Morality in O’Brien’s Going After Cacciato Essay - 1708 Words

Morality in O’Brien’s Going After Cacciato Going After Cacciato, by Tim OBrien, is a book that presents many problems in understanding. Simply trying to figure out what is real and what is fantasy and where they combine can be quite a strain on the reader. Yet even more clouded and ambiguous are the larger moral questions raised in this book. There are many so-called war crimes or atrocities in this book, ranging from killing a water buffalo to fragging the commanding officer. Yet they are dealt with in an almost offhanded way. They seem to become simply the moral landscape upon which a greater drama is played-- i.e. the drama of running away from war, seeking peace in Paris. This journey after Cacciato turns into a†¦show more content†¦This certainly comes out in the fragging incident, when the squad kills Lieutenant Sidney Martin. But theres something more. Another time, OBrien was quoted as saying, My concerns have to do with the abstractions: ... How does one do right in an evil situation? (Bates 263). That is th e big question, of course, that this novel deals with. See, the point that OBrien is making is not that war is an evil situation. Hes trying to take that for granted and move beyond. Now that youve got this evil situation, what do you do? Where is the good? In the observation post, Paul Berlin remembered what his father had said on their last night along the Des Moines River. Youll see some terrible stuff, I guess. Thats how it goes. But try to look for the good things, too. Theyll be there if you look. So watch for them (OBrien 58). So he does look for the good things. Thats beauty being born out of despair, if you will. He enjoys watching the sunrise. And Bates refers to Paul Berlin helping treat a young Vietnamese girl and having sensitive feelings towards her (270). This is almost as if to say that war brings out the best as well as the worst in us. Some may argue that its almost worth it. (Almost being the key word-- for clearly the good in a war does not outweigh or even equal the bad.) Heres where purpose gets involved. Most believe that there is a greater good. Some reason for fighting the war. Politics. Ideology. The things Paul Berlin thinksShow MoreRelated Revelation through Experience in Heart of Darkness, Going After Cacciato, and The Things They Carri3247 Words   |  13 PagesRevelation through Experience in Heart of Darkness, Going After Cacciato, and The Things They Carried Foreign lands seemingly possessed by evil spirits as well as evil men, ammunition stockpiles, expendable extremities and splintered, non-expendable limbs carpeting the smoking husks of burnt-out villages, the intoxicating colors of burning napalm, and courage mixed with cowardice in the face of extreme peril. These are just a few examples of the spell-binding images presented inRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay2097 Words   |  9 Pageswar. After he came back from the war, he decided to finish college. He attended as a graduate student at Harvard University and got an internship as a reporter for the Washington Post. O’Brien started writing at age 24 in 1973 upon his completion of his first novel If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, an autobiographical story about his duties and the typical day as a soldier in the Vietnam War. In 1979, he won the National Book Award for his novels Northern Lights and Going After

The Natural Themes - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 416 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/09/13 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? Choices and Consequences The novels focus on morality incorporates the theme of choices and consequences and the related issue of responsibility. Malamud presents Roy with moral choices in the novel that require attention to his responsibilities as a father, a team member, and a human being. He must choose whether or not to form a lasting relationship with Iris and their child, and ignore his concerns about her being a grandmother. He must choose whether or not he will try to win the pennant for himself or for his team members and Pop Fisher. He also must choose whether or not he will accept a bribe and disgrace the game he loves in order satisfy his materialism and insure his financial security. Failure Roys failure to make moral decisions in the novel cause his downfall. His failure reveals his devotion to the American dream of success that blinds him to the needs of others. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Natural Themes" essay for you Create order A monomaniacal focus on being the best there ever was in the game prevents him from becoming a team player and putting the success of the Knights before his own. This self-involvement leads to loneliness and alienation. Another important part of the dream is money. Roys growing materialism links him with the corrupt and greedy Memo and prompts him to accept a bribe from the Judge, which ultimately leads to his disgrace. Growth and Development During the course of the novel Roy does show some moral growth. His desire to win the pennant for Pop emerges alongside his own more selfish need to be the best. By the end of the novel, Roy accomplishes a self-transcendence when he decides to forget about trying to fix the game and determines to take care of Iris and their child. However, this development comes too late to save him. Good and Evil Throughout the novel, Roy is caught between the forces of good and evil; these forces wage a battle for his soul. Pop Fisher and Iris Lemon represent the forces of good. Pop struggles to turn Roy into a team player and to focus on community rather than individual success. Iris teaches him that through suffering we learn the important things in life, like love and self-respect. Unfortunately, the symbolically evil characters outnumber the good. Memo, the Judge, Gus Sands, and Max Mercy all try to drag Roy down into the world of corruption. Swayed by the power and success they offer, Roy realizes too late the dangerous consequences of his association with them.

The Academic Standards of Schools Today Free Essays

College or technical schools are supposed to be the gateway to higher paying careers, but most are not all that they are cracked up to be. The standards and goals that society wants met are continually not being met by the students today. Also, many higher learning facilities lack the funds to provide positive learning environments for students. We will write a custom essay sample on The Academic Standards of Schools Today or any similar topic only for you Order Now For these reasons and many more are keeping the students of today from benefiting fully from schools. Society today has to make some new choices for the students of tomorrow, choices that will carry them into the next millennium. Society can either â€Å"lower standards so that everybody â€Å"passes† in a way that looses all meaning in the real world† or † raise standards and then meet them† (Barber 479). I personally believe in raising our expectations and doing whatever is needed to meet them. Our countries standards are among the lowest in the world and † at the same moment as we are transferring our responsibilities to the shoulders of the next generation, we are blaming them for our own generation†s most conspicuous failures† (Barber 472). Every election year the candidates use something about education as one of their platforms, but few ever carry through with them once they are elected. Most education bills die in congress in some shape or another and the ones that actually make it through congress, are usually ineffective because they have been changed and modified to the point of ineffectiveness. Also, many of the learning facilities today lack the funding to provide adequate, positive learning environments for students. Underpaid teachers and professors who † make less than accountants architects, doctors, lawyers, engineers, judges, health professionals, auidiors, and surveyors† and thus many student disregard teachers as role models. If people see someone who can score touchdowns or dunk a basketball making millions while their teachers are scraping bottom to survive, then how can an educator possibly motivate them to learn (Barber 470). Many people chase after their â€Å"dreams† of money instead of seeing the reality of learning. Although society today rates an education as one of their top priorities, they still allow learning facilities to become broken and run down. Like animals, children and adults file into buildings with bad floors, horrible plumbing, leaky roofs and ceilings, and pack into desk, usually 35+ per educator. Today the government spends $35,000 a year to keep someone behind bars and only a fraction of that to keep them in school (Barber 475). Tuition, room, and board at most colleges now come to at least $7,000, not counting books and fees. This might seem to suggest that the colleges are getting rich. But they are equally battered by inflation. Tuition covers only 60 percent of what it cost to educate a student, and ordinarily the remainder comes from what colleges receive in endowments, grants, and gifts† (Bird 498). Its about time we started to provide more money. Funding more for education wont solve every problem but no problem can even begin to be solved without it. The so-called higher learning facilities of today are selling students short when it comes to their education. Properly funding the education system and setting new standards for the future is an important part of education reform. Education reform for the US is a vital part of insuring the future for students and bringing them up to the standards set by other countries. How to cite The Academic Standards of Schools Today, Papers The Academic Standards of Schools Today Free Essays College or technical schools are supposed to be the gateway to higher paying careers, but most are not all that they are cracked up to be. The standards and goals that society wants met are continually not being met by the students today. Also, many higher learning facilities lack the funds to provide positive learning environments for students. We will write a custom essay sample on The Academic Standards of Schools Today or any similar topic only for you Order Now For these reasons and many more are keeping the students of today from benefiting fully from schools. Society today has to make some new choices for the students of tomorrow, choices that will carry them into the next millennium. Society can either â€Å"lower standards so that everybody â€Å"passes† in a way that looses all meaning in the real world† or † raise standards and then meet them† (Barber 479). I personally believe in raising our expectations and doing whatever is needed to meet them. Our countries standards are among the lowest in the world and † at the same moment as we are transferring our responsibilities to the shoulders of the next generation, we are blaming them for our own generation†s most conspicuous failures† (Barber 472). Every election year the candidates use something about education as one of their platforms, but few ever carry through with them once they are elected. Most education bills die in congress in some shape or another and the ones that actually make it through congress, are usually ineffective because they have been changed and modified to the point of ineffectiveness. Also, many of the learning facilities today lack the funding to provide adequate, positive learning environments for students. Underpaid teachers and professors who † make less than accountants architects, doctors, lawyers, engineers, judges, health professionals, auidiors, and surveyors† and thus many student disregard teachers as role models. If people see someone who can score touchdowns or dunk a basketball making millions while their teachers are scraping bottom to survive, then how can an educator possibly motivate them to learn (Barber 470). Many people chase after their â€Å"dreams† of money instead of seeing the reality of learning. Although society today rates an education as one of their top priorities, they still allow learning facilities to become broken and run down. Like animals, children and adults file into buildings with bad floors, horrible plumbing, leaky roofs and ceilings, and pack into desk, usually 35+ per educator. Today the government spends $35,000 a year to keep someone behind bars and only a fraction of that to keep them in school (Barber 475). Tuition, room, and board at most colleges now come to at least $7,000, not counting books and fees. This might seem to suggest that the colleges are getting rich. But they are equally battered by inflation. Tuition covers only 60 percent of what it cost to educate a student, and ordinarily the remainder comes from what colleges receive in endowments, grants, and gifts† (Bird 498). Its about time we started to provide more money. Funding more for education wont solve every problem but no problem can even begin to be solved without it. The so-called higher learning facilities of today are selling students short when it comes to their education. Properly funding the education system and setting new standards for the future is an important part of education reform. Education reform for the US is a vital part of insuring the future for students and bringing them up to the standards set by other countries. How to cite The Academic Standards of Schools Today, Papers

Etruscan Forgeries Essay Example For Students

Etruscan Forgeries Essay On September 9th, 2011 I attended a memorial lecture, devoted to George M. A. Hanfmann. The event was hosted by Dr. Richard De Puma of Archaeological Institute of America (AIA). The lecture focused on Etruscan Forgeries and some unknown facts and events, associated with a period in art history that brought our attention to the Etruscan civilization. Known as an early pre-Roman civilization, Etruscans started as a culture around 1000 BC. Etruscans had their own culture and art with its culmination around 700-500 BC. That is what gave them the title of the most speculated civilization from early 1400s till now, when it was rediscovered by archaeologists. Turns out that Etruscans were the ones, who actually invented Roman numerals, but they were never credited for it. Due to the fact that they used linen to write on, there is very little preserved to be able to read them. One of those people, who initiated discoveries in Italy, was Annioda Viterbo from Rome. He was a talented artist. His passion for Etruscan antiquities and his linguistic knowledge made the artist use his skills for creating the famous forgery, known as a fragmentary of Etruscan Inscription, which was a sensation for that time. Annioda Viterbo became famous in Italy for digging out those tablets and translating them, which influenced new excavations in that part of the world. Comparing different pieces of art of Etruscan origin made scientists question the authenticity of some masterpieces that were exhibited in the most reputable museums of the world, such as Etruscan Terracotta Sarcophagus, sold to Louvre in 1861, or another Terracotta Sarcophagus, purchased by the British Museum in 1873. A desire of owning such a masterpiece paid a high price for it, creating competition among antiquity collectors. Therefore, it lead to forgery that was a great way to make money for some people, using their artistic talents and skills. The topic of the lecture and its content was really new to me. I was amazed how many things are still unknown for us about ancient cultures that developed a very sophisticated art, such as Etruscans. They expanded their painting technique al fresco all over northern and southern-central parts of Italy, which was similar to Greek red-figure vase painting. Unlike Greeks, Etruscans advanced in including space in their art. I really enjoyed learning that passion for Etruscan art inspired many artists to create forgeries, proving how powerful art can be.