A Response to a Historical Essay Based on the US Civil War Essay Example for Free

A Response to a Historical Essay Based on the US Civil War Essay The war as people have known and understood it, has inculcated nothing but violence. Over the history, the remnants of different wars became distinct because of the horrors that it caused and imbibed within the innocent lives of people not involved with it. In addition, those who have actually participated in wars, battleworn and inflicted with such violence can only remember the dreadful effects that it left. However, recent studies and approaches to war histories suggest otherwise. Indeed, there have been numerous horrors inflicted by the war towards innocent victims – women, children, elderly, and the soldiers themselves. But on a different light, the article by Drew Gilpin Faust shows that these wars, although violent and bloody, have brought numerous lessons that only the battlefield can best teach the people. In contrast to the usual and common notion perceiving war as evil and violent, some historians view the war as an enlightening period in the history. Francis Parkman believed that the Americans, who have for so long been vilified by their pursuit for success, will be purified and strengthened after a season of war wherein they shall call out for new ideals and they shall learn to appreciate emotions and sentiments relevant for them to destroy selfishness and greed (Faust, 2004, pp. 369-370). In a distinct manner, the Americans have been dominating the international arena due to their indespensable strength and the supremacy that they hold before less developed and weaker countries. And as such, this rendered the Americans the incapability to become keen of other nations sentiments towards their leadership. And with this, the outcomes of the war can be the only way to bring about worthy realizations towards the Americans. Although no one can deny that in reality, the wars that people have bravely fought caused numerous of lives gone to waste. However, despite the horrors of losing loved ones, comrades and brothers became a necessary sacrifice in order to purify a nation that has been subjected to ill doings and a means to cleanse the people out of their sins committed against their own nation and other nations. It may seem morbid to other people, but more civilians became largely interested in understanding the experiences of the fighters firsthand. Civilians became more willing to feel the sensation because for them, these experiences will render them the ability to become more humane – feeling different sensations and privilege of having emotions for them to grasp (Faust, 2004, p. 372). Those who served the military to cure the wounded became immensely satisfied of their tasks. For them, the patients that they attended to and the wounds that they had to cure introduced them to richer and new insights. And though these may have connoted a great level of violence, nonetheless these experiences explored a great deal out of their humanity. And for those who have endured the battle themselves as soldiers, a number treated such experience with rejoice despite the destruction and chaos that it caused them (Faust, 2004, p. 372). With all these perceptions about wars, Civil War in particular, most of the historians developed greater interests in tackling the horrors and lessons that come with it. The fondness of most of Americans in the wars that they have fought became distinct that most of the historians have dedicated a large amount of their time and career to discover the truth behind the Civil War and the lessons that it has ought to teach the people. As such, over the history, numerous books and studies have been developed that were dedicated to the Civil War. James McPhersons book entitled â€Å"Battle Cry of Freedom† was one of the most celebrated composition and a direct beneficiary of the Civil Wars fame. It turned out to become one of the most respected and famous books that tackled the experiences behind the war. Consequently, the â€Å"Journal of Southern History† also became one of the best compositions that broadly represented the different aspects of the conflicts during the Civil War. Given the significant increase of peoples interest in the war, it is logical to wonder what has triggered the peoples desire to study more about it. Ken Burn explained that the issues confronted during the Civil War era is continously reflecting the contemporary issues that Americans still face today (Faust, 2004, pp. 374-375). In addition to Burns explanation, several writers have also come to the conclusion that people are still interested with the cause and outcome of the Civil War because it has shaped modern Americas society and culture. They believe that the horrors and lessons behind the war, though they are considerably dreaded, are keys to discover Americas roots and origin. The whole point of the article really does make sense. The turnout and effects of the war that it bestowed upon the country, the fighters involved in it, and the greater number of innocent lives who had to bear with the war experiences created a huge impact that is impossible to forget in a lifetime. The different aspects and different angles given to the study of Civil War offered a great amount of help in understanding the fruits and losses behind the incident. As such, such wars and battles mirror the history of America. During the present era, the war that America has fought and is still fighting presents the same outcome – numerous lives lost and land and property devastation. Same with Americas previous war engagement, they invented the war â€Å"in order to control violence† (Faust, 2004, p. 381). Equipped with weak evidences behind Americas attack against Iraq, America has acted in order to create for their country a â€Å"sense of meaning, intention and goal-directedness† (Faust, 2004, p. 381). Again, America was pushed into a war in order to regain superiority and control. Indeed, the wars that America has fought came with distinct lessons despite the unwanted memories and experiences that the wars have unleashed. But despite these horrors, the American government still pushed their nations onto a different battle regardless of what the world has to say about it. It is true, the Civil War taught Americans a great deal of lessons which were learned the hardest and most painful way. But now, they stand the war again – and numerous studies about the wars may not have helped at all. War, from the dawn of the history until the present generation, is still yet a battle that has not been won. Reference Faust, D. G. (2004). We Should Grow Too Fond of It: Why We Love the Civil War. Civil War History. (pp. 368-383). The Kent State University Press.

Molly Brangs Ten Principles :: Art Molly Brang Essays

Molly Brang's Ten Principles My picture contrasts the dark, sharp, menacing objects with the light, calm, serenity of the hand. Using Molly Bang’s ten principles, I was able to depict this evil and suspenseful moment from the story, "Sleeping Beauty." Molly Bang’s ten principles teach us how to illustrate moments from stories or poems with abstract shapes and basic colors. By applying these principles, any emotion can be expressed. Maleficent was the most challenging object in the picture. Since the whole purpose of the picture is to represent evil and suspense, I knew that she had to be black. First, she had more rounded corners and her cape was straight up and down. I obviously needed to make her look more evil. So I sharpened up every corner of her and brought her cape to a point. According to Molly Bang, "We feel more scared looking at pointed shapes; we feel more secure or comforted looking at rounded shapes or curves" (70). The extended triangle to the right represents her outreached arm. I thought this made her look as if she were in authority over the situation. This makes her appear more powerful. Generally, powerful rulers and kings extend their arms as a representation of power and authority. The more I looked at this outreached triangle and its relationship to the picture, the more I thought of her cunning and conniving ways to hide this from others. Instead of just bringing the cape straight down off the page, it is more interesting to bring it to a point. Bang says, "Diagonal shapes are dynamic because they imply motion or tension" (46). Because the pointed cape implies motion, Maleficent looks as if she is ready to pounce on Sleeping Beauty or grab her immediately after she touches the spindle. It shows that Maleficent is in suspense and on the edge of her feet waiting for Sleeping Beauty to touch the spindle. Some other details that make Maleficent stand out and look evil are her horns, size, location, and her eyes. It is obvious that the horns give her away as having the characteristic of evil and menacing. Horns are associated with the devil; therefore, these become an essential part of depicting her. Her size and location portray triumph and power. She looks as if she is secretly peering down upon Sleeping Beauty.

War Is Unpredictable

To an extent war is unpredictable, however the meaningless punishment and demoralising conduct is something that soldiers experience constantly throughout war. In Owen’s poem â€Å"Anthem for Doomed Youth† he diminishes the patriotism and heroism that is commonly associated with war and replaces it with depictions of the harsh punishment and perfidious death of youth in war. Correspondingly in his poem â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† he extends the theme of unpatriotic behaviour and hollow death and suggests that war is also a devilish and sinful practice, where nothing but death and hatred arise. Contrastingly, in Stanley Kubrick’s war film â€Å"Full Metal Jacket† he does not look at death in war, but conversely the internal punishment that superior officers give to soldiers, harshly exploring the training and punishment soldiers receive before war. Ultimately, these three texts explore the lack of honour and worthless punishment that soldiers experience constantly in war, depicting war as a place of hatred and sin. In Owen’s poem â€Å"Anthem† he removes the common Romantic concepts of glory and triumph that were associated with war from the early 20th century and realistically explores the truly unpatriotic nature of the battlefield. His ideals contrasted the Romantic ideals of glory as well as the government and the media who exhibited war as valiant and fitting for the youth of the early 20th century. Instantly, Owen’s title of the poem contradicts the reader’s belief in the common war values where he pairs the terms â€Å"Anthem† and â€Å"Doomed Youth† juxtaposing with a gloomy and depressing description of the youth in war. Owen then compares the youth who â€Å"died as cattle† to an abattoir by using metaphor, emphasising the sheer amount of death that occurs on the battlefield, also suggesting that the youth are indiscriminately dying with no justification. Likewise, Owen uses juxtaposition to describe the sounds of war, in which he subverts the calming sound of â€Å"choirs† and depicts them as â€Å"demented†, illuminating the sound of screaming comrades in war and enhancing his anti-heroic view. Thus, Owen through his poem â€Å"Anthem† dishonours the common concepts of glory and triumph, and replaces them with â€Å"mockeries† of the dying youth in war, ultimately suggesting war unheroic and the soldiers deaths unglorified. On the contrary, Stanley Kubrick’s war film â€Å"FMJ† explores the internal and meaningless punishment that soldiers experience whilst training to become a soldier, aggressively depicting the raining as harsh and suicidal. Directed in 1979, Steven Kubrick’s position on war was neither affirmative nor negative and simply stated he was concerned with â€Å"the way things are†, thus forcefully depicting the disciplinary discrepancies of the Americans in Vietna m. The opening montage of the camera focused on the soldier’s heads being shaved depicts the blank expressionless faces of the soldiers and shows the identity loss of the soldiers in war, illustrating their inconsequential individuality. Kubrick uses harsh and explicit dialogue to stress how even though war is â€Å"fair† everyone participating is â€Å"equally worthless†, again punishing the soldiers for their racial background and individuality. Likewise, in the final scene of the introductory sequence before the war, Kubrick displays the suicidal aspect of the meaningless punishment, where Private Pile† explains that even though there is war going on in Vietnam, he is in a â€Å"world of shit† after the punishment from the senior officers. This harsh portrayal of pre-war training explains Kubrick’s view that internally war can be as detrimental as it is on the battlefield. Correspondingly, Owen aims to eradicate all romantic feelings in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† and instead represent war as a sinful and devilish practice. The ironic titling of the poem initially subverts any sense of patriotism and glory associated with war, and condemns the romanticised portrayals of war that the government and the media have created. By deliberately subverting the heroic Latin phrase through the bleak ideas in his poem, Owen depicts the title as an â€Å"old lie† where he suggests that glorification and bravery in war is undermined by the fallacies of the government and the media. In addition, his use of metaphor in the first stanza exemplifies the mechanised and fatigued state of the soldiers in war, where the soldiers â€Å"marched asleep† from the endless punishment and futility of war. Owen indicates here exactly how â€Å"lame† the soldiers were with the pain and suffering of war, illuminating the punishment and empty nationalism he attempts to portray. Furthermore, the graphic imagery of the sinfulness and devilish nature of war used in the third stanza highlights the devilish and sinful representation, by comparing a comrade to a â€Å"devil sick of sin†. Owen here evaluates war as a whole, as a place where even the devil can no longer handle the horrid pain and meaningless suffering. This powerful imagery removes the Romantic ideals of patriotism substituting them with a morbid depiction of â€Å"choking† with sin. Thus, Owen eradicates the glory and valour that had been associated with war literature in the 20th Century and indicts war as a fallacy to children who are â€Å"desperate† for honour. Ultimately, Owen aims to challenge all feelings of glory and heroism that are commonly associated with war and shift these concepts to a historic fallacy where sinful and devilish behaviour arises. Alternately, Kubrick strives to explore both the harsh and unforgiving nature of the battlefield and the meaningless punishment experienced internally in the U. S Marine Corps, where even the pre-war training results in the suicide of a soldier. Each text explains the horror and meaningless punishment as a constant and predictable outcome, as wells as the horrifying and sinful behaviour that soldiers experience, however Owen’s poem â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† more effectively depicts the unpredictability of war by emphasising how disgusting war is, promoting it as foreign to any kind of valour and partisanship.

The Impact Of Islamic Radicalism On The Middle East

One of the most pressing issues in modern geopolitics is the rise of a radical and violent terrorist sect in the Middle East. Most prominently associated with Al Qaeda during the early half of the 21st century and as of 2015 it’s even more extreme splinter group The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. While many in the West are shocked by the violent motivations and anti-Western philosophy of these movements the truth is that Islamic Radicalism has roots that stretch far back through the fog of history to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of European economic, social, and military might in the region. With the partitioning of the old Ottoman territories after World War I and subsequent occupation by Western European colonial powers, the historical strategy of colonization came into play; place a foreign-backed minority-led government into power to serve as a puppet regime acting for the benefit of the controlling foreign interest. This socially unsustainable colonial st rategy placed the majority of many countries, including Egypt and Syria, into conflict with the empowered minority. Other more homogeneous countries, such as Iraq and Iran, discontent to live under the oppressive de-facto rule of a foreign power, grew embittered towards their colonial patrons and puppet dictatorships and turned towards the perceived purity and social benefits of embracing political movements based in Islam and Pan-Arabism. Prior to the First World War the Ottoman Empire, sitting atShow MoreRelatedIslamic Fundamentalism5541 Words   |  23 PagesIslamic Fundamentalism Contest Introduction I. Islam as a Religion II. Islamic Fundamentalism 3.1. Defining Fundamentalism and the Backgrounds of Islamic Fundamentalism 3.2. Islamic fundamentalist movements Conclusion Bibliography Introduction Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and is second only to Christianity in number of adherents. 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