Morality In Candide And A Clockwork Orange Philosophy Essay

Morality In Candide And A Clockwork Orange Philosophy Essay Free will, morality and destiny, these are all concepts that people have been debating for thousands of years. In A Clockwork Orange and Candide these topics are addressed at length and make up the bulk of discussion throughout the novels. Candide is the story of a man trying to find his way in an unfamiliar world after having been kicked out of his home. A Clockwork Orange is about a teenager who commits a murder and is then selected for a treatment allowing early release from prison. The two are good examples of a philosophical tale and are thematically similar, except that they differ in the final moral message. The final line in Candide That is well said, but we must cultivate our garden. (Voltaire 96) can be interpreted as we must improve our world, whereas in A Clockwork Orange this line But now as I end this story, brothers, I am not young, not no longer, oh no. Alex like growth up, oh yes. (Burgess 198) shows that it is about personal growth. The similarities between that two , however, are much greater, focusing on the theme: there are limits to human free will. Candide and A Clockwork Orange both show free will exists, but differ in how they show the limitations upon free will. Firstly, in Candide, existence of free will is shown mainly through the philosophical exchange between characters. All this is for the very bestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ said Pangloss. A little dark man spoke up Apparently the gentleman does not believe in original sin; for, if all is for the best then there has been neither fall nor punishment. I very humbly beg Your Excellencys pardon, for the fall of man and the curse necessarily entered into the best of possible worlds. Then the gentleman does not believe in free will? Your Excellency will excuse me, free will can coexist with absolute necessity, for it was necessary that we should be free; for after all, predetermined willà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (Voltaire 13-14) This is one of the most important dialogues illustrating how Leibnitz optimism (that all is for the best) reconciles the existence of free will with the use of the Judeo-Christian origin myth. Pangloss stance is that after original sin human beings were sent to the best of all possible w orlds, the man hes talking to asked how we can have free will if this is so, and so Pangloss replied that it is necessary to have free will in order to be in the best of all possible worlds. Secondly, in A Clockwork Orange, it is shown that being human requires having free will, A man who cannot choose ceases to be a man. (Burgess 168). A couple of views are shown, those of Alex and F. Alexander and also of the government. The protagonist (although not a hero) Alex believes that everyone is born, to some degree, with an innate evilness, but we choose what we do. More, badness is of the the self, the one, the you or me on our oddy knockies, and that self is made by old Bog or God and is his great pride and radostyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ But what I do I do because I like to do. (Burgess 47), evil is instinctive (because of God), but we make our own choices. F. Alexander in polar opposition believes that all are born good or as a tabula rasa (blank slate) and are spoiled by society and culture. Limitations on free will are shown in Candide through the impossibility of circumstances, which we can call destiny. Sure man controls his own will, but he certainly cannot control everything, for example the actions of others and those of God. Candide was about to be executed when the King passing by freed him, he is shipwrecked and then stuck in an earthquake, he finds out all the people he thought were dead are still alive, etc. these are some of the many events which Candide had no control over, but he had the freedom to choose how to act in these situations. And, in the end, Candide says we must cultivate our garden (Voltaire 96); improve our world, since we have free will. Lastly, in A Clockwork Orange destiny is also a limitation, but in a different way. There are things that we cannot change, for example: birth where, when, to whom, genetics, etc. It is shown how the environment that Alex grew up in has shaped who he is as a person and since a person is the sum of their experiences, which start off as out of their control (birth, childhood, etc.), it can be said that he is not entirely responsible for his actions. Another limitation is thought manipulation. You are what you think is an adage that sums this up and if you cant control what you think or feel you therefore cannot control your actions and do not have free will. This is shown in A Clockwork Orange with the Ludvico Technique; Alex is conditioned to experience extreme pain and discomfort when he has violent or other evil (as determined by the government) thoughts. Forcibly doing good is portrayed as being worse than choosing evil It may not be nice to be good, little 6655321. It may be hor rible to be good. And when I say that to you I realize how self-contradictory that sounds. I know I shall have many sleepless nights about this. What does God want? Does God want goodness or the choice of goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some ways better than a man who has the good imposed upon him? Deep and hard questions, little 6655321. (Burgess 105) and good is explained as being meaningless without the presence of evil, without a choice being made à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ by definition, a human being is endowed with free will. He can use this to choose between good and evil. If he can only perform good or only perform evil, then he is a clockwork orange-meaning that he has the appearance of an organism lovely with colour and juice but is in fact only a clockwork toy to be wound up by God or the Devil or (since this is increasingly replacing both) the Almighty State. It is as inhuman to be totally good as it is to be totally evil. The important thing is moral choice. Evi l has to exist along with good, in order that moral choice may operate. Life is sustained by the grinding opposition of moral entities. (Burgess 4). Both Candide and A Clockwork Orange posit the existence of free will. They both also show limitations on it, but have different limitations. Candides limitations are those of destiny and A Clockwork Oranges are those of destiny and manipulation. In Candide, through highly improbable situations, we are shown that there is a lot we cannot control, even though we have free will. In A Clockwork Orange destiny is shown, but as things we cannot choose like birth, and manipulation is the moulding of thoughts and feelings and therefore behaviour. In Candide the moral message is that free will should be used, we should act rather than romanticize because nobody else is going to. In A Clockwork Orange it is shown that since people have free will they also have a chance at redemption, no matter how rotten they may be, and that by taking away free will they lose that chance.

‘the Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson

‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson is a short story that uses plot. characterisation and suspense to develop several themes. In doing so Jackson deepens our understanding of people and the nature of society. The story begins in a growing village which holds an annual lottery, but instead of being rewarded the person who receives the marked paper gets stoned to death. This itself demonstrates one of the main themes of man’s inhumanity to man. Jackson also shows this by telling the reader that it is a small community that murders one of its own members which shows the shocking and cruel nature achieved by humans. We can see this by looking at the start of the story when a group of boys play at the lake: â€Å"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example† This shows inhumanity in an unclear way because the reader doesn’t know why they are doing collecting stones but soon realise at the end that it was so they could throw them at the person who was about to get stoned. Another aspect which shows that the civilisation is inhumane is that the village barely conceal the savagery of killing a member of its own community. Jackson shows this by telling us that the killings are done by ‘decent’ people who are show themselves to be kind generous people, but a family realises that it is no their family they proceed with an unsympathetic disinterest for the family that does receive the marked paper. Also, the village does not attempt to hide their actions from other villages, which tells us that they think that their actions are the right actions to take. This story also makes the reader question: â€Å"Is life expandable? It may make us think of this because good innocent people still suffer, and that it was all down to chance that decides what happens to whom. Characterisation adds something to our understanding of nature and society because the author does not focus on one character alone or tell anything about them; instead Jackson focuses on a group of people united by a common objective, which is to avoid receiving the marked paper which will conclude in the person being stoned to death . When looking at the characterisation of the characters, it is important to know that Jackson does not give any detail about any of the characters. We can see this when Tessie Hutchison first arrives at the lottery ceremony: â€Å"Mrs Hutchison came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place. † This proves that Jackson doesn’t go into any detail when it comes to the characters, because when we first see Mrs Hutchison, it tells us that she has a jumper over her shoulders, yet does not tell us what she looks like or what else she is wearing. This does not happen to just one character but all characters throughout the story. `Although all the characters aren’t given in any detail, there are a few characters that stand out through the story. The main person who stands out is the character who gets stoned to death, which happens to be Tessie Hutchison who was also late for the lottery ceremony. When it was Mrs Hutchison who received the marked paper and was chosen to be stoned to death she exclaims: â€Å"â€Å"It isn’t fair, it isn’t right! † Mrs Hutchison screamed, and then they were upon her. This shows Tessie’s selfish nature because she hasn’t objected to any of the stoning’s before, even though it is wrong and cruel. In this context ‘fair’ and ‘right’ mean the same thing to Tessie because it was her who received the marked paper and not someone else, and if it was someone else she would’ve took part in the stoning. This also reflects th e cruel nature of the whole community because they are happy to murder one of their own members as long as it is not themselves that gets stoned. Another character which stands out is Mr Summers, the organiser of the lottery. Mr Summers is perceived as a cold hearted person near the end of the story even though at the start he is saw as a person who â€Å"had time and energy to devote to civic activities† which tells us that he is saw as a nice kind person. We can see that he is actually a cold hearted person after Tessie receives the marked paper. â€Å"â€Å"That was done pretty fast, now we’ve got to be hurrying a little more to get done I time. †Ã¢â‚¬  This shows that he is cold hearted because he says that sentence as if he has better things to do. It also tells us that he is a very organised person because he talks like he is sticking to a specific timetable. Another important group of characters are at the very beginning of the story. They are the children. The children are important because they create suspense in the beginning of the story and also show how the savagery of the parents is transferred onto the children and they will then grow up believing in the same things as their parents. It also shows that the nature of people and society are cruel because they are only children and no one thinks that children playing by a lake are evil. We can see that the children are related to the savagery of man towards man when we look at the children by the lake. â€Å"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example† This shows the barbaric nature of the village because it is only the start of the story and already children are preparing for the stoning of a person in their village. The Lottery’ is quite different from other short stories, because short stories are usually made up of three main things: * A normal beginning * Some sort of adventure occurs and the main character gets dragged into the plot * And some sort of twist at the end. ‘The Lottery’ is not like most short stories because it has the same story line all the way throughout, and doesn’t involve any action or adventure. However there is a twist at the end because the reader doesn’t suspect that the person is going to be stoned to death, and it is only until we re-read the story that we realise that everything was connected to each other in some way. For example the boys picking up the stones at the beginning and then throwing them at Tessie at the end. Jackson also creates suspense to add something to our understanding of people and the nature of society. Jackson creates suspense by giving full details of the preparation of the lottery to stall for a while before actually talking about the lottery. She also creates suspense by creating lots of conversations among the villagers, which also shows the barbarity of the village because they all talk to each other like normal neighbours would, and makes the reader unaware of what is about to happen. In conclusion, Shirley Jackson has made me aware that people may think that they are civilised, but we also have the potential to be barbaric savages who all follow one leader. It has also made me aware that society can turn against you if people think it is for the right reasons. ‘the Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson is a short story that uses plot. characterisation and suspense to develop several themes. In doing so Jackson deepens our understanding of people and the nature of society. The story begins in a growing village which holds an annual lottery, but instead of being rewarded the person who receives the marked paper gets stoned to death. This itself demonstrates one of the main themes of man’s inhumanity to man. Jackson also shows this by telling the reader that it is a small community that murders one of its own members which shows the shocking and cruel nature achieved by humans. We can see this by looking at the start of the story when a group of boys play at the lake: â€Å"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example† This shows inhumanity in an unclear way because the reader doesn’t know why they are doing collecting stones but soon realise at the end that it was so they could throw them at the person who was about to get stoned. Another aspect which shows that the civilisation is inhumane is that the village barely conceal the savagery of killing a member of its own community. Jackson shows this by telling us that the killings are done by ‘decent’ people who are show themselves to be kind generous people, but a family realises that it is no their family they proceed with an unsympathetic disinterest for the family that does receive the marked paper. Also, the village does not attempt to hide their actions from other villages, which tells us that they think that their actions are the right actions to take. This story also makes the reader question: â€Å"Is life expandable? It may make us think of this because good innocent people still suffer, and that it was all down to chance that decides what happens to whom. Characterisation adds something to our understanding of nature and society because the author does not focus on one character alone or tell anything about them; instead Jackson focuses on a group of people united by a common objective, which is to avoid receiving the marked paper which will conclude in the person being stoned to death . When looking at the characterisation of the characters, it is important to know that Jackson does not give any detail about any of the characters. We can see this when Tessie Hutchison first arrives at the lottery ceremony: â€Å"Mrs Hutchison came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place. † This proves that Jackson doesn’t go into any detail when it comes to the characters, because when we first see Mrs Hutchison, it tells us that she has a jumper over her shoulders, yet does not tell us what she looks like or what else she is wearing. This does not happen to just one character but all characters throughout the story. `Although all the characters aren’t given in any detail, there are a few characters that stand out through the story. The main person who stands out is the character who gets stoned to death, which happens to be Tessie Hutchison who was also late for the lottery ceremony. When it was Mrs Hutchison who received the marked paper and was chosen to be stoned to death she exclaims: â€Å"â€Å"It isn’t fair, it isn’t right! † Mrs Hutchison screamed, and then they were upon her. This shows Tessie’s selfish nature because she hasn’t objected to any of the stoning’s before, even though it is wrong and cruel. In this context ‘fair’ and ‘right’ mean the same thing to Tessie because it was her who received the marked paper and not someone else, and if it was someone else she would’ve took part in the stoning. This also reflects th e cruel nature of the whole community because they are happy to murder one of their own members as long as it is not themselves that gets stoned. Another character which stands out is Mr Summers, the organiser of the lottery. Mr Summers is perceived as a cold hearted person near the end of the story even though at the start he is saw as a person who â€Å"had time and energy to devote to civic activities† which tells us that he is saw as a nice kind person. We can see that he is actually a cold hearted person after Tessie receives the marked paper. â€Å"â€Å"That was done pretty fast, now we’ve got to be hurrying a little more to get done I time. †Ã¢â‚¬  This shows that he is cold hearted because he says that sentence as if he has better things to do. It also tells us that he is a very organised person because he talks like he is sticking to a specific timetable. Another important group of characters are at the very beginning of the story. They are the children. The children are important because they create suspense in the beginning of the story and also show how the savagery of the parents is transferred onto the children and they will then grow up believing in the same things as their parents. It also shows that the nature of people and society are cruel because they are only children and no one thinks that children playing by a lake are evil. We can see that the children are related to the savagery of man towards man when we look at the children by the lake. â€Å"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example† This shows the barbaric nature of the village because it is only the start of the story and already children are preparing for the stoning of a person in their village. The Lottery’ is quite different from other short stories, because short stories are usually made up of three main things: * A normal beginning * Some sort of adventure occurs and the main character gets dragged into the plot * And some sort of twist at the end. ‘The Lottery’ is not like most short stories because it has the same story line all the way throughout, and doesn’t involve any action or adventure. However there is a twist at the end because the reader doesn’t suspect that the person is going to be stoned to death, and it is only until we re-read the story that we realise that everything was connected to each other in some way. For example the boys picking up the stones at the beginning and then throwing them at Tessie at the end. Jackson also creates suspense to add something to our understanding of people and the nature of society. Jackson creates suspense by giving full details of the preparation of the lottery to stall for a while before actually talking about the lottery. She also creates suspense by creating lots of conversations among the villagers, which also shows the barbarity of the village because they all talk to each other like normal neighbours would, and makes the reader unaware of what is about to happen. In conclusion, Shirley Jackson has made me aware that people may think that they are civilised, but we also have the potential to be barbaric savages who all follow one leader. It has also made me aware that society can turn against you if people think it is for the right reasons.

Can a Christian justify the use of Nuclear Weapons? Essay

When answering the title of this essay, you have to first look at why countries retain and develop nuclear weapons. The first reason and most obvious of all is to use the nuclear device to destroy an enemy. A good Christian however can never justify this, because no matter how accurate your weapons are you will undoubtedly kill innocent civilians. If you look at the Ten Commandments laid down by God you will see that God was opposed to war, violence and any form of mistreatment. We are told, â€Å"To love thy neighbour† and â€Å"To treat our enemies, as we would want to be treated. † If you were to look at these commandments you would see that nuclear warfare could never be justified and if you do provoke a nuclear war you should be punished. That brings me into the second reason of why countries retain nuclear weapons and that is as a threat. It is a way of protecting your country, but you will protect yourself and retaliate if provoked. Any Christian would feel that this was unjust, after all God did say in the Ten Commandments, â€Å"Forgive your enemy†. Retaliating in any way, shape or form would be breaking the Ten Commandments and therefore you could not call yourself a good Christian. That leads me onto the third reason of why countries retain nuclear bombs that is to use it as a deterrent to anyone who may consider attacking the country. Many Christians believe that retain nuclear bombs just for the use, as a deterrent, is ridiculous. They feel that there is no point in spending millions of pounds on producing nuclear weapons just for the use as a threat. It is difficult to imagine that people find it acceptable that 75,000 to 100,000 die unnecessarily every day from lack of food, water, shelter, sanitation etc (not from war) while the world’s most privileged governments pour even more billions into ‘security. ‘ I agree with them, and I feel that there are far more important things throughout the world that need our help like those listed above. Spending huge amounts on developing nuclear weapons is very unnecessary and the money should be aimed at ending death and pain rather than creating it. However, it is not only Christians that believe retaining nuclear bombs, as a deterrent, is wrong and that dropping nuclear bombs is unjust. I asked Canon Michael Evans (A priest at my local Roman Catholic Parish) and he said the following, â€Å"Nuclear deterrence as a national policy must be condemned as morally abhorrent because it is the excuse and justification for the continued possession and further development of these horrendous weapons. We urge all to join in taking up the challenge to begin the effort to eliminate nuclear weapons now, rather than relying on them indefinitely. † You can see that even in other religions the retention of nuclear weapons, as a deterrent is believed to be unjust, even though it may have a slim chance of preventing war. Then there is the saying from a 4th Century Roman Christian who said, â€Å"Let him who desires peace, prepare for war. † He was saying that if anyone wants peace, must protect themselves as a deterrent from potential attackers. But who is to say that nuclear weapons that are being used as a deterrent will never be used to destroy an enemy causing pain and death to a population. The most obvious approach a Christian would take to nuclear warfare would be the unilateral approach. That is never to retain nuclear weapons and certainly never to use them. This would be the most just way, because you can spend money on things that are important like health, education and transport. By not retaining nuclear arms, no one would try to attack you, because they would not find you as a threat. But of course you can never rid everyone of knowledge. Therefore any one person could have the know how to design and manufacture nuclear bombs for use of a destructive nature. I feel that the forth approach is the best and most just way of using nuclear weapons- not to use them at all. You are not threatening anyone, you follow all of the Ten Commandments and you follow the Just War Theory.

African American Women Of The North And South During The War

African American women in the North did not have the same opportunities available to them as white women. They often found it difficult to find employment. Many made money by sewing and exchanging crops for cash. Others found work as teachers despite receiving low pay. Some found teaching positions through the American Missionary Association (AMA), which hoped to bring education to the free African Americans living in the North and South during the war. Many African American women were eager to take on this new position. Charlotte F. Forten who would become an important teacher believed the key to equality was through education as described in her journal, â€Å"I should spare no effort to become what he desires that I should be (speaking of†¦show more content†¦This was a significant because it marked the beginning of salaries for African American teachers and more African American women would continue to enter the field. â€Å"Black women lived in greater oppression than White women, thus making it more difficult for black women to secure sponsorship to participate in the education of the freedpeople†¦the accomplishments and self-determination of Peake and Forten during this time became more significant and compelling.† Another African American women living in the North found employment working for the government. Catharine Dodson became a government employee working for the U.S senate. She worked as a doorkeeper making a $1 a day. Despite facing difficulties finding employment many African American women were determined to find work and did whatever they could to earn money to support themselves and their families. The war brought new changes to the South and women often found themselves in new forms of employments. â€Å"Southern women assumed new roles during the Civil War, ranging from nursing to managing plantations.† The majority of employments that were commonly seen for women in the South during the Civil War included teaching, government jobs, nurses, and plantation workers. The majority of women in the Southern states found themselves taking care of and managing plantations. Females took care of crops and all rural work while men were away. Letters of females living in Indiana reveal information about their everyday