Friday, January 24, 2020

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch Literary Techniques Essay

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch Literary Techniques Alexander Solzhenitsyn's style of writing is economical and unornamental. This is particularly true of One Day. This would seemingly cause little difficulty in translating One Day were it not for the great amount of prison jargon contained in the dialogues and discussion of life in the camp. The author's motto might well be, "wie es eigentlich gewesen," or "tell it like it is." In believing as he does in honest realism and not the propaganda slogan of "socialist realism," Solzhenitsyn wishes to render the real-life situations he describes in so many of his writings-but especially in One Day-in real-life language. The author did not have to use any glossaries of prison argot, although the translator must; Solzhenitsyn simply drew on his own 8-years' experience in corrective labor camps. Artistic Use Of Blunt Language Many "unprintable" Russian words turn up in One Day, as it was first published in Novy Mir. Words like khub kren, yebat', govno and der'mo, khui, pizda, etc., would make Beelzebub himself blush, but since they are part of a zek's vocabulary, they appear in the novella. In the half-dozen extant English translations of the work, these words are rendered with the frankness of a Henry Miller novel. In Solzhenitsyn's case, the reader gets the impression that far from wishing to be shocking or sensational, the author has used these obscenities to show how debased humans can become. In any case, most of the smutty language comes out of the mouths of the camp authorities. This undoubtedly is the author's way of illustrating the source of the debasement, debasement not only... ...xample, it is sometimes difficult to know whether he is speaking to us, the readers, or to another character in the dialogue. At this juncture, the author, via the narrator, may step in to wrap up a scene with a comment or observation. In brief, the author has employed a number of techniques to achieve his overall strategy in One Day. Above all, he wants to tell us the truth in the manner in which we are generally acquainted with raw truth: as a blunt, lopsided thing which we have no other choice but to accept. Avoiding as he does ornamentation or lengthy sentences and description (in the Dickensian or Dostoyevskian manner), Solzhenitsyn accomplishes a stoic austerity which somehow suits the equally stark scenes, lean figures, and cleanshaven heads of the zeks etched against the bleak white background of the Siberian camp.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Arguments of Peter Singer

Singer’s goal in the article â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality† is to get people to think differently about famine relief, charity, and morality. These are key issues that people need to be more aware of and act on them. People who are financially stable and well off should take more of an active role by giving more. They should feel obligated in helping those in need. There are many people suffering severely, those who can help are doing nothing. People should be more willing to give help rather than being obtuse & self-centered. Singer argues it is wrong for a person to suffer from homelessness, hunger, or lack of medical attention. These needs are essential in life and without them can alimentally lead to one’s death. Another argument Singer gives is if a person is wealthy, they are more than capable to help others financially. They need to feel obligated to do so. Instead of a person spending money on extras and materialistic items for themselves, they should donate that money to the poor. The money should help with necessities for the poor and uplift them. On the same point he points out, one should not sacrifice if it would put them in harm’s way. Singer’s concept of marginal utility is that one should give as much as possible to the unfortunate; it should never create a hardship to the giver. This would be doing more harm than good. When a person contributes to the poor, it should not financially affect their lifestyle by putting them in debt, homeless, or without food. People that are wealthy and well off should donate to the people that are unfortunate and suffering. It would be morally correct to help the less fortunate. An argument Singer makes is the distinction between a duty and charity. He states, â€Å"That a duty is an action that is an obligation and charity is an action of something that is good to do but not obligated† (Singer, 1972, p. 232). An example he gives is if a child were drowning, it would be a person’s duty and obligation to help to save the child from drowning. Singer questions why this is any different from charity. Charity is â€Å"generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering; also : aid given to those in need† (Dunignan, 2013). Singer feels that people that have the means and are able to help by giving money to the poor should feel obligated and it be there duty. They should be obligated to do this because it is a person’s duty to help others from suffering. He does not understand why a person should feel they have a choice to prevent help suffering, it should be a duty that we have an obligation to do. An argument I would have with Singer is about being fair and right. I do not agree that all people need to be obligated to give away their hard-earned money to the poor. I would agree that people who are born into wealth or have received a large inheritance should be obligated to donate and not the people that have worked many years to get to that state. People born into wealth or have received a large inheritance have been given a gift. Therefore, they should be inclined to share the gift by giving some of the money to the poor. (If money is a gift to a family or they were born into it, they should donate and give to the poor. They did not work for the money it was a gift, therefore a person should feel obligated as their duty to give to the poor. ) People that are well off because of many hours or having multiple jobs should not have to give their money away to the poor. They have worked hard to receive it so they would not have to live paycheck to paycheck. I think these types of people have earned the right to live comfortably and do what they want with their money. They have put the time and work into making the money and it should be theirs to do what they want. â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality† was written in response to an immediate humanitarian crisis. In November 1971, the confluence of war, poverty, and natural disaster had created nine million refugees in East Bengal, and Singer was appealing for immediate life-saving aid† (Jamiesom, 2005, p. 153). An Irish rock musician, Bob Geldof, immediately rushed into the studio with an all star line-up to record â€Å"Do they Know It’s Christmas? † The record sold nearly 4 million copies in the United Kingdom alone, and was quickly followed by â€Å"We Are the World,† produced by Quincy Jones, in the United States. Geldof went on the organized the LiveAid concert the following July, which was broadcast simultaneously from London and Philadelphia, and viewed by 1. 5 billion people around the world. The records and concert ultimately raised between $100 and $500 million for famine relief in Africa† (Jamiesom, 2005, p. 53-154). â€Å"These celebrity-driven, media-centered projects were valuable for a number of reasons. They created awareness of suffering in Africa, motivated people to act, and raised large sums of money†(Jamiesom, 2005, p. 154). Since 1972, the a lot more wealth people have stepped up into given aid to the poverty stricken. The article did raise awareness off the issue that needed to be addressed. In my opinion the wealthy have become more proactive in helping the poverty stricken. Leaving the middle class to do what they can when they can. References Duignan, B. (2013). Encyclopedia Britannica. http://dx.doi.org/http://www.britannica.com/EB checked/topic/1053194/Peter-Singer Jamiesom, D. (2005). Duties to the distance:Aid, assitance, and intervention in the developing world. The Journal of ethics, 9, 151-170. http://dx.doi.org/ProQuest doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10892-004-3324-9 Singer, P. (1972, Spring). Famine,affluence,and morality. Philosophy and public affairs, 1, 229-243. http://dx.doi.org/http://www.Jstor.org/stable/2265052

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

A Totalitarian State Of The Soviet Union - 1552 Words

A totalitarian state gave the government all of the power over society and seeks control over every aspect in regard of it citizens whether public or private which originated in the year of 1923. Germany, Italy, Soviet Union, and Spain all were totalitarian states at once upon time. Totalitarian states all begun with the most powerful, crucial leaders to date. All of the leaders have something in common, they all wanted power. They all realized that with power comes great responsibility, they gave themselves too much responsibility. Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union created fascism. Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany created the Nazi Party. Benito Mussolini, the leader of the Italy was a part of the communist party. Francisco Franco, the leader of Spain overthrew the democratic republic in 1939 and Spain became a totalitarian state. Totalitarianism is considered by resilient central rule that attempts to regulator and directs all characteristics of individual life thr ough intimidation and cruelty. This fixation brings forth a philosophy that clarifies everything as far as the objective, excusing all deterrents that may emerge and all powers that may battle with the state. The totalitarian state seeks after some exceptional objective, for example, development or conquest, to the prohibition of all others. Because pursuit for the objective is the main ideological establishment for the totalitarian state, accomplishment of the objective can never beShow MoreRelatedThe Soviet Union Was A Totalitarian State909 Words   |  4 Pagescloud over the Soviet Union. John Scott’s recounts prove that the Soviet Union had absolute control over the freedom, will, and thoughts of all the people that inhabited the domain. 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He also using his administrative skills and maneuvering establishes a place for him in his party. So Stalin was successful in becoming a totalitarian dictator and turning Russia into a communist state because Russia was in