All The Kings Men Corruption

Throughout the novel corruption plays a significant role. Corruption is often portrayed in politics. One aspect that can be associated with corruption is knowledge. For example once Willie Stark found out a received the knowledge of how he was being used in order to split the vote, this knowledge in a sense corrupted Willie. The Knowledge corrupted willie because it made Willie completely change his attitude in life to one that he states that all the men with power are corrupt and that they do no treat the common people with respect because they feel that the common folk are all ignorant hicks. This theory lead to how Willie was eventually able to come to power. Power often follows knowledge and is a contributing factor in the process of corruption. Once power is received a common result may end up to be corruption. Power often time corrupts people because they like the feeling of the power they have and they will do anything in their power in order to maintain their power and high rank in society. I believe that Willie Stark was not a naturally corrupt man. I say this because his whole life he tried to live it the right way and he worked hard for everything he ever received and earned. Even at the point in his life when snapped, he still had the people in mind. I believe however, that once Willie received excessive amounts of power, he lost certain aspects and qualities in which he had previously in life. This result proves how knowledge often leads to power and power can often times lead to corruption, like in the case of Willie Stark. I also believe that corruption can be spread out from the head man (the boss) all the way down to the main who works for him. I say this because if the man at top is corrupt often times the men who choose to follow him are in turn also corrupt people. While knowledge is important to man kind in order to evolve, knowledge is not always positive and can lead to why people become corrupt beings, because with knowledge there is often power due to the specific type of knowledge a person may obtain. Once this knowledge is obtained, often time this knowledge may result in an increase in power and if the person allows the increase of power to envelop them then this is the gradual decline from knowledge to corruption.

The Ending of The Awakening

While the ending of The Awakening can be interpreted in many different ways, one thing is for sure and that is that Edna committed suicide. Many debate on whether this was a courageous act or whether it was a cowardly act. I personally believe that the result and the act itself is cowardly. I believe by taking her own life she is acting selfish and cowardly. Its almost as if she was trying to free herself from something, however in doing so she never took into account the impact her actions may have on others. By taking her own life she abanded her family leaving theme without a mother. While I may think the act itself and result is cowardly i feel that the process she had to go threw was some what of courageous. I say this because it must take some courage and will power to intentionally swim out to see as far as you can knowing that you will loose your life in the process. This act goes against all of human instinct which is to survive. By going against the natural human instinct to protect herself she must of required a significant amount of bravery and determination. I also compared her relationship with the sea to one similar to a lover. I compared the sea as a lover because like a lover, you give all of yourself to that person. In marriage you promise to give all you have to the other person, you are also supposed to reveal all of yourself to your lover upon your marriage. Edna does all of this to the sea because she takes off all of her clothes and then literally gives all of herself to the sea. She gives her life to the sea which is the same as giving all of your life to your lover. I also found it significant how when Edna was described as sleepy a drowsy around her husband, the beach scenery during her suicide is also described as sleepy. One other important aspect i noticed during the ending was how music played in the background from a distant house in order to help further develop the emotions and sad feelings that has come about due to Edna taking her own life. The music also seemed as if it was all knowing and the over seeing eye of the entire situation. Its almost as if the music comes in at the end almost to say i knew that was going to happen. The music does the same thing when Edna starts to feel bad about her situation with Robert. I believe that the action itself of swimming into the sea with the goal of taking your life requires bravery or maybe just pure insanity. I also believe that the result and intentions of the act were very cowardly and selfish. She simply wanted to relieve her pain and did not think of others and the impact of her actions.

Winesburg Art

I chose to draw a picture that has to go along with Respectability. The picture i chose to draw is, i a drew a picture where i was trying to properly portray when Wash Williams was talking to George Williard down by the train tracks. One thing i added was a giant sun at the top of the drawing in order to represent happiness and love. I also made it so that Wash Williams was extending his hand towards the sun. I drew his hand in the shape of a giant net or vacuum in order to represent how Wash Williams seems to allows look at the negative side of situations and never looks at any of the positive aspects. Down at the train tracks Wash Williams is warning George Williard of what happened to him during his marriage. Wash Williams describes of how happy he was until he found out that his wife had been sleeping with other men. Wash warns George because Wash sees George and knows the situation he is in and the stage of life he is at. Wash just wishes that the same thing does not happen to George. He warns George of the evils of women and how they can dismantle everything. Wash is looking at the negative side of things once again. While he may be right about the power women ca have to destroy a man, he fails to even notice the abilities a women can also have to better a man and help him grow into a better man during marriage. The situation that happened to Wash essentially blinded him in ways that he lives life in an angry and hateful way. In the since of women, women represent the fall of man kind in Wash Williams circumstances. Wash was said to be a successful man and he used to be very good at his job, however is wife cheated on him and by doing so this was to much for Wash to handle and resulted in his demise. I also drew a stop sign in my drawing in order to represent how it is the end of the road for Wash. I also made an emphasis on altering color schemes in order to properly identify my surroundings. For instance I used dark shades to surround Wash to show how he has the life sucked out of him and lives a life of hate. I also made it so George was in between bright and happy colors and the darkness of Wash Williams. I did this in order to represent how George has the choice to live a life of hate or to live a life of happiness and love. While women represent the fall of man kind for Wash, they also represent the loss of innocence. They represent the loss of innocence in Wash because Wash was living his life not knowing and happy until he found out about his wife which stripped away all the happiness and joy he had inside of him.

Cinderella Womens role and false moral

The supposed moral of the story for Cinderella is that inner beauty and grace is the most important aspect in a women. While i may find that to be true, I feel that Cinderella did not do a good job correctly identifying that moral. While inner beauty is supposed to be the most important quality, Cinderella is only noticed because she is transformed into a beautiful princess and is allowed to go to the ball. She is then recognized by all of the men who are there, not because of her inner beauty, but because of her actual beauty. She is also described as at her most happy when she is dressed up and admired by everyone at the ball. This contradicts the moral because Cinderella finds her happiness through looking pretty and materialistic values. The entire story is changed due to Cinderella being able to show her beauty, which allows her to marry the prince and also allows her to get her sisters married into the royal family as well. All of this is brought about because of Cinderellas physically beauty which allows her to get noticed by all of the men. I believe that the true moral of the story should be about how beauty can help you to achieve happiness. I also thought it was interesting how women are perceived in the story. The women in the story are often associated with cleaning and do jobs around the house. They are also perceived as being obsessive over material things along with spending hours getting ready for the ball. Another important point is how the women in the novel are shown to achieve happiness through marriage. Making it seem as if the most important thing in a women's life is to look pretty and find a man to marry, hopefully one with money and power. The women characters are also shown to marry not in love but rather as if they marry into a social class or marry simply because it is who they end up getting "assigned to." One exception however is the stepmother. The stepmother is in control of her marriage and is given sometimes manly characteristics and traits in order too establish her as the the dominant figure in the household and her marriage. It is making a statement about women's role in society by having to give the stepmother manly traits in order to label her as the dominant figure in the household. This shows how men are most commonly more respected and taken seriously during this time and throughout the story. I also noticed how the prince is going from house to house trying to find the female who can fit the glass slipper. I felt this was significant because again, men are only focusing on the physical aspects rather than the inner beauty. He is trying to find the women who he is "in love with" and he has only seen her two nights. This is also making a statement about how men view women more by physical standards rather than personality traits.

Hands (Winesburg, Ohio)

In the Chapter known as Hands, Sherwood Anderson describes an older man by the name of Wing Biddlebaum. Wing Biddlebaum has lived in the town many years and is known for talking with his hands. Wing is known for expressing how he feels through his hands. In fact the very way he lives his life he uses his hands to express how he feels and to get his points across. The controversial issue comes about because he is a school teacher. Wing Biddlebaums's hands are described as restless activity which is much the beating of a imprisoned birds wings. This is significant because this is how he got his name. Wing brings about controversy because many in the town believe him to be a child molestar. The issue of controversy is whether Wing is simple just the kind of guy who must use his hands to express how he feels or whether or not he truly was a predator towards children or not. His hands are described as those of a surpressed bird because he feels as if he is not fully able to express himself in fear of others judging him for his actions. It is as if he feels held back which puts him into a saddened state of mind. "In their feeling for the boys under their charge such men are not unlike the finer sort of women in their love of men." If there were to be one quote that is used to try and prove that wing was in fact a child molester, this would be the quote. This quote gives me an eary feeling due to its wording. I say this because in first reading it I was creeped out, and then once I read it more closely I became more questioning and unsure of its true meaning, Being unsure of its true meaning made it even more creepy and weird for me. While their are arguments for both sides, I feel that their is always the possibility that he was in fact a sexual preadator, however there is no way of proof to show his intentions. The way I interpreted the short story was that it could go both ways, however if i lived in the town I would not be willing to take the risk and send my kid to school knowing that Wing Biddlebaum is going to be the teacher who ends up teaching my kid. I feel that regardless of whether he was or not, once the possibility and idea that he was, was put out there for everyone to know, that was the point in which he had no return and no way of convincing everyone in the town that he was not. I say this because even if he was not, the thought would be in the back of the minds of everyone in the town, especially the minds of the parents who will be sending their kids to school to be taught by Wing Biddlebaum.

Scene One A Streetcar Named Desire

In Scene one for A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams does his best to first off, introduce the setting. Following this introduction Williams also try's to set common themes which will prove to be recurring throughout the story. The first and most important theme that Tennessee Williams introduces is women dependency towards men. It is first shown when Stella is talking with Blanche about how when Stanley goes out of town she can hardly stand it and how when he returns she runs to him like a child almost, and cry's on his lap like a baby. After this statement you realize the great dependency that Stella has over Stanley. Stella then goes further to make the statement about how she feels that this connection must be love. While Stella may be blinded, as a reader you see how pathetic of a statement that truly was. By saying this, Stella refers to love as something that is forced and to her, love is dependency. Tennessee Williams also introduces the male characters as tough and almost barbaric which sets the theme for how the men act throughout the story, Tennessee Williams also introduces the women as week and full of dependency's. These to altering character traits between the women and the men, represent the entire way of how women and men are portrayed throughout the story. The dependency that is shown in the women serves as the problem that women must face throughout the story. The fear of lonliness that both Stella and Blanche have along with dependency, leads to the demise of both of the characters. Later on in the story Stella and Blanche are both faced with the common problem of Stanley. Stanley served as an antagonist character due to how he both mentally and physically abused both Stella and Blanche. Stella and Blanche both new of the problem they had with Stanley and they both new how they had been mistreated by Stanley, yet they are both unable to do anything to fix the problem due to their dependency towards Stanley. If they had not had this dependency towards Stanley, they could of simply gotten Stanley out of their lives. However, nether of the women are able to do so which is the reason for the continuing problem with Stanley. Both women are trapped in their unhappy lives and are helpless and unable to do anything to pull them out of their situation. Both women have depended on people their whole lives because they both grew up as wealthy southern bells. Growing up this way may have resulted in the women being overly dependent on others and not being able to do things by their own. This handicaps both of them and again serves to be the reason for their eventual downfall. Their willingness to depend and trust others in order to not be lonely is the sole reason for how both women end up in the situations that both of them ended up in, dependent, out of place, and lonely.

The Garden of Eden in ATKM and Analysis First Chapter in Winesburg

This week during class Lauren presented her allusion presentation on The Garden of Eden. I thought it was very interesting how she compared Adam Stanford, in All the Kings Men to the actual Adam in the Bible. The comparison between the to starts out simply that they are both named Adam which may have been a point that Warren was trying to make in order to make a closer connection between the two characters. Adam Stanfords life can also be compared to the real Adam in the Bible, because like the real Adam, Adam Stanford goes from innocence with good intentions to corruption and sin. Adam Stanford started out his life as an innocent young child. Throughout his life he does all he can to do good and make the right decisions but just like Adam in the bible, Adam Stanford allows sin and temptation in his life. Adam Stanford gets tied up and connected with Willie which is similar to how Adam eats the forbidden fruit. In both cases knowledge leads to corruption and the final result is death and loss of innocence through the evils of sin.
        The first chapter in Winesburg, Ohio may seem at first glance to be a short three and a half pages, however, I believe this chapter may represent common themes and ideas that may be expressed throughout the novel. My reaction the the first chapter was one of excitement. I say excitement because after reading the first chapter I got the feeling that i was about to be let in on information that can only be gained through years of experience. I say this because first off the writer to me seems as if he has done many things in his life and now all he wants to do is step back relax and some how write about morals and life lessons he has learned through the way he learned them and that is by actual living and showing the individual highs and lows of the ever day common person. I also liked how the old man is at the point in his life where he knows death could come at any moment and instead of fearing that moment he lives everyday to his fullest. keeping this in mind I felt as if I was going to get the total truth and nothing but it, due to the point in life in which the old man is at. In reading the first chapter I also noticed how the old man had something inside of him that was spurring him to write. Its as if he has done everything he has wanted to do in his life and now he is at peace because he is able to look out the window and write about his life. This inner feeling that he describes himself as having is a feeling of youth inside of him because he is able to live his life with happiness and care free which enables him. The old man also discusses a lot about truths and how man invented all the truths and some men choose to live their lives based on these truths.

All the Kings Men (Willie Stark)

A common theme throughout the novel was how Willie Stark seemed to let others control him and never stand up for himself. It all started when Willie worked countless hours studying and trying to learn how to be a lawyer. Once he finally reached his goal in becoming a lawyer he let the people in town with all the power push him around. The men judged Willie as someone they would just be able to use as their puppet to do whatever they wanted him to do. When Willie decided to take a stand he was then run out of town. Once the people find out of the disaster at the school during a fire drill they realize that Willie was right. At this point i feel like Willie is finally his own man and will be able to live on top. While this may seem to be the case it is quickly realized that once again the men with all the power are using Willie in order for their own gains. It may upper as if Willie has it together because he is running for mayor but one thing that Willie fails to realize is that he is being used for one reason and that is so that he can split the vote allowing another candidate to win. Willie is once again used and discarded at the end. Up to this point in the novel Willie could be described as a push over and a man who is ignorant and abused due to not being able to stand up for himself. However, once Willie finally realizes how he is being used he snaps and realizes what is happening to him. This realization serves as the point in the novel where Willie transforms into a completely different person. Its almost as if Willie had been walking around with a giant weight on his back and then he finally just gets tired of everything and he finally had just had simply enough of it. Willie changes from a boring speaker and a push over to a man who can thrill crowds with provocative speeches along with stand up and make decisions by himself. Willie decides to create his own path and this is how Willie is able to change his life and eventually become who he ended up to be later in his life. Another key aspect in Willies personality change is how he is now able to connect to the common person which enable him to get more votes. Now in his speeches he says things like they think we are ignorant country folk, or they think we are hicks, well we will show them what hicks can really do. When Willie states things along these lines in his speeches it allows him to strike home in ways that he was never able to do before in his speeches in which they were considered to be boring and full of complex mathematics and numbers that the people could not connect to. If willie had never came to a realization of how people are using him in life he would of never of been able to make it as far as he made it in the political world.