Free College Essays - The Evil of Mankind portrayed in Melville’s Moby Dick :: Moby Dick Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Melville’s primary focus in his classic novel Moby Dick is the evil of mankind, a point of focus consistent with his anti-Transcendental philosophical alignment.   In Moby Dick, Melville illistrates man’s feelings of evil toward fellow man and nature through his thoroughly developed plot and character.   Melville also illistrated this in the components of the thematic layer which, underlies almost every character’s personal motives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Analysis of Melville’s own motives helps to clarify the author’s reasoning behind each of the examples of man’s evil in his novel.   In order to fully understand his anti-Transcendental belief, it is necessary to first comprehend the origin of anti-Transcendentalism.   Transcendentalism is the term linked to the Emersonian-Thoreauvian set of beliefs, which incorporated the existence of an Oversoul and the benevolent disposition of man as the default soul.   Melville and others like him was opposed to the Transcendental views.   The natural opposition to a theory of man’s general benevolence is one of his malevolence toward everything around him; the primary idea behind anti-Transcendentalism was all human people have a capacity for evil and that, given the proper circumstances, the evil in anyone would come forth in their actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The plot and characters of Moby Dick contribute to its anti-Transcendental philosophy; the entire story revolves around the evil of man, which is demonstrated in practically each person portrayed in the book.   The story itself is about man being pitted against nature, as though the two were never meant to coincide peacefully.   The men on the ship must fend for themselves against the harsh maritime weather and the believably evil whales which they hunt.   Natural forces ravage the population of the whaling vessel; in the end, only the narrator survives.   In turn, man is reciprocally evil toward nature; the men destroy the giant sea creatures for their blubber and drop the stripped carcasses back into the water.   In addition to this collective evil of the people on the ship, many of the individuals are shining examples of humanity’s evil themselves.   Captain Ahab, the primary character in the book, makes the sole dedication in his life one of vengeance on the great white whale after which the novel was named.   Ahab does, at times, show that he has a less wicked side (signified by the scar that seemingly divides his body into two separate people), but in the end, the evil half of him overcomes his goodness.

Robertson Davis Fifth Business Essay -- Robertson Davies Fifth Busine

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Guilt can only be suppressed for a limited time before it comes out in unwanted ways. In the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, Boy Staunton -a successful businessman with a polished appearance but a tortured soul- took the ultimate plunge to his death. His decision was not merely his own, but was influenced by a team of hands that helped push him to his destiny. First Leola, who was his first love and his wife. Then Mary Dempster, a neighbor from his old town Deptford, whom he mistakenly made into a 'simple' woman. Next his life long-friend and enemy, Dunstan Ramsey, who was a constant reminder of the virtuous life boy longed to live. Then Paul Dempster, the product of Boy's immature childhood behavior. Finally himself, because he suppressed his guilt and refused to accept the shadow that lurked within him. The five people that killed Boy Staunton (as stated) were: Mary- ?the woman he did not know?, Leola- ? the woman he knew?, Dunstan- ?the keeper of his conscience and the stone?, Paul- whom granted his inner most wish, and lastly, Boy Staunton himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It can be observed that childhood experiences play a very important role in the stableness of ones soul. One mishap in childhood can create a devastating blow to ones true happiness in later life. This was exactly the case in Boy Staunton's life. Once, when he was little, he got in an argument with Dunny which led to snowballs being launched at Dunny from an aggravated Boy Staunton. The last snowball concealed a rock, and hit Dunny's neighbor Mary Dempster in the head. As a result, she gave birth prematurely (to Paul Dempster), and then afterwards became ?simple minded?. This particular incident acted as a foundation for Boy's growing shadow, and contributed to the demise of his soul. It is ironic that the person who had such a significant influence on Boy Staunton's shadow, was a woman he did not know. When Boy was asked if he had any recognition of Mrs. Dempster, he replied: ? None at all. Why Should I(page 261). Although Boy only met her once, the guilt remained suppressed inside him for the rest of his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Boy's guilt grew as the years went by, fed by incidents that occurred from different people. Leola, Boy's first wife was one of these people. Leola was born in Deptford as was Boy. They grew up together going to the same school, and fanci... ...his own life. When Boy was found the morning after, a strange stone was found in his mouth. That stone was the same stone which hit Mary Dempster in the head so many years before. Boy considered the stone to represent his guilt and in the end tried to swallow the stone (he tried to swallow his guilty conscience). Suicide was the only way out for Boy, because his shadow was much to big to confront. Boy's biggest mistake in his life, was that he did not face his conscience when it was small. Instead he let it grow inside him, a mistake which ultimately led to his death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Indeed Boy's death was influenced by different people throughout his life. Leola who was the woman he knew. Mary - the woman he did not know. Paul - who granted his inmost wish. And of course Dunny -the inevitable fifth. But Boy Staunton was the only one who could be accountable for his guilt. For he, and he alone, ignored his shadow and left it to grow. In the end his shadow was to big to defeat, and so, pushed by the darkness within him, Boy entered finally into the shadow of death. Works Cited: Davies, Robertson. FIFTH BUSINESS. Canada: The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited, 1970.

Evolution of Disney Princesses Essay

The Disney princess movies are American classics. Like them or hate them, fairytales are common knowledge in America. Why is it so important that Disney drills viewer’s heads with these fairytales, specifically young girls? While all of the Disney princesses offer viwers obvious good morals and life lessons, there are underlying messages in each innocent tale. America is attempting to shape the female youth with their friendly children’s tales. However, as women’s rights are evolving in America, the Disney princesses are evolving too. Disney keeps gender roles separate and concrete in their movies. The explanation for this behavior is the affect it has on the viewers of the films. In the older princess movies such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty women’s place in society was clear: you can get a husband if you are beautiful and women should find it enjoyable to cook and clean. Disney is painting a portrait of the perfect woman as being submissive and dependent on other people, mostly men. In the more recent movies such as The Princess and the Frog and Frozen independence and ambition are two focal characteristics of the newer princesses. The evolution of Disney Princesses is due to the change of women’s place in society over time. With each movie the princesses can be directly correlated to the time period and women’s social standing. â€Å"Skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony.† Snow White, the princess who began it all. She is described as being the most beautiful in all the land, and it seems that this is her most desirable quality. This movie is teaching little girls that as long as they are pretty, boys will want them. Young girls that see Snow White see that she’s beautiful, she’s kind, and she is treated unfairly. But underneath all of those truths, there are some other things she teaches the youth. When she begins living with the seven dwarfs she is the only woman in the house and she now has all of the cooking and cleaning responsibilities. If Prince Charming moved in with the dwarves would they expect him to cook and clean, of course not. This is what Disney is labeling as â€Å"woman’s work† and  subconsciously making young girls think that is there place because Snow White makes it look like fun. The next Disney Princess to take the stage was Cinderella. A girl who is mistreated by her stepmother. Cinderella is kept a slave in her own home, forced to wear rags, and serve her stepfamily. Her biggest dream is to go to the ball where she might just see the Prince. She has no dreams bigger than this? This is teaching young girls that as long as they pretty themselves up they might be able to find a wealthy man to escape their terrible living conditions. And â€Å"Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo† she is free from her misfortune. Climbing the social ladder with her good looks rather than her brain. She is showing that the only way out of her misery is to marry a Prince and be dependent on a man rather than seeking happiness and security outside of other people. Not too long after Cinderella, a new princess is introduced whose main purpose is not to clean or cook. Unfortunately, she is still submissive. This marks the first change in the evolution of the Disney Princesses. Beauty and the Beast, a classic tale of inner beauty. Belle is in search of a life greater than her provincial town she grows up in, but when her father is trapped in a Beast’s castle she trades her life for his. From here on out it is a classic case of Stockholm syndrome. She falls in love with her captor because she can see the good in him. She sees the inner beauty and he sees her outer beauty. Let’s turn the tables. If Belle had been overweight and unattractive, would Disney have made the Beast fall for her because of her inner beauty? Disney is teaching young girls that they should love men for who they are, even if they are â€Å"beastly† and give everyone an equal chance but women have to be a â€Å"beauty† to be loved. â€Å"One day I’ll be part of your world.† The only aspiration the next princess is to completely change herself to be what her man wants her to be. Princess Ariel, The Little Mermaid, is a classic fairytale character that has a very entertaining story. She is a mermaid and she wants to become a human. This is a lovely beginning for a story, until finding out her reasons for wanting to be a human. All she wants is to marry a prince, but he is on land. She  goes to the sea queen who trades her voice for legs for three days. She is to share true love’s kiss with her prince before the third day. She asks the sea queen, â€Å"Without my voice how will I get him to kiss me?† The sea queen replies, â€Å"You have your looks, your pretty face, and don’t underestimate the power of body language.† She is silenced to get a man, literally. Ariel falls into the same perpetuation of men because she falls for Eric based purely on looks. This is Disney dr illing girl’s heads that their worth to a man is amounted to how sexually desirable they are. All of the Disney princesses from the 20th century films encouraged girls to make their biggest goal in life be to find a man, think that all they have to do is be pretty, and rely on others to save them or make their dreams come true. But that is simply not the case with the 21st century Disney Princess movies. There have been four movies: The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Brave, and Frozen. All of these movies are very different from one another, but the one thing they all have in common in is that the Princesses main goal is not only to find a man. There has been an evolution in what women are expected to be, so Disney has shaped the role model princesses to be what women are supposed to be in society today. The change started with Tiana, The Frog Princess. She was the first Princess to have a real job, and the first one who had a present birth-mother without a father. Her original goal was to open her own restaurant and run it herself. She accomplishes this goal, and is now an entrepreneur. The prince conforms to her dream rather than her conforming to his, as we have seen previous Disney princesses do. She is the first princess to ever do anything for herself and not for a man, she did end up with a Prince, but he was not her ultimate goal. Women today still want to be married and have a family, but they also now have career goals and an independent life from their spouse. Tiana was the first step to teaching young girls to make an independent life for themselves. The second step of Disney Princess evolution was Rapunzel. She had a life goal to see the floating lights, which her parents let float every year on her birthday. A thief came through her window while running away from the  royal guards, but it was not love at first sight like the old princesses. She knocks him out with her frying pan. This shows young girls that they can protect themselves and no longer have to be submissive. She bargained with him so he would help her, and she saves him multiple times during their journey. They spend time during their adventure falling in love with each other’s minds instead of each other’s bodies. In the end, he does come to her rescue but it was an equal relationship. They both put in effort, and they both deserved each other. This is showing young girls that romantic relationships should be equal rather than submissive. It also is telling girls to marry for love rather than money. The third step of Disney Princess evolution was Merida. She is an entirely different kind of princess than all of the other Disney Princesses so far. Her goals are to be able to do whatever activities she wants regardless of if they are â€Å"female activities† or â€Å"male activities.† Most of all, what makes her different is that when she is offered a Prince, she turns it down. She even competes in the competition they have to win her heart, with bows and arrows. She out shoots them (which is a male activity) and wins her own heart. The movie is entirely based around her mending her relationship with her strict mother rather than a quest for love. It sends the message to young girls that they should marry only if they want to and they can do activities that aren’t considered to be for their gender (such as shooting arrows). This was the first Disney Princess movie that did not end with a romantic relationship blooming. In the new Disney Princess movie, Frozen, the Disney Princesses are in entire new light of representing women and their roles in society. This is the newest development in the evolution of Disney Princesses. The most recent steps in the evolution of Disney Princesses are Anna and Elsa from Frozen. Anna sets off on a quest to save her sister Elsa. This quest involves no knight in shining armor to save her. Anna meets a young prince at the beginning of the movie, and she thinks she is in love. But, like in real life, this man is not his first impression. He turns out to try to take her throne and kill her sister. When he tries to kill her sister, Anna saves her and gives her own life in return. They show â€Å"an act of true  love† and it is not romantic. This is a monumental movie for Disney. It has finally overcome it’s obsession with men saving women. This movie is particularly influential for young girls because it promotes familial love instead of romantic love. Young girls now will see that you can be a strong person without having a man by your side. The more recent Disney Princess films have been encouraging familial love instead of only romantic love. The evolution of Disney Princesses is a symbol of more than just women’s rising equality in the world, but also of the world’s newfound open-mindedness. The media teaches us good and bad things about being a woman through the Disney princesses. What could be next? Perhaps there will be a new princess that is overweight and is learning to be comfortable in her own skin, showing girls that beauty is diverse. Now that women’s place in the world is changing, the Disney princesses are too.