Exploring How Selections from The Best American Essays Essay Example for Free

Exploring How Selections from The Best American Essays Essay The selection of essays contained in The Best American Essays which highlight painful truths and confront undesirable social realities do not only paint a clear picture of the imperfect world we live in, but also serve as catalysts for change that we may be sorely in need of. The relevant knowledge conveyed by the essayists provide more than catharsis or a cleansing or anxiety-relieving purging effect. They have huge potential to elicit concrete ethical responses, notably new attitudes and mindsets that will eventually shape future action. The latter depends greatly, though, on how closely the readers identify with the painful truths or social realities contained in the literary pieces. Nonetheless, the superbly written essays merit close scrutiny or perusal, which should be enough, ideally, to jolt people to action. Exploring How Selections from The Best American Essays Can be Catalysts for Change Where does learning end and action begin? Can knowledge spur action? Mulling over the hard facts, undesirable societal realities or painful truths expressed in beautiful fluid prose by literary talents in insightful essays contained in The Best American Essays edited by David Foster Wallace, one question comes to mind: are the masterfully written pieces capable of spurring people to action? Offhand, the answer points to a resounding yes. Literary masterpieces, particularly the essays under study, have an immense potential to serve as catalysts for change. Any standstill or hindrance, however, for works of literature to elevate humankind in terms of heightened awareness and positive behavioral changes, may depend a great on the values and predispositions that the current crop of readers may have. It is a known fact that we, as humans, cannot escape pain as we go about our day-to-day lives. Just about everyone can identify with pain, but the natural tendency of the average person is to crawl into his comfort zone and not to ponder on negative or painful realities, much less do something about what they may have read. The painful truths, usually in the form of trying individual circumstances or clear societal harms, expressed by the most gifted writer in the most riveting prose may not always warrant the desired ethical response. The sad reality is, complacent people who glean useful insights from reading about painful truths expressed in clear and incisive essays may not budge, even if the ideas may stick around in the recesses of their minds for some time. Each person will also be relying on his own perception of truth, and this perception will most likely guide his future action. On the other hand, there are also those individuals who are inclined to strive to make life generally better, both for themselves and society-at-large. This latter breed of people brings to mind ancient Confucian teaching on doing the right thing at the right time. By following the dictum of choosing to do what is right and moral over ones self-centered interests, people who adopt a new way of thinking or do something about a vexing social truth expressed, for instance, in an essay like â€Å"What Should a Billionaire Give – and What Should You? By Peter Singer (Wallace, 2007, p. 266), make the writer’s efforts worthwhile. The sense of enlightenment, followed by change in one’s mode of thinking created by a well-written essay makes every ounce of investigative effort poured into it well worth it. There are also certain essays in the collection that highlight idiosyncrasies, or peculiar habits and traits, such as the piece about people with stage fright, or another dealing with the apex of sex childhood, or even the youth-oriented essay about a cellular phone ring tone that drifts into a discourse about adults’ tendencies as they age. They not only amuse and inform but also lead readers to adopt new ways of thinking and behaving. There are other clear-cut examples of works included in the collection that forcefully makes the case for a controversial issue that may spur action, notably â€Å"Loaded† by Garret Keizer, who explosively says, â€Å"I hope that I shall never have to confront anyone with my gun, but owning a gun has forced me to confront myself† (Wallace, 2007, p. 137) and â€Å"Rules of Engagement† by Elaine Scarry, who opined that â€Å"every act that carries us into neo-absolutist territory burs our vision†¦ and puts us at ever-accelerating risk of carrying out moral harms (such as the use of nuclear weapons) from which we may not soon recover† (Scarry, 2006, para. 12). There are likewise lighter topics explored in essays in the collection, such as â€Å"What the Dog Saw† by Malcolm Gladwell that focuses on how an egocentric person may not be emulated, while prescribing better ways of dealing with those around us. The various other essays, whether they serve as an earnest appeal for action or as subtle vehicles for behavioral change, providing stern warnings of things to come, derive much of their strength on the fact that what is presented is a shared experience, most of them culled from real-life circumstances and developments, forming painful realities that people must contend with. They may reflect hard truths about society’s past intermingling with the present, or they may point to the future, but the single thread running through the selected essays in The Best American Essays that the writers may want to put across is that their readers can do something about the painful truths or hard-to-bear facts presented therein. In essence, the essays under study embody a form of literature that â€Å"represents much more than a pristine chronicle of a particular time and place†¦As a flexible medium, literature (like the essays) allows the author to manipulate modalities of past and future, real and unreal to alter patterns of perception†¦ Analysis of these models can shed light on the events which actually took place, and on the scope of possibility for alternative outcomes (Werbach, 1991, Introduction section, para. 1). Thus, when people learn painful truths about themselves or society-at-large, how they act depends, to a large extent, on where their beliefs and principles are anchored, not to mention the resources at their disposal, which still does not negate the fact that great works of literature can be catalysts for change. References Wallace, D. (Ed. ). (2007). The best American essays. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Werbach, K. D. (1991). Literary models for alternative social development in Russia. Retrieved May 7, 2008, from http://werbach. com/stuff/thesis. html Scarry, E. (2006). Rules of engagement. Boston Review. Retrieved May 7, 2008, from http://bostonreview. net/BR31. 6/scarry. php

Ernesto Che Guevara Essay -- Biography Ernesto Che Guevara Essays

Ernesto Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara has undeniably been one of the most powerful icons of the past fourty years. The Argentine revolutionary has had his picture widely printed on shirts and posters and has become a symbol for the (often young) anarchist. Yet, how many of us really understand or know what "Che" stood for? Do we know what his philosophy was about? Very few of us have taken the time to understand the goals and principles of Guevara and what he fought for - to death. Dr. Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna (May 14, 1928 ? October 9, 1967), commonly known as Che Guevara, was an Argentine-born revolutionary and Cuban guerrilla leader. Guevara was a member of Fidel Castro's "26th of July Movement", which seized power in Cuba in 1959. After serving various important posts in the new government, Guevara left Cuba in 1966 with the hope of fomenting revolutions in other countries, first in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and later in Bolivia, where he was captured in a CIA-organized military operation. The CIA wanted to keep him alive for interrogation, but he was executed by the Bolivian army. After his death, Guevara became a hero of Third World socialist revolutionary movements, as a theorist and tactician of asymmetric warfare. It's in 1952, during a journey Ernesto made with his motorbike around South America, that he became harshly aware of the ravages of capitalism through the situation of the Native Americans. Influenced by the works of Jean-Paul Sartre, Pablo Neruda, Ciro Alegrà ­a and Karl Marx, Che Guevara devoted his life to fighting the "capitalist octopuses" to establish a socialist system that would be fairer to the people. As a young medical student Che set out on a motorcycle to travel around South America. The poverty and oppression and the impact of imperialism aroused his political awareness. In 1954 the Guatemalan government of Jacobo Arbenz attempted to nationalise the vast landholdings of the massive US multinational the United Fruit Company. The US government (which included two executive directors of United Fruit) organised an armed coup to overthrow Arbenz. Guevara who was in Guatemala at the time was appalled. He believed that well organised armed resistance could have defeated the coup and saved the Arbenz government. Escaping to Mexico he met a group of Cuban revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro, ... ...onary, humanist and extremely charismatic, Ernesto "Che" Guevara surely appeared as dangerous to many political leaders of the time, and still today, no one knows for sure who was behind his execution, in 1967. Two sides have particularly been designated as possible culprits: the CIA and Fidel Castro, who could have both felt threatened by the growing influence and determination of the revolutionary. Authentic to the extreme, Guevara dedicated his life, his existence to the cause he believed in, even if it implied sacrifices: "Our sacrifice is a conscious one; it is in payment for the freedom we are building." Today, "Che" has become a popular symbol while his image is too often dissociated from the philosophy that built it. Che Guevara remains, to many, a modern time hero, whose struggle and devotion made him one of the greatest revolutionary figures of all times. Maybe this incredible popularity is due to the humanist, sincere personality of a man who never stepped back, never sold out and fought passionately, to death ("Patria o muerte"). Maybe it is also due to the fact that, in today's world, many people feel that his fight is still necessary.  ¡Hasta siempre, Comandante!

Maus I and Life is Beautiful Comparison Essay

Of all the Holocaust movies that exist, one in particular stands out. directed by Roberto Benigni in 1997, and often described as the slightly â€Å"happy† Holocaust movie, Life is Beautiful tells the story of an Italian man named Guido, leading up to and during the World War II and Nazi rise to power. Despite telling a Holocaust story, this film has a very light mood because of Guido’s happy-go-lucky nature and his enthusiasm, but is also very emotional and sad at times because of Guido’s dedication to protecting his son from the horrors of the labor camps. Maus on the other hand; a visual novel written and drawn by Art Spiegelman concerning the Holocaust, is a lot darker and heavier in terms of its themes, similar to most other Holocaust media. This visual novel follows a character named Vladek Spiegelman in World War II Poland, and his experiences leading up to and following the Nazi occupation of Poland. When compared as Holocaust stories, Maus and Life is Be autiful show many differences in their treatment of Jewish people along with presenting very distinct amounts of Nazi influence and presence. The Nazi invasion in Maus is presented as a very gradual process that later picks up more heat. Following Germany’s success at the beginning of World War II, the increasing amount of Nazi presence in Poland is depicted through the many Nazi flags and German soldiers put on the streets.As the Nazi influence increases, Jewish people are slowly stripped of every right they have as a citizen of Poland, and as human beings. With the introduction of Jewish starts and documents along with the German Police, the streets of Poland start to become regulated by the Gestapo who beat and rob the Jewish people without repercussion. In contrast to the large amount of Nazi presence in Maus, Life is Beautiful does not display anywhere near as much Nazi presence as Maus does. In the beginning stages of the film, before Guido is sent to the labor camps, there are no German forces occupying the Italian city Arezzo in which Guido and his uncle reside. Seemingly at first, the only Nazi influences present are Italian citizens inspired by Hitler and the Nazi vision, though later on in the movie it is apparent that the German forces do invade Arezzo, even if not explicitly shown. The German soldiers  occupying Arezzo in Life is Beautiful are implied to be few in numbers, as they are not walking on the streets in abundance and because Italy is allied with Germany, and instead of Nazi flags there are hate statements against the Jewish on walls on the street and gates of stores. The large amount of Nazi presence occupying the rest of Italy is depicted through the labor camps that are built in the country by Germans in order to forcefully work and execute Italian Jewish people without deporting them out of the country. Overall, the depiction of Nazi presence in these two stories is very different because of the dissimilar relationships Italy and Poland had with Germany. The treatment of Jewish people in Maus included a large amount of physical abuse, along with the removal of their basic rights and freedoms. Mainly inflicted onto the Jews by the Gestapo, the physical abuse includes harsh beatings, destruction and theft of property, and forceful eviction of some Jews to labor camps. As the Nazi presence in Poland grows stronger, Jewish people lose freedoms such as the ability to own a business or to purchase goods without ration cards and eventually lose the right to own and choose a home when Jewish ghettos are introduced. At this point, physical harm done to the Jewish people of Poland is at an all time high. The Gestapo freely execute people on will with mass beatings occurring very often openly on the streets. Those that disobey the law or the police, such as dealing goods without ration cards, are hung on the streets for all the other Jewish people to see and fear (Maus 83). On top of this, Jewish ghettoes offer subpar living conditions and resi dents are evicted every day to be taken to concentration camps. The Jewish people of Arezzo in Life is Beautiful, in comparison to the various cities of Poland that Maus takes place in such as Sosnowiec, must endure much less in terms of abuse and oppression. Most of the physical abuse in Maus can be accredited to the Gestapo, and because the German police does not occupy Arezzo, The Italian Jews little to no physical abuse in the city, with the little amount being vandalism; often coupled with verbal abuse. The source of these attacks on Jews in Life is Beautiful is other Italian citizens that support Nazi views and share their resentment for the Jewish people. Once in the labor camps, the treatment of Jews get much worse. The children and the elderly are led into gas chambers to be  killed following shortly after arrival and the men and women are at all times separated and perform various kinds of physical labor, such as in the men’s case; transporting ammunition and building war equipment like tanks. Those who are deemed useful of keeping alive are served a loaf of bread per day and often have to endure very physically demanding conditions like carrying 60 kg bombs under smoldering heat. The punishments for failure or disobedience in the labor camps of Life is Beautiful include death, physical punishment, and verbal abuse, seemingly determined by the guard responsible. Altogether, the treatment of Jews in the cities of Maus and Life is Beautiful is very different and much more negative in the former, with mainly the German police forcing the Polish Jews to endure much worse experiences compared to the Italian Jews. The stories of Maus and Life is Beautiful offer two different perspectives to the Holocaust with the two stories taking place in an allied and an enemy country to Germany. Overall, Maus and Life is Beautiful as visual Holocaust stories differ from each other in terms of their treatment of Jews and their presentations of Nazi rise to power.

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