The Inspector in An Inspector Calls Essay Example for Free

The Inspector in An Inspector Calls Essay The play was written in 1945 but surprisingly, J. B. Priestley decided to set it in 1912, as capitalism is the strongest before the war and poor people have to rely on charities; due to the class system. Priestley is trying to convey to the audience a message that we are all equal and we have to look after each other in order to survive. He gave us a clue before he departed, he said if we dont learn it now, we will have to learn it in fire, blood and anguish. This is a hint to us for what is going to happen in the future, this is also dramatic irony as we knew the fire and blood is from the soon coming war. Dramatic Irony is also used again when Mr Birling said the Titanic she sails next week forty six thousand eight hundred tons forty six thousand eight hundred tons New York in five days and every luxury and unsinkable The truth is the Titanic has sinked, and as a audience we know this whilst the narrator or the characters dont. Also, by repeating the weight of the ship we can interpret that Mr Birling is extremely proud of his country and this new ship, during that time, this is common as many people are nationalists then. In 1945, much of the capitalism and class discrimination has gone because of the war, and because we know this its emphasis the proud and great feeling Mr Birling has for his country. The play begins as a simple and thrilling detective play, but it unfolds eventually. Due to the crimes and the responsibility the characters learnt to take, the plays unfolds into a mortality play and teaches us something. This is the struggle of Good and Evil. The Inspector reflects Priestleys ideas and thoughts and voice them out, Priestly himself is a socialist even before he has fought in the two major world wars and realises the importance of everyone and life. At the end of the play, the Inspectors final comment warns Mr Birling,because of his nature, the Inspector wanted him to change and to respect everyone and treat them equally. The name Goole Inspector Goole sounds mysterious and a bit sinister, this is supported by the fact he seems to know a wide variety of things and all these knowledge and understanding is the truth, which makes it even more sinister.

What Makes It An Imagist Poem English Literature Essay

What Makes It An Imagist Poem English Literature Essay When one thinks of the conventions associated with a rose they think of love. This is the symbol a rose endeavours. However this meaning is not static and for many a rose symbolises many different things. In literary convention terms a rose is associated with delicate love, appreciation, romance, beauty and roses portray the positive feelings inside one. There are many different rose colours each portraying a certain meaning and in each case a positive meaning. While bearing these conventions associated with a rose in mind I am going to analyse H.D.s Sea Rose. H.D was a literary woman of the twentieth century who became profoundly interested in the imagist movement. H.D is a modernist poet and one can see from reading her poetry that there is strong feminist principles expressed throughout. Her poems came too early for an audience who were not ready to respond to these feminist principles (Pound, 1997-2010). One can characterise H.Ds poetry by the strength of her images, economy of language and use of classical methodology (Pound, 1997-2010, http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/234). The poetic form of imagism is clearly seen in H.Ds poems. Imagism was a huge part of modernist writing, it is a literary movement launched by British and American poets early in the 20th Century that advocated the use of free verse, common speech patterns, and clear concrete images as a reaction to Victorian sentimentalism (LoveToKnow Corp, 1996). H.D.s poem the Sea Rose can be seen as an imagist poem due to its expression of visuals images throughout the poem . These visual images can be seen through the clarity of expression throughout the poem. Imagism poetry aimed to replace muddy abstractions with exactness of observed detail, apt metaphors, and economy of language (Pound, 1997-2010, http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5658). This new movement of imagist poetry has had a huge impact on many poets throughout the 20th Century. H.Ds Sea Rose poem is about much more than a rose. It reveals to the reader that one should look through the image to see the eternal condition and this is what imagist poets write about. The literary conventions that one associates the rose such as soft and the typical red rose of romanticism is not the same here, its not a soft rose but instead harsh(1), its not sweet like one would expect a rose to be but instead its acrid (15). Throughout the poem we are not told of the colour of this rose or indeed of any colour. One could say through this poem H.D is saying there is no exact meaning of a rose and that these symbols that one associate with a rose are not exact, however instead the rose itself defies its own symbolic representation. One can see the poetic form of imagism throughout the poem through H.Ds observed detail of the rose. This rose is a clear exposition of a single flower from the garden. As stated by Nelson the short, carefully measured free verse lines, together with the slightly archaic (though still direct) diction and the insistence on the sparseness of the flower tend to give the poem a simplicity and solidity, a feeling of the visual or sculptural realness of the sea rose-Sea Rose could almost be a poem of image and little more. (Nelson, 2000) Gender is also prevalent throughout Sea Rose. One could say that the first few lines of the poem symbolises the non-conforming woman of the twentieth century- the rose is harsh (1) and living on the boundaries of different worlds. There is a gender issue present, if one was to perceive this rose as the twentieth woman who was primarily a housewife and mother and only part of the private sphere but who is fighting to enter the public. When bearing this in mind, one can see the rose as been a metaphor for the movement of women into the public sphere and then one can see that the rose is portraying the rough time that women of this era have to go through to seek this independence, similar to the rose who is having a rough time caught between the sand and water. Just like the rose is caught in a drift (8) between the sand and water so too are these women caught in the drift (8) of a masculine society. The environment which this rose is placed is not stable as the tide it is constantly mo ving. The rose is been moved around by the sand which is been moved about by the sea. This can be seen as H.D portraying society, everyone is been flung (10) about by these more dominant forces which one can interpret as male forces. To me these dominant forces can be perceived as the patriarchal male society of the time. This is an imagist poem where nature is predominant, the climate in which surrounds the rose is not welcoming crisp sand that drives in the wind (12-13) just as society of the time is not welcoming of women entering the public sphere. The rose is in isolation single on a stem (7), alone in the wilderness. The rose can be seen as an allegory of a woman who too is similar to this rose who is alone in the wilderness and caught between two worlds. Through this analyse I hope I have conveyed that there is a deeper hidden meaning to be seen in H.Ds poem Sea Rose and given thought you a thought of what H.D may be trying to portray through this poem. While there are many different perceptions to be gotten from Sea Rose it is clear that H.D is talking about much more than a just a rose and instead the deeper meaning can be seen when one studies the object in isolation.

Women in The Workplace Essay -- Work Gender Females Essays

Women in The Workplace Gender plays a huge role in workplace 'success' and can be a big challenge especially if the employee is a woman in a male dominated workplace or career. No matter how 'hard-nosed,' 'ruthless,' 'workaholic' a woman may be, or how much personal success she achieves, there will always tend to be some type of obstacle to keep her from getting completely to the top of the corporate ladder. She must also still fight stereotypes that undermines her confidence or limits her potential. Since the early 20th century, women and minorities have sought equal opportunities in education and in the labor force with little success. These obstacles or barriers are all known as the glass ceiling. When speaking of the glass ceiling, a reference is being made to an invisible, artificial barrier that prevents qualified individuals from advancing within their organization and reaching full potential. The glass ceiling describes the point beyond when women managers and executives are not promoted. These barriers result from institutional and psychological practices. The glass ceiling exists and is evident in three different levels. These levels are: Apprenticeship, The Pipeline and Alice in Wonderland. Although not every organization has all three levels, one level could sometimes be more predominant in one part of an organization and not in another. Apprenticeship Women in the United States have been admitted into apprenticeship programs in large numbers, for so many years, that it is seemingly easy for young women to believe and for management to assert that discrimination is obsolete, and that the glass ceiling is either a myth or a subject that will automatical... ..., A. (1996, March). ?Glass Ceiling Red Flags.? http://www.bickerstaff.com 2. Constable, P. (1995, October). ?A Glass Ceiling of Misperceptions.? http://www.washingtonpost.com 3. Author Unknown (1997). ?The Three Levels of the Glass Ceiling: Sorcerer?s Apprentice to through the Looking Glass.? Dataline, Inc. http://cyberwerks.com 4. Author Unknown. (1997, January). ?Glass Ceiling rises, but remains intact.? Business First. http://cgi.amcity.com 5. Miller, L. (1997, June). ?Women are making it their business to get ahead.? Community Newspaper Company. www.towonline.com 6. Author Unknown. (1997, February). ?Breaking Through.? Business Week Archives. http://www.businessweek.com. 7. Author Unknown. Internet news article www.theglassceiling.com 8. Author unknown. Internet news article. www.womenswire.com

Standardized Testing and No Child Left Behind :: Standardized Testing Essays

Policy Identification and Explanation Every year, students are required to participate in standardized testing. Why would each student be forced to take such tests every year? This is because of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001(NCLB). In the NCLB Act of 2001 Public Law 107-110 115 Stat. 1445-6, it states that, â€Å"each state plan shall demonstrate that the state has adopted challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards that will be used by the state, its local educational agencies, and its schools to carry of this part† (The NCLB LAW). The NCLB Act of 2001 Public Law 107-110 115 Stat. 1445-6 is based on the development of state content and academic achievement standards which are measured by state assessments and compared to the â€Å"adequate yearly progress† expectations. Each state is allowed to develop their own standards. History/Background Standardized tests date back as far as 2200BC, when the Chinese government administered written exams to candidates interested in being in the Civil Services (Young, 2005). The exams were mostly memorization of established wisdom. By 1803, exams were widespread throughout Europe as a way to get into a respected college. Standardized tests didn’t appear in the United States until the mid 19th century. Written exams were introduced in Boston in 1845 for government funded schools and in 1851, Harvard started the first entrance exams. From 1900-1915, psychology was a big influence on the tests that were administered. During this time, Lewis Terman helped expand Alfred Binet’s ideas about an intelligence test. This later, in 1916 became known as the IQ test. In 1926, colleges began using the SAT, a multiple-choice exam. This was a great advancement in the form of standardized tests. The SAT made grading easier and the testing more consistent. The SAT replaced any written test for college entry. For the next 19 years, the number of IQ tests increased substantially (Young, 2005). During these 19 years, different tests are created from the inkblot tests to the scholastic multiple choice test. At the start of the 1960’s, a book was published called, The Tyranny of Testing (Young, 2005). This book started the criticism due to the issue of standardized testing. The strongest criticism was standardized testing wasn’t helping students to achieve and reach their full potential. This statement was backed by the Russians launching of Sputnik in 1957. American’s began to wonder why the Russians had beaten us into space.

Fit to be tied :: essays research papers

There are two types of human: married and unmarried. Marriage is good and singleness is good too, but most of the people who are still single, of course want to have a spouse. But many of them do so for wrong reason. There is such thing as a pressure from the outside of single one's life, says to them that there's something wrong with them which forces him/her to get into marriage. There are many married people who are lonely, but singles choose to marry because of this wrong thinking, that they will be lonely no more. I agree with the author that ultimate peace, joy comes only from our Lord God. Another myth why people, who have been wounded during childhood, marry is because they think their spouse will heal their brokenness. They seemingly look for spouses but actually they need healers. They will go into any available relationship, but eventually there is more pain. But singles should first face the problems that they experience, and then choose the partner very carefully. Marri age is also not the guarantee to happiness, unless Christ is the only center in the lives of both. And marriage is not for everyone. Well, if I will be single, then I can spend more hours with my Lord. When we have the buying mood we can buy very expensive car, just if it has a soft seat. People hate when somebody gives them advice they don't like, especially if you're believer marrying unbeliever. They reject those advices, and eventually marry spiritually incompatible partners. Spiritual compatibility is very important; you could share together the Greatest Treasure - Jesus Christ Lord. It causes a lot of problem if in the marriage each spouse has his own plan for each other, but only in Bible, we can find a single solution, a single blueprint for the marriage. It is very important when spouses face life problems; both of them have common strength - prayer to God. Only He can strengthen when very painful times come up. When you are away from home you shouldn't worry what your spouse teaches your kids, to prevent that it is better to have spouse who will have the same Lord as you are. It is not enough just to be with the same belief, but it is very important also to have spiritual oneness, where your ideas fit with your spouse’s ones.

Vietnam

BIBLIOGRAPHY Author| URL| Retrieved| Skwirk| From the arrival of the first fleet, Vietnam was a divisive issue * Australia deployed a total of 60000 troops, 521 died and 3000 were wounded * In reflection, Vietnam is described as the cause of the greatest political and social dissent and upheaval * Many draft resisters, conscientious objectors, and protesters were fined or jailed, while soldiers met a hostile reception on their return home.The experience of Vietnam lingered with the soldiers for long after they returned home. Social Impacts: * Public response went through several stages during the war. * Early on, when Australia’s involvement was minimal with only the role of trainingVietnamese soldiers, public opinion was less critical, troops only sent to physically fight in 1965, they were just training South Vietnamese soldiers form 1962 onwards * Many, as was the trend in the early 60s, began to embrace the US connection and hence support resulted * Most agreed with the th reat of the communist domino affect(although Menzies masterminded a lot of this), which also led to the acceptance of Australian involvement in the early 60s * Also, in the early 60s, Australia was still very conservative, and the idea of rebellion and challenging authority only set in later in the decade and the 70s.This meant that early on many cautioned from questioning the government’s decision. * As much as war wasn’t ideal, in the early parts, before conscription, Australian’s accepted the war or paid little attention as the Australians fighting were soldiers who joined the Army * The socially divisive impact of Vietnam showed up post 1964 when the National Service Act was introduced. This had the ramifications of sending unwilling Australians to war. Draft resistors who were deemed to not have legitimate excuses were jailed on failing to comply with the National Service Act * They were released in 1972 when Whitlam ended conscription * The amendment of th e Act in 1965 confirmed the inevitable that national servants could be deployed overseas, to Vietnam. * First time, an Australian was conscripted to fight outside of Aust. erritory * Socially, some disagreed more with the notion of conscription than the war itself, this maybe hinted at the fact that communist discontentment was still strong and the Domino theory was real, just not strong enough to make people overlook personal freedoms. * This led to anti-war and anti-conscription protest groups including * DENNIS TEXT * YCAC-Youth Campaign Against Conscription. 1964-7 SOS-Save our Sons. * Formed by parent groups who didn’t want their sons sent to Vietnam. * Formed in 1965, Australia wide, mainly female dominated agency. * Women were accused of being ‘bad mothers’ and communists when they approached MPs or authority * SOS saw many Liberal voters shift to the Labor camp. SOS was one of the first theatres that allowed women expression. * Basically saw ‘everyd ay suburban’ women become nvolved in politics and taking action to influence political decisions * The women’s movement of the 70s benefitted from anti-conscription lobby groups such as SOS * Draft Resistance Movement. Formed 1968 * The Committee for Defiance of the National Service Act. Formed 1969 * Vietnam Moratorium Movement * Formed in 1970, by then Vietnam was the longest war we had served in * Took form of peaceful protests involving many Australians from all states.This highlighted the growing opposition, and to some extent shocked the government * ALP, and Gough fed of this massive public demonstration * Moratorium events were on a massive scale and largely peaceful, these demonstrations seemed to have a larger impact on government and political change. The government realised that, non-radical Australians had strong feelings about the war. * Really instigated the decline of Aust. Involvement in the war * The fact that every night, the horrors of Vietnam were broadcasted on Aust. elevision sets, the movement gathered motion * The Movement galvanised the people, the less radical who wouldn’t normally protest, protested such was the intense feelings about the war * This movement actively campaigned for two causes; the abolishment of conscription and the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam * Politically influenced the Labor parties win of the 1972 election, ending 23 years of Liberal rule * Interestingly, only in 1969 however did an opinion poll suggest that a majority opposed the war itself.Up until then, the outcry was mainly rooted in the issue of conscription rather than conflict itself * However, as unrest grew, many anti-conscript groups became anti-war in the hope that only the end of the war would end conscription. * Another massive catalyst for anti-conscript protests was the reporting of the war. * Vietnam is considered the first ‘live war’ where the atrocities occurring were being broadcasted into Australian liv ing rooms. This made sending young Australians into war against their will even more illegitimate. This also led to a questioning of whether this was was ‘just’, or being undertaken in the most human way possible. * This had the effect of also turning many anti-conscript groups, to become anti-war altogether. The fact that Vietnam was ‘live’ also helped the demise of the Liberal government as people had direct evidence to question what the government was getting Australia and particularly our young men into. Following the Labor victory, and Gough Whitlam’s order for withdrawal, social impact for the returning soldiers would ensue * Trade Unions also opposed the war, they labelled it ‘blood for Dollars’ or ‘diggers for dollars’ because they believed we were only fighting to the US would maintain its investment into Australia. This view was not entirely correct * By the latter stages, the larger majority of opposition came fro m university students. At first, the reaction was modest and many just viewed the war along their preferred political party lines * However, following conscription, uni students began to come out in full force.Some of this sentiment began to be shared in the wider community as the war progressed into the late 60s * One of the major social impacts of the war was the fate of the returned soldiers. Due to the public nature of Vietnam and the atrocities that Australian people witnessed the veterans were not lauded in the same fashion as previous war vets * This was a massive change from before when the ANZACs were treated as heroes * The tragedy of this was that as much as the Aust.People were effected by what they saw, the actual soldiers were scarred far more significantly by what they experienced first hand. * This compounded the negative experience of the returned soldiers as not only where they marginalised they had no-one but each other that could understand what they’d gon e through. * These impacts lasted for much longer after the final Aust. Troops returned in 1972. * This has implications for continuity and change as following Vietnam, for the first time national servants and soldiers weren’t treated with the same admiration.The ANZAC reverence that seemed to follow previous veterans didn’t occur with our Vietnam veterans. * This was a massive change in our attitudes towards the army Political Impacts: * On face value, it’s easy to say Vietnam cost the Liberal party government after 23 years of rule * However on closer inspection it is clear that the political consensus on Vietnam varied between 1965-1972 * White Australia Policy ended in 1972 * We opened our borders to non-white refugees. This in itself was cohesive and divisive.Many of these refugees fought alongside our soldiers but we still had this fear of non-white immigrants threatening the ‘Aust. Way of life’ * Discontent politically only really came with M enzies introduction of Conscription on 1964. * However, Holt won the November 1966 election in a massive victory, highlighting that social discontent was not at its peak. Conscription peaked later * The political effect of Vietnam also became more prominent post 1967 when Edward Gough Whitlam became leader of the opposition. He lead a fierce campaign against conscription which captivated a swing of Liberal voters to the Labor party * This is when the protest movement as well peaked and was in full flight * 1969 election, under Gorton highlighted the swing of voters. From the ALPs flogging of 1966 they increased their share in the House of Reps from 41 to 59 seats highlighting the change in votes. * The Liberal advantage was only 7 seats now * Whitlam would go on to win the 1972 election with promises of withdrawal from Vietnam and the abolishment of conscription. The political landscape was finally shifting to progressivism after many years on conservative rule. This also began to h appen on a state level * WA, NSW, TAS and SA all went from Liberal to Labour in elections between 1972-1975 shortly after the war * The Liberal’s National Services Act, was the single policy that really brought about the downfall of the Government * In terms of Political party support, the all major parties supported the war early on * Liberal support continued throughout * The DLP were very anti-communist so also supported the war. The ALP slowly began to oppose the war, as a means of attacking the government and also their disapproval also spiked when conscription was introduced * Gough Whitlam no doubt used the divisive nature, and ALPs disapproval of Vietnam to the most advantage. * Trade Unions also opposed the war, they labelled it ‘blood for Dollars’ or ‘diggers for dollars’ because they believed we were only fighting to the US would maintain its investment into Australia. This view was not entirely correct VIEWPOINTS ON THE VIETNAM WAR At the start of the period(1962) the perspective was that sending willing soldiers(not conscripts) was fine * Early on, when Australia’s involvement was minimal with only the role of training Vietnamese soldiers, public opinion was less critical, troops only sent to physically fight in 1965, they were just training South Vietnamese soldiers form 1962 onwards * We had to protect ourselves from the communist menace as well as honour our obligations as port of SEATO and ANZUS * Menzies masterminded a lot of the fear that convinced us that war was right * We were still quite conservative, trusted govt decisions * The gruesome nature of the war was not yet revelealed At Menzies announcement of sending troops in 1965, many different perspectives on the conflict emerged. Some more valid than others. * A lot thought communism was worth fighting against but found that conscripting to do so undermined other rights that were held dearly in a modern democracy * This fuelled anti-conscription p rotests as the reality that young men unwillingly could be sent to Vietnam. Most anti-war groups played on the injustice that this exemplified. * Importantly, the horrors of Vietnam exposed through media had not yet peaked so the atrocities that were taking place weren’t as well known about which led to that not being such a big anti-war factor. Some factions believed that training up a military was justifiable as we had done from 1962-65, but fighting for the South Vietnamese in what was really Vietnam’s civil war was not right. The idea of getting involved in other people’s business emerged * The Government claimed that as part of our SEATO agreement we were obligated to assist the fight against communism in South East Asia, i. e Vietnam. * The grey area with this is that, what does ‘assisting’ constitute? Was training the army enough or should we be physically fighting for the anti-communist forces. CONTINUITY AND CHANGE * CHANGE * During and fol lowing Vietnam, Australians began to question authority more. Beforehand, they were well trained to trust the governments judgement, but what Vietnam revealed was that governments aren’t always right *This questioning came to full voice during the Vietnam protests but overall the experience changed Australia into a more progressive country that no longer was content to swallow everything the government told them * This represented change as previously, we were much more conservative * The exposure to ‘speaking out’ gained from the late 60s during the Vietnam years also may have had some impact on the social movements that picked up in the late 60s, early 70s(lagging behind America) * Women probably benefitted most as movements such as SOS, gave them a voice and they continued to use that to instigate change in the 70s * The general shift from conservatism was highlighted politically as well as socially. Vietnam played a major factor in Whitlam and the ALP winning government for the first time in 23 years in 1972. Political change * The change was also solidified on a state level as WA, NSW, SA and Tasmania all elected Labor governments in elections between 1972-1975 shortly after the war.Highlighting the progressivism emerging Australia wide * People wanted change with Vietnam, and to an extent the White Australia policy and Whitlam delivered that. Also note that many too were uncomfortable with the end of White Australia as well. * The attitudes towards soldiers and veterans changed significantly for the worst. No longer where they held in such high esteem amongst society * The tragedy of this was that most of them were in desperate need for help and received little to no support other than from the RSL. * This was the first ‘live war’ as some called it. For the first time, citizens had a relatively clear understanding of what occurred in the battlefields * CONTINUITY * The war emphasised the continuation of ANZUS.We stayed wi th the US right till the end effectively with us withdrawing in ‘72, a year before the last US troops * Despite the political outcry, politically we were still militarily tied to the US. We still are today * Second war with the US, first Korea then Vietnam GROUPS AFFECTED * ABORIGINALS * Aboriginals were exempt from national service, many didn’t even know their birthdate so including them in a fair ballot was difficult * The Department for Labour and National Service (DLNS) pushed for the removal of exemption but it never happened as only some states had accurate birth records and some didn’t making conscription difficult. * VETERANS * Received little support after the war * Weren’t lauded as national heroes like the ANZACS were * Suffered from mental trauma * YOUTHS The war inspired them and affected them greatly to make them speak out on a large scale for the first time in history * One of the largest groups that embodied the progressive culture that was emerging * Vietnam, and the distrust of government fuelled their rebellion against authority during the 60s and 70s * FAMILIES * WOMEN * Had a greater influence on politics for the first time * Definitely, they gained confidence from their first exposure to speaking out COHESION: * Youths voice * Youths gained a greater expression in society; this was seen by their major roles in demonstrations. * This impact however can also be seen as a divisive argument because a link to the new ‘teenage rebellion’ that followed Vietnam is quite noticeable * Women’s new status * Similarly to youths, women gained a new voice and expression during Vietnam. * Never before had they been so active in making their views on political policies known. This was the first time effectively where their actions influenced policy this was seen by the effect groups like SOS etc. had on shifting power form the Liberals to the ALP. T * his newfound voice gave them confidence to push for other reforms in the women’s movement. * The Vietnam war changed the status of women in society forever and widely this was accepted as a good thing. * Progressive mindset * Vietnam brought out a new progressive mindset in Australians that had barely seen the light of day under the conservative rule of the Menzies government. * Vietnam made people more judgmental and progressive in their thinking as the war made them realise that they shouldn’t swallow everything the government tells them. This change was evident by the swing of voters to the ALP and away from Liberal * Australia was never going to be as conservative * This was on the whole a good thing but opinion would still be split as the overall effect was that now government’s had less influence as people were now thinking for themselves * This idea of ‘thinking for yourselves’ scared some conservatives. * The change was evident in Federal politics with Whitlam’s election in 1972, but also on a state level the shift was taking place * WA, NSW, TAS and SA all went from Liberal to Labour in elections between 1972-1975 shortly after the war * DIVISIVE: * The treatment of returned Servicemen * This was a major issue Many of the retuned soldiers weren’t lauded as heroes * Some of them felt the cold treatment was unjust especially seeing some were forced(conscripted) to fight * Conscription: * Most divisive aspect other than maybe the war itself * Divisive on a few levels * Limited rights * Sent soldiers into one of the most atrocious battlefields, the public knew this because of what the media showed them * Left them scarred even after they came home. * The War itself: * Chemical weapons * The media brought this side of the war to peoples living rooms * Scarring of soldiers * Conscription * Removal of rights * ethics * How ethical was it to be getting over involved in Vietnams own civil

Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains” Essay

What would the world be like if mankind disappeared? This is the theme of Ray Bradbury’s story â€Å"There Will Come Soft Rains†. All of the characters in the story are machines, which through personification take the place of human characters. The theme of man’s destruction reverberates throughout the story. Bradbury uses personification to describe the mechanical creations of man that eventually lead to the story’s theme of the destruction of mankind. There are no human characters at all in the story; instead, there are machines with human characteristics. Miller notes that personification is constantly used to describe the house’s actions (1). This is seen in the first line of the story,† In the living room the voice-clock sang, Tick-tock, seven o’clock, time to get up, seven o’ clock! as if it were afraid that nobody would† (Bradbury 76). The distress of the voice-clock gives it a humanoid impression, which allows it to take the place of human characters. Another interesting example of personification is seen in the way that Bradbury describes the robotic mice. â€Å"Behind it whirred angry mice, angry at having to pick up mud, angry at inconvenience† (Bradbury 77). However, machines are incapable of feelings. Hicks observes that readers are reminded that the rodent readers are mechanical, and that feelings-â€Å"those highly praised human emotions†-cannot exist in machines (234). In fact, there is only one living character in the whole story. As Jennifer Hicks points out, the only live being in the house is the dog, who enters mid-story (234). The dog is not very seemly. â€Å"The dog, once huge and fleshy, but now gone to bone and covered with sores, moved in and through the house, tracking mud† (Bradbury 77). It is pathetic and dying, much like the human race. Life after the destruction of man is the main theme of the story. It is hinted in the story that an atomic bomb was the cause of man’s demise. Bradbury does not blatantly tall the reader that an atomic catastrophe occurred, but reveals it by describing the house and its surroundings (Miller 6). The reader is told that, â€Å"The house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes. This was the one house left standing. At night the ruined city gave off a radioactive glow which could be seen for miles† (Bradbury 77). The â€Å"ruined city† and â€Å"radioactive glow† give readers enough clues to  conclude that atomic warfare was the cause of man’s downfall. While it is known that the earth is now empty, Bradbury also indicates that it was empty before the bomb. Peltier suggests that this world was empty even before the destruction, with mechanical mice vacuuming and a sing-song clock telling time. The dull, mechanical world was empty long before people were taken from it (238). This can be seen in the nursery, where â€Å"Animals took shape: yellow giraffes, blue lions, pink antelopes, lilac panthers cavorting in crystal substance. The walls were glass. They looked out upon color and fantasy† (Bradbury 78). Children do not even go outside to enjoy nature, but watch it on their mechanical walls, their lives growing more and more hollow and empty. Another point that Bradbury makes is that if man disappeared, nothing would care, or even notice. Peltier explains that â€Å"The title of the story, taken from the poem quoted within it, suggests that if humankind were gone, nature would not only endure, but it would also not even notice our disappearance† (237). Sara Teasdale’s poem best illustrates this. â€Å"And not one will know of the war, not one/Will care at last when it is done./Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,/If mankind perished utterly;/ And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn/ Would scarcely know that we were gone (Bradbury 79). Indeed, life would go on after mankind, and would go on peacefully. Therefore, Bradbury’s use of personification describe the machines that eventually lead to the story’s theme of mankind’s destruction. Personification allows the machines to show us what the people who owned the house were like: cold, impersonal, and oblivious to the outside- characteristics that led to both man and machine’s downfall. The author uses the story’s theme of the destruction of man to show readers the effects of becoming too dependent on machines and withdrawing from nature and the world. The chilling thing about Bradbury’s story is the acknowledgment of human dependency on machinery today, and the realization that in such a technologically advanced world, the story could easily become reality.