Billy Budd Essay example -- essays papers

Billy Budd Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor is evidently an extremely divisive text when one considers the amount of dissension and disagreement it has generated critically. The criticism has essentially focused around what could be called the dichotomy of acceptance vs. resistance. On the one hand we can read the story as accepting the slaughter of Billy Budd as the necessary ends of justice. We can read Vere’s condemnation as a necessary military action performed in the name of preserving the political order on board the Bellipotent. On the other hand, we can read the story ironically as a Melvillian doctrine of resistance. Supporters on this pole of the debate argue that Billy Budd’s execution is the greatest example of injustice. They argue that the execution is a testament of denunciation, deploring the shallow political order of a paranoid military regime. I do not wish to argue either side of this debate. I have pointed it out to illustrate that Billy Bud d, Sailor is a text about principles of right conduct, or at least this view is held by critics. Is Vere’s conduct right or wrong? This is the basic question at stake. In this sense it is a text about moral values and ethical conduct. However, considering that Billy Budd, Sailor is an ethical text, what I find most curious about it is the mysterious absence of the emotion guilt. Here we have a story about two murders. Billy obviously kills Claggart and Vere (Although it is indirect, ultimately the decision is his) kills Budd. Neither of these murderers shows the emotion of guilt in the form of remorse. For a narrative which tries so hard to situate the reader in an ethical and moral position of choosing interpretations, isn’t it somewhat ironic that the cha... ...g or resisting an ethical dilemma is perhaps a moot point. The ethical thrust of the story could possibly be to indict mans insatiable need to punish and requite injuries through erroneous means. As Nietzche seems to think, "we may unhesitatingly assert that it was precisely through punishment that the development of the feeling of guilt was most powerfully hindered." If we conceive of the text of Billy Budd, Sailor as situating the reader for an alignment with this viewpoint, then perhaps the reader "gags" at the death of Billy Budd not for the seemingly unfair and unjust killing of a sympathetic character, but instead for its illustration of a social system inherently disjointed at its foundation; one which doesn’t make sense considering human nature, but one which is so inextricably linked to society that it is doubtful that it could ever, or will ever, be changed. Billy Budd Essay example -- essays papers Billy Budd Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor is evidently an extremely divisive text when one considers the amount of dissension and disagreement it has generated critically. The criticism has essentially focused around what could be called the dichotomy of acceptance vs. resistance. On the one hand we can read the story as accepting the slaughter of Billy Budd as the necessary ends of justice. We can read Vere’s condemnation as a necessary military action performed in the name of preserving the political order on board the Bellipotent. On the other hand, we can read the story ironically as a Melvillian doctrine of resistance. Supporters on this pole of the debate argue that Billy Budd’s execution is the greatest example of injustice. They argue that the execution is a testament of denunciation, deploring the shallow political order of a paranoid military regime. I do not wish to argue either side of this debate. I have pointed it out to illustrate that Billy Bud d, Sailor is a text about principles of right conduct, or at least this view is held by critics. Is Vere’s conduct right or wrong? This is the basic question at stake. In this sense it is a text about moral values and ethical conduct. However, considering that Billy Budd, Sailor is an ethical text, what I find most curious about it is the mysterious absence of the emotion guilt. Here we have a story about two murders. Billy obviously kills Claggart and Vere (Although it is indirect, ultimately the decision is his) kills Budd. Neither of these murderers shows the emotion of guilt in the form of remorse. For a narrative which tries so hard to situate the reader in an ethical and moral position of choosing interpretations, isn’t it somewhat ironic that the cha... ...g or resisting an ethical dilemma is perhaps a moot point. The ethical thrust of the story could possibly be to indict mans insatiable need to punish and requite injuries through erroneous means. As Nietzche seems to think, "we may unhesitatingly assert that it was precisely through punishment that the development of the feeling of guilt was most powerfully hindered." If we conceive of the text of Billy Budd, Sailor as situating the reader for an alignment with this viewpoint, then perhaps the reader "gags" at the death of Billy Budd not for the seemingly unfair and unjust killing of a sympathetic character, but instead for its illustration of a social system inherently disjointed at its foundation; one which doesn’t make sense considering human nature, but one which is so inextricably linked to society that it is doubtful that it could ever, or will ever, be changed.

Margaret Sanger

Margaret Higgins Sanger ( 1879- 1966), was an American Pioneer in the birth control movement, was born in corning, New York., on September 14, 1879, the sixth of eleven children. Educated at Claverack College and Hudson River Institute, she hoped to become a physician but was obliged to compromise on nursing. She married William Sanger in 1990, and although they were divorced in 1913, she retained his name for professional purposes even after her marriage to J. N. H. slee the following year.As a nurse in New York City, Mrs. Sanger became aware of the poverty and death resulting from over- large families and abortions.   Prevented by the Comstock Law of 1873 from providing a formation on contraception, 1912 she wrote two series of articles â€Å"What Every Mother should know† and â€Å"What Every Girl should know†. In 1914 she founded the National Birth Control League and established a monthly magazine, The Woman Rebel. The next year she circulated through the mail a p amphlet, Family Limitations, for which she was indicated; but the case was dropped.In 1916 Mrs. Sanger opened the first birth-control clinic in America, in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. She was again indicted and served 30 days in prison. In the same year she established the Birth Control Review, which she continued to publish until 1928.Seeking to persuade both the medical profession and the public of the importance of her cause, Mrs. Sanger traveled throughout the country and the world on lecture. She organized the first national and international birth control conferences. In 1923, she established the Clinical Research Bureau, staffed with physicians, social workers and technicians. In a police raid on the clinic in 1926, doctors’ records were seized.As a result of this violation of the principle of medical privacy, the profession rallied to defend its right to dispense the information where it was considered advisable, and the clinic resumed its work. In 1932, with the sponsorship of many Protestant Churches organizations, Mrs. Sanger initiated the national Committee on Federal Legislation for Birth Control. Four years later, a U.S District Court upheld the right of physicians to became obsolete. In 1937 the American Medical Association publicly endorsed birth control.The National Birth Control League and the clinics were combined in 1942 in the Planned Parenthood Association of America, with Mrs. Sanger as honorary chairman. For the purpose of checking the world population explosion, this was later expanded into the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Among her works are The Case for Birth Control in1917; The Pivot of Civilization in 1922; My Fight for Birth Control in 1931; and Margaret Sanger, an Autobiography in 1938.Margaret Sanger is considered as one of the Nursing Leader along with her are Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, Lillian Wald, Lavinia Dock and Mary Breckinridge. Sanger made a notable contribution both to nursing h istory and also in the women’s history. She was a politically astute pioneer. Her skills at influencing others and bringing about change remain models for political nurse activists today.As a public health nurse in New York, she was much exposed to the country’s social problems such as abortion. She made a lasting impact on women’s health care. Her imprisonment in the opening of her first birth control information in America did not stop her from doing service with her fellow men. She is considered founder of Planned Parenthood. Her experience with the large number of unwanted pregnancies among the working poor was instrumental in addressing this problem.Margaret Sanger died in Tuscon, Arizona on September 6, 1966 due to Tuberculosis and Cervical Cancer. What she had undergone during her pregnancies where in she had some miscarriages also led her to the idea of Life and Health protection. She is considered as one of the most important person in this century due to her great contributions and mind opening ideas about contraception and life preservation. She really defended the rights of women and the protection of their health by making the Planned Parenthood and the establishment of birth control practice.Poverty did not stop Margaret Sanger from being a successful nurse. She wanted to be a doctor but just settled in nursing. As she opened her first clinic, her purposed persons were the poor and rich individuals in America. The Victorians and other physicians refuted and rebutted Sanger’s ideas. Due to this event, she left the league and started to have teachings in the different social class in America about planning and the importance of the health of the women in bearing children. Through this, Sanger had educated a great number of individuals whom she has helped with her client teachings.It is because of Margaret Sanger that birth control are widely distributed and are of easy reach to those individuals who needed it the most. W hat she established did great impacts on the U.S society that until is being followed and widely used also worldwide. If it is not for Sanger, we would not be made educate on the proper planning of having kids and to avoid abortion because life is precious and is a gift. Her established plans and projects helped in starting or developing Planned Parenthood and National Organizations for Women which the only aim is to protect the women from any forms of health illness.Also, through Sanger; many denominations perceive birth control in a different perspective. Although there are still some Religion that is really against it, the good things is that it is only a minority. Many of the different denominations worldwide are following her ideas about planning to have children. Sanger fought for the rights of the women being easily exploited by the men because of uneducation about their health and what are the things they are ought to do. She was very much sensitive to the needs of the women , maybe due to what she experienced and what she saw from her beloved mother.She viewed Sexuality as a form frailty. She also perceived firmly that Masturbation was perilous because for her this habit is one thing that once you started will never be out from your system, you will always find time to do it and seek its happening. Sanger also believed that if you masturbate a lot, there is a tendency that you have a poor possibility to do sexual intercourse in a natural way. She also perceives that Masturbation is not just doing it physically but by also letting the mind work. A teenager, a young man or woman imagines sexually explicit things in her mind and when this is always being done this comes out naturally.She also is an advocate of Eugenics, the process of selective breeding to improve heredity. She believed that all should be respected and heard regarding ones views and perception. She was imprisoned several times due to her ideas about parenthood planning but still she conti nued until she became successful in her field of expertise. She now is symbolic person who contributed much to the world’s awareness and especially in the awareness of the American Society.Although instigated by organizations that are for or pro for life, she continued to do her part to help the women. Many leaders admired her and one of them was Martin Luther. Indeed Sanger left a legacy that all of the people when they will come to know and understand, will really admire her for her strength and her courage to fight for the rights of the women amidst the persecutors around her. She was such a woman sympathizer, a woman who was toughen by time and experiences would also want to help other women to be healthy , be protected from diseases, and have the right to promote and plan a family.Until her death, she believed that abortion is really a wrong choice. Abortion is the expulsion of a fetus inside a womb and not considering the period abortion is performed, it is still a sin because a there is already a life existing inside the womb of the woman; may it be just 1 week or 2 weeks. For Sanger, Contraception is the best way to plan and establish a family of ones own. Contraception is not that dangerous as with abortion, Contraception is very much secured from any forms of danger and most of all, it does not cost you to sin just to be freed from the situation you are in. it gives you a clear conscience and guilt about the preservation and protection of human life especially in planning a family.References:Halsey, William. Margaret Sanger. 1988. Johnston, Bernard. Margaret Higgins Sanger. 1986. Kozier, et al. Fundamentals of Nursing. Pages 7- 8. Prentice Hall, 2004. â€Å"Margaret Sanger†. Collier’s Encyclopedia. Volume 18. U.S.A 1962. â€Å"Sanger, Margaret†. Compton’s Encyclopedia. Volume 20. Tribune Publishing Company, 1995.

The Balkan Crisis

The Balkan Crisis Introduction The Balkan crisis that began in 1989 was a revolution that put to an end the Soviet-mode Communism in socialist states of East European nations beginning from the Baltic to Balkans; these proved to be both spectacular and largely unanticipated. The Balkan crisis that that began outgrew from collapse due to economic failures, the arms race and the availability of options to Communism. Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Balkan Crisis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The crisis started at the time when Slobodan Milosevic ascended to the presidency of Serbia, in 1989 when the country held its first democratic elections since the aftermath of the First World War. He turned out to be the president of Yugoslavia in the year 1997 (Gallagher 201). The Balkan Crisis After president Slobodan took over the presidency of Yugoslavia in started making vicious attacks on the Albanian ethnic group inhabiting t he province of Kosovo. This led him into military contest with the NATO forces in 1999. The government of Slobodan Milosevic continuously engaged in violence and would only bow to threats of severe military intervention. It is important to note that the Balkan crisis led to the ultimate disintegration of the republic of Yugoslavia. The disintegration led to realignment of forces which consequently resulted into tensions that were premised on ethnic, religious and political origins. This became intense as Slobodan Milosevic became president and swiftly began consolidating power and coming up with strategies to preserve that power. He initiated the oppression of the Albanian ethnic people who inhabited Kosovo. It is recorded that the ethnic cleansing began in the summer of 1992 throughout Bosnia. The Serbian nationalists were in involved in ethnic cleansing with a clear objective to create a purely Serbian republic by killing and driving away non-Serbians (Gallagher pp. 202-210). Du ring the periods of ethnic cleansing, the non-Serbs were attacked by snipers and their villages were destroyed. Thousands of these non-Serb nationalists were tortured, expelled from their residences, executed, detained in camps and some raped, especially women and young females. It is posited that rape and executions were tactically utilized to destroy the ties that existed in families and also communities. In July, 1995 the civilian women were separated from civilian men by the Serbian forces that then started the campaigns of killing non-Serbian men and even hunting those who were trying to escape through various forests (Gallagher pp. 202-210).Advertising Looking for research paper on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Bratunac killings (1992) that claimed more or less 350 (Muslim) men remain the largest known (mass) killing. Several confrontations ensued between Bosnian Muslims and Serbs of Bosnia in which the town of Srebrenica was interchangeably controlled by the two conflicting group. During the conflict period, the residents of Bosnia converged in the town which had been declared by the United Nations as safe. Unfortunately, the Serbian forces continued to attack the town despite the United Nation’s claim. The Dutch military personnel tried to protect the Muslim men from the Serbian soldiers but were overwhelmed and could not stop the massacre that took place (Government Printing Office 20206). In 1993, there was an attempt to resolve the crisis through what was known as Vance- Owen plan. This plan was drawn by a collaboration of various governments which included the United States of America and the Britain with support of other nations; the plan proposed that The situation that has been experienced with regards to the Balkan crisis requires serious humanitarian interventions due to the fact that gravious violation of human rights has been going on withi n the state. Even though the issue was resolved by the United Nations in conjunction with other nations, the effects have not yet completely subsided. The many decades of tension led to economic crises and destruction of property that left millions of people poor. This calls for serious humanitarian interventions even though many states and individuals are against the interventions. The fact is that humanitarian intervention is one of the most important remedy to a situation where citizens have suffered in the hands of repressive government officials. As the separated countries attempt to recover economically, so many citizens still go without the basic needs recognized by the United Nations as amongst the fundamental human rights; these are the rights to better healthcare, food, education and shelter. Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Balkan Crisis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Besides, it is cruci al to note that many citizens who were victims of Serbian military campaign of mass murder have not yet psychologically recovered from the trauma of the mass massacre; they still need lots of counseling that can most probably be provided by humanitarian agencies. Conclusion The government of president Slobodan presided over the mass killing of many non-Serbian people in what is described as the first declared genocide in the world. The government created a lot of human crises in which many Muslim and non-Serbs were tortured and killed, women and young girls were raped and killed and lots of property was destroyed. The impact of the Balkan crisis created a situation in which the region necessarily needs the intervention of humanitarian agencies to help the people of the region rebuild their lives and be able to take care of their fundamental basic needs. There were countries like the United States of American and the Britain amongst others that were involved in resolving the crisis (Gallagher pp. 201-2002). Gallagher, Tom. The Balkans in the new millennium: in the shadow of war and peace. New York: Rutledge, 2005. Government Printing Office. Political Science / Government / Legislative Branch. New York: Government Printing Office, 1998.