This paper traces Japanese trade, European influence on this trade, and the internal power struggles resulting from European influence from the early 17th century to the late 19th century.
Abstract This paper studies the European influence on Japanese trade and political power structure. It specifically reports on Japanese policies towards foreigners from the early 17th century to late 19th century, Commodore Perry and the effects of his visit, the Shimonoseki incident, the treaties Japan signed with foreign nations, and how the politics of Japan were influenced by foreign contact are all discussed. This paper outlines Japan's trade with Western civilizations from its beginning, marked by Francis Xavier's landing in Kyushu, through Nobunaga and his influence, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu.
From the Paper "In 1551, a 19 year old lord of a small territory began his conquests in Japan, with the support of both European military technology and the missionaries. His name was Nobunaga. Nobunaga's main fear was that of the great power of the Buddhist monasteries, and, because of this, he welcomed the Jesuits to his captured territories, which included the capital, Kyoto. Nobunaga was assassinated in 1582, and his most trusted and successful general, Hideyoshi, came into power. Hideyoshi was a man who feared change, and his reforms showed this. He reinstated old laws, forcing samurai to stay with their lords, peasants to stay with their farms, and artists and artisans to stay with their villages. Hideyoshi, who, like his lord, feared the Buddhists, but unlike his lord did not trust the Jesuits, began to ban Christian missionaries, although the Christian church continued to operate underground in Japan."
This paper not only tells about the Stephen Crane short story "The Open Boat," but it also tells of Crane's early life, his writing career, his unique style of writing and the underlying themes that he uses in "The Open Boat."
Abstract This paper tells how Crane's family, travels, his real life experiences and the time era in which he grew up and wrote (the era of Social Darwinism and Devout Humanists) encouraged him to be the type of writer that he was. This paper also shows Crane's writing styles of "impressionistic color" and "detailed symbolism" and gives examples from the story. It shows too how Crane used the underlying themes of "picturesque imagery" and "incisive irony" in "The Open Boat."
From the Paper "Stephen Crane was one of America's foremost naturalistic writers. Crane exercised keen observations, as well as personal experience to achieve a narrative vividness and sense of contiguity realized by few American writers before him (Votleler 97). Stephen Crane was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1871. He was the youngest of fourteen children born to a father, a Methodist Minister, and a socially reform minded mother. Crane's family settled in America during the mid-seventeenth century. Although his parents were religious people, Stephen systematically rejected religious and social traditions. He is described as a temperamentally gentle man, however, was obsessed with war and other forms of physical and psychic violence (Baym 741)."
Abstract The conquest of California as portrayed by Walker was little more than an uncontrolled land grab. In vivid detail, Walker recounts both the martial exploits and the political controversies of John Charles Fremont, Commodore Robert Field Stockton, and General Stephen Watts Kearney. Fremont, however, cannot have created California on his own. Stockton came to California to earn a military win over Castro - the last remaining resistance of any real force in California to Fremont's desired ends.
Abstract The traditional Japanese home is based on Ma - the balance between space and objects. The space is divided by shoji screens, which slide on wooden tracks and can be detached to let the outside in. This paper discusses the history of shoji screens and how it influenced western design.
From the Paper "Shoji has been used in modern Western homes in various ways. Large pane windows with unpleasant views are roofed with shoji to improve the overall appearance. Walls are covered with shoji to increase the sense of spaciousness as well as to add more light through the screen's natural reflecting qualities. A pair of shoji sliding doors is ideal for bathrooms, and space-saving shoji doors function as a closet. For the bathroom, waterproof material often is built-in with the shoji."
An examination of American realism as it is portrayed in three of Stephen Crane's short stories - "The Blue Hotel," "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" and "The Open Boat."
Abstract This paper examines three short stories by Stephen Crane, with an eye towards revealing how each one represents the finest in the American realist tradition. The paper analyzes "The Blue Hotel," "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" and "The Open Boat." Through the three texts and his characters, the paper discusses how Crane shows human heroism in a time of crisis.
From the Paper "The speech, just like the dialogue of the previous story, is undeniably salty, undeniably the speech of ordinary men with rough edges. For instance, as Johnnie grows exasperated by the agitated Swede, he finally says, "Kill you? Man you're off your nut" (Crane, 14). A little later, as a perplexed Scully tries to confer with the frantic Swede, he refers to "illictric" street cars instead of "electric" street cars while detailing what the future holds in store for Fort Romper. Later, of course, we learn that Fort Romper is in "Nebrasker" and far removed from any wild gun fights that might be troubling the Swede (Crane, 16). In the end, the Swede does die, just as he foretold all who would listen and we discover that the sullen men around him could have stopped it (Crane, 16)."
