English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 12

English - Essay Example Also, they should have responsibility towards the laws of the state. So, this paper will analyze these two responsibilities as well as the relationship of the laws to the state using the text, Trial and Death of Socrates by Plato. That is, the paper will answer the questions about the responsibilities and the relationships using Socrates’ heroic speech, featured in the second part of the work In the work, Socrates was indicted for being a ‘hyper curious’ person and also for being a ‘corrupting influence’ on the Youth. So, in the speech, Socrates counters both these charges in two different ways. As created by Plato, Socrates shows his humbler side in the first part of the work, while in the second part of the work; Socrates presents himself as a heroic figure. In that part, Socrates’ speech is filled with a lot of heroic touches as he fearlessly fights the injustice meted out to him in the court and importantly gives his views on how the individuals should be responsible to the state. Socrates one of the profound intellectuals, the world has seen, earned the wrath of the Anytus, Meletus and Lycon, who accuse him of two civil crimes. Firstly, he was accused of spreading misinformation and also he was accused of intentionally ‘seeding’ unwanted and blasphemous thoughts among the youths against the gods, recognized by the State. So, Socrates while refuting both the charges expresses his views about individual’s responsibility to the state. Socrates expresses it, when he speaks about his role of a well-wisher for the people of Athens. In a highly inflammatory tone, Socrates first claims that nothing good has been happening to Athenians because of the callous attitude and the misrule of the rulers. So, he wants the people not to sit idle, but rise up to take on the responsibility on their own. That is, as states are structural things which cannot function on its own, it has to be the people who govern it, who should take the responsibility.

Everyday Use by Alice Walker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Everyday Use by Alice Walker - Essay Example Mama decides to send Dee to school and when the latter comes back to visit them, she seems to be a changed woman. On the one hand, she respects rural life more, as she covets different rural things. On the other hand, she remains condescending in her attitude toward her family. The plot concerns the summary of life of Mama and her girls and Dee’s return from college life. Walker shows the theme of rural versus urban beliefs and lifestyles, the conflict of interests between modern and traditional cultures, as the traditional insist on functionalism, while the modern insists on objectification of the rural life, and the similarities of Dee to white oppressors. Urban life and rural life clash with each other. Mama loves her rural life and upbringing. The rural setting is her life and she is comfortable inside it. The exposition part of the story is when Mama describes her relationships with her daughters. Her relationship with Dee is tensed, since the latter hates their rural lif e. Mama is more at ease with Maggie, because she is a farm girl herself, but she does not like it that Maggie has no self-confidence at all. It can be also seen from Mama’s voice that she is proud of what she can do as a farmer: â€Å"I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing; I can eat pork liver cooked over the open fire minutes after it comes steaming from the hog.† She clearly takes pride in what she does. Like Maggie, however, she does not finish school and remain illiterate all her life. Dee wants an urban lifestyle. When she learns to read, she reads to her family, but with such an arrogant manner: â€Å"She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice.† Dee has such as sharp disdain for her own family, because they are poor and ignorant. The story also remarks of the conflict of interests between modern and traditional cultures . Conflict begins, when Dee wanted to take the quilts that Grandma Dee and Big Dee made. Mama refused to give it to her, because she promised these quilts as her gift for Maggie’s forthcoming wedding. Dee insisted on having her way, as usual, and Maggie gave in to Dee, but Mama did something extraordinary. The climax of the story is when mama insister her will upon Dee. She must have never done it before, and as a result, she also shows a precedent to Maggie that she cannot allow anyone to just push her around, especially when she also deserves her own place on earth. Because of this argument, Maggie got her quilts back. The story is written from the viewpoint of Mama. The language and structure reproduce the rural beliefs, practices, and attitudes of Mama. It is a story that describes the simple pleasures and needs of rural people, who are content with who they are and what they are doing with their life. This story also reveals that Dee is parallel to the white oppressors t hat Mama hates. Dee also looks down on her own family and believes that they are not making more of themselves. She sees herself as a superior being, because she is educated and â€Å"learned† about the importance of heritage. Despite her education, she has no â€Å"real† breeding, because she did not learn how to respect her family and their simple dreams and happiness in life. The resolution of the story occurs when Maggie and Mama relax after Dee left: â€Å"