How useful are sources A to C Essay Example for Free

How useful are sources A to C Essay In this essay I will assess the usefulness of sources A to C in determining the reasoning for American involvement in the Vietnamese war. Source A is reasonably useful in shoeing how the U. S government wanted the general public to view them and their reasoning for the countrys actions in Vietnam. Although source A does not state to whom the speaker (President Linden Johnson) is addressing this information. However, the mere fact that it is Johnson speaking, influences the reader to assume that it an audience of the general public that he is talking to. The time upon which he gave this speech is also very significant, as it was April 1965, one month after major bombing operation Rolling Thunder. This made the speech more significant as president Johnson was attempting to explain and justify the reasoning behind the major attacks that were taking place. In the first sentence of source A Johnson states, We fight in Vietnam because we have a promise to keep. He is about two different promises, the first being the Truman doctrine which states that America will give aid to any counties suffering from the threat of communism. This was set up to contain communism and prevent the domino theory, which was the theory that if one country were fall under the power of communism each neighbouring country would follow. Johnson again refers to the domino theory when he says The battle would be renewed one country and then another. The second promise that Johnson was referring to in his speech was an unwritten promise that he had to personally keep. And that was maintaining some of the traditional policies of previous American presidents, specifically over the war in Vietnam and the containment of communism. Also at the end of source A, Johnson quotes from the bible saying, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further This was probably used because many American citizens were very religious at this period in time; therefore people to relate to it. Also the quote links the actions of America with Christianity, which would influence people into thinking what was taking place was right and true. Source B is also reasonably useful as it shows Johnsons real opinion on Americas involvement in Vietnam. From the first line the opinions are noticeably different from that which he expressed in source A. This is probably because source B is taken from a private conversation. The first line of source b brings his true feelings into the light as he says I dont think the of the country know much about Vietnam, and I think we care a hell of a lot less. This and other statements such as I dont think its worth fighting for. And I dont think we can get out, show that in may 1964 president Johnson was clearly against the war. Yet by the time of source A (approximately one year later) Johnson had ordered a mass surgical bombing of North Vietnam, named Operation Rolling Thunder. Therefore by this point Johnson had either drastically altered his views on the war or had succumbed to the pressure of knowing how horrifically tainted the images of himself and his party would become if he ordered a mass withdrawal from Vietnam. It is safe to assume that the latter is correct, as Johnson talks about this pressure in source B saying Theyd bring a president down if he ran out wouldnt they? This refers back to the reaction of the public and other politicians, which most likely be accusations of indecision towards his party (Democratic) on matters such as the involvement in Vietnam and the general Containment of communism. He would quite probably be labelled a traitor or a communist for backing out of the war and not sticking to the policies of the Truman Doctrine. Near the end of source B Johnson speaks of his fear of communism as he says Of course if you start running from the communists, they might chase you into your own kitchen. This is again referring to the Domino Theory that if one country falls to communism each in turn will follow. All of this shows the predicament that Johnson was in. That if he retreated he would be accused of backing communism, but if he chose to stay it would become Just the biggest God damn mess. Although the opinions change through sources A and B, source C is entirely different. It was written by Professor Noam Chomsky, a political critic and a leading anti-war figure during Americas involvement in Vietnam. The source was taken from an interview with Chomsky in 1982. Therefore he has the benefit of hindsight that aids him to analyse and criticise the attitudes and actions of the American government during the Vietnamese war. In source C Chomsky says Every book that comes out talks about how the United States was defending South Vietnam. And that this is now the Official truth. This is saying that although it is not a written law, but it is still widely considered that America was protecting South Vietnam from the Norths aggression. Chomsky disagrees with this saying The United States did attack South Vietnam. It destroyed the farming, the peasant society. This is commenting on the use of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange and Napalm, and tactical warfare such as Blanket and Surgical bombing. All these things contributed to the mass destruction of the South Vietnamese farms and forestation. This happened in Americas desperation to locate the rebel militia the Vietcong, and stop the use of guerrilla tactics against largely unaware U. S troops. However in attempting this the U. S forces damaged much of the Vietnamese agricultural lifestyle. And on occasion, American soldiers in frustration in their inability to locate the Vietcong would burn down whole villages at the nearest suspicion that they were helping the Vietcong. Later in source C Chomsky talks of how The U. S did not want and independent Vietnam He is saying that America did not want to allow Vietnam to decide their own future, and they did not want Vietnam to slip out of their strong Capitalist grip or orbit. To conclude, I believe that source A is the most useful in showing the reasons for U. S involvement. As it show all the pressures Johnson was under. The pressure to keep promises and the pressure to contain communism and prevent the domino theory, But most of all it shows the lie that he was forced to tell the public simply because it was what they wanted to hear.

South Africa - Diverse In Culture But Could Be Unified In Language :: essays research papers

South Africa is diverse in culture but could be unified in language. English should be South Africa’s unifying language. It is necessary to understand what nationhood is, so that you the reader realise that a national language does not alter a nation. It binds the nation. I will also discuss South Africa’s diverse cultures and how a unifying language can merge these cultures. Lastly, I will demonstrate the links between language and identity. The concept of a nation is not easily defined. †Nationalism is a deeply contradictory enterprise.† (P Brooker, 1999,148). Our nation is one that has been formed over many years and languages have been brought to us through imperialism, immigrants and time. We have to accept that, †for most nations of the world to escape the profound experience of imperialism would be in fact to escape their own actual history† (P Brooker, 1999,148). We cannot deny that there is an assortment of language, which abound this nation. However, we need to choose one unifying language, which we can all use. This is essential for purposes of communication and mediation, which I will discuss later. This national language would be the only official language and English would be the unifying language. Identity is an ever-changing concept. South Africans sexuality, class, gender, race and even language determine our identity. †Contemporary identities can therefore be fluid or consciously delimited. Any number of factors are likely to be under negotiation in either case; whether of religion, nation, language, political ideology or cultural expression† (P Brooker, 1999,109). Our South African identity is one which has changed through imperialism and it is one that has changed through apartheid and it is one which will continue changing in order to progress therefore a national language such as English can become a part of this ever changing south African identity. A national language will not change the identities of South Africans, it will enhance it. People will still speak their different languages however when we are together we will have a common form of communication. In English-medium schools, for example, English is used as a medium for the study of a wide range of subjects. The students and the teachers come from different cultural backgrounds and many speak different languages at home but they use a common language for educational purposes. This means that an Indian teacher, who maybe speaks Tamil at home, can teach students, who might speak Zulu at home, using a common language, (S. South Africa - Diverse In Culture But Could Be Unified In Language :: essays research papers South Africa is diverse in culture but could be unified in language. English should be South Africa’s unifying language. It is necessary to understand what nationhood is, so that you the reader realise that a national language does not alter a nation. It binds the nation. I will also discuss South Africa’s diverse cultures and how a unifying language can merge these cultures. Lastly, I will demonstrate the links between language and identity. The concept of a nation is not easily defined. †Nationalism is a deeply contradictory enterprise.† (P Brooker, 1999,148). Our nation is one that has been formed over many years and languages have been brought to us through imperialism, immigrants and time. We have to accept that, †for most nations of the world to escape the profound experience of imperialism would be in fact to escape their own actual history† (P Brooker, 1999,148). We cannot deny that there is an assortment of language, which abound this nation. However, we need to choose one unifying language, which we can all use. This is essential for purposes of communication and mediation, which I will discuss later. This national language would be the only official language and English would be the unifying language. Identity is an ever-changing concept. South Africans sexuality, class, gender, race and even language determine our identity. †Contemporary identities can therefore be fluid or consciously delimited. Any number of factors are likely to be under negotiation in either case; whether of religion, nation, language, political ideology or cultural expression† (P Brooker, 1999,109). Our South African identity is one which has changed through imperialism and it is one that has changed through apartheid and it is one which will continue changing in order to progress therefore a national language such as English can become a part of this ever changing south African identity. A national language will not change the identities of South Africans, it will enhance it. People will still speak their different languages however when we are together we will have a common form of communication. In English-medium schools, for example, English is used as a medium for the study of a wide range of subjects. The students and the teachers come from different cultural backgrounds and many speak different languages at home but they use a common language for educational purposes. This means that an Indian teacher, who maybe speaks Tamil at home, can teach students, who might speak Zulu at home, using a common language, (S.

Vedic Religion, Mythology, and Society.

Paige Hammerl Vedic Religion, Mythology and Society The early civilizations of India have proven to be a highly intellectual, god fearing, and advanced collaboration of people. From approximately 2700 B. C. E to around 500 B. C. E two societies flourished in the northern region of India known as the Indus Valley. The Indus Valley Civilization and later, the Aryans – believed by some to have migrated to India from Europe and the middle East – paved the foundation of Hinduism through the influences of their cultures, early religions and social structures.Unfortunately, there is little to be said of the earliest inhabitants, the people of the Indus Valley Civilization because there still does not exist a decipherment of the Indus Valley Script. Based on loose interpretations of artifacts found in ancient Indus Valley cities, we have been able to depict that the people of the Indus Valley were originally a nomadic tribe, but later had a high degree of uniformity amongst cit y development, a language written on a variety of small 1 inch seals, and may have worshiped Goddesses or a pre-Siva God, often seen on these seals with three faces, bullhead, sitting in a yogic position.According to A. L Bashman’s book The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism, over time the Indus Valley Civilazation began to dwindle because they were driven from their lands by natural disasters, such as the sudden rise in the level of the sea bed south of the delta of the Indus River (Bashman, 1989, pg. 2). Although we have been able to extract minuscule clues from the Indus Valley Civilization, most of Hinduism's pre-history stems from an religious Aryan ancient text called The Veda, consisting of four traditions, the Rg-, Yajur-, Sama-, and Atharva-.It is important to mention that the Veda’s are thought of as eternal, or not written by human beings, and the Aryan people passed down knowledge of the Veda’s from generation to generation through word of mouth. People saw the Veda’s as extremely sacred texts or scriptures and they were verbally relayed for nearly 3000 years with little to almost no change to them. By some the translation of the Veda’s into written word was viewed as against the religion because traditionally not everyone was actually allowed or able to learn the Veda’s in early times, and also it was as if physical written words tainted the sacredness of the scripture.The priestly class of the Vedic Aryans, known as the Brahmans, were viewed as the preservers of vedic tradition. They were allowed to attend the various theological schools which would specialize in the memorization of specific texts within the Veda’s. The Veda’s were composed chronologically with the Rg-Veda as the first text â€Å"written†. The Rg-Veda consists of 10 books of 1028 hymns praising various deities, guessed to be composed in early Sanskrit as early as 1200 BCE over a period of a few hundred year s. The Sama-Veda is a book of songs, all based on the hymns of the Rg-Veda.The Yajur-Veda consists of 4 books: one book is the white Yajur-Veda, and the other three are the black Yajur Veda. Within these books lies vital information regarding procedures for rituals and sacrifices. Lastly, the Atharva-Veda is a collection of hymns and â€Å"magical† material (spells, charms, imprecations, and incantations), and this Veda is essentially overlapping magic and religion. Each of the four Veda’s have a vast number of gods, or devas, being acknowledged and praised. However, within the Veda’s, stories or myths of the gods are scarcely present; that information was assumed to be common knowledge.All the pantheon of Vedic religion are divided into two classes: the gods (devas) which follow rta, the cosmic order, the set course of nature, and the demons (asura), follow anrta, or anti-rta, in an attempt to overturn the natural course of things. The gods uphold rta, which is essentially moral and physical universal law. Many other gods or devas are deities associated with nature, the heavens and space. The main Devas include Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Nastya, and the minor devas include Yama, Vishnu, and Rudra. The nature divinities include Surya (sun), Agni (fire), Soma (ritual plant), Pajanya (rain), Ushas (dawn), Earth, Moon and Night.The gods are viewed as powerful and willing beings whose pleasure or dissatisfaction determines the course of events in humans day to day lives. If they are pleased they can bless the people with rain for their crops, fertility in woman, good health, etc. and if they are displeased they first punish wrong-doers with disease, and after they are banished to â€Å"The House of Clay† a gloomy hell-like place, similar to where Hades of the Greeks resides. Of all the gods mentioned in the vedas, most notably in the Rg-Veda, the god Indra, god of war and weather, has a staggering 250 hymns in his honor.Indra is believed to be the creator of the cosmos, for when the demons, led by the serpent Vrtra, came to attack the gods, Indra, strengthed by Soma drink, faced them alone and came out victorious and from Vrtra’s dead body he created our world. Because of this, Indra is mainly viewed as a war leader (Bashman, 1989, pg. 12). The Veda’s main function were its involvement in public worship, and it were an essential part in rituals. The vedic Aryans main religious practice was promised religious sacrifice on a cyclical basis with the purpose of pleasing the gods and their ancestors.Both demanded praise and acknowledgement so anything from milk, clarified butter or ghee, curds, grain (rice/barely), soma plant, and even domestic animals were all used as offerings to the gods during sacrificial ceremonies (Bashman, 1989, ). There were two types of sacrificial ceremonies: domestic (life-cycle rites, requiring one fire) and solemn (public rites, requiring three fires). The vedic Aryan people used regular sacrificial ritual to maintain functionality of their tribe or cities. The gods were believed to have control over things such as rain, disease, sun, fertility, etc. o the people would sacrifice various goods/animals in their name in order to please them or strengthen them to help them. in order to maintain the functionality of the tribe. Each ritual was an extremely delicate experience. If one word, or one procedure was out of place the ritual was deemed void, and could even sometimes cause harm to the tribe for displeasing the gods. This is where the use of Brahman’s were vital, the rituals did not require massive buildings or elaborate icons, but only a qualified Brahman who knew all the required procedures learned from the Yajur-Veda.Often they had several Brahman’s present in order to ensure the correct sequence of events occurred. Rituals were centered around the idea of fire. In rituals the fire god Agni would, via a specific number of domestic fires, re ceive sacrifices/praises from the people and pass them onto the other gods. This gives Agni the reputation of a rather important god, with 200 hymns dedicated to him in the Rg-Veda. Fire was viewed as a link between the worldly and divine realms (Flood, 2004, 41). Also, rituals consisted one other important act preformed by the Brahmans – the eating of the Soma plant.According to Gavin Flood in An Introduction to Hinduism, Soma is believed to be some variation of a hallucinogenic mushroom, and was used to bring the priests to a mystical state where they could see the gods and recite veda hymns to them. Soma was not only a plant used in rituals, but was also a deity (god) and was praised for creating the link between gods and humans. To the drinker, Soma brought superhuman strength, a sense of growing to a gigantic size, and gave visions of the gods coming down to join the worshipers (Bashman, 1989, 14).Soma was also given to the gods during rituals as a strength inducer so th ey would be able to fight off the demons causing a tribe grief. As stated in An Introduction to Hinduism, rituals were preformed on a daily basis by every Aryan at around dusk or dawn, and also more complicated rituals were preformed at the beginning of the two lunar fortnights of the months (the days of full and new moons). One expensive and important ritual preformed during this period was the rajasuya sacrifice. It was a royal sacrifice used by kings to ensure them a place in heaven during afterlife and also to prove their worth as a king.This complicated sacrifice was put on by the king and was centered around a great stallion (or horse) that would be followed by groups of men for about a year as it roamed the plains going city to city demanding praise before coming back to the main city to be sacrificed to the gods. The significance of the rajasuya sacrificial ceremony was its link to political power (Bashman, 1989, 33). These sacrifices were used to maintain the functionality of a tribe/city and give kings the opportunity to prove their worth to the people, so kings would pay all the extensive expenses in order to put forth these ceremonies.However, the only people that were able to preform these specific ceremonies with perfect precision was the priest class (Brahmans). This gave them a considerable amount of power, and one could argue that it created a power struggle between the ruling class and the priestly class. Nevertheless, all the sacrificial offering ceremonies were a time for rejoicing, not only for the kings who put them on, but also for the entire population because everyone was benefiting. Later in vedic history, after all the Veda’s had been written, people began to grow antsy with their religion.They started to seek more answers and try to create connections between the meaning of life, birth/rebirth, karma, the gods, and the purpose of ritual (Reat, 1977, 1). This is the period when the Upanishads were written. The Upanishads were a â€Å"secret conversation† that was only meant to be heard by a select few people, and was the beginning of the emergence of Enlightenment and created the basis of classical Hinduism. Vedic religion is not the same as the Hinduism religion, it is however a precursor to it.From the vedic religion we can see the pre-stages of important Hinduism concepts, such as the connection between religious sacrifice and karma. To this day some people in traditional Hindu and Nepal societies practice early vedic traditions. The vedic religion is overall a polytheistic religion, however it seen being practiced as monotheistic and henotheistic, and in my opinion this excerpt coming from the Yajur-Veda sums up the Vedic Religion: â€Å"O Supreme Force governing the world! You function as per unchangeable laws which remain the same throughout without slightest of deviations.May I also seek inspiration from. You to be unflinchingly principled in my life. Thus I resolve to seek truth constantl y by eliminating the false from my life every moment to the best of my abilities, intentions and efforts. May I be successful in this noble decision of mine. † Yajurveda 1. 5 Bibliography Bashman, A. L. The Origins & Development of Classical Hinduism. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Print. Flood, Gavin. An Introduction to Hinduism. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print. Hammerl, Paige and Deshpande, Madhov. Vedic Religion/Lifestyle Notes.Jamison, S. J. and Witzel, M. â€Å"Vedic Hinduism. † FAS at Harvard University. Harvard University. 2002. Web. Accessed February 4th, 2013. Lorenzen, David N. â€Å"Who Invented Hinduism? † Comprehensive Studies in Society and History. Cambridge University Press. October 1999. Web. 4 February 2013. Ross Reat, Noble. â€Å"Karma and Rebirth in the Upanishads and Buddhism. † Lancaster, England: ProQuest and Information and Learning Company. December 1977. Print (on the web). â€Å"Srauta. † Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 4 December 2012. Web. Access February 4th, 2013.

The Morality Of The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Say it, Jim: the morality of connection in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Laurel Bollinger College Literature. 29.1 (Winter 2002): p32. From Literature Resource Center. Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2002 Johns Hopkins University Press http://www.press.jhu.edu Full Text: The American literary tradition has often been defined by its moments of radical autonomy--Thoreau at his pond, Ishmael offering his apostrophe to landlessness, Huck light[ing] out for the Territory ahead of the rest (Twain 1995,265). In fact, Twain s novel is often taught as the text that epitomizes this tradition, with Huck held up as its exemplar: a boy courageous enough to stand against the moral conventions of his society, to risk Hell itself rather than conform to the sivilizing process of communities he rejects. (1) Yet such a focus belies an alternate strand in the tradition: moments of radical connection that call into question not just the value but even the possibility of autonomy The passage from which my title is drawn illustrates this point. At the very moment Jim s freedom seems most in crisis, when Tom s injury puts the escape on hold while Huck goes for the doctor, the two characters speak as one through Jim s voice. Knowing Jim will say what they both think, Huck asks Jim to say it: No, sah--I doan budge a step out n dis place, dout a doctor; not if it s forty year! (1995, 251).While the moment certainly contains troubling elements, we must acknowledge theShow MoreRelatedMorality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay547 Words   |  3 PagesMorality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Samuel L. Clemenss, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is told through the eyes of a young man, the narrator and protagonist, Huckleberry Finn. 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