In spite of Gail Wynand’s individualism and creative spirit in The Fountainhead, he compromises these values in his work and succumbs to the power of the people, believing this double identity to be his only option in achieving the power he seeks. A simple credo governs Gail Wynand’s life: I Do run things around here. Originally a statement affirming his drive to rise above, this assertion quickly becomes a measure of Wynand’s self-worth—a self-worth based entirely upon his power over others. His deep respect for the greatness of mankind and the integral dignity of the independent man is made irrelevant in his life by a single, core fallacy: the futility and inevitable demise of integrity.
On a tenement rooftop at age sixteen, Gail Wynand decides to conquer “the city where he [does] not run things” through the power of the written word (Rand 405). Working diligently and for his own purposes, young Wynand shows promise toward becoming a selfish creator and a moral man. [Perhaps you could add a bit here to describe what a selfish creator is… how that makes a moral man?]But with Wynand’s first self-righteous stand against corruption comes the devastating blow to his belief in honest men. [To what does this refer?] The true Gail Wynand dies, and the man who takes his place holds an unshakable contempt for integrity and the victimhood it presupposes. In Wynand’s mind, integrity will only make him a victim to the very forces he swore to conquer. [Why?] He sees a dichotomy between success and self-respect, and when he forces himself to choose between the man he wants to be and the things he feels he needs to prove [These things he “needs” to prove…is this referring to “conquering” the city? Proving his success to others through powe...
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... creates victims [yeah, this will be stronger once you go into more detail above about why he came to believe that integrity is impossible/dangerous] , Gail Wynand chooses to abandon his, and makes himself a victim anyway. By pandering to the lurid whims of the people, Gail Wynand makes himself a slave, dependent upon public approval and compliance. He never gets what he desires out of the bargain because he is no longer capable of desiring anything. Roark and Wynand are very alike—neither one was “born to be a second-hander”—but one fundamental inverse separates them (663). Wynand lives only for the control that others will grant him; he lives for everything except his own integrity and chooses not to commit suicide because he can find nothing worth dying for. Roark, on the other hand, claims, “I could die for you. But I couldn’t and wouldn’t live for you” (608).
Throughout Saunders’ stories: “ Pastoralia”, "Brad Carrigan, American”, “Jon”, and "In Persuasion Nation"; are themes of violence, dependence, and fate. With these themes Saunders is relaying how money and power are reflected in everyone unconscious mindset: from the higher ups to the “people at the bottom of the heap”. Saunders points out that with that type of mindset is how America is declining not just economically, but as people of morals. We may be trying to “keep positive/think positive” but maybe money is the reason why we’re sinking so low into idleness, impatience, selfishness, and whatnot (Saunders).
In ?A & P? John Updike gives a story of a man faced with two choices for his life in a seemingly unimportant circumstance. He can stand up for himself and for his rules, as his manager encourages him to do so. But as the story goes, he remains oblivious to the forces at work, and decides to bend his will to three girls in bathing suits, or more generally, to those who have the power and nobility of wealth behind them. Sam makes the wrong choice, and subsequently, makes the rest of his life more difficult, as he admits that he must life his life under another class of people, the wealthy, as though he is less than them. By admitting that he is less than them, Sam has started to live his life not for the happiness he can obtain, but for the wealth he can obtain.
The Pacific coast port city of San Francisco, California provides a distinctively mysterious backdrop in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. Unlike many other detective stories that are anchored in well-known metropolises such as Los Angeles or New York City, Hammett opted to place the events of his text in the lesser-known, yet similarly exotic cultural confines of San Francisco. Hammett used his own intricate knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area - coupled with details collected during a stint as a detective for the now defunct Pinkerton Agency - to craft a distinctive brand of detective fiction that thrived on such an original setting (Paul 93). By examining the setting of 1920’s San Francisco in The Maltese Falcon, it becomes apparent that one of Hammett’s literary strengths was his exceptional ability to intertwine non-fictional places with a fictional plot and characters in order to produce a logical and exceedingly believable detective mystery.
...how others perceived them, especially those in power, than doing what was really in the best interest for everyone. These characters were manipulated by brutal puppet-masters that toyed with their strings to get the response that they wanted, knowing full well that all would agree to anything in order to please them. This urge to do what was wanted by those in ascendancy was so great a weight, that values were pushed aside for a chance to glimmer in the light of attention from important figures in society.
It has been said that the Declaration of Independence was more democratic and for equality and the Constitution was more for a republic that benefited only some people. The Declaration was idealistic the Constitution realistic. That 1776 gave us liberty and 1787 gave us order. Although as unfair as it may sound this seems to be true. After gaining liberty this country had to establish a system that would have order.
During the late 80’s, Phil Alden Robinson developed a sensational story that revolved around a real life account of a sport tragedy. The viewers were immersed in a touching account of how sport, a social interest, can play a powerful role in human bonding; thus becoming a very spiritual component of life. It in itself has a profound effect on the societies’ spiritual experiences; and just like religion can respectfully be considered a form of spirituality for a modern society, as exemplified in Robinson’s movie ‘Field of Dreams’. This story resonates far beyond the power of dreams, its appeal lies in a vision of a perfect sport and the love for which can inadvertently resolve issues no matter how grand. The plot at first presents itself as a complex; or maybe even a strange series of events, but somehow its scenes string themselves into a moral about redemption and deep interpersonal bonds.
On March 3, 1915 the movie The Birth of a Nation was released at the Liberty Theatre in New York City. This film was financed, filmed, and released by the Epoch Producing Corporation of D.W. Griffith and Harry T. Aitken. It was one of the first films to ever use deep-focus shots, night photography, and to be explicitly controversial with the derogatory view of blacks.
From the displays of power that have been shown through out this essay, we see that this story is a story about power. Power is the story is primarily about peoples need for some small amount of power to survive in life and to feel that hey have a purpose within their society which every society it may be whether its is Gilead or Nazi Germany or modern day Britain.
In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind stresses the importance of memory and how memories shape a person’s identity. Stories such as “In Search of Lost Time” by Proust and a report by the President’s Council on Bioethics called “Beyond Therapy” support the claims made in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
this one letter in a circle can now sum up his life, that people just
The Shining is about a white middle class dysfunctional family that suffers from natural and supernatural stresses in an isolated Rocky mountain hotel. .The father, a former teacher turned writer, is portrayed as a habitual drinker, wife- and child-abuser, with a kind of evil streak The mother is shown as a battered woman. The film suggests that due to the abuse at the hands of his father and the passivity of his mother, the child of this family developed psychological problems. He had imaginary friends and began to see frightening images.
She learned how to provide for herself in a society where women had very little sovereignty and authority by gaining control over her husbands. Of her five husbands, the first three were “good” and the other two were “bad.” The first three were good because they were old, wealthy, and obedient. She put these men through torture, by charging them of ridiculous allegations until they felt guilty and gave her whatever she wanted. The Wife also used a tool of persuasion to acquire what she wanted, by withholding sexual satisfaction until they promised to her what she wanted.
I spent a lot of time considering what movie I would watch to write this essay. I listed off the movies that I would like to watch again, and then I decided on The Notebook. I didn’t really think I could write about adolescence or children, so I thought that, maybe, I could write about the elderly. The love story that The Notebook tells is truly amazing. I love watching this movie, although I cry every time I watch it. The Notebook is about an elderly man that tells the story of his life with the one he loves the most, his wife. He is telling the story to his wife, who has Alzheimer’s Disease, which is a degenerative disease that affects a person’s memory. She has no recollection of him or their life together, or even her own children. She wrote the story of their love herself, so that when he read the story to her, she would come back to him. There are three things that I would like to discuss about this movie. First, I would like to discuss their stage of life and the theory that I believe describes their stage of life the best. Second, I would like to discuss Alzheimer’s DIsease and its affect on the main character who has it and her family. Third, I would like to discuss how at the end of the movie, they died together. I know it is a movie, but I do know that it is known that elderly people who have been together for a long time, usually die not to far apart from one another.
On the surface, William Godwin's Caleb Williams (1794) is merely an entertaining murder mystery and detective story. The tale of an unfortunate servant who learns the truth of his master's past and flees for fear of his life, it has thrilled generations of readers. However, Godwin designed the work "to answer a purpose more general and important than immediately appears on the face of it."2 Written immediately after the publication of Godwin's first and most famous work, Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793), Caleb Williams serves as a vehicle for Godwin to introduce his philosophy to the general public. The issue he addresses in the novel is that of "things as they are... While one party pleads for reformation and change, the other extols in the warmest terms the existing constitution of society."3
When Jane is a young child, she stays with her aunt and cousins at Gateshead where they regard her both negatively and differently because of her lower level. Mrs. Reed, Jane’s aunt, separates Jane from her cousins because, as her aunt tells her, “She really must exclude [Jane] from privileges intended only for contented, happy little children” (1).The only true reasoning for this separation is due to a difference between Jane and her cousins. This distinction is simply the difference in status. This also shows the belief that the rich have a much more pleasant disposition than the poor. Also, Jane’s cousin John mistreats and abuses Jane. She reflects that, “He bullied and punished me; not two or three times in the week, nor once or twice in a day, but continually: every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh on my bones shrank when he came near. There were moments when I was bewildered by the terror he inspired, because I had no appeal whatever against either his menaces or his inflictions…and Mrs. Reed was blind and deaf on the subject: she never saw him strike or heard him abuse me” (4). Jane says herself that she did nothing to provoke either John’s physical or verbal misconduct other than having a lower reputation than him. Mrs. Reed lets this wrongdoing continue just because Jane is poor and not h...