's thought is the simple observation that we all want to live well but do not know the way to a happy life. He wanted to give us the instructions which include principles about how to guard us from the power of passions which prevent the mind from understanding. In this paper my aim is to consider how well founded Spinoza's techniques against the passions are. I will do this by concentrating on Jonathan Bennett's criticism of Spinozistic psychotherapy. Bennett finds from the Ethics three central techniques of freeing oneself from passions: (i) reflecting on determinism; (ii) separating and joining; and (iii) turning passions into actions. Bennett believes that all these techniques are in some sense flawed. My contention is that Bennett offers good criticism against 'reflecting on determinism'-technique but that his criticism against 'separating and joining'-technique as well as against 'turning passions into actions'-technique is not well-founded. The paper devotes most space to the 'turning passions into actions'-technique. However, before considering Bennett's view of Spinoza's psychotherapy, I will give an overview of Spinoza's theory of activity and passivity.