King's The Man In The Black Suit
The modern concept of self, and the human trait of self-awareness, have been a part of humanity since recorded history -- as has the notion of good and evil, although clearly on a sliding scale. However, it was not until the Middle Ages that the concept of the self in relation to the choices of good and evil coalesced, moving away from the supernatural "the devil made me do it," and allowing for personal responsibility. That did not change the idea that the human individual always has a choice in their path -- the euphemistic fork in the road -- do we choose good, or do we choose evil? Stephen King's short story, The Man in the Black Suit, is a modern retelling of this conflict, albeit not in the traditional manner (King). King's Devil is more like his own Randy Flagg than some of the other portrayals offered in history -- for King, the Devil is not hidden, not polite or even a sophisticated tempter as was Leland Gaunt, but the embodiment of pure, unadulterated, evil incarnate -- and evil so palpable it reeks as did the emanations from King's own Tommyknockers.
Too, this is not the Faustian conception of the Devil, evil but not horrific, "Hell hath no limits… and where hell is, there must we ever be" (Goethe). Nor is this the conniving trickster Mr. Scratch, who battles for the idea of humanity in The Devil and Daniel Webster (Benet).
King is masterful and bringing us a recurrent archetype -- innocence vs. evil with Gary, now an 85-year-old man, languishing in a nursing home awaiting death. Gary reflects back to 1914, when he was nine, a time when his brother had just died of a bee sting, and the world seemed simple,...
& #8230;Clearly, the old Kafir is being mocked by the Europeans who only use his superstition to further their own goals: reclaiming all their goods when they return." The mere fact that white man in this extract knows more about eclipse than any native is an indication of this sense of superiority. In my objective analysis, I cannot ignore the theme because while I understand that the main purpose of
Plato held that a just state would be run by philosopher guardians. Plato thinks that, given their education, talents, virtues and the way their lives would be controlled in his Republic, such people are the best possible rulers. Is he right about this? One of the contradictions in Platonic philosophy is that its oligarchic structure of rule by philosopher kings who are 'the best' and 'most fit' to create a 'just'
Montgomery Bus Boycott "We are sorry that the colored people blame us for any state or city ordinance which we didn't have passed ... we had nothing to do with the laws being passed, but we expect to abide by all laws, city or state ... " (Montgomery City Lines Superintendent J.H. Bagley, quoted on December 3, 1955, in the Montgomery Advertiser daily newspaper). That quote may be reminiscent of the classic
The content of such a system, Eco continues, depends on our cultural organization of the world into several categories. And this categorization does not necessarily mean the very physical world in which we live: Euclid's world is not a physical one, but a possible universe organized into points, lines, planes, angles, and so forth. It is a self-sufficient universe in which there are [...] only cultural units such as the
Sarah's first filed duty occurred in February 1864, when the 153d marched 700 miles to join the Red River campaign in Louisiana (Sarah pp). As the campaign was nearing the end, Sarah was stricken with dysentery and died in the Marine Hospital of New Orleans on May 22, 1864 (Sarah pp). Her identity remained undiscovered for more than a hundred years, until the letters she had written home during
Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X: Comparing their Messages Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X are two of the most famous Black American leaders who influenced the African-American's struggle for emancipation during their lifetimes and left legacies that have proved to be even more influential after their premature deaths. Both leaders were contemporaries with similar goals but with widely different personalities and equally contrasting strategies for achieving them. Both men
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now