The Seduction Of Unreason Essay Example for Free

The Seduction Of Unreason Essay Postmodernism suffers many critics, some arguing for its responsibility in practically destroying the study of literature in America and Europe with a Leftist bent. Richard Wolin, professor of history and comparative literature at the City University of New York, disagrees and his own critique is that Postmodernism’s founding fathers were fascinated almost obsessed with the far-Right fascism of 1920s and 1930s. Wolpin demonstrates in his book that basic tenants of postmodernist thought considered politically Leftist in origin, come actually from the ultraconservative far-Right. At the same time, he does not consider Postmodernism a serious threat to literary study or society: â€Å"Conservatives hold postmodernists responsible for the latter-day decline of the West, accusing them of promoting relativism by undermining the traditional concepts of reason and truth. But they seriously overestimate postmodernism’s impact and influence, which has—happily—largely been confined to the isolated and bloodless corridors of academe† ( Wolin 2004, 313).   However, he states that postmodernist thought is a â€Å"celebration of heterogeneity and radical difference risks abetting the neotribalist ethos that threatens to turn the post-communist world order into a congeries of warring, fratricidal ethnicities† (Ibid.).   In this, he believes these identities and related demand for political correctness will replace reason, to the detriment of society. Wolpin considers a few select thinkers, namely Bataille, Blanchard, and Jung; comparing their ideologies to those of Heidegger, Nietzsche and a few others. He claims that the similarities between the two camps are not coincidence and in fact, these philosophers are all conservatives. Bataille, Blanchard, Jung, and their followers simply repeated the antidemocratic ideals and reactionary teachings of Nietzsche and Heidegger to varying degrees. Many Leftists rejected French Enlightenment ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Postmodernist thought is currently dominant in academia, the media, literature, and world politics. Rejection of power in Postmodernism seems to be a distrust of politics in general and this rejection attempts to hide within a sense of special identities and political correctness. For example, European neo-fascism once spoke of white supremacy, but now promotes national and ethnic identities, or multiculturalism. Wolin shows that the current ideal of multiculturalism is merely political and anti-democratic. He sees associated secularism as moral decay and societal downfall in a grand conspiracy of thought tracing back to the enemies of the French Enlightenment who felt reason and critical inquiry to be evil. Replacing a belief in reason and progress, there is now a Leftist obsession with political correctness and a cult of identity in cultural factions. In The Seduction of Unreason, Wolpin successfully demonstrates the seductive but obvious and radical element of thought that spurs the rejection of reason in Postmodernism, and it is fascism. References Wolin, Richard. 2004. The Seduction of Unreason:   The Intellectual Romance With Fascism From Nietzsche to Postmodernism. Princeton University Press.

The Shawl, by Cynthia Ozick :: The Shawl Essays

The short story, â€Å"The Shawl,† written by Cynthia Ozick, recounts World War II by providing a very vivid image of a Concentration Camp in Nazi Germany. As one reads, he or she can see that Ozick does a wonderful job in portraying the hard times of Jews during the Holocaust. In the first paragraph, we meet the central characters, Rosa, Stella, and Magda as they attempt to endure the fears of life in the Nazi Concentration Camp. Rosa and Stella, her niece, are marching in a line to the camp with Rosa’s daughter, Magda, wrapped and hidden in a shawl from the German soldiers. Unfortunately, at the end, Stella takes Magda’s shawl, and German soldiers kill Magda by throwing her into an electric fence. Throughout the story, Cynthia Ozick has used symbolism like life, protection, and death to make the readers understand the thoughts and feelings of each character which makes the climax really important and meaningful. A symbol is a sign or an object representing something abstract or invisible and more important or complex than the object itself. The author uses symbolism in this story to make the reader visualize the setting. The title, â€Å"The Shawl,† itself is a symbol in this story. Throughout the story, the shawl symbolizes the source of warmth and shelter for little Magda. In the story, Magda is described as â€Å"a squirrel in a nest, safe, no one could ever reach her inside the little house of the shawl’s windings† (Ozick 251). The shawl always behaves as an intimate friend which helps Magda in all her needs and gives support and condolence in danger situations. We also see that the shawl is the reason which helps â€Å"Magda to live longer than expected† despite of her poor health disorders in the Nazi Concentration Camp (Paul 2). As a result, we see that Stella give more important to the shawl, for she knows that it will provide her with all good things in b ad conditions. For Magda, the shawl is more than just protection since she sees the shawl as her â€Å"baby, her pet, and her little sister† (Ozick 252). According to Tery Griffin, a famous American editor and essayist, the shawl entertains her like a friend â€Å"when the wind blew its corners† (Wilson 295). The shawl also represents sustenance, especially for Magda. Ozick describes it as â€Å"a magic shawl that could feed a baby for three days and three nights† (251).

How does Peter Medak create sympathy for Derek in ‘Let Him Have it’ Essay

Peter Medak directed this Film from a very biased point of view. He presents one side of an opinion – in this case sympathetic to Derek Bentley though exact events are not certain. At nine am on the morning of the 28th January 1953 Derek William Bentley was hanged at Wandsworth Prison London, as an accomplice to a murder which was committed by a friend in the course of a robbery attempt, it created a cause cà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½là ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½bre leading to a 45 year long and ultimately successful campaign to win him a posthumous pardon. The Trial took place before Lord Chief of Justice for England and Wales, Lord Goddard, at the Old Bailey London. Medak gains a lot of sympathy for Derek by showing his misfortune throughout. The beginning of the film indicates a very somber atmosphere. Immediately after the credits we encounter a Blitz scene with Derek buried under the rubble of an old building during the bombing. As an audience you soon realize that he has suffered a physical, mental and emotional trauma which has left him with brain damage. In the next scene Derek is four years older causing mischief vandalizing a shed with a group of other boys. The boys, however, are rumbled and managed to escape but Derek gets caught and, put in a difficult situation, experiences an epileptic fit. We fast forward again a few years, the camera moves down a corridor towards Derek sitting looking concerned outside the Head’s office of the Kingswood Approved School he had been admitted to. The decision is made that he is to be released partially because of his low level intelligence, that of an eleven year old. The scene foreshadows what happens later; from what is said you get a real sense that the institutions of society are much more powerful than the individual – in this case, Derek. Justice is firmly against him, although it is apparent there is nothing criminal about him. Ashamed of what happened, Derek becomes a recluse and does not leave the house. Within his own world he feels comfortable but as soon as he leaves the he begins to show his vulnerability. We then come across Chris Craig for the first time as he sees Derek from the street corner he is completely over dressed and it is evident he is a confident character, a tilting shot upwards signifies this. There is a strong contrast between the two: Chris, 16, tries to emulate and pretend to be a gangster with a strong American influence around the time of Al Capone and Prohibition. Derek who had very little contact with the outside world and has only just discovered a love of music. Their style and behavior differ as well. Despite Chris’ small stature he constantly manipulates people around him and because Derek naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve, he is easily persuaded. The scene in which the two meet is set beside the train line. The sound of a train approaching almost builds tension and gives you a sense of resounding force Derek is up against leaving you asking, what events will follow? Derek soon becomes more acquainted with Chris and begins to feel a sense of belonging. From being with Chris’s clique he soon makes the connection that to get what he wants he needs money. It is rather easy to forget Chris’s age. In the next scene he is a classroom at school exchanging various objects for weapons. Because the film is set in a post second world war period, there were a lot of guns around which made their way into the hands of the youngsters. It becomes clear Chris actually uses the guns whereas the others in his class of his age do not. This is vital to the Tamworth road scene. As their teacher enters there is a high angle shot looking over the class, showing the students lack of power (authority). Derek is physically large and appears strong but is of a gentle nature. Derek becomes more and more involved in the gang and is given a blue jacket by Niven Chris’s brother who, noticing his physically large stature, perhaps had an intention of using him. This jacket is however a light blue a different colour to the black they were wearing so this does suggest he is still an outsider. When Derek returns home, his fathers suspicions are raised about his whereabouts. Through questioning it is obvious he is not any good at lying nor does he act well under pressure, he has to rely on his sister to help him. Reluctantly, Derek has to under-take a physical test so he can be excused from national service, due to his epilepsy, as an audience you feel sorry for Derek as they didn’t believe him. Despite his appearance Derek is shown in an extreme close up as vulnerable, unable to stand up for himself. Derek is excused from service and is deemed subnormal. At this stage Derek’s self-worth is low and his parents talking about him makes matters worse. Following this we see Chris’s brother struggling in a feud with the police. After seeing his brother trying to shoot his way out of arrest it’s as if it is no longer a game for Chris and he is hardened by the episode as his brother is sentenced to twelve years imprisonment. His right hand man however is not charged which leads you to think Derek’s fate would be the same in just such an occurrence. Bentley does try to resist the lure of the gang but is drawn back, as he goes to see Chris there is a establishing shot on Derek to show empowerment on his part (he had obtained the key to the butcher where he had been humiliated a number of times). At this point Chris appears at his weakest. We are reminded of his adolescence wearing his PJ’swith toy cars and a gun on his bedside table. Derek and the gang join forces once again; the camera lingers on Derek signifying that is not entirely sure what he is up against, whereas the camera looks up at Chris trying to exert his power. By this point Derek is in a black coat like the others, perhaps to suggest he is no longer an outsider. Their plan to rob the butchers doesn’t materialize so Chris and Derek attempt to break into Barlow and Parker (confectionary wholesale and manufacturer warehouse) via the roof. The camera looks down on Derek once again and up at Chris as he shouts from above. Even at this point the two are messing around. In this scene the action is mainly focused on Chris as he fires a revolver aimlessly into the air as the police arrive and detective Sergeant Fairfax reaches the lift-housing. In a pivotal part of the film Derek is placed under arrest but breaks free and shouts â€Å"Let him have it Chris!† which can be perceived in different ways but resulted in Derek’s conviction as he was said to have mentally aided murder. Derek stands up to Chris but to no prevail. The camera looks down on Chris as he exhausts his ammunition, he is consequently left powerless. Cornered, Chris jumped some thirty feet from the roof, fracturing his spine and left wrist when he landed on a greenhouse. At this point, he was arrested. The next episode is the funeral of the policemen shot dead, Constable Sidney Miles, in the incident. The Home Secretary of the time David Maxwell Fyfe is shown to say to the family of the officer: â€Å"Justice will be done† in a vengeful tone. We quickly move to the trial, as viewers we are witnesses and not at all impartial. There is a whole establishing shot of the court room with the two accused looking small and insignificant in the middle of shot. The court system was mainly run and controlled by the higher classes but the judge is not necessarily shown through camera angles or positioning as the greatest power in the room, under questioning Chris is almost in control of the courtroom despite the enormous charges and the severity he still manages to cast doubt over the courtroom elders, manipulating. You continue to feel sympathy for Derek with a defense that seems to get weaker throughout even though he is as much of a victim. It is not at all surprising that Derek is caught by the prosecution under questioning and the trial begins to feel unfair towards Derek. The fact that Derek had a knuckle duster and on him used as evidence builds sympathy again as none of which were his but given to him by Chris. As tension builds, through sound effects and an extreme close up we get a strong insight into his mental anguish as he struggles with his words. The camera pans around the room from Derek’s position with his family solidly there in the forefront of the picture. The camera rests on Derek’s father the longest as he still looks towards him more concerned about his thoughts and opinion even though the jury clearly depict their negative impressions. The verdict is passed by the jury with a recommendation of mercy, there is a low angle shot of Derek as he is taken down. He appears disorientated and dizzy after the devastating sentence; the picture gets darker as he is put in detention reflecting the situation. Chris is presented as a young boy as they both sit behind bars. After reading the home office psychiatric reports the Home Secretary refuses to request clemency from the Queen. This does make the legal system seen fallible, you feel increasing sympathy for Derek as we find out that the sentence is rarely carried out in this situation and especially since it was contreary to public opinion. There was talk that the trial was manipulated to send the public a message that of murder especially of a cop is unacceptable a point made clear by Peter Medak. The family only finds out the news in a slightly cruel way through a journalist. In the last meeting between Derek and his family the camera focuses on Derek at eye level. Once again he displays his mental age in saying will it hurt there is a strong sense of poignancy about it. Derek’s father goes to Parliament to appeal with a petition however they were not allowed to discuss Bentley’s sentence until it had been carried out. In a bird’s eye view shot we find Derek’s farther pacing up and down in a large space awaiting the MP’s decision. By this point nothing can be done. The picture fades to the next scene where one of the guards is scribing for Derek in a letter, as he attempts to sign the letter we recognize he is left handed considered clumsy at the time and different, considering he is shown as very right sided at the beginning of the film. Derek’s is shown to be understandably emotional but shows maturity, he had heart but not the judgment. There is a long establishing shot of Bentley’s street signifying morning which in tern is quite and peaceful. In the Penultimate scene the camera tracks down the stairs of the house into the living room with the clock on the mantelpiece getting louder and louder as it nears nine o’clock the time of execution. The speed in which it takes place is quite dramatic! along with it is a sense of finality. The story is controversial, because Medak has chosen a topic which had been familiar with the public not so long ago. The end sequence suggests that justice is a blunt instrument and the film in its entirety raises the question of capital punishment the incorrect decisions, the dangers and whether it should be abolished.

Prehistoric Life During the Cambrian Period

Before the Cambrian period, 542 million years ago, life on earth consisted of single-celled bacteria, algae, and only a handful of multicellular animals--but after the Cambrian, multi-celled vertebrate and invertebrate animals dominated the worlds oceans. The Cambrian was the first period of the Paleozoic Era (542-250 million years ago), followed by the Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian periods; all of these periods, as well as the succeeding Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras, were dominated by the vertebrates that first evolved during the Cambrian. The Climate and Geography of the Cambrian Period Not a lot is known about the global climate during the Cambrian period, but the unusually high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (about 15 times those of the present day) imply that the average temperature may have exceeded 120 degrees Fahrenheit, even near the poles. Eighty-five percent of the earth was covered with water (compared to 70 percent today), most of that area being taken up by the huge Panthalassic and Iapetus oceans; the average temperature of these vast seas may have been in the range of 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. By the end of the Cambrian, 488 million years ago, the bulk of the planets land mass was locked up in the southern continent of Gondwana, which had only recently broken off from the even bigger Pannotia of the preceding Proterozoic Era. Marine Life During the Cambrian Period Invertebrates. The major evolutionary event of the Cambrian period was the Cambrian Explosion, a rapid burst of innovation in the body plans of invertebrate organisms. (Rapid in this context means over the course of tens of millions of years, not literally overnight!) For whatever reason, the Cambrian witnessed the appearance of some truly bizarre creatures, including the five-eyed Opabinia, the spiky Hallucigenia, and the three-foot-long Anomalocaris, which was almost certainly the largest animal ever to appear on earth up to that time. Most of these arthropods left no living descendants, which has fueled speculation about what life in succeeding geologic epochs might have looked like if, say, the alien-looking Wiwaxia was an evolutionary success. As striking as they were, though, these invertebrates were far from the only multicellular life forms in the earths oceans. The Cambrian period marked the worldwide spread of the earliest plankton, as well as trilobites, worms, tiny mollusks, and small, shelled protozoans. In fact, the abundance of these organisms is what made the lifestyle of Anomalocaris and its ilk possible; in the way of food chains throughout history, these larger invertebrates spent all their time feasting on the smaller invertebrates in their immediate vicinity. Vertebrates. You wouldnt have known it to visit the earths oceans 500 million years ago, but vertebrates, and not invertebrates, were destined to become the dominant animals on the planet, at least in terms of body mass and intelligence. The Cambrian period marked the appearance of the earliest identified proto-vertebrate organisms, including Pikaia (which possessed a flexible notochord rather than a true backbone) and the slightly more advanced Myllokunmingia and Haikouichthys. For all intents and purposes, these three genera count as the very first prehistoric fish, though theres still a chance that earlier candidates may be discovered dating from the late Proterozoic Era. Plant Life During the Cambrian Period There is still some controversy about whether any true plants existed as far back as the Cambrian period. If they did, they consisted of microscopic algae and lichens (which dont tend to fossilize well). We do know that macroscopic plants like seaweeds had yet to evolve during the Cambrian period, giving their noticeable absence in the fossil record. Next: the Ordovician Period