Literary Log Essay Example for Free

Literary Log Essay â€Å"I see their dark forms, their beards move in the wind. I know nothing of them except that they are prisoners; and that is exactly what troubles me. Their life is obscure and guiltless;if I could know more of them, what their names are, how they live, what they are waiting for, what their burdens are, then my emotion would have an object and might become sympathy. But as it is I perceive behind them only the suffering of the creature, the awful melancholy of life and the pitilessness of men† (193). Enemies. When you think about it your â€Å"enemies† are kind of like you, they might like different things, but they have the same intentions as you do. So why do you not like them? This is what Remarque shows in this quote. He shows that the Russians and the French are really similar, they didn’t want to be out in the front killing people they want to go home, but a single word suddenly makes them an enemy. Remarque talks about how he wants to get to know the Russians, it shows that the soldiers want to know these people. However, since they have been told that the Russians are enemies they are not allowed to. Remarque uses imagery to make the audience feel the emotions running through the soldiers as they try to understand that the Russians are really similar to them. What Remarque is trying to get at through this quote is the fact that â€Å"enemies† are really similar to you and they have the same intentions that you have although it may not seem that way. As it is shown, War makes â€Å"enemies† out of people who are quite similar. The soldiers realize that the Russians are like them, as both of them want to go home and survive, along with the fact that they don’t want to kill the other soldiers. Remarque also shows that war creates a chasm between the soldiers and the non-soldiers because the people who make the order to kill a group of people, are not the ones who are doing the fighting, they are the government. The government does not realize that these people have the same intentions as they do along with not knowing that the â€Å"enemies† are similar, they believe that they are demons and completely different form them.

Rome :: essays research papers

Rome began as a small city-state. It's army and way of running government remained the same as the small city grew to a huge empire. Somehow, this small-time system of management lasted for 600 years. It's obvious ill suitedness showed through though, when Rome's once strong rigid links began to jingle. When Rome began to crumble, its army went first. Besides causing civil unrest, with the people knowing their army was less than satisfactory, the loss of the army's comforting presence also caused a feeling of weakness about Rome.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The economy of Rome was not perfect either. Though the taxes were heavy, they were not able to cover the cost of government and construction of public buildings, the maintenance of the army, support two capitals, etc. etc. Because of this, Rome's splendor and beauty began to diminish (without the public funding to preserve the beauty), unrepaired roads and bridges, increased banditry, danger in travel (hence decreased trade), and a weak army. This was all because Rome did not organize an economic style made for and fitting an empire of its size.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A final force in the decay of Rome, perhaps as a result of the previous mentioned, was loss of public morale and values. Although in general, Rome was always mainly without the morals righteous people try to uphold today, Romans were hardworking, athletic, philosophical, stern, noble, and patriotic. When public morale decreased, however, Rome fell into a pit of laziness, unethical, disloyal dishonesty. One example of how this effected society, is when armies were pressured to work hard, the disloyal soldiers abandoned their legions to flee.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rome's main problem, as you can see, is the combination of all of these factors.

Alvin Ailey and Sociology

Jerry Tarn Professor Douglas Kierdorf Social Science 102 April 18th, 2013 Alvin Ailey’s â€Å"Revelations† and Sociology As the world begins to modernize, society develops into what sociologist Ferdinand Tonnies calls a â€Å"Gesellschaft† society. In a Gesellschaft society, people concentrate only on themselves and build relationships mostly based on the possible monetary gains. Because people are so focused on money, matters that do not possess any monetary value tend to be discarded as insignificant or unworthy. Subjects such as the arts are often seen as unnecessary, excess, and impractical.However, what people fail to realize, is that art is in fact an integral part of humanity. Art can provide deep insights into our society, revealing both its positive and negative aspects in the most genuine form. Dance? a physical expression of art? is one of the many methods people uses to portray the various characteristics of society. Alvin Ailey’s signature wor k: â€Å"Revelations†, produced in 1960, is a prime example that reflected and exposed the social changes that were occurring during that era. The 1960s was marked as a time of great change as it was the era when America began to transform into an increasingly modern society.There were significant improvements in science (and technology exemplified by the start of the space exploration), which greatly changed how people lived and viewed the world. However, the most important changes were probably societal ones, namely the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement was categorized by African Americans expressing their dissatisfactions with the injustices that they had to endure in past century. Although African Americans were liberated from slavery after the Civil War, they still had to deal with the inequality of racial segregation.Under those laws, African Americans had to face disadvantages such as (but not limited to): lack of voting rights, inferior quality of facil ities, and unequal treatment under law. In sociological terms, there was little social mobility, institutionalized discrimination, and communities were racially stratified. It was not until the 1960s that the nonviolent protests and public civil disobediences of African Americans began to gain prominence and produce effect. In 1960, one of the many famous acts of civil disobedience, the â€Å"Greensboro Sit-Ins† occurred.The sit-ins consisted of multiple instances of nonviolent protests at the Woolworth Store in Greensboro, North Carolina by local African American students. After repeated protests and growing tensions, the store finally desegregated its services. Coincidently, Ailey’s â€Å"Revelations† was produced in the same year that the protests occurred. Although there wasn’t a direct correlation between the Greensboro protests and the creation of Ailey’s dance, the production of Ailey’s dance was nevertheless a sign of social change.W hen Ailey’s dance company first performed, they changed the entire dynamic of American Dance Theater as African American way of life was finally represented by African Americans instead of by proxies of Caucasian dancers. The ability of African American dancers to represent their own culture shows the social change of the transfer of authority (of the dance theater industry) from the dominant group to the minority group. Another way that Ailey’s dance company signified social change was its integration of different ethnic groups.Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Lester Horton, Ailey decided to include dancers of different races into his dance company in 1962. Ailey’s practice of what sociologists termed â€Å"ethnic pluralism† was another sign of social change. Besides evidencing social change, â€Å"Revelations† also reflected the various elements of American society. The dance itself was able to show these elements through the contents of the plot, which was divided into three sections: â€Å"Pilgrim of Sorrow†, â€Å"Take Me to the Water†, and â€Å"Move Members, Move†.The first section, â€Å"Pilgrims of Sorrow† is about the sufferings of African Americans during the slavery era. The story depicts African Americans toiling through hard labor as slaves and trying to use song as an outlet for relief. Ailey also incorporates the song â€Å"I’ve been ‘Buked†, by Hall Johnson, to accentuate the agony and frustrations of African Americans. The reason why Ailey brought back stories of extreme hardship is perhaps he wanted to remind Americans how much pain African Americans had to go through.He wanted to emphasize how important it was for people to realize the need for the abolishment of segregation. Ailey also probably felt that because America’s history of racial inequality has existed for such a long time, African Americans have become what William Wilson calls the â€Å"permanent underclass†. Even after the Civil Rights Act passed, like W. E. B du Bois described in â€Å"The Philadelphia Negro†, African Americans still face financial disadvantages due to the situations they were put in before the passing of the bill.With the coexistence of people’s constant â€Å"just-world hypothesis† and stubbornness of their cognitive schema, the disadvantages of African Americans will never receive the deserved attention as people will just assume that their misfortunes were brought upon by themselves. This is probably why Ailey recognized the bitter truth that racism will always exist. Slightly different from â€Å"Pilgrims of Sorrow†, â€Å"Take me to the Water† and â€Å"Move Members, Move† conveys a more positive atmosphere as it portrays scenes of baptism and church service. Take me to the Water† depicts a woman by the riverside, ready to get baptized while â€Å"Move Members, Move† depic ts a celebratory church scene. These dances are also reflections of American society as it shows the roles of religion. One role of religion was providing comfort to those undergoing hardship. When African Americans went through slavery, they sought comfort in God and practicing Christianity. Another role of religion in American society was providing solidarity. Emile Durkheim believed that religion brought unity amongst people and connection between individuals.This is reflected in American society as Christianity, America’s largest religion, underlies the many values in American culture. Another important aspect of Ailey’s dance that is worth mentioning is Ailey’s own life. When he was working on â€Å"Revelations†, a lot of the content was the result of his upbringings. Ailey grew up in rural Texas in the segregation era. At that time, especially in Texas, African Americans lived under constant danger as they not only faced discrimination, but also vio lence and risks of random lynching.All of these atrocities combined are probably what allowed Ailey to have such strong feelings towards the suffering of the slaves in the first part of his dance. Another influential moment in Alvin Ailey’s life was his exposure to literature. When he studied at universities in California, he learned of the writings of famous African American writers such as Langston Hughes and James Baldwin. In addition to his meeting with Maya Angelou, he perhaps became influenced and meant his performance to be an act to promote civil rights. Another influence of Ailey’s life was his exposure to religion.When he was young, he attended a Southern Baptist church. The songs and hymns that he heard when he went to church was probably influential to his other two dances â€Å"Take me to the Water† and â€Å"Move Members, Move†. This goes to show that what people experience in their childhood greatly influences their social identity as an ad ult. From Ailey’s background and dance piece, it could be seen that America during the 1960s was dominated by the Caucasian race, had a strong sense of religion (specifically Christianity), and had an unequal society.It was also beginning to advance into a developed society, which explains the rapid social change. To a certain extent, America today still possesses some discrimination towards certain ethnic groups, and equality isn’t exactly fully established in every aspect of the country. Nevertheless, as society progresses, so will its values. There will come a point in the future when all of the negative aspects that society used to possess will change for the better. However, it is important to be aware of the need of social change. One way that social change can be exercised is through art.Art is a highly human expression, and is one of the many methods that can facilitate social change. Works Cited Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre: Origins to 1979†,  In ternational Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 1. Oxford University Press, New York: 1979. 54-57. Dunning, Jennifer (1996). Alvin Ailey: A Life In Dance. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, INC. ISBN  0-201-62607-1. Foulkes, Julia L. Modern bodies: Dance and American modernism from Martha Graham to  Alvin  Ailey (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002), 179-184 Kowal, Rebekah J.How to Do Things with Dance : Performing Change in Postwar America (Middletown, CT; Wesleyan University Press, 2010), 1-6 Mitchell, Jack. Alvin  Ailey  American Dance Theater (Kansas City, Mo. : Andrews and McMeel, 1993), 1-25 â€Å"Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-Ins†,  Library of Congress. Retrieved April 15, 2013. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. â€Å"Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-Ins†,  Library of Congress. Retrieved April 15, 2013. [ 2 ]. Kowal, Rebekah J. How to Do Thi ngs with Dance : Performing Change in Postwar America (Middletown, CT; Wesleyan University Press, 2010), 1-6 [ 3 ].Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre: Origins to 1979†,  International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 1. Oxford University Press, New York: 1979. 54-57. [ 4 ]. Mitchell, Jack. Alvin  Ailey  American Dance Theater (Kansas City, Mo. : Andrews and McMeel, 1993), 1-25 [ 5 ]. Ibid. [ 6 ]. Foulkes, Julia L. Modern bodies: Dance and American modernism from Martha Graham to  Alvin  Ailey (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002), 179-184 [ 7 ]. Dunning, Jennifer (1996). Alvin Ailey: A Life In Dance. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, INC. ISBN  0-201-62607-1.

Zen Buddhism Essay - 1197 Words

Zen Buddhism No other figure in history has played a bigger part in opening the West to Buddhism than the eminent Zen author, D.T. Suzuki. One of the worlds leading authorities on Zen Buddhism, Suzuki authored more than a hundred popular and scholarly works on the subject. A brilliant and intuitive scholar, Dr. Suzuki communicated his insights in a lucid and energetic fashion. Diasetz Teitaro Suzuki was born in Japan in 1870, received his philosophical training as a Buddhist disciple at the great Zen monastery at Kamakura, and was a distinguished professor of Buddhist philosophy at Otani University, in Kyoto, Japan. Dr. Suzuki dedicated his life to the study of Zen Buddhism and to the interpretation and effective†¦show more content†¦Where so many other men have failed, he has succeeded, and succeeded brilliantly. Suzuki was a master at teaching by example and anecdote, and this book is a good example of that technique. As he describes so well in An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, Suzu kis own realization of who he really was, his grasping of the fundamental principle of existence, came when he was only twenty-six years old. He had been studying Zen for some years but without much success, and was increasingly demoralized by his failure to reach the enlightenment he so fervently sought. Then, in 1896, he was selected by his renowned teacher, Soyen Shaku, to go to North America to help translate the classic text, the Tao Te Ching, into English. (Suzuki 54) The pressure of his imminent departure turned out to be what was needed. Suzuki realized that the Zen retreat scheduled for just before he was due to leave Japan might be his very last opportunity, in the immediate future at least, of solving the koan he was working on. Determined to solve the puzzle, he redoubled his efforts and threw all his energies into one final attempt to reach an understanding of the concept that had thus far eluded him. Up until then he had been conscious of the koan in his mind. Bu t to be conscious of Mu is to be separate from it. Towards the end of his stay at the ZenShow MoreRelatedZen Buddhism Essay1202 Words   |  5 PagesZen Buddhism was first introduced to China by a South- Indian man called Bodhidharma in around 520 CE. Bodhidharma, according to tradition, was a man so epic that he removed his own eyelids in order to win a staring contest with a rock wall (from his severed eyelids sprang tealeaves, and thus, the connection between Zen Buddhism and tea-drinking). The main teaching of Zen is that of zazen, or seated meditation, and that only through meditation and action, rather than cogitation, can one achieveRead MoreZen Buddhism And The Zen School1252 Words   |  6 PagesZen Buddhism originated from Chinese Ch’an Buddhism that was transmitted to Japan. The Zen school was known as one of the many Buddhist religion in Japan. In Japan, â€Å"Zen is defined as the â€Å"buddha mind,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the ultimate reality, or â€Å"emptiness,† of all things and the enlightened state, or knowledge of that reality, characteristic of a buddha† (Bielefeldt 1995: 198). Zen emphasizes on the insight into the Buddha-nature through seated meditation (zazen), meditation practice, and teacher-sudden interactionRead MoreZen Buddhism From Chinese Buddhism1195 Words   |  5 PagesZen Buddhism originated from Chinese Buddhism that was transmitted to Japan. The Zen school was known as one of the many Buddhist religion in Japan. In Japan, â€Å"Zen is defined as the â€Å"buddha mind,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the ultimate reality, or â€Å"emptiness,† of all things and the enlightened state, or knowledge of that reality, characteristic of a buddha† (Bielefeldt 1995: 198). Zen emphasizes on the insight into the Buddha-nature through seated meditation (zazen), meditation practice, and teacher-sudden interaction. 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However, do not let that deter you from getting to experience a religion that offers a highly different perspective of the world. The focus will be on analyzing some of the common themes of Zen Buddhism which is comprised in the â€Å"Zen Slogan† (associated with the First Patriarch). The phrase is: â€Å"a special transmission outside of the teachings not established upon wordsRead MoreBuddhism s Teachings On Zen Buddhism1591 Words   |  7 Pageshowever, differs depending on the perspective from which one views Buddhism. Dogen, in his teachings on Zen Buddhism, promotes the practice of zazen to reach enlightenment. Shinran and the Pure Land sect are devoted to Amida Buddha, who they believe will bring them to the Pure Land, and enlightenment. The ways espoused by Dogen and Shinran are similar in some aspects, but differing enough in others to warrant the separate sects of Buddhism in Japan. 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