Category: War

Introduction

This essay provides a critical analysis of the December 6, 2008 article titled War, by Lea McInerney, an Australian News paper publication, by The Age. The article touched on the importance of the word War. The argument indicates that through evaluation, the word is of extremely of no good to kindness. Considering McInerneys point of view, the contemporary use of the word War, is faced unsuitability due to poor usage. The word is often overused, thus causing deviation from the importance of meaning that it ought to bring out.

The usage also give digressive connotation away from the actual issues that people raise, therefore giving poor outcomes or misunderstandings. The writers opinion brings out the negative side of the words interpretation or significance and portrays lack of enough objectives and more productive terms of the language. Essentially, from a personal point of view, the argument presented by McInerney is reasonably strong regardless of the evident fallacies. This essay will form a critical analysis of these overlooked intricacies and critically looks at the strong and thought through aspects that the writer generally provides in the article.

Analysis

McInerneys article mainly revolves about negative insinuations or aspects that are linkable to the word War. It is also misinterpreted and inappropriately placed around theories or themes, where there is evidently vague meaning. McInerney start on the article by providing some instances where there is misuse and negative association with the word such as liking it to terror, cases of poverty and greed. According to the writing, the word brings out the impression of aggressiveness, skirmishes and physical conflicts.

In support to these indications, he explains that the meaning war is concern with good and evil, antagonism and friendship, correct and incorrect, losers and champions and other distinctive differences between people. The diverse differences between people give a negative impression. These aspects fail to relate to the important concerns that people correlate the word, War, with and what they are able to address easily. Such subject matters like the distinctions between extreme ends of characters require simple and polite redressing rather than hostile and aggressively conflict-ridden communication. He therefore argues that people have lost the ability to differentiate between critical issues from minor problems.

According to McInerney, poor communication skills concerning the meaning of the word War is an implication that such language pushes personal opinions against each other in the aim of rejecting or antagonising others point of concern. The writer presents an example of the historical Hunter-gatherer situation of the ancestors, analysing their problems they faced in dealing with dangers.

This representation is a depiction of how the contemporary situation is and the way people are dealing or reaction to situations. He implies that there is a similarity between the ancestral reactions and current use of language. People use languages in a manner that suggest negative impression and thus others are not willing to listen understand and react to problems. McInerney gives an example of use of objective words and calm style of expression by the incumbent President of the US Barack Obama in his speeches.

Malnerney progressively provides alternatives usage of the word War. He emphasizes that the use of aggressive words and belligerent language is the root cause of division among people and this leads too loss of character. The writer also brings in other related Latin words in place of War, such as Debate. This he claims causes people to acquire friendly traits such as care and a considerate or conscious mind.

This word maintains peace since the tone reflects a fight against conflicts. Another word that the writer mentions is conversation, which assists in triggering civilized thoughts and enlightened form of presenting ones point of view. The word also focuses on comprehensive calmness in an objective language that has meaningful intelligent and established interpretation. According to the writer, these words maintain conversations that have an important effect and assists in enhancing understanding and enlarging the shift of arrangements to a cohesive state.

His argument indicates existence of unambiguous suggestions in respect of unprejudiced position regarding actions and proposals by people. He also include more potential implications or effects of the calm style leadership in a close relation to Nelson Mandelas management approach, who was tranquil and with collected objective responses over harsh opposition during the post-apartheid situations in South Africa.

The conclusion of McInerneys article takes an emphasizing style where he points out on the requirements of calm and rational language. Courage and strength are important aspects in achieving reasonable language. He indicates that talks regarding War lessens the space for civilization and causes indecision thus promoting confrontation and fear.

Evaluation

From the prior analysis of McInerneys article, there are notable examples and logical acclamations or suggestions that he expounds. Some of the relevant and commendable examples include the relation of the discussion to governance styles of prominent leaders such as Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Barack Obama of the U.S. I strongly concur with the argument especially the proposals, which make the whole article strong as opposed to a moderate analysis.

In a scrutiny of the writing, the writer tries to convince readers that the word War is often inappropriately used and thus depicts negative impression when taken from the context. The analysis section of this paper clearly indicates some of the comparative situations where the word is misused and the writer expounds his point of view, by presenting common scenarios that most people often face in their day-today lifestyles.

On the other hand, the argument about the word War as having only two sides of interpretation namely aggressiveness and scuffle or confrontation lacks better support. Although it is a reasonable argument, it is easy to refute the interpretation due to lack of solid support with more arguments or substantiations. At this point of his writing, it is arguably possible to note that the writer fell to some fallacies and assumptions that the populace agree and approve his implications against usage of the word. He also generalizes the situations by implicating that everyone uses such aggressive language and is not able to differentiate between the real deep issues from the superficial meanings.

From a personal point of view, his claim of people generally not being able to distinguish between insignificant and key issues lacks is broad argument and is a divergence from the main topic of discussion. Presentation of the issue is inappropriately and from some of the analytical perspectives, it would have been easy to have a better and appropriate explanation of the subject matter.

On deviation from the analysis, a good example would be the historical aspects of our ancestors who were mainly hunters and gatherers. The comparison of contemporary situation to the ancestral occupations is irrelevant to the subject and the writer should have kept away from such paradigms, in order to have better critic of the subject. It is possible to argue that the implication of ancestors evading their responsibilities of addressing the problem consequently applies the situation in the present is a fallacy, and potential accusation against individuals rather than against the argument.

Conversely, the examples of leaders styles of management and choice of words as well as the example of alternative words are very appropriate for the argument. The example of the words would be stronger if the writer had references that are more appropriate. Generally, the examples in the article are very logical and coherent to the argument.

The writer could have evaded controversial situations by failing to accuse the readers. Fantasy accusations are a misleading notion that points towards particular characters especially those in opposition. The main problem is that the writer lacks proper references of various quotes used in the writing. The whole argument gets support from other reasonably well explained sub-arguments. He however systematically ends the argument by indicating that no one will win the controversies. This is a less-detailed but very definitive end. The answer in not defined but a probability, therefore indication of it as a possibility would have been a more logical way to end. From a personal point of view, presenting the origin of the word War in the article lack a relation to the suggestions the writer make. It is arguably a fallacy, since grammatically; the meaning of the word is not associable to how it is used.

Conclusion

The article is reasonably well written and structured due to the excellent examples that are generally qualified in support of the argument. One of the strong hold of the argument is the corporeal sense of logic and the well explanations of the good examples of leadership styles. The weak point of the argument falls upon the generalized accusation that he makes. It is certain that improvement on the article to evade phrases that causes fallacies was essential; nonetheless, the whole argument is well built and coherent. Good and strong references would have strengthened the article for better structure and logic.

References

McInerney, L 2008, War, whats the word good for? Absolutely nothing but war, The Age, Web.

Upon considering the main characters in the short story War by Luigi Pirandello, I feel that I identify with the least is the mother of the boy being sent off to war. The most evident example of how I cannot really relate to this character is at the very beginning of the story with the line, &for the war was taking away from her her only son& (Pirandello). I am not a father, so I would not really be able to relate to having a child taken away by war, whether because of enlistment or death.

The second example is another evident one being that I am not a woman. A mothers relationship with her child is one that is different from any other kind of relationship. That child was carried around for nine months inside her body, and she gave that child life essentially. To have something that you nurtured for so long be put in danger must be very emotional. The final example is how the mother could not be satisfied with the thought that her son would be serving his country. I feel that this is a noble cause and would have little qualms about serving my country in war if it did benefit the nation. I would feel proud of it.

By contrast, I can relate to the mothers statement of Then&is your son really dead? (Pirandello) to the other passenger who was saying that his son served the country and the greater good of the nation. If I were a parent, I would probably be able to see more clearly her opinion that sending her only child away to a possible death was cruel to her. Justifying it by saying that he was part of something bigger does not lessen the amount of grief that she would feel as a parent losing a child. I am reminded of the adage that no child should die before their parents. I know if I were a father losing my son to a war, the pain would not be lessened by the thought that he served his country. This is happening every day with the soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, so it is not unrealistic to think parents are suffering like this.

War and nature are two themes that have so much in common. Mankind is always on a mission to exploit the environment for new possibilities, make life easier and bearable. Archeologists for instance channel a lot of efforts, time and resources exploiting and studying artifacts.

Being exploitative by nature, man also puts much effort in exploiting oil wells and other forms of energy and use different means to transport to the areas where it is needed. The exploitation has had several negative effects on the environment and despite this, energy demands keep increasing and hence the need to do more exploitation.

Exhaust fumes from tracks, factories as well as other poisonous substances pose a serious threat to the environment. The exploitation seems to pose a threat to archeological research as well (Johnson 1-4).

A very small percentage of nature has been exploited and studied archeologically and this includes the forests and the landscape, yet exploitation for energy is destroying them. Population grown has also contributed to the destruction of the natural environment. Energy companies have been known to build roads that lead to the mining fields while people use the roads to explore and exploit the environment as they use off-road vehicles.

What used to be remote is no longer remote and the environment is being overexploited and to the level where the future generations may have nothing to depend on. This is in accordance with a New York Times article on the Western energy boom that was published on 2nd August, 2008.

There are other places which have recreational facilities, cultural resources as well as energy development firms all at the same place hence causing a great conflict. There is a great need for the coexistence of energy and history instead of energy exploitation leading to the destruction of archeological sites.

Exploitation has to be done in a responsible way to ensure that nature is preserved. The exploitation must therefore be policed be it by volunteers or the government. More research on archeological sites and their importance has to be enhanced and methods that are friendly to nature be employed in exploration.

People have continually been exploiting the natural resources, for instance through fishing. The indigenous species are continually being depleted with minimal or no restriction at all. Elizabeth Bishop in her poem, The fish notes; He didnt fight.
He hadnt fought at all (Bishop 200).

This is in reference to the fact that man meets little resistance while exploiting the environment to his benefit, yet distorting the balance in nature. Nature and man seem to always be at war, with man always taking advantage of nature and overexploiting it and nature reacts by hauling the side effects of overexploitation back to him.

Given the fact that mans desire to explore and exploit never seize, he goes to the level of overexploiting nature and leaves the environment desolate with no ancient and attractive sites hence causing people to long for it yet they cannot get it. With the continued industrialization, the emergence of factories, mines as well as railroads, all of most of which use coal, environmental pollution has been on the rise both in the cities as well as the countries hence making nature to lose its beauty (Wordsworth 22).

The persona in the poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, yarns to go and experience nature in its ideal and uninterrupted form. For instance he says, And evening full of the linnets wings, which is a symbol of the natural environment. (Yeats 44).

Another significant aspect in mans life is war. Since time immemorial man has always been at war. Humans have always tried to outdo each other by waging war against the rivals, hence spreading havoc and distraction against the enemy as well as killing. The aim of war is to silence the foe and claim victory hence granting freedom to the coming generations. Most of the time what is left of war is the memories of the past.

At the time of war, people undergo so much difficulty, loosing valuable, hurting and even dying in the process yet others keep the fight. At war time, pleasure is derived from the anguish and agony that is directed to the enemy as stated in Wilfred Owens poem (Owen 2). Although those who win encounter losses as well, as evident in the poem, Concord Hymn, The foe long since in silence slept; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps (Emerson 43)

War is fought and people killed just because they belong to the camp of the foes. In real sense, had those who were killing each other met in an inn, they would have perceived each other in a different way. There is usually no substantial justification for killings occur during war time.

People kill others yet had they met at a bar they would have treated each other, or helped each other under different circumstances. The poet in the poem, The Man He Killed, notes; You shoot a fellow down
Youd treat, if met where any bar (Hardy 130). People get to war just for the sake of fighting at times with no established reason or no justification for it.

They march into the valley of death to kill and be killed. They go in multitudes and with sophisticated weapons. War never seems to surprise people, and no care is given as to whether a mistake was made are whether a reason is given for the war to take place. All that the soldiers care about is to kill and get killed.

Weapons are arranged in every side and fired causing destruction and death and those who return from the battlefield are usually fewer than those who went. Those who fight well escape death as their colleagues are killed (Tennyson 100). All that is gained is the glory and the memories of how they fought bravely. War and nature are in a way related.

War has adverse effects on nature. The shelling, bombing, fumes and fires that emanate from war not only cause death but also leads to the destruction of the natural environment. They leave the battle field desolate and in some cases the effects are over a wider area.

Man has always taken part in the destruction of the natural environment as well as in engineering war which causes a lot of havoc to the environment. In both cases, the destructive nature of man is manifest.

Works Cited

Bishop, Elizerbeth. The Fish. Poetry Connection (1939): 200.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Concord Hymn. Yale Book of American verse (1836): 43.

Hardy, Thomas. The Man He Killed. Mordern British Poetry (1920): 130.

Johnson, Kirk. Energy Boom in West Threatens Indian Artifacts. NewYork Times (2008): 1-4.

Owen, Wilfred. Dulce Et Decorum Est. The Trench Destroyer (1917).

Tennyson, Alfred. The Charge of the Light Brigade. Poetry Archive (1843): 100.

Wordsworth, William. Sonnet. Miscellaneous Sonnets (1850): 22.

Yeats, Willium Butler. Lake Isle of Innerfree. Modern British Poetry (1865): 44.

Introduction

This essay provides a critical analysis of the December 6, 2008 article titled War, by Lea McInerney, an Australian News paper publication, by The Age. The article touched on the importance of the word War. The argument indicates that through evaluation, the word is of extremely of no good to kindness. Considering McInerneys point of view, the contemporary use of the word War, is faced unsuitability due to poor usage. The word is often overused, thus causing deviation from the importance of meaning that it ought to bring out.

The usage also give digressive connotation away from the actual issues that people raise, therefore giving poor outcomes or misunderstandings. The writers opinion brings out the negative side of the words interpretation or significance and portrays lack of enough objectives and more productive terms of the language. Essentially, from a personal point of view, the argument presented by McInerney is reasonably strong regardless of the evident fallacies. This essay will form a critical analysis of these overlooked intricacies and critically looks at the strong and thought through aspects that the writer generally provides in the article.

Analysis

McInerneys article mainly revolves about negative insinuations or aspects that are linkable to the word War. It is also misinterpreted and inappropriately placed around theories or themes, where there is evidently vague meaning. McInerney start on the article by providing some instances where there is misuse and negative association with the word such as liking it to terror, cases of poverty and greed. According to the writing, the word brings out the impression of aggressiveness, skirmishes and physical conflicts.

In support to these indications, he explains that the meaning war is concern with good and evil, antagonism and friendship, correct and incorrect, losers and champions and other distinctive differences between people. The diverse differences between people give a negative impression. These aspects fail to relate to the important concerns that people correlate the word, War, with and what they are able to address easily. Such subject matters like the distinctions between extreme ends of characters require simple and polite redressing rather than hostile and aggressively conflict-ridden communication. He therefore argues that people have lost the ability to differentiate between critical issues from minor problems.

According to McInerney, poor communication skills concerning the meaning of the word War is an implication that such language pushes personal opinions against each other in the aim of rejecting or antagonising others point of concern. The writer presents an example of the historical Hunter-gatherer situation of the ancestors, analysing their problems they faced in dealing with dangers.

This representation is a depiction of how the contemporary situation is and the way people are dealing or reaction to situations. He implies that there is a similarity between the ancestral reactions and current use of language. People use languages in a manner that suggest negative impression and thus others are not willing to listen understand and react to problems. McInerney gives an example of use of objective words and calm style of expression by the incumbent President of the US Barack Obama in his speeches.

Malnerney progressively provides alternatives usage of the word War. He emphasizes that the use of aggressive words and belligerent language is the root cause of division among people and this leads too loss of character. The writer also brings in other related Latin words in place of War, such as Debate. This he claims causes people to acquire friendly traits such as care and a considerate or conscious mind.

This word maintains peace since the tone reflects a fight against conflicts. Another word that the writer mentions is conversation, which assists in triggering civilized thoughts and enlightened form of presenting ones point of view. The word also focuses on comprehensive calmness in an objective language that has meaningful intelligent and established interpretation. According to the writer, these words maintain conversations that have an important effect and assists in enhancing understanding and enlarging the shift of arrangements to a cohesive state.

His argument indicates existence of unambiguous suggestions in respect of unprejudiced position regarding actions and proposals by people. He also include more potential implications or effects of the calm style leadership in a close relation to Nelson Mandelas management approach, who was tranquil and with collected objective responses over harsh opposition during the post-apartheid situations in South Africa.

The conclusion of McInerneys article takes an emphasizing style where he points out on the requirements of calm and rational language. Courage and strength are important aspects in achieving reasonable language. He indicates that talks regarding War lessens the space for civilization and causes indecision thus promoting confrontation and fear.

Evaluation

From the prior analysis of McInerneys article, there are notable examples and logical acclamations or suggestions that he expounds. Some of the relevant and commendable examples include the relation of the discussion to governance styles of prominent leaders such as Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Barack Obama of the U.S. I strongly concur with the argument especially the proposals, which make the whole article strong as opposed to a moderate analysis.

In a scrutiny of the writing, the writer tries to convince readers that the word War is often inappropriately used and thus depicts negative impression when taken from the context. The analysis section of this paper clearly indicates some of the comparative situations where the word is misused and the writer expounds his point of view, by presenting common scenarios that most people often face in their day-today lifestyles.

On the other hand, the argument about the word War as having only two sides of interpretation namely aggressiveness and scuffle or confrontation lacks better support. Although it is a reasonable argument, it is easy to refute the interpretation due to lack of solid support with more arguments or substantiations. At this point of his writing, it is arguably possible to note that the writer fell to some fallacies and assumptions that the populace agree and approve his implications against usage of the word. He also generalizes the situations by implicating that everyone uses such aggressive language and is not able to differentiate between the real deep issues from the superficial meanings.

From a personal point of view, his claim of people generally not being able to distinguish between insignificant and key issues lacks is broad argument and is a divergence from the main topic of discussion. Presentation of the issue is inappropriately and from some of the analytical perspectives, it would have been easy to have a better and appropriate explanation of the subject matter.

On deviation from the analysis, a good example would be the historical aspects of our ancestors who were mainly hunters and gatherers. The comparison of contemporary situation to the ancestral occupations is irrelevant to the subject and the writer should have kept away from such paradigms, in order to have better critic of the subject. It is possible to argue that the implication of ancestors evading their responsibilities of addressing the problem consequently applies the situation in the present is a fallacy, and potential accusation against individuals rather than against the argument.

Conversely, the examples of leaders styles of management and choice of words as well as the example of alternative words are very appropriate for the argument. The example of the words would be stronger if the writer had references that are more appropriate. Generally, the examples in the article are very logical and coherent to the argument.

The writer could have evaded controversial situations by failing to accuse the readers. Fantasy accusations are a misleading notion that points towards particular characters especially those in opposition. The main problem is that the writer lacks proper references of various quotes used in the writing. The whole argument gets support from other reasonably well explained sub-arguments. He however systematically ends the argument by indicating that no one will win the controversies. This is a less-detailed but very definitive end. The answer in not defined but a probability, therefore indication of it as a possibility would have been a more logical way to end. From a personal point of view, presenting the origin of the word War in the article lack a relation to the suggestions the writer make. It is arguably a fallacy, since grammatically; the meaning of the word is not associable to how it is used.

Conclusion

The article is reasonably well written and structured due to the excellent examples that are generally qualified in support of the argument. One of the strong hold of the argument is the corporeal sense of logic and the well explanations of the good examples of leadership styles. The weak point of the argument falls upon the generalized accusation that he makes. It is certain that improvement on the article to evade phrases that causes fallacies was essential; nonetheless, the whole argument is well built and coherent. Good and strong references would have strengthened the article for better structure and logic.

References

McInerney, L 2008, War, whats the word good for? Absolutely nothing but war, The Age, Web.

Introduction

Rape has increasingly been used as a tool of war, both in past and recent history. It was used by the Japanese, Nazis, and Soviets during the Second World War (Kirchner, 30). Today, rape is still used as a tool in conflicts in many countries.

However, rape cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo occur at the highest rate in the whole world. There have been conflicts in Congo since the 1990s and hundreds of thousands of women have been raped. Many more cases go unreported for fear of stigmatization and the realization of the fact that no action will be taken against the rapists (Kirchner 24).

Rape as a Tool of War

Rape is used as a tool to demoralize and stigmatize communities and families. The conflicts in Congo are mostly as a result of competition for natural resources. Most of these resources are minerals such as gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten.

Armed groups have found rape to be a most effective tool for displacing communities from disputed areas. Sexual violence traumatizes the victims and once displaced, have no desire to return to the places where they were subjected to such atrocious violation. Rape affects not only the victim but the family and the entire community.

After watching their loved ones raped, the whole community is demoralized and consequently it disintegrates. Armed groups have successfully used rape to intimidate and control people. Many victims are sexually abused while their husbands and families are forced to watch. They often get pregnant from the rape and are rejected by their husbands and communities.

Rape is used as a tactic to humiliate families and communities, cause terror and force them into submission. The victims are further traumatized by their rejection by their families and they become more exposed to more sexual abuse (Human Rights Watch 16).

Sexual violence is a punishable crime according to both the International Human Rights law and the Congolese law. However, sexual violence crimes are continually committed by the Congolese army and the perpetrators go unpunished.

The Congolese army, particularly the 14th brigade, together with other armed groups continues to commit sexual crimes against women and girls all over the country. The soldiers ambush women on their way from the fields to look for food and rape them violently.

The cases are reported to the commanders but the perpetrators are not brought to justice. Therefore, many Congolese rape victims see no point in reporting the crimes since the offenders are not punished (Kirchner 39).

Congolese soldiers blame their poor living conditions as the cause of their raids on civilians. They can barely afford the basic needs. Their salaries are not sufficient to sustain their families and there are no military barracks. The soldiers have no access to proper housing, food, water, and medical care.

They get meager salaries that are sometimes stolen by the commanders. Other times, their salaries are not released for months. Moreover, they are forced to live away from their families for many years. There are no barracks where the soldiers can live with their families.

Some soldiers go through a lot of stress due to these conditions and start abusing drugs. However, the rapes committed by the soldiers cannot be excused because of their living conditions (Human Rights Watch 44).

Effects of Rape

Thousands of Congolese rape victims relate gruesome accounts of the ordeals that they went through. Women are raped as their children and husbands watch and most of them are left with serious injuries while others contract HIV/AIDS. Some women are captured and kept as sex slaves where they are continually gang-raped.

The effects of rape are devastating and include sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, physical damages, suicide, cervical cancer and trauma. Rape is a very traumatic experience and most victims never get over the experience.

They feel worthless and dejected and many of them end up committing suicide. They live with the shame of their families watching as they were raped (Human Rights Watch 16).

Rape victims suffer serious injuries to their genitals such as fistulas as a result of violent rape, usually by gangs, and the insertion of objects like guns, bayonets, and twigs into their genitals. Children born of rape increase the victims trauma as they are a constant reminder of the ordeal.

Such children are also mostly stigmatized and treated as outcasts. Women who are raped are rejected by their husbands and the girls find it hard to get husbands. Rape also brings fear to communities and they go on with their lives with the awareness of the looming danger.

This can lead to depression. It also affects the economic situation of communities as they are afraid to go on with their economic activities. People are afraid to leave their homes to go to work or school (Kirchner 25).

Conclusion

Rape is a human violation with far-reaching consequences, not only to the victims but to entire communities. Effective steps must be taken to stop the use of rape as a tool of war.

The perpetrators should be punished appropriately to discourage the vice. The victims should also be encouraged to speak out and seek legal redress and medical attention. In addition, communities should be sensitized to stop stigmatizing rape victims.

Works Cited

Human Rights Watch. Soldiers Who Rape, Commanders Who Condone: Sexual Violence and Military Reform in the Democratic Republic Of Congo. New York: Human Rights Watch, 2009. Print

Kirchner, Stefan. Wartime Rape: Sexual Terrorism In The Eastern Provinces Of The Democratic Republic Of Congo  International Law And Human Rights. Munich: GRIN Verlag, 2008. Print

The Beat Generation was born in the 1940s in post-war America. The movement had gained maturity and had started to articulate its philosophy in the 1960s. The Beat Generation was termed by Kerouac in an interview with John Clellon Holmes in 1948 (Stephenson 2) and is supposed to have started to emerge during World War II. It was then adopted in John Clellon Holmes 1952 novel Go (Holmes). Jack Kerouac writes in his book The Origins of the Beat Generation, It goes back to the inky ditties of old cartoons& to Count Dracula and his smile& To Clark Gable (Kerouac 17). The generation and its literature were widely influenced by the socio-economic-political condition of the time. As Kerouac pointed out:

&this America was invested with wild selfbelieving individuality and this had begun to disappear around the end of World War II with so many guys dead& when suddenly it began to emerge again, the hipsters began to appear gliding around saying Crazy, man. (Kerouac, The Origin of the Beat Generation 18)

The beat generation, through its poetry, created a social statement against the increasingly stifling social ethos of the time. The poetry of the Beat Generation exuded of the ideal of the Beat Generation that was to escape in a vision (Wallace 3). This essay describes the beat generation and when and how they thrived, and their poetry.

Origin of the Beat Generation

The Beat Generation started from 1940s and the undisputed leader and chronicler of the movement was Jack Kerouac. By 1950s, the lyrical side of the movement gained full maturity with radical poets like Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac. the Beat culture was a movement that revolted against the stifling ethos of the then American society that led to the adoption of a lifestyle of alcoholism, drug addiction, mental problems, etc. Gregory Stephenson believes that the origin of the Beat Generation was characterized by violence, desperation, confusion, and suffering that is transgressed to a beatific stage that is marked by a vision and is communicated to the fellow human beings (Stephenson 3). The two distinct phases stated above molded the literary works created by the movement. In the first phase of desolation there was uncertainty and violence observed in the Beat group:

During this period David Kammerer was killed; Lucien Carr and Neal Cassady, and Gregory Corso were incarcerated; Carl Solomon and Allen Ginsberg were institutionalized; Bill Cannastra and Joan Burroughs were killed; William Burroughs was addicted to opiates and lived in exile; Michael McClure underwent his dark night of the soul; and Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Jack Kerouac pursued their separate and solitary wanderings. (Stephenson 3)

However, it is in the second phase of the movement that the Beat Generation achieved a humanistic spirituality and mysticism in its ideals.

The Beat Generation was believed to have inherited the ideals in its first phase of desolation from the Lost Generation that emerged due to the participation in the World War I and through the catastrophes, the age had witnessed (Stephenson 4). The Beat Generation was created through the uncertainty, violence, and destruction of the World War II. This brought the generation to believe that there were culturally, morally crippled by the time, and therefore, revolted against all its behavior and mores. They outrightly rejected social, political, and religious ideals. This made the Beat Generation experiment with new set of believes thoughts, and ways of expression. One of the primary influences on the Beat Generation was the Lost Generation that showed similar rebellious anti-norm culture (Stephenson 5).

The Beat Generation was also influenced by the phenomenon of hipsterism (Stephenson 5). The hipsters evolved from the 1920s Harlem and jazz clubs. The hipsters were usually jazz artists and their fans, followers, and they were both blacks and whites (Stephenson 5). These people created a distinct style and fashion, language, appearance, and dress. According to Stephenson, hipsterism represented an outlook, a code, a way of life that, in its attitudes towards sexuality and drugs, was in direct opposition to the predominant puritanical (5). Though a class difference between the Lost Generation and the hipsters were evident as the former belonged to the middle and the upper class, the latter represented the lower, working-class Americans. From the bohemianism of the hipsters, the Beat Generation captured its unconventional ways and the romantic egoism (Stephenson 5).

The transcendentalist, such as Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau, and the English romantic poets such as William Blake and Percy Bysshe Shelley also influenced the Beat Generation. They are also supposed to be the archetypical descendents of the Shem such as James Joyce. (Stephenson 7) therefore, the Beat Generation can be considered to be the amalgamation of the maverick mind and spirit of the time.

The Beat Poets

The Beat poets were affiliates or friends and gained fame in-between 1944 and 1961 (Reisman 1). The early Beat poets showed a sense of disillusionment in their pursuit to maintain their individuality against the overwhelming pressure to fit in. this was expressed through their open negation of the social, sexual, and literary norms of the time.

The poetry of the Beat generation exalted in a vision. Their affinity for death and desolation with life, and in the end, closeness to the spiritual mysticism is evident in beat poetry. The first part of the poem envisions a modern America that is full of nightmares that pushes the best minds of my generation to desperate and socially deviant acts and lifestyle (Ginsberg 9). The second part of the poem identifies materialism and mechanical capitalization as the reasons for such a state in the society. The beatific vision of the beat poetry is evident in the poem Footnote to Howl, from the book Howl and Other Poems (1956) by Allen Ginsberg. The first line of the poem repeatedly used the word Holy! fifteen times and especially was preceded by the names of Allen, Kerouac, Huncke, Burroughs, and Cassady (Ginsberg 27). The Footnote ends with a conciliation with the present and expansion of the vision that the Beats demonstrated. The nightmarish condition of the society is considered by Ginsberg as a part of the overall divine plan and therefore considered holy (Ginsberg 28).

Jack Kerouacs best known poetical work is Mexico City Blues. This is a long epic poem that deals with Kerouacs internal struggle as he moved away from Catholicism towards Buddhism. The poem has a rhythmic association to jazz music and relies more on sound and rhythm than the traditional form of literary interpretation:

And his expression on his face
Was as calm, beautiful, and profound
As the image of Buddha
Represented in the East, the lidded eyes,
The expression that says All is Well
 This is what Charley Parker
Said when he played, All is Well. (Kerouac, Mexico City Blues 52)

The beat poetry demonstrated the ideals that the Beat Generation upheld. There was a struggle in their poetry and negation of the prevalent norms. The poetry was infused with the spirituality and mysticism that the movement produced. Therefore, the beat poets demonstrated a radicalism along with mystical spirituality in their poetry.

Works Cited

Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and other poems. San Frascisco, CA: City Lights Books, 1956.

Holmes, John Clellon. Go. New York: Thunders Mouth Press, 2002. Print.

Kerouac, Jack. Mexico City Blues. Waldman, Anne and Allen Ginsberg. The Beat Book: Writings from the Beat Generation. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, 1996. 51-53. Print.

Kerouac, Jack. The Origin of the Beat Generation. Waldman, Anne and Allen Ginsberg. The Beat Book: Writings from the Beat Generation. New York: Shambhala Publications, 1996. 17-18. Print.

Reisman, Rosemary M. Canfield. Critical Survey fo Poetry: Beat Poets. Ipswich, MA: Salem Press, 2011. Print.

Stephenson, Gregory. The Daybreak Boys: Essays on the Literature of the Beat Generation. Illinois: SIU Press, 1990. Print.

Wallace, Mike. Mike Wallace Asks jack Kerouac: What is the Beat Generation? Hayes, Kevin J. Conversations with Jack Kerouac. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1958. 3-36. Print.

Introduction

People always express their views about contemporary issues in the society in different ways. For example, some people express their views by writing articles, giving speeches, and debating on various issues. Poems can also be used as a means of conveying ones feelings and attitudes about a given event or issue in a more passionate manner.

This is because the use of figures of speech in poetry makes the message being conveyed more clear and interesting to the audience. This paper will discuss the different attitudes adopted by four poets towards war.

The Charge of the Light Brigade is a poem that talks about the Crimean war. This war took place from 1853 to 1856. During this war, Britain and its allies fought against the Russians.

And much of the conflict took place in the Crimean Peninsula. The Battle of Balaclava was one of the popular events that took place during the war. The Russians were so amazed by the great courage demonstrated by the British Light Brigade, to an extent that they did not feel humiliated by the defeat. They instead blamed it on an error that was made by an army official.

The poet presents a glorifying perspective of the war by using an interesting beat, and narration about a noble heroism. The poet has also used a lot of imagery and metaphors in explaining the tragic events that Brigade experienced.

Further more, the tone of the poem has been developed using figures of speech. However, this poem has some contradictions. This is because it conveys a sense of glory and honor, and at the same time it talks about war and defeat (Probst 75).

Concord Hymn is a poem that was recited in Concord in 1837 to commemorate the role that was played by the people who lived in Concord in the Battle of Concord Lexington. This war took place during the American Revolution. This poem refers to the continuous struggle that North American colonies underwent in order to be emancipated from the British domination.

The poet has recognized the great determination of the Americans when they fought against the British. The poet has presented a mixture of somber and joyous mood in the poem. This makes the poem relevant to the ceremony which was meant to commemorate the war.

In the poem, the raising of flag symbolizes the great honoring of the people who died during the war and it also encourages the people who survived to continue fighting for more freedom. Although the language used in the poem is quite complicated, it is however a good way of expressing the important ideals of nationalism (Emmerson 4).

The poem The Man He Killed talks about meaningless nature of war, in which a soldier killed another simply on the basis that they were fighting on different fronts. The first verse suggests that the two soldiers hated each because of war and had they met elsewhere they could have been good friends.

The use of repetition in the poem is meant to justify the action of the soldier who killed his colleague because they were enemies. The narrator in this poem is trying to say that the action he took was unavoidable. The theme of the poem reveals the strange nature of war in which people are compelled to kill each other for no good reasons.

The use of conversation tone in the poem gives the impression that the soldier is trying to make us understand and accept his action. The language that was used in this poem is simple and easy to understand (Hardy 67). From the poem we learn that war affects the good relationship that people have.

The poem Dulce ET Decorum Est was written by Wilfred Owen who served as a captain in the British military. His aim for writing this poem was to show his disapproval of the notions about nationalism that were often spread by journalists.

He has the feeling that war is so terrible and against humanity. He also expressed his negative feelings a bout the impacts of war in the society and also on the soldiers (Kerr 18).

Conclusion

The above analyses of the four poems indicate the different attitudes of the poets towards war. However, Wilfred Owen in his poem Dulce ET Decorum Est has the most powerful sentiments a bout war. This is because he has used many strong poetic devices to show the brutal and horrifying nature of war experiences.

For example alliteration has been to make the poem easy to recite and memorize. Unlike the other poets, he has used his personal experience in war to show the effects of war on people and the soldiers. For example, he says that some soldiers are always brutally killed and they do not even get decent burials (Kerr 89).

Apart from this, their relatives suffer after losing their loved ones. Last but more importantly, Owen has tried to give a true account of the nature of war in contrast to the other poets who give justifications for war by talking about its glorification and honor.

Works Cited

Emmerson, Ralph. The concord hymn and other poems. New York: Dover Publishers, 1996. Print.

Hardy, Thomas. Penguin classics. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. Print.

Kerr, Wilfred. The works of Wilfred Owen. Hertfordshire: Words Worth, 1999. Print.

Probst, Robert. Response and analysis: teaching literature in secondary school. New York: Heinemann, 2004. Print.

War and nature are two themes that have so much in common. Mankind is always on a mission to exploit the environment for new possibilities, make life easier and bearable. Archeologists for instance channel a lot of efforts, time and resources exploiting and studying artifacts.

Being exploitative by nature, man also puts much effort in exploiting oil wells and other forms of energy and use different means to transport to the areas where it is needed. The exploitation has had several negative effects on the environment and despite this, energy demands keep increasing and hence the need to do more exploitation.

Exhaust fumes from tracks, factories as well as other poisonous substances pose a serious threat to the environment. The exploitation seems to pose a threat to archeological research as well (Johnson 1-4).

A very small percentage of nature has been exploited and studied archeologically and this includes the forests and the landscape, yet exploitation for energy is destroying them. Population grown has also contributed to the destruction of the natural environment. Energy companies have been known to build roads that lead to the mining fields while people use the roads to explore and exploit the environment as they use off-road vehicles.

What used to be remote is no longer remote and the environment is being overexploited and to the level where the future generations may have nothing to depend on. This is in accordance with a New York Times article on the Western energy boom that was published on 2nd August, 2008.

There are other places which have recreational facilities, cultural resources as well as energy development firms all at the same place hence causing a great conflict. There is a great need for the coexistence of energy and history instead of energy exploitation leading to the destruction of archeological sites.

Exploitation has to be done in a responsible way to ensure that nature is preserved. The exploitation must therefore be policed be it by volunteers or the government. More research on archeological sites and their importance has to be enhanced and methods that are friendly to nature be employed in exploration.

People have continually been exploiting the natural resources, for instance through fishing. The indigenous species are continually being depleted with minimal or no restriction at all. Elizabeth Bishop in her poem, The fish notes; He didnt fight.
He hadnt fought at all (Bishop 200).

This is in reference to the fact that man meets little resistance while exploiting the environment to his benefit, yet distorting the balance in nature. Nature and man seem to always be at war, with man always taking advantage of nature and overexploiting it and nature reacts by hauling the side effects of overexploitation back to him.

Given the fact that mans desire to explore and exploit never seize, he goes to the level of overexploiting nature and leaves the environment desolate with no ancient and attractive sites hence causing people to long for it yet they cannot get it. With the continued industrialization, the emergence of factories, mines as well as railroads, all of most of which use coal, environmental pollution has been on the rise both in the cities as well as the countries hence making nature to lose its beauty (Wordsworth 22).

The persona in the poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, yarns to go and experience nature in its ideal and uninterrupted form. For instance he says, And evening full of the linnets wings, which is a symbol of the natural environment. (Yeats 44).

Another significant aspect in mans life is war. Since time immemorial man has always been at war. Humans have always tried to outdo each other by waging war against the rivals, hence spreading havoc and distraction against the enemy as well as killing. The aim of war is to silence the foe and claim victory hence granting freedom to the coming generations. Most of the time what is left of war is the memories of the past.

At the time of war, people undergo so much difficulty, loosing valuable, hurting and even dying in the process yet others keep the fight. At war time, pleasure is derived from the anguish and agony that is directed to the enemy as stated in Wilfred Owens poem (Owen 2). Although those who win encounter losses as well, as evident in the poem, Concord Hymn, The foe long since in silence slept; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps (Emerson 43)

War is fought and people killed just because they belong to the camp of the foes. In real sense, had those who were killing each other met in an inn, they would have perceived each other in a different way. There is usually no substantial justification for killings occur during war time.

People kill others yet had they met at a bar they would have treated each other, or helped each other under different circumstances. The poet in the poem, The Man He Killed, notes; You shoot a fellow down
Youd treat, if met where any bar (Hardy 130). People get to war just for the sake of fighting at times with no established reason or no justification for it.

They march into the valley of death to kill and be killed. They go in multitudes and with sophisticated weapons. War never seems to surprise people, and no care is given as to whether a mistake was made are whether a reason is given for the war to take place. All that the soldiers care about is to kill and get killed.

Weapons are arranged in every side and fired causing destruction and death and those who return from the battlefield are usually fewer than those who went. Those who fight well escape death as their colleagues are killed (Tennyson 100). All that is gained is the glory and the memories of how they fought bravely. War and nature are in a way related.

War has adverse effects on nature. The shelling, bombing, fumes and fires that emanate from war not only cause death but also leads to the destruction of the natural environment. They leave the battle field desolate and in some cases the effects are over a wider area.

Man has always taken part in the destruction of the natural environment as well as in engineering war which causes a lot of havoc to the environment. In both cases, the destructive nature of man is manifest.

Works Cited

Bishop, Elizerbeth. The Fish. Poetry Connection (1939): 200.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Concord Hymn. Yale Book of American verse (1836): 43.

Hardy, Thomas. The Man He Killed. Mordern British Poetry (1920): 130.

Johnson, Kirk. Energy Boom in West Threatens Indian Artifacts. NewYork Times (2008): 1-4.

Owen, Wilfred. Dulce Et Decorum Est. The Trench Destroyer (1917).

Tennyson, Alfred. The Charge of the Light Brigade. Poetry Archive (1843): 100.

Wordsworth, William. Sonnet. Miscellaneous Sonnets (1850): 22.

Yeats, Willium Butler. Lake Isle of Innerfree. Modern British Poetry (1865): 44.

Upon considering the main characters in the short story War by Luigi Pirandello, I feel that I identify with the least is the mother of the boy being sent off to war. The most evident example of how I cannot really relate to this character is at the very beginning of the story with the line, &for the war was taking away from her her only son& (Pirandello). I am not a father, so I would not really be able to relate to having a child taken away by war, whether because of enlistment or death.

The second example is another evident one being that I am not a woman. A mothers relationship with her child is one that is different from any other kind of relationship. That child was carried around for nine months inside her body, and she gave that child life essentially. To have something that you nurtured for so long be put in danger must be very emotional. The final example is how the mother could not be satisfied with the thought that her son would be serving his country. I feel that this is a noble cause and would have little qualms about serving my country in war if it did benefit the nation. I would feel proud of it.

By contrast, I can relate to the mothers statement of Then&is your son really dead? (Pirandello) to the other passenger who was saying that his son served the country and the greater good of the nation. If I were a parent, I would probably be able to see more clearly her opinion that sending her only child away to a possible death was cruel to her. Justifying it by saying that he was part of something bigger does not lessen the amount of grief that she would feel as a parent losing a child. I am reminded of the adage that no child should die before their parents. I know if I were a father losing my son to a war, the pain would not be lessened by the thought that he served his country. This is happening every day with the soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, so it is not unrealistic to think parents are suffering like this.

The GI bill, also known as the Servicemens Readjustment Act of 1944, can be objectively regarded as a successful legislative notion for a nation in post-war conditions. The Bill aimed to provide economic and financial aid to soldiers returning from the war in 1945. Its success is generally explained by the profound impact on the lives of over 12 million veterans. The benefits it offered included pensions, grants, funds for education and professional training, as well as the opportunity to get loans for similar purposes. Furthermore, the Bill received approval from both Democratic and Republican political parties, as evident from the statements made by their representatives.

President Clinton, a member of the Democratic party, noted it helped to unleash a prosperity never before known, while a former Republican congressman referred to it as a great piece of legislation (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, p.3). In this way, it is essential to review the specific means by which the Bill impacted millions of lives and became one of the most successful in American history.

One of the most meaningful projects was the educational opportunities for veterans in the 1950s. About 7.8 million people were able to receive graduate and college education, as well as training benefits. The president at the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt, believed that young soldiers (up to 19 years of age) had the right to resume their schooling upon return from war (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, p.41).

These 1-4 year courses enabled veterans to continue their education and enter a new academic institution without major concerns about its costs. In that way, more people were able to resume living everyday lives and eventually became financially stable; the plan was to be seen as an expectant move towards compensating over the wars losses rather than a way to separate veterans from other citizens (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, p.43).

On the other hand, accomplished students were rewarded with grants and extra payments, promoting proper education. Suzanne Mettlers survey indicated that over 50 percent of veterans whose education was funded by the GI Bill would not have attended college without the initiative. Furthermore, around 75 percent would have attended part-time, and not all &would have completed degrees without it (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, p.107). Hence, Bills success can be demonstrated by the number of people directly impacted: millions of students were able to study to ensure a stable future for themselves.

Unemployment benefits were also effectively integrated to improve veterans lives further and contribute to the GI Bills overall success. In order to improve the countrys economic state and aid millions of people returning from war, the GI Bill proposed a 3-month prepaid leave for employees, and federal unemployment compensation, with every veteran receiving over $20 per week while job searching.

Roosevelt considered this plan to be a successful transition of millions of veterans from military service to civilian work (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, p.71). The projects founders understood the inevitable toll the countrys economy would take, yet it proved to be effective anyway, as more than 8.3 million veterans were paid readjustment allowances to readapt. As a result, a quarter of the people who returned from the Second World War used this opportunity to find beneficial employment and slowly integrate back into society; many were able to upgrade to middle-class status.

Additionally, a structured system of loans offers funded veterans investments regarding homes, businesses, and farms. At least 78 percent of the veteran cohort took out loans for the mentioned purposes (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, p.8). The bill founders also found it necessary to improve the system in 1945 by raising the loan values from $2000 to $4000 and leaving the offer for up to a decade; this change led to higher rates of loan-taking and made the project far more valuable for veterans. Almost 7 percent of World War II veterans were able to purchase their own homes through GI loans. The loans offered were also successfully used by those who did not originally plan to receive higher education and instead focused on their own businesses.

The GI Bill offered medical assistance by funding medical facilities and projects to build new ones. The program helped World War II veterans with disabilities seek medical aid to ensure it was indeed provided, as, before that, not all patients had been treated appropriately. Without directly providing medical care, the Bill confirmed more straightforward ways to receive it from professional establishments. Over $500 million were utilized to build hospitals and purchase the necessary medical equipment. Although medical assistance was one of the minor measures of the Bill, it also proved to be beneficial for veterans with disabilities and limited access to proper medical care.

The success of the original GI Bill led to other similar laws being developed to aid American veterans. These included the Korean GI Bill, Vietnam GI Bill, and many others, which branched into non-veteran funding laws (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, editors note). The project turned into & one of the largest and most comprehensive government initiatives&in the United States (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, editors note). When asked about its impact on their lives, many veterans noted that The GI Bill changed my life (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, editors note). The first GI Bill was not an idea of one person; in fact, it was the result of legislators and bureaucrats collective efforts, which explains its complex organization and valuable results.

However, while reviewing the Bill, it is just as important to analyze the complications it includes. For instance, not all veterans found it practical: statistics suggest that almost a quarter of the target population did not benefit directly from the program. The main reason for this response was the fact that many of these veterans preferred to readjust to postwar life independently. Moreover, not all those who required Bills aid were given the necessary resources.

The initial loan system did not guarantee every citizen enough financial security to purchase houses of their own. This information was gathered through various surveys in the 1950s and shared by veterans themselves. Either building or buying a house in most cities came to a cost far more than the amount covered by the government guarantee (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, p.74). In this way, the former soldiers were given no other options but to construct buildings that were both unsafe to live in and did not warrant a debtless lifestyle. Furthermore, cases of failing businesses were reported, as 52 percent were considered unsuccessful in two years; once again, such instances discredited the law.

Another point of criticism towards the GI Bill came from organizations that suggested certain amendments to its structure. The Gold Star Wives group requested higher pensions, better educational support, and a good training experience in 1947. In response to the propositions, the organization members were told &that is too late&numbers still matter. (p.140), suggesting the legislations inability to compensate for significant veteran families losses. In academic institutions, authoritative figures voiced their dissatisfaction with the reforms as they threaten to demoralize education and defraud veterans (Altschuler and Blumin, 2009, p.76). The idea that education could be devalued because of higher acceptance rates for most veterans became the main point of criticism in the educational field.

Still, considering all of the mentioned disadvantages of the GI Bill, it cannot be described as a failure. The criteria to determine its impact on the postwar population include the number of people who directly benefited from its programs, its influence on the countrys economic state, and the consecutive development of similar legislation. Over 78 percent of the former soldiers were assisted through educational opportunities, loan systems, and pensions.

As the initial loan of $2000 proved insufficient, the sum was then increased to $4000, helping families readapt to normal lives, start small businesses, or invest in houses. Since then, many have noted Bills direct and consequential impact on millions of lives. Its funding projects aided thousands of younger veterans in pursuing higher education and providing equal opportunities for lower, middle, and upper classes.

By using the GI Bill, many administrative areas would be improved to raise the living standards for most citizens related to veterans, as well as the veterans themselves. The regulations would provide the necessary resources to attend university and start a career outside of military-related fields. Certain modifications to the Bill would be needed to ensure a higher probability of citizens returning to normal lives.

For instance, as proposed by members of the Gold Star Wives organization, higher pensions received by widows and children would encourage them to receive the appropriate training or education, which is crucial in modern society. Hospital construction and up-to-date equipment sponsored by the program would directly benefit veterans with disabilities and their family members. Furthermore, the GI Bill would inevitably influence other laws in terms of forming funds for less privileged groups and minorities. In that way, the GI Bills evident beneficial impact on the population doubtlessly marks its success.