Commentary on Transcendentalism Throughout Moby Dick Essay Example for Free

Commentary on Transcendentalism Throughout Moby Dick Essay It is quite possible that nothing runs deeper through the veins of Herman Melville than his disdain for anything transcendental. Melville’s belittling of the entire transcendentalist movement is far from sparsely demonstrated throughout the pages of Moby-Dick, in which he strategically points out the intrinsic existence of evil, the asperity of nature and the wrath of the almighty God. To Melville, transcendentalists became a â€Å"guild of self-impostors, with a preposterous rabble of Muggletonian Scots and Yankees, whose vile brogue still the more bestreaks the stripedness of their Greek or German Neoplatonic originals† (â€Å"Herman Melville† 2350). Transcendentalists went beyond denying the doleful possibilities of human error and suffering, and it is this ignorant altruism of transcendentalism in its looser grasps which prompted Melville’s scorn. Within the Emersonian school of thought lies the belief that â€Å"[the] ruin or the blank that we see when we look at nature, is in our own eye† (Emerson et al. 81) and that â€Å"the evils of the world are such only to the evil eye† (Emerson et al. 174). Melville, however, believes that on our planet lies an inherent evil, going as far as to say, â€Å"A perfectly good beingwould see no evil. But what did Christ see? He saw what made him weep† (Thompson 2350), pointing out that not only does evil exist, but it exists within Christ, the ultimate symbol of good. Moby Dick, the white whale itself, is the prosopopeia of evil and malevolence in the universe. All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. (Melville 154) Moby Dick is also a depiction of Leviathan, Job’s whale created by God as a malicious symbol of God; Ahab â€Å" sees in Him outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it† (Melville 138), and if God is a representation of the spirit of the world, then within the world must exist â€Å"an inscrutable malice. † Transcendentalists made nature out to be this wondrous, awe-inspiring creation of God whichseeing as he believed God to be more evil than goodis an idea Melville blatantly rejects as a fallacy. Where Emerson says, â€Å" Nature satisfies by its loveliness, and without any mixture of corporeal benefit† (Emerson et al. 107), Melville says, all other earthly huesevery stately or lovely emblazoningthe sweet tinges of sunset skies and woods; yea, and the gilded velvets of butterflies, and the butterfly cheeks of young girls; all these are but the subtle deceits, not actually inherent in substances, but laid on from without; so that all deified Nature absolutely paints like the harlot, whose allurements cover nothing but the charnel-house within. (Melville 164) When sent out to sea, the Pequod and its crew were faced by the nature of which Melville speaksa nature that, at times, seems to â€Å"gild the surface of the water with enchantment, and causes even the wary hunter to have a land-like feeling toward the sea† (â€Å"Herman Melville† 2351), but is actually veils behind which God hides and constantly threatens to unleash his ambiguous animosity. It is the whale, a product of God and nature, that has reaped the leg of Ahab, that lashes out with the force of a thousand men. It is the beguiling call of nature that lulls the absent minded youth into an opium-like reverie by the blending cadence of waves with thoughts until he loses his identity and takes it upon himself to take the ocean at his feet for the deep, blue bottom that pervades mankind (Melville 134-135); calms are crossed by storms, a storm for every calm. Furthermore, Melville ridicules the transcendentalists for their blindness to the rest of the world. The transcendentalists saw only the world through the â€Å"dimensions of a sturdy window in Concord† (â€Å"Herman Melville† 2394). Melville could depict the true attributes of nature in a more scrupulous manner, for he had left his home in New England and sailed around the world. When Emerson claimed that the poet â€Å"disposes very easily of the most disagreeable facts,† it prompted Melville to respond, â€Å"So it would seem. In this sense, Mr. E is a great poet† (Thompson 443). Though a seemingly of a seemingly different nature, passions, desires, appetites, and senses of the flesh are a part of nature nonetheless: they are instincts, a natural part behind the drive of man. â€Å" [All] deep, earnest thinking [that] is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her upon the slavish shore† (Melville 95). It is this natural drive that keeps man from falling under the spiritual drive, this tyrannous and brutal enslavement of this wrathful God, for â€Å"natural or carnal men are without God in the world† (Alma 41:11). It seems as though Melville has an everlasting quarrel with God. Throughout Ahab’s quest for the white whale, Melville has shown his own personal independence from the authoritarianism of Christian dogma. It is apparent that religious conventionalism was Melville’s favourite target for satire, but largely because he saw himself in competition with it. His own genius was deeply religious and the Bible seemed to serve the deepest purpose in Moby-Dick. Melville was caught in a vicious battle that he created and could not win. He started by loving God, then moved to hating God, progressed into a complete detachment from Godfeeling neither love nor hate. He grew to hate his detachment and decided that God might indeed be lovable, and so the vicious cycle repeats (Thompson 148-149). Thompson concludes, â€Å"The underlying theme in Moby-Dick correlates the notions thatGod in his infinite malice asserts a sovereign tyranny over man and that most men are seduced into the mistaken view that this divine tyranny is benevolent and therefore acceptable† (242). Melville agreed with the transcendentalists that the spirit is substance, but he began to diverge from the transcendental conclusion that its effect on man was benevolent. Moby-Dick tells not only the story of the ventures of the Pequod and its crew, but also of Melville himself. It captures all of Melville’s personal contempt toward the entire transcendentalist movement, and demonstrates his realistic recognition of evil through the symbolism of the whale, his struggle with religion through the use of ontological heroics, and his less-than-altruistic ideas of nature through the use of sheer logic. It is the perfect emblem for his gratitude for rationalism and respect for realism. â€Å"Oh, the rare old Whale, mid storm and gale In his ocean home will be A giant in might, where might is right, And King of the Boundless sea. † WHALE SONG Works Cited. Emerson, Ralph Waldo, Atkinson Brojoks, Edward Waldo Emerson. The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. New York: Random House Digital, Inc. , 2000. Print. â€Å"Herman Melville. † World Literature Criticism. 1st ed. 1992. Print. Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick. Mineola: Dover Publications, Inc. , 2003. Print. Myerson, Joel, Sandra Harbert Petrulionis, and Laura Dassow Walls. The Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print. The King James Bible. Susan Jones. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Print. Thompson, Lawrence. Melville’s Quarrel With God. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1952. Print.

Hamlet :: essays papers

Hamlet Compare and contrast between Hamlet and Laertes William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Hamlet† is known as the best tragedy play of all times. Each one of the characters has their own unique personality, but some of them are very alike. Hamlet, the main character, and Laertes, one of the other leading roles, are very much alike but at the same time slightly different. Their experiences collide and they both make some decisions, which change their lives forever. Hamlet and Laertes both display impulsive reactions when angered. Both Hamlet’s and Laertes’ fathers were killed. When Laertes discovered that his father’s been murdered he immediately assumes that Claudius is the killer. As a result of his speculation he moves to avenge Polonius’ death. Laertes lines in Act IV Scene 5 provide insight into his mind displaying his desire for revenge at any cost. â€Å"To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation. To this point I stand, that both worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged most thoroughly for my father.† (Act IV Scene 5 lines 136-141) In contrast to Laertes speculation of his father’s killer, Hamlet assumes the individual spying on his conversation with Gertrude is Claudius. â€Å"Nay, I know not. Is it the King?† (Act III Scene 4 line 28). Without thinking, Hamlet automatically thrusts out attempting to kill who he believed was Claudius and actually kills Polonius. Fury and frustration instigate Hamlet’s and Laertes’ indiscreet actions and causes them not to think of the consequences that may follow. Hamlet and Laertes share a different but deep love and concern for Ophelia. Laertes advises her to retain from seeing and being involved with Hamlet because of his social status. He didn’t want her to get her heart broken by Hamlet, since he believed that his marriage would be arranged to someone of his social status, and that he would only use and hurt Ophelia. Hamlet on the other hand, was madly in love with Ophelia but it languishes after she rejects him. Ophelia’s death caused distress in both Hamlet and Laertes and it also made Laertes more hostile towards Hamlet. Association with their families makes Hamlet and Laertes even more similar. The love and respect that they have for their fathers bring them to life threatening situations. Hamlet compares his father to a sun god â€Å"Hyperion† and similarly Laertes highly respects and loves his father Polonius.

Argument Essay Random Drug Testing

ARGUMENT ESSAY RANDOM DRUG TESTING Drug abuse has always been a very delicate question as it always it deals with the health, well-being and even lives of human beings belonging to any country. Many people have argued that mandatory drug testing is a violation of their civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The Fourth Amendment grants you the right against unreasonable searches and seizures, otherwise known as a person's right to privacy.However, employers have the right to know whether or not the people working under them are stable to do their jobs. Indeed, for safety of all the humans randomly drug testing is the best way to maintain the quality of the employees. Legalizing drug testing has provoked quite an upheaval. Advocates claim that employers have every right to expect their workers to be sober on the job, especially when safety and security are on the line.Although, those who oppose random drug testing, argue that testing positive may not necessarily mean that the emp loyee was intoxicated while working that all it proves is that they likely put a buzz on, someplace, sometime. So they all mean that randomly drug testing may interfere the employee`s personal life which is not really necessary to maintain his/her job safely. By the way ,this kind of un trustful behavior may damage the relationship between the employers and employees. However, drug addiction is a very complex illness that many people do not become aware of until it is too late.All people have different reasons for doing drugs that have this illness, but all of them have many things in common including: unreliability – a very common characteristic when diagnosed with a drug addiction problem, and depression – a state that degrades a person's state of life and causes a loss of interest in everything they do(Wilson). By the way, teenagers are out of high school over 80 percent of them have experimented with drugs and alcohol. When they move on past graduation and into the unsupervised years of college this shocking statistic even goes up.If it is so easy for minors to obtain illegal substances, a working adult has an even greater opportunity to acquire them. Countless people could be using drugs and alcohol on a regular basis that no one would even know about. Not more than one month goes by before you hear about some teenager dying in a car accident because of alcohol and his parents being shocked, or about neighbors that were stunned by a murder that happened in their neighborhood by a man who seemed to be just like everyone else. The truth is nobody can really know what someone is doing behind closed doors, and it could end up hurting someone else.Drug misuse is associated with domestic violence, increased involvement with crime and police and decline in work quality. Obviously these characteristics would not even make a close to feasible argument as to why a person like that would be a candidate for any job(Terry). Because no person in their rig ht state of mind would describe themselves in that manner during an interview, a simple drug test would show that information without anyone being hurt. It may vary depends on the situation because of that being prejudice about this topic may be conclude with the fire of your innocent and hard worker employee.Drug abuse is getting increase day by day and it brings many concerns for parents ,employers and school directors. Because of all the responsibility of the safety is on the leaders shoulders, we should accept all the things that they have been doing for the maintenance of safety. In this point of view, as it is not ethically true randomly drug testing may abused. Additionally, it may prevent the future danger possibilities which may cause the bankruptcy of the company(Danny, p. 53). Because of all these dangers a little bit of prevention would be ignored.Some people may reject these kind of checkups but they would logically accept because people may abuse things if they have ch ance. Finally, as an employer you have a responsibility to oversee the people that work for you and you are accountable for their actions on the job. Ethically, randomly drug testing may interfere the employees personal life it is essential to make it for the safety of the job. Because of the drug abuse is widely distributed and has many side effects on people`s daily life , employers have rights to check up their employees.It is only logical that they have the right to know whether or not their employees are capable of doing something that could hurt their company or the people who use their services, or whether they just wouldn't be productive enough to produce an acceptable quality of work. Sometimes we can do things which we do not prefer but because of the importance of situations may forced ourselves to do them. Work Cited Danny, Michael. Drug Warriors. London: London press,2009. Terry, Steve. Employments Drug. New York: Macmillan,2007. Wilson, John. Against To The Drug Addict ion. Los Angeles: Penguin,2005.

The Greatest Degree Of Emotional Intelligence Essay

Describe a leader you admire who showed the greatest degree of emotional intelligence. What are examples of ways they used this? I am a member of Greek Life on Sonoma State’s campus. Within each organization, strong committees and leaders play great roles in furthering their interests and values. As a result of participating in this organization, I have been exposed to the incredible leader that is our current President, Sam. Day in and day out, this young woman works to support our organization and does so by utilizing her incredibly developed emotional intelligence. As defined by Bruno (2008), â€Å"emotional intelligence is the ability to read people as well as we read books† and respond to that information accordingly (p. 18). This young woman has a gift for reading people and she utilizes this skill in every interaction she has with other members in the organization. I was a grade level delegate on the Standard committee that handles risk management issues. I atte nded meetings in which we discussed behavioral issues with specific members in order to solve and further assist their needs. Sam always played a pivotal role in these meetings. Often girls would come in ranging in emotions yet, regardless Sam always knew how to best respond. She would read the girl’s body language and would adapt the way in which she approached the difficult topic to meet their needs. Sam is also an incredibly empathetic person. She is constantly working to gain an understanding of people’sShow MoreRelatedThe Greatest Degree Of Emotional Intelligence Essay1068 Words   |  5 Pages1) Describe a leader you admire who showed the greatest degree of emotional intelligence. What are examples of ways they used this? As a member of Greek life on Sonoma State’s campus, I have been exposed to countless forms of leadership. Within each organization, strong committees and leaders play great roles in furthering their interests and values. 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What are examples of ways they used this? As a member of Greek life on Sonoma State’s campus, I have been exposed to countless forms of leadership. Within each organization, strong committees and leaders play great roles in furthering their interests and values. As a result of participating in my organization, I was introduced to the incredible leader that is my chapter’s current President, Sam. Day in and day out, this young woman works to support our organization and does so by utilizing her incredibly developed emotional intelligence. As defined by Bruno (2008), â€Å"emotional intelligence is the ability to read people as well as we read books† and respond to that information accordingly (p. 18). She practices this intelligence with every member of the chapter, finding the best method to respond and act. This young woman has a gift for reading people and she utilizes th is skill in every interaction she has with others. 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Along with these characteristics, I also believe that a leader needs to be trust worthy and have the skills to makeRead MoreIs College Worth It?1073 Words   |  5 Pagesthat college is a must go and that there ar e no failures. However some may think different. A lot of people may think that not setting a foot in a university or community college does not make them successful and that they will do just fine without a degree towards a career. We all know once someone graduates they are not always guaranteed a successful life with well-paid career and awesome benefits for you and your family. There are different views from both sides of this debate. There are people whoRead MoreEmotional and Cognitive Intelligence2425 Words   |  10 PagesCognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence have both been widely examined with regard to their effect on individual workplace abilities. A critical comparison of the two concepts will be the basis of this essay. Some theorists have hypothesised that the ease with which an employee can process information and work towards solutions (our cognitive intelligence) is the key aspect in our ability to contribute to the workplace, particularly in more complex environments (Viswesvaran Ones, 2002)Read MoreTerrorism Tactics1129 Words   |  5 Pageshuman nature. Throughout human history, man has always invented new ways to annihilate one another. With recent advances in terrorism, counterterrorism has developed a new type of counter. After September 11, 2001 under President Bush the Central Intelligence Agency would be the first into Afghanistan, thus compiling names to a secret list of high-v alue target and could be killed without presidential approval (Shaw and Akhter, 2014, P11). This would begin a new strategy of gathering names of terrorist