An Analysis of The World's Cruelty
After reading journalist Leonard Pitt's article entitled, "Sometimes, the Earth is Cruel", I saw the disaster in Haiti in a whole new light. What is on the surface an article based on the terrible earthquake that shook Haiti on January, 12, 2010, is in actuality a riveting, eye opening piece of human re-evaluation. An article that looks beyond ordinary human conventions and presents a broad picture of who we truly are and how we truly operate. The overall theme, however, is present in the first line; Sometimes the earth is cruel and Leonard Pitts expresses this through his description of the Haitian people's actions after the earthquake, his language comparing the Haitian people with nature and his overall response to the way Haitian people responded to their unfortunate tragedy.
The first way Pitts expresses his message is his description of the Haitian people's actions after the earthquake. He writes that the Haitian people will first empathize their situation. Haiti is an extremely poor country as it is and it seems when they aren't being exploited by humans as a product of corruption, greed and economic predication, the earth itself
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This language is displayed in lines such as, "Sometimes the seas rise and smack the shoreline like a fist. Sometimes the wind bullies the land and sometimes the land rattles and heaves and splits itself in two. Sometimes, the earth is cruel." Pitt's also quotes a playwright in the line, "Your arms are to short to box with God." He essentially speaks on how life is like a bargain and to accept it is to experience the wonderful notion of living however with the inclination that comes with a price. Sadly, it seems the debenture the Haitian people have been subjected to has seen them paying the ultimate price many more times than anyone sitting on their couch or desk chair reading the
In this case the people of Haiti might think that the earth is willingly trying to cause them pain and suffering but the earth is just a planet so it just causes pain and suffering sometimes. Like Leonard said though, it is actually the people's fault. All these disasters and sufferings are all caused by "human hands, by human greed, human corruption, human economic and predation." It also says that "Sometimes, the earth is cruel" and it gets bad, it is bad, and we just have to deal with it and go on with our lives. The earth does get bad, all because of everything that's been happening around the world.
Harsh truths: character development and family trauma through A Thousand Acres In her novel A thousand Acres Jane Smiley tells a complex story of a family farm in Iowa. The lives of these characters are changed by dishonesty and betrayal. Through her use of detailed characterization of Ginny and Rose, Smiley emphasizes that uncovering dishonestly reveals hard truths. Ultimately, we see how the characters must face the pain of the truth to move on and grow for the better.
In his sermons to the Haitian congregants of the valley, Father Romain often reminded everyone of common ties: language, foods, history, carnival, songs, tales, and prayers. His creed was one of memory, how remembering—though sometimes painful—can make you strong (Danticat, 73). In “The farming of Bones,” Danticat presents the unvarnished effects of the construction of social identity to expose racial suppression on the men and women to illustrate the racial prejudice that took place in the 1937 massacre, which can also be referred to as the Parsley Massacre. While the majority of the novel is filled with sorrow, it is also full of life, love, and survival. Amabelle, a young Haitian woman witnessed middle class non-vwayaje Haitians walk their
In Atticus' closing speech and “life isn't fair- deal with it” by Mike Myatt both share the idea of fairness and what is right. Atticus describes this as the first form of rhetoric ethos, as does MIke Myatt in his argument about what is fair and what is not. Atticus' speech was a form of ethos meaning it appeals to an audience or a reader's ethics, this is shown in speech stating “I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore the defendant to his family.” This quote near the end of the speech describes how Atticus reviews the evidence in the trial and points out that all men should be treated equally but are not.
The danger of the “single story” can be found in everyone. There are stereotypes and flawed storytellers about every country, group, opinion, and person, though it often gets overlooked or accepted. Edwidge Danticat challenges the “single story” of Haiti by writing ten chapters and an epilogue that show the stories of multiple different lives found in Haitians in her book Krik? Krak! To Danticat, there is no single story of Haiti, but a group of stories that can form unity.
The documentary " The Cove" showcases an ethical dilemma in which Richard O'Barry learns the cruelty that dolphins face when in captivity and thus overcomes many barriers to help free the dolphins. Throughout the film, Richard O'Berry and others are involved in various illegal and unethical activities that include lying, spying, destroying property, trespassing and many more. As a former dolphin trainer for one of the most popular shows of the century " Flipper", had brought in a lot of popularity for dolphins. Due to this, many dolphins are used for entertainment purposes especially in sea world where there are more than 100s of dolphins and has posed a greater risk for dolphins. Thus, Richard o Barry believes that he has a moral obligation
He has a very apparent way of making you gain a picture of what he’s trying to describe to you in your head. The way he describes nature is captivating. He uses word devices including similes such as “like a fist”, personification such as “heaves” and “bullies” and metaphors such as “the earth is cruel” to help the readers relate to these actions and vividly picture them. Not only does Pitt’s depiction of the disasters taking place paint you an image of how harsh nature can be, but his description of natures relationship with the Haitian people really drives his ‘sometimes the earth is cruel’ theme home. He persuades you to believe that the earth really is against the Haitian people.
There are several similarities and differences between the American and Haitian Declarations of Independence. The Haitian Declaration of Independence seems to focus primarily on freeing themselves from the French’s influence and slavery. Several times throughout the document, the French are referred to as a tyranny. It is very clear that the new Haitian government wants nothing to do with the French. In fact, they want to “wash away” all memories of what life was like with the French in power.
All of these people are beaten down by Haiti and they find their sweet release in
In Chapter 4, of The Better Angels of our Nature, Steven Pinker illustrates how ideas such as good sense and science have helped aid in the historical revolution that has led us to react to extreme violence and torture with horror. According to Pinker, the Humanitarian Revolution was “propelled by ideas, by explicit arguments that institutionalized violence ought to be minimized or abolished, and some of it was propelled by a change in sensibilities” (133). He claims that this period is where “people began to sympathize with more of their fellow humans”(133) and shifted from “valuing souls to valuing lives”(143). Pinker states that the Civilizing Process that precisely proceeded the Humanitarian Revolution was a time where a physical repulsion came about and credits “moral repulsion,” characterized
The spirit of abstraction is the practice of conceiving of people as functions rather than human beings. An article, “The True Cause Of Cruelty” by Alex Lickerman, supports the idea that the spirit of abstraction is a part of human nature. A document, A Class Divided also provides evidence to support this theory. A fundamental point in the spirit of abstraction entails reducing someone’s humanity and turning them into a function. In A Class Divided, African americans were inferior during the time it was conducted.
The text is vital to the image, convincing the audience that the United State’s priorities are corrupt and twisted, neglecting their fellow country who genuinely needs help in fixing poverty and starvation. This act evokes the emotions of solace, sympathy, and guilt contributing to a proliferation of convincing their audience in an efficient
Even though Haiti’s a poor country, his people have a big heart. Parents don’t want their child to work, they make them focus on school only, and their education. On the other hand, Americans just consider a child to be lazy if at their teenage age they still don’t work. They raise their children to be independent different from Haitian that make their children to depend on them. Another fact is that Americans are not really friendly; they avoid contact with people, and they have a hypocrite smile on their face, however, Haitians are really friendly, sincere, and courteous.
The effects of climate change are asymmetrically felt across the world. Those who contribute the most to climate change generally do not suffer its effects, while those who contribute least feel its effects tenfold. Kyle Whyte explains this asymmetry is exactly what indigenous people face. In "Way Beyond the LifeBoat", Whyte argues that if the issues of colonialism and capitalism are not addressed in climate change mitigation tactics, the suffering of indigenous peoples will continue, just as if there was no action. Whyte's argumentation, use of allegory, and evocative language creates a piece that successfully conveys his thesis to those who have not considered the environmental justice aspect of combating climate change.
Environmentally, current natural disasters, environmental degradation dating back to the colonial era, unfavorable topography, and massive deforestation are all challenges for Haiti. (Webersik 122) Climate change in Haiti, the world 's poorest and least developed country, do cause flooding, droughts, hurricanes and other meteorological disasters. And these disasters will influence Haiti a lot in the perspective of economy, healthy problem and industrial. The reasons for me to believing so include that