War In The View Of Toni Morrison - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1369 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/04/15 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Veterans Essay Did you like this example? Fighting in a war doesnt just change how a person views life, it can change how they act as well. Before Shadrack went into World War I, he was a young handsome man and fearsome-looking, but his experiences in the war left him emotionally scared. Once he returned to the bottom he become somewhat of a hermit. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "War In The View Of Toni Morrison" essay for you Create order He survived off fishing and the Ohio River living in an abandoned shack. The only time anyone really sees him is when he parades through the Bottom carrying a cowbell leading the annual National Suicide Day letting people know that they can kill themselves or someone else. While people of the bottom think National Suicide Day symbolizes hatred, despair, and spiteful, Shadrack wants people to understand and realize that he can be understanding and kindhearted. Shadrack came up with the idea of National Suicide day because, It was not death or dying that frightened him, but the unexpectedness of both if one day a year were devoted to it, everybody could get it out of the way and the rest of the year would be safe and free (Sula 14). He implemented this on January Third every year. September 10th is world Suicide Prevention Day which helps to provide worldwide actions to prevent suicides since 2003. How Toni Morrison describes National Suicide Day in her novel Sula, is very different from what the world knows it to be. Toni Morrison published Sula in 1973 before there was a lot of research about suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention states that in 2017 Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and over 47,000 Americans died by suicide. These statistics do not include those who attempted to commit suicide. In 2015, 505,507 people visited a hospital for injuries due to self-harm (Suicide Statistics). There are statistics about race, age, and gender for suicide but nonetheless, suicide and suicide attempts occur across all demographics. In Jerry Lembckes article ?Shell Shock in the American Imagination: World War Is Most Enduring Legacy he writes, The war veteran suffering shell shock is one of the most enduring images of the twentieth-century war. Shell shock is a term that was coined during World War I, which later becomes useful in creating post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). During World War I, doctors saw soldiers experiencing things that they hadnt seen before. They had tremors, many soldiers had become blind or deaf and some had even gone mute. Soldiers who had physical disabilities also experienced these unexplained symptoms as well. Many believe that British doctor Charles Myers, a medically trained psychologist, coined the term shell shock, it was actually the soldiers who came up with the term. the Army appointed Myers as consulting psychologist to the British Expeditionary Force to offer opinions on cases of shell shock and gather data for a policy to address the burgeoning issue of psychiatric battle casualties (Jones). As time went on soldiers who hadnt been on the front line or experienced combat yet appeared to have similar symptoms. ?Dr.Joseph Babinski hypothesized the symptoms may be brought about not by the war itself but either by unintentional suggestion from doctors or by the patients auto?suggestion and imitation. (Lembcke). Many doctors had rejected the idea of Shell Shock. It got to the point where the British Army Medical Service outlawed Shell Shock in 1917. In 1922, the British War Office Committee outlined its findings by saying that The war produced no new nervous disorders, and those which occurred had previously been recognized in civil medical practice. Some people believed that those who had shell shock were repressing their memories of failure. Personally, growing up where disorders have been researched and have evidence of the cause, I believe that during World War I the experiences that the soldiers faced and the symptoms they had once they returned home will not only stay in their memory but it has changed who they are as a person, how they view others, and what they do day to day. Everyone experiences something traumatic, and that event no matter when it happened in someones life, it will affect them. For example, when I was in a car accident and I rear ended the person in front of me, I was scared to drive for a few days. Ever since that day I have changed the way I drive and how close I follow behind someone. I feel that the claims made by the British Army in 1917, was premature. they didnt have much evidence to support their claim. To say that the war produced no new disorder, is being ignorant and not doing the research to back up their claim. When Shadrack was released from the hospital after the explosion in the War, he couldnt stand to look at his hands. They kept growing larger and large the more he looked at them. He felt safe when he couldnt see the two things that he needs to do pretty much anything. Once he built up the strength to walk out of the doors of the hospital he struggled to walk, breathe, and see clearly. He was confused, lost and had absolutely nothing: No past, no language, no tribe, no source, no address book, no comb, no pencil, no clock, no pocket handkerchief, no rug, no bed, no can opener, no faded postcard, no soap, no key, no tobacco pouch, no soiled underwear and nothing nothing nothing to do (Sula 12). Shadrack had basically lost his mind. The cops showed up and took him to jail thinking he was intoxicated when in reality he was suffering from PTSD. He had post traumatic stress disorder from what he experienced at war and from being in the hospital for a year, not knowing who or what he was. H e knew what he wanted and remember what his life before war was like but he couldnt figure out how to get there. PTSD isnt something that is cured. When a soldier goes to war and comes home with PTSD, his life isnt the same. He has to deal with the triggers, reoccurring thoughts, visual images in his head and around him and he also has to try and hold himself together because he is a soldier and he is strong and brave. That isnt always the case for returning soldiers with PTSD. Not everyone who is diagnosed with PTSD is suicidal. Sy Mukherjees states in her article ?Whats killing Americas Veterans? Heres what the Data says an average of 20 veterans committed suicide every day in 2014. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported that the biggest issue is that veterans dont have access or dont get the health care services that they are entitled to. Many veterans die from accidental overdoses because they are prescribed painkillers to help deal with injuries from combat. It is unfortunate that the people who served our country end up accidentally dying, or kill themselves because they were out making our lives better. Shadrack is a good example of how some veterans are treated once they return home. People in the Bottom were frightened when they saw him on the first National Suicide Day. His eyes were so wild, his hair so long and matted, his voice was so full of authority and thunder (15), people didnt understand how to act around him. After the first couple January firsts, people understood the boundaries and nature of his madness. Today people know about PTSD and what type of events can trigger it but many people do not know that they can receive help and what some of the symptoms are. although the novel takes place from 1919 through 1965, and Toni Morrison wrote it in the mid 1970s, she does do a fantastic job at describing and illustrating what post traumatic stress disorder is. Much of what Toni Morrison writes is still true to how PTSD is today. Sula is so much more than just the character Sula and what she goes through. The novel is about friendship, the affects or war, poverty, feminism and racism. Toni Morrison ties all these elements into each other and created this fictional literature that people can learn from and realize just how the past isnt so different from the present.

Abortion Common Ground Must Be Found Essay - 1722 Words

Consider for a moment a society in which there are no rules or laws. A society in which everyone is allowed to do what they please whenever they feel like it without any consequences. The world would be in a state of chaos. In order to maintain order and implement laws we use a set of morals to judge what actions are permissible and which are not. Through evaluating their actions and the outcomes of these actions, humans begin to develop morals. However, to fully understand the consequences one must first claim responsibility for her actions. The moral validity of abortion does not depend on the status of the unborn as a person, when life begins-whether it is conception, birth, or sometime between-or religious beliefs. The permission†¦show more content†¦Church courts imposed more severe sanctions than secular courts, and were more concerned with unborn human life and abortions that occurred earlier in pregnancy. The first abortion legislation enacted in the English-sp eaking world was an English law of 1803 that punished whoever acted â€Å"to cause and procure the miscarriage of any woman then being quick with child.† Later enactments more strictly imposed liability on pregnant women themselves, and because proof that women had been â€Å"quick with child† was often difficult to establish, the offense was redefined as occurring whether women had â€Å"quickened† or not. Laws of many countries, particularly those that experienced colonization by European countries and are influenced by religious doctrines continue to view abortion only as a criminal offense. Some countries whose criminal laws punish the willful taking of human life reinforce the prohibition of aborting by adding, sometimes in their national constitutions, that human life begins at conception. Punishments vary from a few years’ custody to life imprisonment. 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Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg Free Essays

Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed 1998 war film Saving Private Ryan tells the story of the search for Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), an American soldier missing in Normandy, France, during the Second World War. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) receives orders to assemble a group of soldiers to find the fourth son of the Ryan family, who have received notification on the same day of the death of three of their sons while in action. The film opens with an aged veteran visiting the American Cemetery in Normandy with his wife, children and grandchildren. We will write a custom essay sample on Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg or any similar topic only for you Order Now He falls to his knees and breaks down in tears at the graveside of a fallen comrade. The film then cuts to a twenty-five minute sequence which has become the focus of much close analysis and critical commentary. The reconstruction of the US landings on Omaha Beach on the 6 June 1944, at the beginning of the Normandy invasion, places the viewer at the centre of the bloody onslaught, as machine-guns fire mercilessly into the bodies of the soldiers as they make they way forward into German defences. Bodies are ripped apart (a soldier holds his exposed intestines), limbs fly in the air (a soldier bends down to pick up his lost arm), bodies catch fire, and the ceaseless unnerving rattle of gun fire, represent a stunningly powerful and vivid experience for the film’s viewers. â€Å"The intense and fearful exhilaration created by a freely and rapidly moving camera is central. The graphic realism of the sequence; with the continuous jerky movement of hand-held cameras, capturing the madness and confusion of the battle; and the painstaking attention to gory detail, with blood and water splashing the camera lens, was to be heralded by many as one of Spielberg’s defining cinematic achievements. Hendrik Hertzberg wrote on the film’s release in ‘The New Yorker’: â€Å"What makes â€Å"Saving Private Ryan† utterly distinctive is the sense that it has no agenda other than to capture the experience of being a combat soldier in the last global war. The vivid depiction of death and injury experienced by Captain Miller, as he succeeds in leading his company of Rangers at Omaha Beach, sets the tone for the remaining two hours of the film, as the viewer follows him in his next mission to find and return James Ryan to his mother. Captain Miller assembles seven men for the task, and the soldiers move into Normandy’s neighbouring Neuville. Private Carpazo (Vin Diesel) is the group’s first victim, when he is shot dead by a German sniper. With tempers fraying and internal mistrust building, the locating of James Frederick Ryan, the wrong soldier, leads to further dissent. However Captain Miller finally discovered Ryan’s whereabouts, in Ramelle, following a chance meeting with one of his friends. On the way to Ryan the soldiers loose their second victim, Wade (Giovanni Ribisi), and Miller’s leadership is again questioned when he prevents a surrendered German being shot by one of his men, named Reiben, (Edward Burns), and sets him free. Captain Miller succeeds in reasserting trust, confidence and comradeship in the group by revealing personal details about his past and origins, including his position as an English teacher. Susan Hayward writes: â€Å"the gore of war is matched by the unheralded heroism of an individual who stands for humanity. † When the group of remaining soldier finally reach Ramelle they find American paratroopers, including Ryan, defending the town from advancing German troops with very few soldiers. When told of their mission, and the death of his brothers, Ryan refuses to stand down, instead courageously heading for the bridge which will need to be held, asking Miller and his men to join him. As the German tanks arrive, Miller reluctantly agrees and takes command of the few soldiers. Heavily outnumbered, malnourished and exhausted, most of Captain Miller’s men are fatally injured. Spielberg again graphically visualises the horror of war as one man is stabbed, another shot in the throat, and another shot down with repeated unrelenting gun fire. Spielberg uses camera distancing and focal points as a means to involve the viewer within the frantic action of this battle sequence. The knowledge that somewhere above snipers prey on the men is constantly drawn upon. Captain Miller himself is eventually shot down and soon dies in the arms of Ryan as backup arrives too late from another American infantry. The town is saved, but only three men, including Ryan, survive. As the film ends the veteran at the graveside of Captain Miller is revealed to be James Ryan. He stands to attention and salutes the American flag, which lies on the grave, acknowledging his comrade’s sacrifice and honour in his own and his country’s name. Saving Private Ryan received much critical acclaim, including eleven Academy Award nominations. Steven Spielberg achieved the Best Director award, Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski and film editor Michael Kahn’s contribution to the film’s brutal realism was also acknowledged by the Academy. Produced with an estimated budget of â€Å"$70 000 000† Saving Private Ryan was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures, and distributed by Spielberg’s Production Company DreamWorks, andmade â€Å"$30, 576, 104† on its opening weekend alone. The continued popularity of the film, by audiences and critics, and what has led many to label the film as the best War film ever made, is attributable to the timelessness of the visual effects and memorable scenes (most notably the opening Omaha sequence, and the final battle for the bridge). The historical accuracy and artistic license of the film has been invariably considered in the decade following the release of Saving Private Ryan, but the consensus is that the style and form of the film ensure a powerful and captivating, if harrowing, experience for any viewer. It is a film which places audiences at the centre of the narrative; viewers are â€Å"encouraged to review and consider what they see- and, if point-of-view matters, to contemplate why. † As with his earlier graphic Holocaust film Schindler’s List (1993), Steven Spielberg ambition is to exceed visual entertainment, using reconstructive dramatisation as a means to ‘experience’ the unimaginable in a wholly believable way. 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