Ethics and the Human Condition

Ethical relativism is the subjective theory that states that moral beliefs are relative to the norms of a person; therefore, judging whether an act is right or wrong totally relies on the moral beliefs of the society that practices it. This implies that the same behavior can be deemed as morally acceptable in one society but be morally unacceptable in another society.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics and the Human Condition specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This theory does not accept the existence of universal moral truths and it has two basic forms: personal or individual ethical relativism and social or cultural relativism. Egoism is the objective theory that takes moral relativism to its logical conclusion and instead of focusing on culture as a determinant of moral truth, it centers on the individual (Infantino and Wilke, 10). Egoism falls into two main categories. For a psychological egoist, he or she can only be motivated by acting to fulfill his or her self-interest. The psychological egoist can never act for any other reason. An ethical egoist holds the normative claim that he or she should act in ways that give him or her individually the highest achievable good. Utilitarianism and deontological ethics theories have been developed in an attempt to make justifications for moral rules and principles. Utilitarianism (or called consequentialism) holds that the moral worth of an act is achievable only through its utility in the ability to make sentient beings feel happy; therefore, the moral worth of an act is gauged through its outcome. Utilitarians perceive that no moral act is intrinsically right or wrong, but the rightness or wrongness of a deed is exclusively through the non-moral good generated in the result of performing that particular action. As a complement to the weaknesses of utilitarianism, deontological ethics evaluate the morality of an action centered on its adhere nce to a certain rule(s). For a deontologist, a behavior may be ethically right even if it does not lead to a net balance of good over evil since a behavior’s fulfilling duty is perceived to be morally correct in spite of its consequences. Deontological ethics has the following characteristics: first, duty ought to be accomplished for duty’s sake; secondly, people ought to be treated as objects of intrinsic moral value; third, any moral principle is categorically imperative. The theories of utilitarianism and deontology are both moral theories since they relate to moral beliefs of duty, concern and respect and, eventually, questions of what is right or wrong.Advertising Looking for essay on ethics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, the theory of virtue ethics is orthogonal to all of these: first, it is mainly concerned with the character of the moral agent instead of conduct; secondly, virtue ethics can be advanced, not as a moral theory, but as an account of other ethically deep aspects of human life. Virtue theorists pay less attention on rules and instead assist individuals in coming up with good character traits, for example, kindness and generosity, which improves the ability of a person to make correct life decisions. Feminist ethics â€Å"is a body of philosophical speculation that, from diverse perspectives, purports to validate women’s different ethical differences and to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the values and virtues culture traditionally has labeled â€Å"feminine† (â€Å"Feminist ethics,† concluding section). It faults traditional ethics for showing less concern for women as opposed to the issues of men, implying that, generally, women are less morally mature than men are, and favoring male ideologies. Works Cited â€Å"Feminist ethics.† MPA 8300. Villanova University. N.d. Web.  http://www83.homepage.villanova.edu/richard.j acobs/MPA%208300/theories/feminist.html Infantino, Robert L., and Rebecca Wilke L. Tough choices for teachers : ethical challenges in today’s schools and classroom. Lanham : Rowman Littlefield Education, 2009. This essay on Ethics and the Human Condition was written and submitted by user Olivia P. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Audie Murphy in World War II

Audie Murphy in World War II The sixth of twelve children, Audie Murphy was born June 20, 1925 (adjusted to 1924) in Kingston, TX. The son poor sharecroppers Emmett and Josie Murphy, Audie grew on farms in the area and attended school in Celeste. His education was cut short in 1936 when his father abandoned the family. Left with only a fifth-grade education, Murphy began working on local farms as a laborer to help support his family. A gifted hunter, he felt that the skill was necessary for feeding his siblings. Murphys situation worsened on May 23, 1941, with the death of his mother. Joining the Army Though he attempted to support the family on his own by working various jobs, Murphy was ultimately forced to place his three youngest siblings in an orphanage. This was done with the blessing of his older, married sister Corrine. Long believing that the military offered a chance to escape poverty, he attempted to enlist following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that December. As he was only sixteen years old, Murphy was rejected by recruiters for being underage. In June 1942, shortly after his seventeenth birthday, Corrine adjusted Murphys birth certificate to make it appear that he was eighteen. Approaching the US Marine Corps and US Army Airborne, Murphy was rejected due to his small stature (55, 110 lbs.). He was similarly rejected by the US Navy. Pressing on, he ultimately achieved success with the US Army and enlisted at Greenville, TX on June 30. Ordered to Camp Wolters, TX, Murphy began basic training. During part of the course, he passed out leading his company commander to consider transferring him to cook school. Resisting this, Murphy completed basic training and transferred to Fort Meade, MD for infantry training. Murphy Goes to War Finishing the course, Murphy received an assignment to 3rd Platoon, Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division in Casablanca, Morocco. Arriving in early 1943, he began training for the invasion of Sicily. Moving forward on July 10, 1943, Murphy participated in the 3rd Divisions assault landings near Licata and served a division runner. Promoted to corporal five days later, he used his marksmanship skills on a scouting patrol to kill two Italian officers attempting to escape on horseback near Canicatti. Over the coming weeks, Murphy took part in the 3rd Divisions advance on Palermo but also contracted malaria. Decorations in Italy With the conclusion of the campaign on Sicily, Murphy and the division shifted into training for the invasion of Italy. Coming ashore at Salerno on September 18, nine days after the initial Allied landings, the 3rd Division immediately went into action and began an advance to and across the Volturno River before reaching Cassino. In the course of the fighting, Murphy led a night patrol that was ambushed. Remaining calm, he directed his men in turning back the German attack and captured several prisoners. This action resulted in a promotion to sergeant on December 13. Pulled from the front near Cassino, the 3rd Division took part in the landings at Anzio on January 22, 1944. Due to a malaria recurrence, Murphy, now a staff sergeant, missed the initial landings but rejoined the division a week later. During the course of the fighting around Anzio, Murphy, now a staff sergeant, earned two Bronze Stars for heroism in action. The first was awarded for his actions on March 2 and the second for destroying a German tank on May 8. With the fall of Rome in June, Murphy and the 3rd Division were withdrawn and began preparing to land in Southern France as part of Operation Dragoon. Embarking, the division landed near St. Tropez on August 15. Murphys Heroism in France On the day he came ashore, Murphys good friend Lattie Tipton was killed by a German soldier who was feigning surrender. Incensed, Murphy stormed forward and single-handedly wiped out the enemy machine gun nest before using the German weapon to clear several adjacent German positions. For his heroism, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. As the 3rd Division drove north into France, Murphy continued his outstanding performance in combat. On October 2 he won a Silver Star for clearing a machine gun position near Cleurie Quarry. This was followed a by a second award for advancing to direct artillery near Le Tholy. In recognition of Murphys stellar performance, he received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant on October 14. Now leading his platoon, Murphy was wounded in the hip later that month and spent ten weeks recovering. Returning to his unit still bandaged, he was made company commander on January 25, 1945, and promptly took some shrapnel from an exploding mortar round. Remaining in command, his company went into action the next day along the south edge of the Riedwihr Woods near Holtzwihr, France. Under heavy enemy pressure and with only nineteen men remaining, Murphy ordered the survivors to fall back. As they withdrew, Murphy remained in place providing covering fire. Expending his ammunition, he climbed atop a burning M10 tank destroyer and used its .50 cal. machine gun to hold the Germans at bay while also calling in artillery fire on the enemy position. Despite being wounded in the leg, Murphy continued this fight for nearly an hour until his men began moving forward again. Organizing a counterattack, Murphy, aided by air support, drove the Germans from Holtzwihr. In recognition of his stand, he received the Medal of Honor on June 2, 1945. When later asked why he had mounted the machine gun at Holtzwihr, Murphy replied: They were killing my friends. Returning Home Removed from the field, Murphy was made a liaison officer and promoted to first lieutenant on February 22. In recognition of his overall performance between January 22 to February 18, Murphy received the Legion of Merit. With the conclusion of World War II in Europe, he was sent home and arrived in San Antonio, TX on June 14. Hailed as the most-decorated American soldier of the conflict, Murphy was a national hero and the subject of parades, banquets, and appeared on the cover of Life magazine. Though formal inquiries were made regarding obtaining Murphy an appointment to West Point, it issue was later dropped. Officially assigned to Fort Sam Houston following his return from Europe, he was formally discharged from the US Army on September 21, 1945. That same month, actor James Cagney invited Murphy to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. Later Life Removing his younger siblings from the orphanage, Murphy took Cagney up on his offer. As he worked to establish himself as an actor, Murphy was plagued by issues that would now be diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his time in combat. Suffering from headaches, nightmares, and vomiting as well as displaying alarming behavior at times towards friends and family, he developed a reliance on sleeping pills. Recognizing this, Murphy locked himself in a hotel room for a week to break the addition. An advocate for the needs of veterans, he later spoke openly about his struggles and worked to draw attention to both the physical and psychological needs of those soldiers returning from the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Though acting work was scarce at first, he earned critical acclaim for his role in 1951s The Red Badge of Courage and four years later starred in the adaptation of his autobiography To Hell and Back. During this time, Murphy also resumed his military career as a captain in the 36th Infantry Division, Texas National Guard.  Juggling this role with his film studio responsibilities, he worked to instruct new guardsmen as well as aided in recruiting efforts. Promoted to major in 1956, Murphy requested inactive status a year later. Over the next twenty-five years, Murphy made forty-four films with most of them being Westerns. In addition, he made several television appearances and later received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also a successful country songwriter, Murphy was tragically killed when his plane crashed into Brush Mountain near Catawba, VA on May 28, 1971. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on June 7. Though Medal of Honor recipients are entitled to have their headstones decorated with gold leaf, Murphy had previously requested that his remain plain like that of other common soldiers. In recognition of his career and efforts to aid veterans, the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital in San Antonio, TX was named in his honor in 1971. Audie Murphys Decorations Medal of HonorDistinguished Service CrossSilver Star with First Oak Leaf ClusterBronze Star Medal with V Device and First Oak Leaf ClusterPurple Heart with Second Oak Leaf ClusterLegion of MeritGood Conduct MedalDistinguished Unit Emblem with First Oak Leaf ClusterAmerican Campaign MedalEuropean-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver service star, three bronze service stars and one bronze service arrowheadWorld War II Victory MedalCombat Infantry BadgeMarksman Badge with Rifle BarExpert Badge with Bayonet BarFrench Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de GuerreFrench Legion of Honor, Grade of ChevalierFrench Croix de Guerre with silver starBelgian Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm Sources Texas Historical Association: Audie MurphyAudie L. Murphy Memorial WebsiteArlington Cemetery: Audie L. Murphy

The six day war israel against the arab states Essay

The six day war israel against the arab states - Essay Example Moreover, it has also resulted in a special relationship between Israel and the United States after the conclusion of the war, with military support available for Israel from America. This has further fuelled the discord in the Middle east region. In 1956, during the Suez crisis, Israel had advanced its military into the Sinai peninsula, but with heavy diplomatic pressure from both the United States and the Soviet Union, Israel withdrew forces and a UN peacekeeping force was stationed in Sinai. One of the major reasons why the Suez crisis had been precipitated was the closure of the Tiran strait to Israeli shipping, but after the Suez crisis, the strait was reopened and there was temporary peace in the region despite the lack of resolution of the issues plaguing the region, since none of the Arab States recognized Israel as a separate state. The events leading up to the war were actually set into motion when Egypt became suspicious about an imminent Isreali attack on Syria planned for May 17, 1967. Such suspicions were based upon militant speeches that were being made by Israeli leaders and the substance of a Soviet intelligence report on the hostilities along the Israeli-Syrian border. As a result, Nassar personally ordered for the mobilization two divisions of troops across the Suez Canal during a late night meeting on May 13 and 14. (Bergman 2000, p 44). These troops were to be sent into Sinai with the intent of putting the armed forces in Sinai on full alert and completing the troop mobilization before an anticipated Israeli attack on May 17th. On May 18, 1967, the UAR began expelling the United Nations Emergency forces, which were there to provide a peace keeping buffer in the area and this led up to the closure of the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships on May 23rd. This was akin to a trumpet call for war, because Israel had earlier made a public declaration that it would equate any interference with freedom of navigation along

NUTRITION for INFANTS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

NUTRITION for INFANTS - Assignment Example Moreover, for INFANTS, easily digestible foods only have to be recommended. In the initial stages, they require liquid food in the form of milk. Mother milk is most ideal for INFANTS as it provides essential nutrients and vitamins and body resistance to diseases. It was found that breastfed infants have better vision than that of formula fed INFANTS (Gutierrez, 2007). In cases of non availability of mother milk, cow milk may be provided through bottle feeding. After 4 months, instant formula food which generally contains some cereals like wheat, rice etc. and essential minerals may be provided to INFANTS which prevent the incidence of any disease. Hence, for prevention of diseases in INFANTS, balanced nutrition is very important. Balanced nutrition results in assimilation of the food materials and release of energy that is required for metabolism i.e. growth and development. Balanced diet provides all the essential elements that are necessary for optimum growth and body building in INFANTS. The balanced nutrition also helps in supply of nutrients and energy required for optimum brain development and hence it is responsible for the mental growth and development of INFANTS. The nutrition rich in dietary fatty acids like omega 3 fatty acids may help in regulation of gene expression, intra cellular communication and energy homeostasis which in turn aid in optimum growth and development and learning of INFANTS (Innis, 2011). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children also emphasizes on the need of the breast feeding of INFANTS up to atleast 6 months and provision of complementary and nutrient dense and micro nutrient rich foods after 6 months for better growth and development in INFANTS (Wuehler et al., 2011). Hence, nutrition certainly affects the growth, development and learning in INFANTS. nutritional and health status of young children in the Sahel region of Sub-Saharan Africa:

Chinese Cuisine in the United States

Chinese Cuisine in the United States Since last century, Chinese food has become very popular throughout the United States. The history of American Chinese food begins before the 20th century. During the Gold Rush in California, a lot of Chinese immigrants came to the United States to build railways. They started making Chinese food in the United States, and after the Second World War, numerous numbers of Chinese restaurants have been built in this country. Since that time, people can easily find a Chinese restaurant in any city of any state. The reason why Chinese food is so popular in America is because many Americans love it. Although, most Americans do not actually know that most of the Chinese food they are eating in the United States is not authentic. American Chinese food tend to focus more on American style cooking, and contrast significantly from tradition Chinese food. Most Chinese food in the United States is deep-fried or stir-fried, but authentic Chinese food is not. Americans should know that they have the option for a better Chinese diet, which is more delicious and healthier. American Chinese cuisine should be replaced by authentic Chinese cuisine because American Chinese cuisine is unhealthy for us due to the cookings poor quality. Chinese American cuisine started adapting to unhealthy cooking methods. The foundation of American Chinese food started when Chinese immigrants arrived in the United States. The first group of Chinese immigrants came from the Guangdong Province of China mainland. When they just arrived in the United States, they tried to make their hometown food. It was impossible for them to find raw food materials and traditional ingredients here. Cooking authentic Chinese food has a stringent requirement for raw food materials; the requirement requires all meat and vegetable products to be fresh. The Chinese immigrants only used all of what they could find for cooking. When railroad work was no longer available, the Chinese workers started to open restaurants. Their main customer groups were Caucasians Americans and Americans usually prefer a sweeter taste in their food. Thus, in order for the Chinese immigrants to make profits from their restaurants, the Chinese food chefs had to alter the taste of their hometown food to satisfy their local customers. Traditional Chinese food is usually saltier with rich flavors. Although, sugar is a very common ingredient for most dishes in the United States, so Chinese food chefs eventually started using sugar far more often for their dishes. Not only that, MSG (monosodium glutamate) is used very often in American Chinese cuisine for a flavor enhancer to stimulate the customers appetite, and to mask meats that are not fresh. Some problems MSG can lead to are diabetes, headaches, obesity, and addiction to MSG products. All these methods are definitely not a natural and healthy way to make food, leading American Chinese foods with higher fats and calories. The lack of professional chefs is another reason to explain why American Chinese food is dissatisfactory. As mentioned above, the earliest Chinese food chefs were railroad workers. They had never been trained to cook. In China, there are a lot of cooking schools. They provide different styles of cooking lessons and a beginner normally needs to spend two years to graduate. There are also eight distinct Chinese cuisines in China: Shandong, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Fujian, Hunan, and Anhui. However, American Chinese cuisine only develops from Guangdong cuisine, so many other authentic Chinese cuisines have not even been exposed in America widely. American Chinese chefs though, they usually learn of the skills from other previous chefs and lack a lot of experience and knowledge. As mentioned previously about adding sugar to their dishes, a lot of cooks use it as a method to cover their inexperienced cooking techniques and make their dishes taste more desirable to the Americ an taste. The American Chinese chefs eventually started to create their own dishes as well. Today, a very popular and good example would be Orange chicken. Orange chicken is deep-fried chicken covered with sweet soy sauce. It is the most popular Chinese dish in the United States and it is usually served at most Chinese restaurants. Unfortunately, in China, no one has ever heard of Orange chicken because the American Chinese chefs created it in the U.S. Therefore, many American Chinese dishes you may have experienced in the U.S., could be foreign to many people in China. American Chinese cuisine is also fast food. The bad dietary habit of Americans leads American Chinese food to be unhealthy. Americans like fast food, so Chinese American restaurants often cook quickly. They normally can prepare one dish in five minutes, but in an authentic Chinese restaurant, a dish would normally take more than fifteen minutes. How can they cook that much faster? It is because they only use one cooking method, which is frying. Fried foods are most definitely unhealthy for us. It can damage our body and brain in many ways. Fried foods can also cause us to be overweight and lead to obesity. A large percentage of people in the United States have problems with their weight. In recent years, people have turned their attention to their daily diets and claim that it is time to give up fast food. Most people only think restaurants such as McDonalds or KFC are fast foods, but American Chinese cuisine is also considered fast food. The quality of the food is poor and cooking a uthentic Chinese cuisine takes more than simply one method of cooking. American Chinese restaurants simply finish your orders in 5 minutes! You can either sit down to eat it or take it home. When you order Chinese take out and go back home to enjoy your delicious orange chicken, you call your friend and tell him you are having Chinese foodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦No! That is not Chinese food. It is American Chinese food and that is fast food. However, many Americans would disagree with the idea of replacing American Chinese food with authentic Chinese cuisine. The Chinese cuisine in America is westernized to appeal to Americans and that is what they are most familiar with. It would be equivalent to taking their Chinese food away, because technically American Chinese food was invented and invested in America. The Chinese food here is deep-fried, grease-soaked, and as well as imitated (i.e. imitation crab). That sounds a lot like most American foods and replacing American Chinese cuisine would be the same as taking away Americas invention of Chinese food. Another factor is complication. The idea of replacing American Chinese cuisine with authentic Chinese cuisine would most definitely use a lot more money and time. That time and money would go into training new chefs, establishing new restaurants, investing in many new cooking styles, and the list would go on. Also, most Chinese restaurants in America are well established a nd are spread across the states. It is not easy to change something that became successful in its own ways. It is not saying authentic Chinese cuisine is bad, but Americans find American Chinese food good, and in America, if something is good, then there doesnt need to be change. It is true that changing American Chinese food to authentic Chinese food will be complicated, but that complication is worth the investment. Unlike the American Chinese cuisine, authentic Chinese food is a lot healthier. Food is very important to Chinese culture. Most Chinese people are highly likely to pay attention to their daily food. The most important nutritional concept is Yin and Yang. Yin means cold. Yang means Hot. Every food has a specific way of heating or cooling humans body. For example, most spicy foods and meats are generally thought to be Yang. Then, green vegetables and soup are thought to be Yin. An authentic Chinese chef would know of the concept and know how to incorporate the concept to make a balanced meal. In an American Chinese restaurant though, meat is always the main role on the table, which is totally against with the Yin and Yang concept. Authentic Chinese cuisine not only promotes a more balanced meal, it promotes a healthier diet, and this is important for changing the bad dietary habit in America as mentioned earlier. Of course an investment such as this would take up a lot of time and money. It doesnt hurt to start small or at least give it a try. Already well-established American Chinese restaurants should consider lowering the number of fat contents and calories as well as balancing their meals in order to promote a healthier diet. New Chinese restaurant chefs should consider going through extensive training, study Chinese culinary, or develop different choices of authentic Chinese cuisine other than the main Guangdong cuisine that most people are familiar with. Yes, if something is good and familiar to us why change it? Although in America, they also love change! If the change is for the better, why not give it a try? America should certainly attempt some effort to give authentic Chinese cuisine a try. Chinese cuisine restaurants are still spreading rapidly throughout America. Americans should know they have the choice for a more delicious and better diet, therefore Chinese cuisine should be replaced by authentic Chinese cuisine because American Chinese cuisine is unhealthy for us due to the cookings poor quality. Most American Chinese restaurants adapt to unhealthy cooking methods, inexperience techniques, and also Americans should know that most Chinese food they are eating is also considered unhealthy fast food. There should be a Chinese food revolution; people should limit themselves fried Chicken and sweet meat as a choice for Chinese food. The only way to escape from this vicious circle fast is to hire many professional educated Chinese chefs from China and start establishing from there on. However, realistically speaking that may be far complicated and may cost a lot of money. Then again, if the change is worth the investment people should certainly give it a try. Some small starting up ideas include, already established restaurants to alter their meals to promote the Yin and Yang balanced meal concept, new chefs to consider being well educated and trained first, and also encouraging restaurants to create more other authentic Chinese cuisines that differs from todays dominant Guangdong cuisine. Variety will bring more culture to the Chinese cuisine and also shows that Americans have better choices to choose from rather than that orange chicken they always order. A lot of people are guilty of that, but if authentic Chinese cuisine can be brought up in America, then we can start bragging about the real good Chinese food we are having.

The Crimes of Crime and Punishment :: Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment

The Crimes of Crime and Punishment Our topic for this paper is Crime and Punishmet, by Fyodor Dostoevsky   . There are several different issues on this subject.   We chose three main points to talk about: The Crimes, the People who solved them, and the different types of punishments.   These are the topics we chose for our report.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Crime in the nineteeth century was rapid though out London.   But because of all of the poverty and sickness in the streets, crime was the only way to survive.   Most of the crimes that took place in London were crimes that involved stealing.   Pickpocket gangs and street gamblers were a regular sight when walking down a major London street.   Prostitution was also a big money maker on the streets, done by both girls and boys.   But crimes though out the middle class and rich were mostly property crimes and disputes which made up 90% of all crimes committed by the upper-class.   In Victorian England and like   today there a two categories which crimes fall under.   "Indictable" which is the same as our felony crimes that make up all of the major crimes.   These crimes consist of: Murder,   armed robbery, burglary, larceny, rape, and assaults on the police.   The next called category is called " Summery " crimes which is equal to our misdemeanor crimes. Summery crimes were all minor crimes such as: Property crimes, Vagrancy, Drunkenness, Prostitution, Minor Larceny , and all other minor offenses.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Probably the most famous criminal in the Victorian period was " Jack the Ripper ". Jack the Ripper was " the first modern sexual serial killer" ( Sugden, pg.2) Jack's trademark was the killing of female prostitutes.   But not only did he kill them, he would surgically remove organs and intrails and place them near the dead body. "Jack the Ripper" wasn't his only nickname, he was also called " the Whitechaple murder " because   the body's were found near the Whitechapel Road, and " The Leather Apron" because of a man that would come by and beat up the prostitutes for no reason.   Jack the Ripper is credited for 9 killings, but police think that he might be responsible for more.   All of the killing accrued with in one square mile.   Jack is described as carrying a long knife in which he would cut open his victims, and a black Gladstone bag, the contents of   which is unknown.

Ethical views expressed in ‘Lord of the Flies’ Essay

In this human world, wherever we turn there will always be conflict. No human is perfect, and all humans err. Therefore we should understand that to err is only human, and to forgive is divine. The ethical views expressed in the renowned bestseller novel, Lord of the Flies, brings into perspective the ever changing external and internal conflict that lies within each of us. None of us can quite identify with and comprehend what is passing through another’s mind, but we must make allowances for their doubting too. An example of this would be found on page 19, after Ralph is nominated chief and the author states that even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jack’s face, disappeared under the blush of mortification, (Golding, 1954). This also shows us that it is merely natural and human nature to display or conceal feelings of jealousy and contempt for each other. A common aspiration that we all seek to achieve, is the ambition to be somewhat of a perfectionist. Altho ugh we all desire to obtain level of perfection; we must be able to understand that nobody in this human world is perfect. For example, in the novel it is clear that however hard Ralph tries to be an ideal chief, there are always several obstacles in his path which provide a number of difficulties. On page 209, Ralph converses fearfully with Samneric about the things that had gone wrong and how Jack took over the whole, unsuspecting tribe. Here Ralph states, â€Å"What have I done? I liked him- and I wanted us to be rescued.† In addition to that we should all be able to realize that there is no utopia, in which we can live and survive alongside each other. At the beginning of the book it was made poignantly clear as the young boys expressed their carefree ways that they thought that an island without adults was absolutely perfect. Little did they know what was in store for them. This information is displayed on page 31 where Ralph tells the solemn group of kids that there were no grown-ups on the island. The kids were all quiet then, contemplating how their life would be affected now that there we re no adults to look after them. While reading this spectacular, fascinating novel, I was intrigued by the fact that it displayed many deep, hidden emotions and facts. It was certainly unambiguous that this book was a symbol and represented a smaller version of our world, as we perceive it today. Modern society is sometimes based more on imagination, than on the reality that actually surrounds it. Within the pages 36-37 of this book, Lord of the Flies, Ralph tries several desperate attempts to try to shake the futility out of the boys, by encouraging them to be more responsible, by keeping a watch on the fire and ships that should by chance miraculously pass by. Another point to consider is that society will never survive without any responsible figure or any set of laws and regulations. This information can be proved on pages 18 and 19, where the children decide to have a vote, as to who would be the person to lead them and take the privileged honour of being their chief. The conch can also be a symbol of rules, as the person with the conch had the right to speak, and those who were there had to respect and listen to the person who wanted to view and voice their opinions. The exception for this rule was that Ralph, as the chief could interrupt any time. I found this information on page 31 of this spellbinding novel. However, society will not always obey the rules and do justice. An example would be on page 139, where Jack questions the authority of Ralph, the current chief. Here Jacks inquires the vote of the rest of the boys present, as to which of them didn’t want Ralph to be chief of their tribe anymore. When Jack did gain control and leadership of the rest of the tribe,(pages 167 and 168) it just goes to show that man instinctively wants to rule supreme over each other, and humans will definitely repeat themselves. It is also a known verity that people are blind to reality. It is also possible that we as humans can cause the downfall and corrupt our society. For example, this novel demonstrates that the mistakes made by the children, added to the list of growing controversies that played a major part in the miscellaneous distortions of the society, as a whole. Therefore it is without doubt wise to think before you act, and consult all you options before diving headfirst into something that will cause a lot of trouble in the long run. I would have been more appropriate if Ralph had not allowed Jack to become such a close friend of his, as I feel that it helped spark the malicious contempt that Jack had possessed. This was first displayed on page 19, where Ralph commanded Jack to be the head of the hunters. Our nature will always get the better of us and destroy us. Hence, we should be able to differentiate between right and wrong. It is understandable that sometimes, this might not always be the case. The person involved might be unable to decide things for themselves or be swayed by a very strong point of view or opinion. On page 166, Jack leads a new tribe, and questions the others who want to join the tribe. This caused chaos, as the group of boys that were once bound together in one tribe, were deserting Ralph. After all, united we stand, divided we fall. Without agreeing on absolutely everything, we will succumb to failure. And as technologies, theories and opinions improve and decline, we are only contributing towards destruction of the human race. After all, aren’t we all opportunists? Ethics- a word most of us know, but fail to recognize and understand the concept behind this word. For people to understand, they should be open minded and aware that ethically speaking it is wrong to judge other people’s ethics by your standards. As humans, we all differ in every single way. Golding is one the few people who has the superlative ability to wrought a compelling, realistic, symbolic masterpiece that enable mesmerized readers to look deep within themselves and fully understand the true meaning and the underlying tendencies that surround everything in this world. In conclusion I would like to commend Mr. Golding on the wonderful, riveting modern classic, Lord of the Flies that is sure to enthrall readers of all ages for a long time to come.