Abstract This paper discusses how, in the decline of the Golden Era of piracy, pirates were romanticized and their tales of debauchery and barbarism became tales of adventure and heroics. What was a rough crew of crude, unhewn and dirty men became a galleon full of assorted yet amiable fools led by a gentleman-captain. The paper then debates whether pirates were an asset to the British Empire, their influence remarkable yet unnoted for the most part. The paper also looks at how, although they were thought of as thieves by both empire and colony, they were thieves who encouraged trade, encouraged battle between empires, raised a black flag to ward off political involvement, led lives of debauchery and violence, and yet opened a door to the largest and most influential empire of our time.
From the Paper "The British Empire encouraged piracy in another way as well: the values held by the Crown were the same values held by pirates. Unconsciously, the British Empire encouraged the growth of pirates by making lawlessness in the New World seem perfectly acceptable in the Old World. The Crown handed out commissions to privateers with a free hand, encouraging attacks on the Spanish and French Empires and ships. Seeing this, those who were once privateers or had worked on privateer ships, colonists whose small plantations could not compete with larger ones, runaway slaves and indentured servants, women in disguise fleeing lives and families in Britain, criminals on the lamb, and many other sorts of people, were all encouraged to take to pillaging recklessly on their own, as the Crown mirrored their actions by pillaged other Empires. Using their own or merchant ships, they set out to plunder and pillage with abandon, not fearing reprisal from their own Empire as it was permitted by Crown and Country. "
This paper discusses the identity of the African American and the way in which all individuals should be accepted as they are, with reference to the Invisible Man, author Ralph Ellison, August Wilson's play Fences, Corregidora by Gayl Jones and...
3,150 words (approx. 12.6 pages), 0 sources, 2001, $ 91.95
Abstract The following paper attempts to show how the identity of man is accepted or not, by the society within which he lives. The author makes reference to several novels and plays in order to show the challenge involved in communicating across our barriers of race and religion, class, color and region. He cites August Wilson's play Fences where he expores three generations of African-American men and the generational changes of each man from the Reconstruction Era to the late 1950's. In the other works examined he discusses the acceptance of individuals within a society, family identity and black masculinity.
From the paper:
?Go Tell It to the Mountain is Baldwin's examination into his own family, one that's more introspective, bound nonetheless by personal experiences. In the novel Florence shares some of Ursa's perception of love and men. Florence is unable to love because she's jealous of her brother Gabriel, whom their mother devoted her attention upon; the affect of her friend's Deborah's rape; and Gabriel's apparent life of debauchery. She believes all men are distrustful, driven by lust, desiring control of their women. Surprisingly, Deborah married a man to secure the material comforts she never had in life; in fact, she's become rather obsessive about materialism, preferring it to the humanism that she has discarded from herself. Her hostility toward men, particularly Gabriel, has sterilized her own happiness. The theme of sterility threatens family foundations, especially with Gabriel.?
Abstract The paper examines how the novel embodies the economic and social problems in Britain in the first decades of the eighteenth century. This paper explains that the book is intended to teach a moral lesson, and that the nature of the main character, Moll, as a "fallen woman" threatens the stability of the social Great Chain of Being, as addressed by Alexander Pope in his "Essay on Man".
From the Paper "Defoe's approach to this novel is ironic, for he infuses his social criticism with a dual morality. On the one hand is the standard Christian morality that Moll breaks at every turn. Defoe also offers a critique based on natural law, seeing man as motivated mainly by self and self-interest, just as Pope said. The Great Chain of Being is a product of Christian morality, while Defoe's critique of the society of his time shows it to be so overwhelmed by natural forces and self-interest that people like Moll have no choice but to do what they can to overcome the poverty into which they are born."
Abstract Among the most colorful periods in America's remarkable early history is the Gold Rush era. In the late 1800s, the discovery of gold triggered a flood of immigrants into the country, all intent on making their fortune. These miners shaped the early history of America and created a great deal of the legend that surrounds the era of the "Wild West". While some of the legends of lawlessness and debauchery are clearly exaggerated, life in the mining towns of the Gold Rush era was clearly 'rough and ready'. This paper examines life in the mining camps of the Gold Rush era. This includes a look at the people who made up the camps, the general atmosphere, as well as prostitution, gambling, general lawlessness, and the role of religion within the mining camps. The demise of the mining camps is examined in the context of the development of the railroad and the emergence of the Settlement Act. In addition, the fate of many of these mining camps as ghost towns is discussed, including threats to their continuing existence and hopes for their preservation.
From the Paper "Today, time has begun to erase the physical traces of many of America's more permanent historic mining camps. As a result, there has been a recent movement aimed at the preservation of these pieces of American history. In Montana, Virginia City and Nevada City were considered among the National Trust's top 10 "Most Endangered Historic Properties." The two towns were famous for their fine collection of buildings and artifacts from the 1860s and 1870s gold rush era, and were being slowly auctioned off by a private owner. Ultimately, the State of Montana, in association with a group of private and public sources known collectively as the Montana Heritage Preservation and Development Commission bought the property, and began preservation in earnest (Visit Montana)."
Abstract This paper first provides a biographical account of the life and death of Saint Augustine of Hippo. The paper then goes on to discuss Saint Augustine's theological philosophies and beliefs and how he came to arrive at these beliefs.
From the Paper "Saint Augustine, also known as Aurelius Augustinus, was born in 354 A.D. in the small town of Thagaste in the Roman province of Numidia (now located in northeastern Algeria). His parents seem to have been bohemian in nature and part of the middle class; his hard-drinking father Patricius apparently developed the symptoms of alcoholism quite early along with severe emotional disintegration in the form of obsessive womanizing and violent outbursts toward his son and wife. This prompted Augustine's mother Monica to turn to religion and give up the bohemian lifestyle which then transformed her frustrations and disappointments with life into ambitious designs for her obviously gifted and talented son."
Abstract This paper discusses the protagonists from the novels, "Moll Flanders" by Daniel Defoe and "Pamela" by Samuel Richardson. The paper examines whether both Moll and Pamela were virtuous women. The paper contends that Moll is a good person, therefore she is a virtuous woman in the eyes of the reader, while Pamela is a chaste woman, therefore in the author's eyes she is a virtuous woman. The paper explores the narrative structures of the two novels, claiming that they contribute to this different definition of virtue in both the texts.
From the Paper "Both Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders and Samuel Richardson's Pamela tell the tales of what the (male) authors perceive as extraordinary lives of two virtuous but lower class women. However, for Richardson, Pamela's virtue is defined solely in terms of her ability to resist the sexual advances of her employer, Mr. B. The novel evolves through a series of eloquent letters whereby poor Pamela is pursued, spied upon and conspired against in the B. family home and country estate, all the while the girl attempts to retain her virginity, even going so far as to hide in the bed of another female servant's to do so. Daniel Defoe's Moll is subject to more economic and worldly hardships, and her virtue is defined not in terms of her resistance and denial of her body and sexual circumstances but in terms of her openness to others, her kindness, and her ability to shift with her circumstances. Moll is a good person, therefore she is a virtuous woman in the eyes of the reader (and however grudgingly, in the eyes of her creator), while Pamela is a chaste woman, therefore in the author's eyes she is a virtuous woman."
Abstract This book report reviews Christopher Isherwood's book 'The Berlin Stories'. The paper highlights examples of the wild, decadent and colorful lifestyle in Berlin before World War II, by tracing the characters portrayed in 3 short stories, 'The Nowarks', 'Sally Bowles' and 'On Reugen Island' contained in this book.
From the Paper "The story that best describes decadent or debauched behavior however is "Sally Bowles." The heroine encountered by Isherwood here is Sally Bowles, a 19-year-old English girl who works as a singer in The Lady Windermere, a cabaret. No doubt a colorful character, Sally exemplifies the wild and wicked lifestyle of her time. Sex for her was a mere trifle. She points out the men she sleeps with no hint of self-consciousness or shame. "That's the man I slept with last night. He makes love marvelously. He's an absolute genius at businesses and he's terribly rich." (Isherwood, 1963, p. 23). Seduction, fun and games, are all part of Sally's way of life as well as that of the people around her. "For heaven's sake, don't leave me alone with this man! Or he'll seduce me down the telephone. He's most terribly passionate" (Isherwood, 1963, p. 22)."
Abstract This paper reviews and discusses the short story, 'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allen Poe. According to the paper, Poe is one of the masters of horror fiction and his story, 'The Black Cat', is intended both to shock as well as educate. According to the paper, the central theme of this story is that the real nature of true horror and terror does not necessarily exist outside of ourselves or in the dark night, but can exist within the human heart.
From the Paper "Throughout the story there is a comparison between two aspects of human nature. These two aspects however are seen to exist within the same human being. On the one hand we see that the main character is originally a good and kind man but that his nature changes radically for the worse. While alcohol is suggested as the catalyst for this change, the story also makes it clear that the transformation of the man for good to bad is a result of something more than just drinking. "
Abstract This paper explains that Micah, Isaiah, Amos and Hosea, usually referred to as the minor prophets, were biblical realists, trapped in a faithless and dangerous world in which they lived and worked. The author points out that these four prophets, whose words of wisdom can be found in their various books in the Old Testament, lived their entire lives in a tightly-knit social culture in which the behaviors of their fellow men and women often bordered upon debauchery and much sinning. The paper stresses that, in the world of these four prophets, constantly disrupted by economic, political and social conflicts, a new vitality was created, which gave rise to a great sense of unity within their social settings. The author discuses the life and contribution of each prophet.
From the Paper "To Amos, Israel, which he often referred to as Ephraim, was a nation made up of God's chosen people whom He loved and admired for their courage and internal strength. Hosea's devotion to Israel was, of course, a very natural thing since he was a native of that country. Exactly where he lived or what his occupation was is unknown, but he most probably lived in one of the many northern towns, for his book in the Old Testament does not suggest village life nor that of a farmer. But like Amos, Hosea saw the luxury of the rich and the oppression of the poor and in his speech he denounces both but not in the way of Amos with defiant bitterness."
