All Quiet on the Western Front Essay -- English Literature

All Quiet on the Western Front The 19th century view of war expressed that it was the most honorable and glorious event that a man could participate in. This romantic viewpoint was quick to change after World War I. In addition, Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front further illustrated the ghastly nature of war. His descriptive writing portrays the graphic details of reality, leaving the readers of the 20th century in shock. Since Remarque was the first author of his time to reveal these lifelike affairs, his novel helped change their perspective of war, forcing them to not want any part of it. In his novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque utilizes the main character Paul to symbolize the people of the 20th century. Along with his peers, Paul is encouraged by adults to fight in the war, especially by his teacher, Kantorek. Paul knows nothing about war before he enlists and is quickly disgusted to realize his mistake. Remarque writes, â€Å"Naturally we couldn’t blame Kantorek for this. Where would the world be if one brought every man to book? There were thousands of Kantoreks, all of whom were convinced that they were acting for the best – in a way that cost them nothing† (12). Here, Kantorek symbolizes all the elders who pushed naà ¯ve teenagers to enlist because they felt that war was glorious and romantic. The adolescents that followed their directions had trust in them because of their authority. However, the ones who professed enlisting were not the ones who did the actual fighting – they did not witness the cruelness nor live the brutal, soldier life. Remarque continues, â€Å"The first bombardment showed us our mistake†¦We loved our country as much as they; we went courageously ... ...rred in the 19th and 20th centuries. Our modern technology has played a large part in changing our viewpoint of war. Movies have started to display the gruesomeness of war as well as video games allowing users to partake in war-like violence. Our current war is even being shown live on the news channels, demonstrating the violence. Therefore, the people of the 21st century have become desensitized to the realities of war. Thus, the readers of the 21st century have already been introduced to the issues that Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front communicates. Along with technology, the fact that the United States is so honest and open with war has allowed children to become familiarized with this subject at an early age. Consequently, the effect on Remarque’s readers in the 21st century is quite different from the effect on the 20th century readers.

Civil Disobedience Definition

The extremely simplified definition of civil disobedience given by Webster†s Dictionary is â€Å"nonviolent opposition to a law through refusal to comply with it, on grounds of conscience. † Thoreau in â€Å"Civil Disobedience† and Martin Luther King in â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† both argue that laws thought of as unjust in one†s mind should not be adhered to. In Herman Melville†s â€Å"Bartleby,† a man named Bartleby is thought of by many to be practicing civil disobedience. His actions are nonviolent, and he refuses to comply with anything his boss says. But his behavior has nothing to do with morals. Bartleby is merely a lonely guy who does not wish to work and has nothing to do with civil disobedience. Thoreau says that if injustice â€Å"is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say break the law† (Jacobus 134). He is personally giving permission for an individual to ignore anything he or she finds morally unacceptable. However, in â€Å"Bartleby,† Bartleby†s boss places no unjust laws and assigns no unjust work. He simply asks Bartleby to do easy tasks such as, â€Å"when those papers are all copied, I will compare them with you†, or, â€Å"just step around the Post Office, won†t you? And see if there is anything for me† (Melville 116). The boss, who is also the narrator, never requests Bartleby to perform any difficult chores. Martin Luther King, Jr. â€Å"s interpretation of an unjust law is, â€Å"a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself† (Jacobus 159). The injustice described here by King also does not match the characterization of Bartleby†s boss. Bartleby needs no civil disobedience since nothing could be considered unjust in the boss†s management. Even if an unjust act were placed against Bartleby, he would not have had any cares about the injustice. He was a man who needed a place to live and chose to be a law-copyist. He has no desire to do any work and no desire to interact with other humans. Anytime an order was given, the same response would reply from Bartleby†s mouth: â€Å"I would prefer not to† (Melville). Bartleby did not weigh the issues of morality and immorality in his assignments. He just does not want to deal with others. When asked to look over some work with Turkey and Nipping, he refuses. His boss offers him a home, and he refuses this as well. The ending footnote to â€Å"Bartleby† states that Bartleby†s previous profession was a subordinate clerk in the Dead Letters Office in Washington. The dead letters he handled had no association to any living person. Bartleby was accustomed to working at a place where dealing with man is unnecessary. As Thoreau says, â€Å"Dead letters! Does it not sound like dead men? † (Melville 140). Bartleby has no connection with civil disobedience. King and Thoreau†s ideas of what civil disobedience is do not match up with the actions of Bartleby. Bartleby was not trying to make a statement against unjust laws by not abiding by them. He was just a loner. All his refusals to do what was ordered stemmed from his need to be separated from humanity. Bartleby only wanted to live by himself with nothing but his own thoughts to deal with.

Social Problems Essays - 1168 Words

A way of distinguishing a realist perspective between theories of social problems within is to contrast the level of analysis on which their explanations are focused. Many theories that seek to explain social problems function at the level of the psychological or biological conditions that make some people behave badly – discovering the gene, chromosome or mental characteristic that separates the deviant from the normal. Such clarifications tend to operate at an individual level of analysis, dealing with the certain characteristics of the different and deviant individual. Others explanations tend to focus on a micro-social level, dealing with patterns of interaction between specific individuals and groups for example peer groups. (May†¦show more content†¦This is a classic example of social problem construction; but the official definition ignores the most harmful drugs – tobacco and alcohol – and targets on smaller substances like crack, cocaine, most c ommonly used in inner cities. (Blau 2004:7-8) But what would be the right alternative in this â€Å"war of drugs†? The Economist suggests that, â€Å"the least bad policy is to legalise drugs. â€Å"Least bad† does not mean good. Legalisation, though clearly better for producer countries, would bring (different) risks to consumer countries.† Right now the United States alone spends about $ 40 billion each year on trying to eliminate the supply of drugs, but with little or no result. However, those in favour of the legalisation of recreational drugs argue that legalisation would not only drive away the gangsters but also transform drugs from a law-and-order problem into a public-health problem, which is how, they argue, it ought to be treated. (The Economist 2009) The social policy to remedy this problem emerges from this framework and social problems have been ought to fight earlier. The different perceptions as to how toShow MoreRelatedThe Social Studies Problem Solving Processes Essay1500 Words   |  6 Pages) What is meta-cognition in social studies? Using three examples explain the social studies problem solving processes. Meta-cognition in social studies is said to be the ability to use prior knowledge to plan a strategy for approaching a learning task, take necessary steps to problem solving, reflect and evaluate results and modify one’s approach as needed. It can also be said to be awareness of one’s own knowledge, what one does and doesn’t know, and one’s ability to understand, control and manipulateRead MoreSocial Security : A Social Problem3610 Words   |  15 PagesThe social security deficit is one that consumes the economy in the greatest way possible, whether man is aware of it or not. Social Security is an insurance plan the working class earns their beneficial coverage due to their work hours and tax paying on their earnings. 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