An Essay on Responsibility in A Separate Peace

An Essay on Responsibility in A Separate Peace A Separate Peace: Responsibility A responsibility is something for which one is held accountable. Often people say that one is responsible for one’s own words and actions; if something happens as a result of something one does one is responsible for it. But is it possible that something could be the result of various actions from different people who are therefore equally responsible, or is there always one person who is most responsible for the incident at hand? Such a situation where this question is relevant is present in the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles. In the novel, the main character, Gene, ponders his responsibility for the death of his best friend, Phineas or Finny. After reading Gene’s account of the events that led to Finny’s death the reader may observe that there are three people who are all partially at fault for Finny’s death. Gene, a classmate named Brinker, and Phineas all had something to do with the incident, but who was most responsible for it? Gene is probably the most obvious to blame for part of Phineas’ death. Gene clearly feels guilty, that is why he returns to the tree fifteen years after the fact, for some sort of closure. As Gene and Finny were about to jump from a tree branch into the river together, Gene shook the branch causing Phineas to fall into the river unexpectedly and hurt his leg. Later on, when Phineas re-injured his leg and was having it set in a routine operation, he passed away. The doctor said that it was probably because some marrow entered his blood stream and caused his heart to stop. But if Finny had never fallen in the first place he would have not been on that operating table. Therefore, indirectly an action of Genes eventually resulted in Finny’s death. But was this action done consciously? The author does not specify. â€Å"My knees were bent and I jounced the limb†(Knowles p.52) says Gene in his account of the incident. â€Å"I jounced† is an active verb but †Å"were bent† is passive meaning that some unknown force bent Gene’s knees and as a result of that he jounced the limb. Since this action was not totally Gene’s he is not thus totally responsible for the fall or the events that occurred as a result of it. Brinker, Gene and Finny’s classmate was responsible for the circumstances that lead to Phineas’ second fall. Brinker suspected that Gene was responsible for Finny’s first fall and begrudged him somewhat for not enlisting in the army with him when he had wanted to. It was Brinker who called together the trial in which Gene was prosecuted for purposely causing Finny to fall off the tree. But even if Gene was to blame for Finny’s first fall, it was not necessary to drag Finny out of bed in the middle of the night and put him through such emotional turmoil when he was still physically vulnerable from the accident. If Brinker had not organized the trial Finny would have never rushed out in such an upset manner causing him to fall and hurt himself again. The doctor was not sure why Phineas died. â€Å"In the middle of it [the surgery] his heart just stopped. I can’t explain it.†(Knowles p.185) He said. Later on the doctor conjectured that Phineas p robably died when marrow entered his blood circulation and clogged his heart but Gene meant the world to Finny. The idea Brinker introduced to Phineas that his best friend would betray him hurt Phineas severely and maybe even caused him to loose the will to live. Brinker’s actions were crucial to Finny’s death and since they were done with cruel intentions Brinker is largely responsible for the death of his classmate. Surprisingly enough Finny is partly responsible for his own death. He knew that jumping off the tree into the river was dangerous hence the name of the club â€Å"Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session†(Knowles p.24) whose membership requirement was one jump from the tree. Also, if not for Finny Gene wouldn’t even have come to the meeting the night of the accident, Gene wanted to stay in the dorm and study but Finny used reverse psychology in order to convince him to come. Lastly, it was also Finny’s idea that they jump together rather then alone, risking the possibility that the movement of one could cause the other to loose his balance. If not for any of these incidents Finny would never have fallen to begin with, Gene’s trial would never have taken place, and he would not have found himself on that operating table. This makes Finny largely responsible for his first fall and partly responsible for his death. In conclusion although none of them were conscious that their actions would eventually lead to Finny’s death, Gene, Brinker, and Finny were all partly responsible for it. The one most to blame however was Finny himself, starting a club in which jumping off the tree into the river was a membership requirement was the first in the series of events that eventually lead to his death. If Finny had not done this none of the incidents which Gene and Brinker were at fault for would have ever had reason to take place. Consequently, the person most to blame for the death of Phineas was Phineas himself. As the song goes: â€Å"It is of no surprise to me, I am my own worst enemy.†(Lit Place in the Sun)

Art World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Art World - Essay Example It is this position that Danto (1999) saw as misplaced and lacking basis to consider art as coming to an end. Indeed, the basis for revisiting the subject of the end-of-art thesis in the present seminar is to compare the validity of the arguments presented by the two writers in today’s era of art world. The opinions that are going to be expressed on the article will therefore be broad enough to capture the entire relationship between the artist’s power of innovation and the influence it has on art world. Much of the argument would also focus on modern day art so as to have an understanding of the power of the artist in using some of the world’s modernity to transform the art world. In the article, Danto (1999) identifies two modes of thought in art. These are subjective and objective spirits. According to Danto (1999), subjective spirit deals closely with the artist’s cognitive interpretation of the world around him, based on which themes of art world are presented. Largely so, Hegel (1975) had argued that in the application of their subjective spirits, artists have refused to have an awakening of thought that is based on the need for the output of their works to be based on genuine truth about human reasoning. This is a notion that Danto refuses to accept because in the opinion of Dante, generational dynamism is necessary for giving the artist much room to try out more innovation that presents the art world with an era of social thinking that is based on the artist’s own cognitive empowerment. Indeed, taking the arguments presented by the two writers on subjective spirits of artists and presenting it in modern social art, one would say that the new era of artist subjectivity where genuine truth of life no longer exists as the subject matter for most forms of art has been accepted as being fairly befitting for the changing society. A very typical example that can be cited of this is the use of sci-fi art where artists create i deas from their subjective reasoning that are not based on original human reasoning. Indeed, record sales of sci-fi movies and books such as Inception and Men in Black glorifies the point by Danto that the trend of subjective spirit in modern art does not necessarily mean an end to art. There is also the second mode of thought that has to do with objective spirit. Under this mode of thought, Dante (1999) explains in his article that it has to do with the reasoning of art that is taken from a broader social perspective such as political institutions, moral codes and forms of family life. From this score, Hegel had argued that artist are no longer doing society much good from their themes of art work because they had taken new position in the art world where sensationalism had become the order of the day. Yet again, Danto does not see eye in eye with Hegel. In the opinion of Danto, â€Å"It is from the perspective of objective spirit that any institutional theory of art is credibleâ €  (p. 4). This means that once a piece of art that is produced from an objective spirit becomes accepted by society and judged as credible, not much can be said against it in terms of whether or not it is contributing to a dying art world. Clearly, any modern day artist who takes up an objective perspective of art

Eastern Philosopher Letter Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Eastern Philosopher Letter - Personal Statement Example An individual's life today is determined by the deeds of his past lives and his present deeds in turn would affect how his next lives will turn out to be. In short if an individual commits a good action, traces of its effects would be seen in his or her next several lifetimes, and the same is true for a bad action. The moral quality of an action is determined by the intention with which it is committed, a good action results from a good intention, and a bad intention begets bad action. But Ananda, know that the most significant reason why Human suffering is caused is because of ignorance, which does not leave room for enlightenment; and selfish, egoistical cravings, which make an individual the servant of his or her lusts and desires. Ignorance ensures that an individual does not see the truth for what it is, and so ends up running after things that do not really matter in the path towards attainment of lasting peace and bliss. Due to this ignorance, the individual stays caught up in self-centered cravings which cannot always be truly fulfilled in an uncertain world, where even the best of circumstances can change into the worst in the blink of an eye. The events of this world are mostly beyond human control, and only disappointment and frustration can come of trying to control them. One cannot physically escape aging, death, illness, pain, sorrow, separation and other such avenues of human suffering in this cosmos, and the only way of doing so is to heighten one's spiritual perception of actual reality. Dear Ananda, true release from suffering or nirvana can only come through meditation and self-abnegation, because it is only through these that one can reach enlightenment, and cease to have egoistical cravings. The cycle of reincarnation is brought to a halt through the disciplinary practice of meditation and self-denial, because through these the individual comes to a stage where he or she does not have any self-centered desires. Once the ego becomes non-existent, and the individual stops thinking only about himself or herself, the path for nirvana is cleared. An individual is able to deny his or her self so totally because he or she realizes that what is usually thought of as the Self is not the real Self at all. The real Self is not one's consciousness, nor one's body. It is the spiritual essence within that is essentially free from all worldly contaminations. People forget their natural existence as spirit, and become involved in the temporal illusions of this world, immersing themselves in its transient realities, desiring temporary and materialistic satisfactions. But once an individual knows and accepts his or her original, true nature, the importance of the false self or the ego diminishes by itself. Know, my dear Ananda, that there is human suffering in this world. This suffering has specific and identifiable causes. It can be ended and the way to end suffering is through enlightened living, as expressed in the Eightfold Path I have given you. This path in its components provides guidance for the initial mental outlook of the individual, behavior appropriate for the individual in his or her quest for enlightenment, and the higher mental and spiritual qualities involved in a total dis-attachment from self. The very first of these components is the Right View, which means that to achieve freedom from suffering one has to try and look at reality as it actually is, and to

Kay Sage From Another Approach :: Essays Papers

Kay Sage From Another Approach My room has two doors and one window. One door is red and the other is gray. I cannot open the red door; the grey door does not interest me. Having no choice, I shall lock them both and look out of the window. -Kay Sage The work of Kay Sage (1898-1963) is known to be some of the most abstract art produced during the Surrealism movement. (Chadwick, 1997) Although it does not appear at first glance to be anywhere near as abstract as other Modernist artists such as Sonia Delaunay or Liubov Popova, (Chadwick, 1997. Pg 263 & 267) it has a kind of dreamlike quality about it that transports the viewer to another world. Kay Sage’s From Another Approach (1944) is one of her early works from when she was starting to experiment in Surrealism. Unfortunately, my search did not turn up any criticisms on that particular piece, so I will use criticisms from other similar pieces from the same time period as From Another Approach, 1940 1954.(Suther, 1997. Pg 89-159) Modernist paintings are many times described as being universal because ‘they’re just a bunch of pretty shapes and colors and everyone likes pretty shapes and colors.’ What most people don’t realize is that Modernist art conveys a sense of otherworldly reality through the ‘pretty shapes and colors.’ At first glance, From Another Approach seems to fit in with the Modernism stereotype. Its simple geometric figures grouped almost stylishly on the right hand side (of the viewer) and clever variation of the olive tone give it the perfect ‘living room picture.’ That is, it could be hung on a living room wall not as art, but as a decoration to enhance the living area. This type of association diminishes what the artist was trying to convey. The following is an excerpt from Time magazine, March 13, 1950, on Sage’s painting The Instant. â€Å"I can’t tell you what it would mean to most people, but I do know what it means to me. It’s a sort of showing what’s inside - things half mechanical, half alive. The mountain itself can represent almost anything - a human being, life, the world, and fundamental thing.† Sage is giving the viewer what she thought of her piece. The piece which has a very strong style of geometric simplicity, melded together to create something disquieting about the scene. Its intent is to evoke emotion in the viewer, whatever emotion being viewer preference.

Ethical Codes Essay

The increasing dependences on computers for critical infrastructure essentials for the functioning of a society and its economy has given rise to host of ethical, social, and legal issues. As software engineers, it is a bounden duty to design and build software intended for use by a set of individuals for a specified set of purpose, which initiate many issues about consumer’s privacy. Following is the exploration from three constituents. First, websites collect consumer’s private information. Social networks play a vital role in the life of Internet users, and more than a half billion people post vast amounts of information about themselves to share with online friends and colleagues. As more and more people join social networking sites, questions are beginning to surface about the safety of user’s information. A new study has found that the practices of many popular social networking sites typically make that personal information available to companies that track Web users’ browsing habits and allow them to link anonymous browsing habits to specific people. Like most commercial websites, online social networks use third-party tracking sites to learn about the browsing habits of their visitors. Cookies are maintained by a Web browser and contain information that enable tracking sites to build profiles of the websites visited by a user. Each time the user visits a new website, the tracking site can review those cookies and serve up advertisements that might appeal to the user. For example, if the user frequently visits food sites, user might see an advertisement for a new cookbook. With the leakage of this type personal information, there is a significant risk of having one’s identity linked to an inaccurate or misleading browsing profile. Browsing profiles record the websites has been accessed by a particular computer, neither who was using the computer at the time nor why particular sites were chosen. This will lead to a serious problem inaccurate profiling by tracking sites. For example, a site about cancer was visited for curiosity rather than intent, inaccurate profiling would potentially lead to issues with health care coverage, or other areas of our personal lives. The second issue is when a consumer uses a product created by a computer professional. The main concept in engineering ethics is â€Å"professional responsibility†, such as political philosopher Langdon Winner, are critical of the traditional preoccupation of engineering ethics with specific moral dilemmas confronting individuals(Winner, 1990): â€Å"Ethical responsibility†¦ nvolves more than leading a decent, honest, truthful life†¦ And it involves something much more than making wise choice when such choices suddenly, unexpectedly present themselves. Our moral obligations must†¦ include a willingness to engage others in the difficult work of defining the crucial choice that confront technological society†¦ † But unfortunately, with the development of tec hnology and the awakening consciousness of human protection, user privacy is becoming a sensitive issue , after the two giants Google and Apple have stumbled in this regard. Recently, the recognition of the recent HTC phones to collect the user’s data. A user in a system upgrade and found a new CIQ application, the application can access statistics, including the application frequency, GPS location, even after the use of information related to home video cameras, and back to the respective companies. HTC aspects of this incident came to light on the phone today to confirm pre-installed software to collect user information, but all processes are encrypted safe manner. HTC also said in a statement, the company will protect user privacy, commitment to the future equipment and then collect information, the user will be prompted to make a clear choice. Although the company will give customers the utmost assurance of their privacy, why HTC phones collected the user’s data from the beginning? Finally, the employer or company who offers a services. With the rocketing development of Internet, most companies see web services as a platform to become a very profitable business in the near future. In other words, thousands of customers’ private information will be stored in the Internet, which could have serious consequences if a firm lacks the security to protect sensitive information. For example, the most infamous Internet attack occurred this year was the one suffered by Sony. Everything started with the theft of data from PlayStation Network, affecting 77 million users worldwide. Not only was this the biggest data theft ever but the situation was poorly handled by Sony. To make things worse, the stolen data was specially sensitive, including user’s names, billing addresses, email addresses, PlayStation Network IDs, passwords, birthdates, purchase history, credit card numbers, etc. If this was not sufficient enough, Sony Online Entertainment was subject to another attack a few days later, a data theft that affected another 24 million users. In short, the chief man-made cause is deficiency in professional responsibility. If the company built information securi ty system and strengthened individual information protection from the start, which would avert the tragedy from getting worse. In conclusion, the actions involved in carrying out the right and ethical solution to any engineering problem may not be easy, especially in today’s world. But the path that must be taken should be obvious. This type of decision-making comes with experience, but the basic principles can be learned. The work that an engineer does often impacts the lives of countless people. With such a responsibility it is up to them to act in the most ethical, honest and trustworthy manner possible.

Essay on Fine Art and Applied Art Should Be Defined

Before studying the arts, the terms fine art and applied art should be defined. Fine arts became popular in the Renaissance era due to the aesthetic qualities of the art. This form of art allowed for individual expression and a new way of interpreting ideas. Fine arts can be many different things, such as: music, paintings, theater, dance, films, sculptures, architecture and more. A modern day example of fine arts is photography. Back when the fine arts became popular, cameras were not invented yet. However, today photographs are considered to be an example of a fine art. Personally, this is my favorite type of fine art and is one of my many hobbies. I love being able to capture a moment and keep it forever. The other type of art that†¦show more content†¦The second purpose of art, to give visible form to feelings, can be found in the early twentieth century with the Expressionist style. This purpose of art is used to express an artists’ feelings and emotions. The nex t purpose of art, to reveal metaphysical or spiritual truths, can be seen in the Gothic cathedrals in Europe where the light and space combined create a spiritual environment. Another example of this purpose is tribal ancestor figures of art. This purpose of art deals with not only religion, but beliefs and cultural values. The last purpose of art, to help people see the world in new or innovative ways, can be found in most art. Art can show people new ways of seeing the world. This purpose of art can also help people to understand life and give them new ideas on old concepts. There are also four functions of art: enjoyment, political and social commentary, therapy, and artifact. Just like the four purposes, each piece of art can be classified under multiple categories or none at all. Art can provide enjoyment for people, such as Grand Wood’s American Gothic painting. This function of art can be used for amusement by providing commentary about a specific topic. If art has the function of political and social commentary it can influence the behaviors of many people. An example of this is the Liberty Leading the People painting by Eugene Delacroix. Different forms of propaganda, both past and present, are considered to be under this function of art.Show MoreRelatedThe Art Of Nursing Theory957 Words   |  4 PagesRunning head: The Art of Nursing Theory The Art of Nursing Theory Basimah Sewell New Jersey City University Newman’s theory involves the concepts of health, consciousness, movement, and space-time. All of these concepts are factors that embody health as the expansion of consciousness. As a visual representation of this theory I have chosen a work of art by a local artist by the name of Gerald Arthur titled â€Å"The Fine Line and the Hereafter†. Much like Newman’s grand theory, Arthur’sRead MoreThe World On Body Arts1223 Words   |  5 Pages The World on Body Arts Tattoos and the workforce do not get along together. 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Tristan da Cunha

Located about midway between Cape Town, South Africa, and Buenos Aires, Argentina lies what is often referred to as the worlds most remote inhabited island; Tristan da Cunha. Tristan da Cunha is the primary island of the Tristan da Cunha island group, consisting of six islands at approximately 37Â °15 South, 12Â °30 West. Thats about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) west of South Africa in the South Atlantic Ocean. The Islands of Tristan da Cunha The other five islands in the Tristan da Cunha group are uninhabited, save for a manned meteorological station on the southernmost island of Gough. In addition to Gough, located 230 miles SSE of Tristan da Cunha, the chain includes Inaccessible at 20 miles (32 km) WSW, Nightingale 12 miles (19 km) SE, and Middle and Stoltenhoff islands, both just off the coast of Nightingale. The total area for all six islands amounts to a mere 52 mi2 (135 km2). The Tristan da Cunha islands are administered as part of the United Kingdoms colony of Saint Helena (1180 miles or 1900 km to the north of Tristan da Cunha). The circular island of Tristan da Cunha is approximately 6 miles (10 km) wide with a total area of 38 mi2 (98 km2) and a coastline of 21 miles. The island group lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and was created by volcanic activity. Queen Marys Peak (6760 feet or 2060 meters) on Tristan da Cunha is an active volcano that last erupted in 1961, causing the evacuation of Tristan da Cunhas residents. Today, just under 300 people call Tristan da Cunha home. They live in the settlement known as Edinburgh that lies on the flat plain on the north side of the island. The settlement was named in honor of Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, upon his visit to the island in 1867. Tristan da Cunha was named for Portuguese sailor Tristao da Cunha who discovered the islands in 1506 and although he was unable to land (the island of Tristan da Cunha is surrounded by 1000-2000 foot/300-600 meter cliffs), he named the islands after himself. The first inhabitant of Tristan da Cunha was American Jonathan Lambert of Salem, Massachusetts who arrived in 1810 and renamed them the Islands of Refreshment. Unfortunately, Lambert drowned in 1812. In 1816 the United Kingdom claimed and began to settle the islands. A handful of people were joined by the occasional shipwreck survivor over the next few decades and in 1856 the islands population was 71. However, the next year starvation caused many to flee leaving a population of 28 on Tristan da Cunha. The islands population fluctuated and eventually rose to 268 before the island was evacuated during the eruption of 1961. The evacuees went to England where some died due to the harsh winters and some women married British men. In 1963, almost all of the evacuees returned since the island was safe. However, having tasted the life of the United Kingdom, 35 left Tristan da Cunha for Europe in 1966. Since the 1960s, the population swelled to 296 in 1987. The 296 English-speaking residents of Tristan da Cunha share a mere seven surnames - most of the families have a history of being on the island since the early years of settlement. Today, Tristan da Cunha includes a school, hospital, post office, museum, and a crayfish canning factory. The issuance of postage stamps is a major source of revenue for the island. The self-supporting residents fish, raise livestock, make handicrafts, and grow potatoes. The island is visited annually by RMS St. Helena and more regularly by fishing vessels. There is no airport or landing field on the island. Species not found anywhere else in the world inhabit the island chain. Queen Marys Peak is shrouded by clouds most of the year and snow covers its peak in the winter. The island receives an average of 66 inches (1.67 meters) of rain each year.