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To kill a mockingbird examples of symbolism
A literature essay on a dystopian society
To kill a mockingbird examples of symbolism
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Symbolic Themes between Divergent and 1984 It is becoming very clear that the world is becoming overpowered with electronic devices, and it is no one but the people’s fault for the privacy loss that has and will continue to happen. The amount one spends on their phone or computer a day could be described as outrageous and to some a waste of time. People wonder why privacy is becoming an issue and it is clearly because the more technical we get with technology, the more power the government has over the people. Many people do not even realize that they are being watched. When they are on their electronic device they have no idea that the government can very easily be monitoring what they are doing. This is very similar to what happens in the …show more content…
The citizens got to choose where they wanted to spend the rest of their lives and how they wanted to be controlled. Unless of course the citizen was a divergent. The divergent characters were those who had a little bit of everything in them. Beatrice and Tobias were divergent and they did not agree with how their group was taking over and killing innocent people. As Beatrice and Tobias team up and attempt to take over, something happens to Tobias. The government takes over his state of mind and controls him. They control him to the point to where he tries to hurt and fight with Beatrice. The betrayal between the characters is also a common theme between both the novel 1984 and the movie Divergent. As Beatrice finally gets Tobias to realize that it is her he finally comes to his senses and they both continue to try to take over the government control. One of the differences between the novel 1984 and the movie Divergent, is that in Divergent the innocent people succeed. Beatrice and Tobias get control of the government and are able to stop all systems from the killing of innocent people. They do not fall into the government’s trap and start to “love” the government as done in the novel, …show more content…
There is nothing more to it than the citizens feeling traumatized and hysterical. The government takes over and the people are forced to agree and do as they are told. As people read and watch they see as though, the ones who truly believe it is wrong make attempts to change the government by taking very rebellious and dangerous acts against the government’s
Baird and Kaufmann, the editors of our text, explain in their outline of Descartes' epistemology that the method by which the thinker carried out his philosophical work involved first discovering and being sure of a certainty, and then, from that certainty, reasoning what else it meant one could be sure of. He would admit nothing without being absolutely satisfied on his own (i.e., without being told so by others) that it was incontrovertible truth. This system was unique, according to the editors, in part because Descartes was not afraid to face doubt. Despite the fact that it was precisely doubt of which he was endeavoring to rid himself, he nonetheless allowed it the full reign it deserved and demanded over his intellectual labors. "Although uncertainty and doubt were the enemies," say Baird and Kaufmann (p.16), "Descartes hit upon the idea of using doubt as a tool or as a weapon. . . . He would use doubt as an acid to pour over every 'truth' to see if there was anything that could not be dissolved . . . ." This test, they explain, resulted for Descartes in the conclusion that, if he doubted everything in the world there was to doubt, it was still then certain that he was doubting; further, that in order to doubt, he had to exist. His own existence, therefore, was the first truth he could admit to with certainty, and it became the basis for the remainder of his epistemology.
According to Descartes, “because our senses sometimes deceive us, I wanted to suppose that nothing was exactly as they led us to imagine (Descartes 18).” In order to extinguish his uncertainty and find incontrovertible truth, he chooses to “raze everything to the ground and begin again from the original foundations (Descartes 59).” This foundation, which Descartes is certain to be the absolute truth, is “I think, therefore I am (Descartes 18).” Descartes argues that truth and proof of reality lies in the human mind, rather than the senses. In other words, he claims that the existence of material objects are not based on the senses because of human imperfection. In fact, he argues that humans, similarly to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, are incapable of sensing the true essence or existence of material objects. However, what makes an object real is human thought and the idea of that object, thus paving the way for Descartes’ proof of God’s existence. Because the senses are easily deceived and because Descartes understands that the senses can be deceived, Descartes is aware of his own imperfection. He
Throughout 1984 and Divergent, conformity and obedience force the characters to go to great lengths in order to follow the basics and rules of the government. Throughout Orwell’s 1984, the individuals of the society hang onto every word, law, and thought of Big Brother. The citizens focus primarily on the Ministries and Party, not forming connections or relationships with others. Each member of a party have certain jobs and clothing assigned to them, separating them for others to easily detect. The same concept lies within the factions of Divergent. Each faction has a different job, and different colors to wear in order to display their role in society. The leaders of each Faction also hold the phrase “faction before blood,” depicting the same messege Big Brother enforces in 1984. Both governments want the individuals to stay within their parties, and do the jobs assigned to them. However, both novels include characters refusing to conform and obey to government rules. In 1984, Winston Smith resents Big Brother, using his knowledge from the Minitrue to reveal the lies the government spreads. Because of the disatisfaction Winston shows towards his government, O’Brien follows him, tortures him, and brainwashes him into conforming like the others. In Divergent, the government leaders label Beatrice Prior as a “divergent,” or one who possesses more than one
Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as technology is changing. In order for us to continue living in the new digital decade, we must accept the government’s ability to surveil us.
In his book Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes tries to accomplish several subject concerns. Firstly, Descartes attempts to accomplish the use of methodological doubt to rid himself of all beliefs that could be false. Then, he arrives at particular beliefs that could not possibly be false. Next, he discovers a criterion of knowledge. Also, he proves that the mind is distinct from the body and also the existence of God.
He argues that if he does not solve God’s existence, he will not be certain about anything else. Thus, Descartes says that he has an idea of God and, therefore, God exists. However, in order to be certain of His existence, Descartes provides proofs that will illustrate his reasoning. The four proofs include formal reality vs. objective reality, something can’t arise from nothing, Descartes cannot be the cause of himself, and therefore, the bigger cause is God. Now that Descartes knows God is real, he must solve another aspect, which is if God can be a deceiver. Descartes believes “it is clear enough from this that he cannot be a deceiver, since it is manifest by the natural light that all fraud and deception depend on some defect” (89). In other words, God possesses all of the perfections that Descartes cannot have but those perfections that are in his thoughts, concluding that God has no defects whatsoever according to the natural
Rene Descartes’ greatest work, Meditations on First Philosophy, attempts to build the base of knowledge through a skeptical point of view. In the First Meditation, Descartes argues that his knowledge has been built on reason and his senses, yet how does he know that those concepts are not deceiving him? He begins to doubt that his body exists, and compares himself to an insane person. What if he is delusional about his social ranking, or confused about the color of his clothes, or even unaware of the material that his head is made of? This is all because the senses are deceiving, even in our dreams we experience realistic visions and feelings. Finally, Descartes comes to the conclusion that everything must be doubted, and begins to build his
The setting is important to the overall novel studied because it helps highlight major themes in the novel, it further characterizes the motivations of the characters, and helps explain the overall message of the novel. In 1984 by George Orwell, the overall setting of the novel is in London, which is called Airship 1 in Oceania.
The question now is how are we to doubt everything? Descartes claims that we are fooled by our minds, meaning we do not really know what is false or not. For instance, one a hot day you look at a the ground at a distance and think you see water, but in reality the heat rising from the ground which from a certain angle looks like water but then when you get closer you see the ground not water. In addition, Descartes que...
Descartes sought to establish some truths in the world that would never be proven false through his Meditations. In order to do so, Descartes said that he had to call everything into question of which he thought was true, because building truths on other truths that are not absolutely true allows for error, and many years of scientific thought wasted if it was spent using false information. Therefore, Descartes begins by doubting everything and slowly works his way through overcoming doubt with certainty in order to contribute and make more efficient the scientific community. This even came down to God, the existence of the physical world, and himself.
Rene Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy is a philosophical work consisting of six meditations of things Descartes establishes cannot be known for certain, as well as attempts to establish all things that can be known undoubtedly. Descartes was one of the first major Western philosophers to attempt to construct a foundation of certainty about knowledge.
The rational or a priori of knowledge- the base of this knowledge is provided by “natural light.” The empirical basis of knowledge is the content of a person conscious state of mind, beliefs, desires, and sensory states. “Thus the perception of the infinite is somehow prior in me to the perception of the finite, that is, my perception of God is before my perception of myself. For how would I understand that I doubt and that I desire, that is, that I lack something and that I am not wholly perfect, unless there was some idea in me of a perfect being, by comparison with which I might recognize my defects” (Descartes, 1641)? “I recognize that it would be impossible for me to exist with the kind of nature I have — that is, having within me the idea of God — was it not the case that God existed. By ‘God’ I mean the very being the idea of whom is within me, that is, the possessor of all the perfections which I cannot grasp, but can somehow reach in my thought, which is subject to no defects whatsoever. It is clear enough from this that he cannot be a deceiver since it is manifest by the natural light that all fraud and deception depend on some defect” (Med. 3, AT
Ever since day one, people have been developing and creating all sorts of new methods and machines to help better everyday life in one way or another. Who can forget the invention of the ever-wondrous telephone? And we can’t forget how innovative and life-changing computers have been. However, while all machines have their positive uses, there can also be many negatives depending on how one uses said machines, wiretapping in on phone conversations, using spyware to quietly survey every keystroke and click one makes, and many other methods of unwanted snooping have arisen. As a result, laws have been made to make sure these negative uses are not taken advantage of by anyone. But because of how often technology changes, how can it be known that the laws made so long ago can still uphold proper justice? With the laws that are in place now, it’s a constant struggle to balance security with privacy. Privacy laws should be revised completely in order to create a better happy medium between security and privacy. A common misconception of most is that a happy medium of privacy and security is impossible to achieve. However, as well-said by Daniel Solove, “Protecting privacy doesn’t need to mean scuttling a security measure. Most people concerned about the privacy implications of government surveillance aren’t arguing for no[sic] surveillance and absolute privacy. They’d be fine giving up some privacy as long as appropriate controls, limitations, oversight and accountability mechanisms were in place.”(“5 Myths about Privacy”)
As technology penetrates society through Internet sites, smartphones, social networks, and other modes of technology, questions are raised as the whether lines are being crossed. People spend a vast majority of their time spreading information about themselves and others through these various types of technology. The problem with all these variations is that there is no effective way of knowing what information is being collected and how it is used. The users of this revolutionary technology cannot control the fate of this information, but can only control their choice of releasing information into the cyber world. There is no denying that as technology becomes more and more integrated into one’s life, so does the sacrificing of that person’s privacy into the cyber world. The question being raised is today’s technology depleting the level of privacy that each member of society have? In today’s society technology has reduced our privacy due to the amount of personal information released on social networks, smartphones, and street view mapping by Google. All three of these aspects include societies tendency to provide other technology users with information about daily occurrences. The information that will be provided in this paper deals with assessing how technology impacts our privacy.
In this paper I will describe the foundationalist structure of Descartes’ arguments in his work Meditations on First Philosophy. Foundationalism is the view that there are some beliefs are epistemologically basic and can be known without knowing anything else is true (Loeb, Lecture 1-14). For example, philosophers such as Descartes would acknowledge that geometric truths, such as 2 + 2 = 4, are so fundamental that they don’t need to be proven through argumentation. Thus, these truths can provide the basic foundation for further arguments. In my paper, I will show that two foundational claims of Descartes are first, the existence of the mind, and second, the existence of God. From these claims Descartes derives many others, including the argument for material objects and souls. As I lay out Descartes’ case, I will examine the philosophical soundness and validity of his foundationalist account, as well as its merits and potential weaknesses. In the end, I will conclude that Descartes’ foundationalism, while alluring in its simplicity, does not survive deeper investigation.