Free College Essays - The Evil of Mankind portrayed in Melville’s Moby Dick :: Moby Dick Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Melville’s primary focus in his classic novel Moby Dick is the evil of mankind, a point of focus consistent with his anti-Transcendental philosophical alignment.   In Moby Dick, Melville illistrates man’s feelings of evil toward fellow man and nature through his thoroughly developed plot and character.   Melville also illistrated this in the components of the thematic layer which, underlies almost every character’s personal motives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Analysis of Melville’s own motives helps to clarify the author’s reasoning behind each of the examples of man’s evil in his novel.   In order to fully understand his anti-Transcendental belief, it is necessary to first comprehend the origin of anti-Transcendentalism.   Transcendentalism is the term linked to the Emersonian-Thoreauvian set of beliefs, which incorporated the existence of an Oversoul and the benevolent disposition of man as the default soul.   Melville and others like him was opposed to the Transcendental views.   The natural opposition to a theory of man’s general benevolence is one of his malevolence toward everything around him; the primary idea behind anti-Transcendentalism was all human people have a capacity for evil and that, given the proper circumstances, the evil in anyone would come forth in their actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The plot and characters of Moby Dick contribute to its anti-Transcendental philosophy; the entire story revolves around the evil of man, which is demonstrated in practically each person portrayed in the book.   The story itself is about man being pitted against nature, as though the two were never meant to coincide peacefully.   The men on the ship must fend for themselves against the harsh maritime weather and the believably evil whales which they hunt.   Natural forces ravage the population of the whaling vessel; in the end, only the narrator survives.   In turn, man is reciprocally evil toward nature; the men destroy the giant sea creatures for their blubber and drop the stripped carcasses back into the water.   In addition to this collective evil of the people on the ship, many of the individuals are shining examples of humanity’s evil themselves.   Captain Ahab, the primary character in the book, makes the sole dedication in his life one of vengeance on the great white whale after which the novel was named.   Ahab does, at times, show that he has a less wicked side (signified by the scar that seemingly divides his body into two separate people), but in the end, the evil half of him overcomes his goodness.

The Glorious Revolution in England

The Glorious Revolution of England happened in the seventeenth century, and the French Revolution, happened in the late eighteenth century to early nineteenth century this is during the age of enlightenment. The revolutions where started because of the new ideas and wants of the common people. They have a lot of similarities because they influenced each other but they also have many differences because they are different countries and people.Because the ideas from the revolutions are so new and smart they influenced many other countries and their governments. The Glorious Revolution of England came fist during the eightinth century was the idea to overthrow King James II and replace him with a ParliamentThe French Revolution began with members of the Third Estate pronouncing the Tennis Court Oath in June, the assault on the Bastille in July. The similarities are mostly in how the revolution was started.Both King Charles I and Louis XVI were in debt because of the lack of money left b ehind from past monarchs. Both kings gave the problem on the peasants which made them very angry. They didn’t want to pay off the debt of the monarchs who they already payed large taxes to. King Charles I and Louis XVI had to summon on Parliament and the Estates to fix their financial issue. Instead of fixing the money problem they came up with new ways of government and planned against the monarchy. The main differences between the revolutions came from the philosophers.The main philosopher that influenced the revolution in France was Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the main philosopher for England was John Locke. John Locke was known as the father of libertarionism and is reguarded as one of the most influencial elightenment thinkers. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s political philosophy influenced the French Revolution and the advance of modern political and educational ideas The political and social ideas of both the English and the French revolutions influenced many governments in the world such as America, Canada, Germany.. tc. Because of the English revolution the political idea of a constitutional monarchy rose and allowed more freedom and input from the common people in England. The French revolution made way for new government systems, such as democracy and socialism. The glorious revolution in England and the French revolution both are key turning points during the age of enlightenment and have influenced many of today’s governments as well.

State Gemstones and Dates They Were Adopted

Thirty-five of the 50 states have designated an official state gem or gemstone. Montana and Nevada have both named two (one precious and one semiprecious), while Texas has named a state gem and gemstone cut.   Most of the gem names are linked to the picture gallery of state gemstones. The Adoption Date link goes to the best existing material from the respective state government or science institution. More detail below the table.   State Gemstone Adoption Date Alabama Star blue quartz 1990 Alaska Jade 1968 Arizona Turquoise 1974 Arkansas Diamond 1967 California Benitoite 1985 Colorado Aquamarine 1971 Florida Moonstone 1970 Georgia Quartz 1976 Hawaii Black coral 1987 Idaho Star garnet 1967 Kentucky Freshwater pearl 1986 Louisiana Cabochon cut oyster shell 2011 Maine Tourmaline 1971 Maryland Patuxent River stone 2004 Massachusetts Rhodonite 1979 Michigan Chlorastrolite (pumpellyite) 1973 Minnesota Lake Superior agate 1969 Montana SapphireMontana agate 19691969 Nebraska Blue agate 1967 Nevada Nevada turquoiseVirgin Valley black fire opal 19871987 New Hampshire Smoky quartz 1985 New Mexico Turquoise 1967 New York Almandine garnet 1969 North Carolina Emerald 1973 Ohio Ohio flint 1965 Oregon Oregon sunstone 1987 South Carolina Amethyst 1969 South Dakota Fairburn agate 1966 Tennessee Freshwater pearls 1979 Texas Texas Blue topazLone Star Cut (gemstone cut) 19691977 Utah Topaz 1969 Vermont Grossular garnet 1991 Washington Petrified wood 1975 West Virginia Fossil coral Lithostrotionella 1990 Wyoming Nephrite jade 1967 A gemstone is not necessarily a sparkling crystal—the majority of state gemstones are not crystalline minerals, but rather colorful rocks that look their best as flat, polished cabochons (perhaps in a bolo tie, belt buckle or ring). Most are unpretentious, inexpensive stones with democratic appeal.   Above all else, the gems are unique to or represent their state in some fashion.  Arkansas adoption of diamond as their state gem, for example, is due to the state having the only public diamond deposit in the USA. On the other hand, Floridas state gem (moonstone) is not actually found in Florida. Instead, its adoption  is a tribute to the role that the state played in the  1969 moon landing. Of course, state legislators do not follow the same guidelines as geologists for how they classify a gem. In many cases, states have named rocks, minerals or even fossils  as their gem or gemstone.   Helpful Links Many gems have both a gemstone name and a mineral name, cross-listed in  this pair of tables.  My favorite and most easily navigable site for all state symbols is  statesymbolsusa.org.   Be sure to check out my list of state fossils, state minerals and state rocks. You might find that the lawmakers did not necessarily follow the geologic rule book for those classifications, either.   Edited by Brooks Mitchell