Speech of Pericles :: essays research papers

(63) 'Once more, you are bound to maintain the imperial dignity of your city in which you all take pride; for you should not covet the glory unless you will endure the toil. And do not imagine that you are fighting about a simple issue, freedom or slavery; you have an empire to lose, and there is the danger to which the hatred of your imperial rule has exposed you. Neither can you resign your power, if, at this crisis, any timorous or inactive spirit is for thus playing the honest man. For by this time your empire has become a tyranny which in the opinion of mankind may have been unjustly gained, but which cannot be safely surrendered. The men of whom I was speaking, if they could find followers, would soon ruin a city, and if they were to go and found a state of their own, would equally ruin that. For inaction is secure only when arrayed by the side of activity; nor is it expedient or safe for a sovereign, but only for a subject state, to be a servant. (64) 'You must not be led away by the advice of such citizens as these, nor be angry with me; for the resolution in favour of war was your own as much as mine. What if the enemy has come and done what he was certain to do when you refused to yield? What too if the plague followed? That was an unexpected blow, but we might have foreseen all the rest. I am well aware that your hatred of me is aggravated by it. But how unjustly, unless to me you also ascribe the credit of any extraordinary success which may befall you!36 The visitations of heaven should be borne with resignation, the sufferings inflicted by an enemy with manliness. This has always been the spirit of Athens, and should not die out in you. Know that our city has the greatest name in all the world because she has never yielded to misfortunes, but has sacrificed more lives and endured severer hardships in war than any other; wherefore also she has the greatest power of any state up to this day; and the memory of her glory w ill always survive. Even if we should be compelled at last to abate somewhat of our greatness (for all things have their times of

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Essay

â€Å"As he is about to clasp her he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all around him with a sound like the shock of a cannon—then all is darkness and silence†. Ambrose Bierce has a unique way of captivating reader’s attention and it is perfectly shown in his short story â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge†. The story tells about a man in southern Alabama during the Civil War, which is about to be hanged by a group of Union soldiers. This man to be hanged is identified as a gentleman named Peyton Farquhar who attempted to destroy the Owl Creek Bridge, the same one they are standing on. Suddenly, the rope snaps and he falls into the river where he somehow manages to swim ashore in order to escape from the Union soldiers. As he pulls himself ashore, he now starts the long journey home. After walking all day and night without feeling â€Å"the roadway beneath his feet† he arrives home and as he is about to hug his wife, he feels a strong pain in his neck and hears a loud noise. Farquhar was now dead by hanging, and all of his escape was just a dream of his. It is set in the Owl Creek Bridge in Alabama where Peyton Farquhar is about to be hanged early in the morning. The whole story happens just in one day, even though the author mentions flashbacks of Peyton’s past. On one side of the creek there is forest and on the other is a group of Union Soldiers. There is a cannon hiding in a line of trees and the soldiers are preparing to execute Farquhar with a rope around his neck. There is only one main character in the story and three secondary characters. Peyton Farquhar is a plantation owner who comes from a wealthy family from the south. However he is a strong supporter of the Southern cause. He is arrested and is to be hanged by the Union soldiers because he attempted to destroy Owl Creek Bridge so that the Union soldiers wouldn’t pass by his hometown. There is also Mrs. Farquhar, Peyton’s wife who was a small but significant role in the story. She is the one who alerts Peyton of the arrival of the Union soldiers to their town. The groups of Union soldiers include executioners, a Lieutenant who gives the final orders; there are sentinels, officers and also soldiers along the shore. There is also a Union Scout, which is mentioned in one of Farquhar’s flashback, who is a soldier that rides onto Farquhar’s plantation asking for a glass of water wearing Confederate gray. He later on turns out to be the one who warns the Union soldiers about Farquhar’s plan to burn down Owl Creek Bridge. The story is divided in three parts. None of them are written in first person. Most of the story is told in a third person point of view. The storyteller can observe events but cannot enter the mind of ant character and cannot change ant of his or her thoughts. However in some parts of the story, the narration changes to omniscient third person point of view. We know this because the author takes the reader inside Farquhar’s mind to show how his mind interprets reality. When it comes to talking about the theme, Peyton Farquhar denies reality. He avoids it. This is why he enters into the delusional state of mind. While being hanged he dreams that he escapes after the weight of he’s body breaks the rope and he swims to safety, and long after he returns to his home. Even though this dream lasts only seconds, in Farquhar’s mind it lasts the whole day. This could be a way of the author to say that Farquhar refuses to accept the reality that is going on during the civil war, where even gentlemen like him who support the Southern cause can be victims of what the barbarous Union soldiers can do. The story was published in 1891 right after the civil war in the United States of America. Bierce tries to express how the cruelty took place during the years of the Civil war, how slaves were treated and condemned. By Farquhar’s character Bierce expresses how anybody who opposed the Union to support the Southern cause was seen as a rebellious person no matter his social position. There is a controversy between critics when it comes to categorizing this short story into a literary form. Some critics say that the story is a narration: it has a beginning, a middle and an end. However some critics believe that because of the ending, the story is more of a thriller, suspense or even mystery. Bierce uses a unique way to shift from different tones during the story. He changes from an authorial realistic voice, to a fantastic tone in order to immerse into Farquhar’s mind. â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† is a very interesting story with a surprising twist. Ambrose Bierce uses many different techniques to show the reader how brutal and savage the Civil war was like and how people was treated. This short story changed the American culture.

Ayn Rand And Niccolo Machiavelli Analysis - 963 Words

Countries all around the world have different customs and beliefs and primarily have different types of governments. The United States is the home of free enterprise and domestic tranquility with the type of democracy it has set up to allow it’s citizens to roam the streets in peace and not have to worry about their civil duties to be taken advantage of; other countries like the Republic of China have a political system completely opposite of the one established and adapted by the United States. China is known to be a controlling government and is established to follow communism. Where the government is really in control of everything restricting people to jobs, labor and food. Countries who follow communism believe that being in control†¦show more content†¦Ayn views are good to help people become more motivated to work because I was raised somewhere that nothing is given to you, but earned. That for anything life, if you want something go work for it, no need to ask other people for your satisfaction. Niccolo Machiavelli the man known for enlightenment and self interests. The Italian philosopher who had primarily self interests was man who was not really loved by his people in the year 1498 he was exiled from Florence and after writing a book called Prince he was allowed back in with political favor. Some might ask why is Niccolo Machiavelli not favored by people and it’s because he was a strong advocate for self service to make a government that provides better than people could provide for themselves. Niccolo believed that people were not capable of doing anything right when it comes to all types of causes from building homes and improving infrastructure to building foreign trade and improving the countrys wealth. People were definitely not a fan of his views because it really alienated people to have no say in anything went it dealt with the government. People were scared of this and to be honest so would I, for a fact I could tell you that I would not want to live in a society were me and my fellow citizens had no say because the government deemed its people to be incompetent. Scary to think about that to ever occur in our world. In today’s world that we live in Ayn Rand and Niccolo Machiavelli theories