Depravity and Destruction in Blood Meridian Essay -- Blood Meridian Es

Depravity and Destruction in Blood Meridian Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian is a passionate, lyrical, and ugly novel of depravity and destruction of life in the Old West. It is a story of a hellish journey where violence and corruption are currency in a life of murder and treachery. Contrasting scenes of scenic beauty, poetically described by McCarthy, are negated by his gruesome accounts of despicable scenes of human cruelty in the examination of evil. Like all of McCarthy's earlier novels, Blood Meridian (1985) had a lukewarm arrival to the literary world in the sense of sales and publicity, in part due to McCarthy's own aversion to self-promotion (Woodward 28). Yet critics and scholars were captivated by the mindless violence of the story and its tale of deceit, genocide, and gruesome realities set around the US-Mexico border in the 1840's (James 31). Blood Meridian, McCarthy's fifth book, was received with a variety of reactions from critics. Terence Moran, though finding McCarthy's writing to be "evocative," believed the author "failed in Blood Meridian to retell a simple Western in his haunting, original voice" (37). Conversely, Steven Shaviro wrote, "Cormac McCarthy, the solitary poet of his exultation, is our greatest living author...[this novel] manifests a sublime visionary power that is matched only by a still more ferocious irony" (144). This novel, due to its candid narration of barbarous events, prevails as one of a few books which challenge traditional molds of literature. Not a story of the redeemable antagonist or the helpless victim, Blood Meridian blurs the lines of sanctity and depravity in this lawless and demoralized land. This examination of the most unimaginable e... ...stence in a world of depravity that seems foreign to the reader, but is all too normal in the world created in the book (147). As the novel tells of the kid's appalling journey, much of the action seen is centered around Judge Holden. The mysterious, malignant man varies in interpretation from godlike to child-like. Many critics have commented on Holden's manipulative power, ability to remain unchanged by years, and his appearance in several places at what seems the same time. Many lines are drawn between Judge Holden and the devil (Wallach 125). Though not a literary success in terms of book sales and overall recognition, Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian tells and intriguing story in a light in which the Old West is rarely seen. Conscienceless violence, devil-like characters, and breathtaking scenery fill this novel uninhibited by morality or rectitude.

Paritcipation in Team Sports Essay

PARTICIPATION IN TEAM SPORTS FOSTERS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL The participation in team sports fosters the development of the individual. Not only giving a person an excuse to exercise, team sports have a few other benefits as well for example social, emotional and physical ones. The participation in team sports is important to the development of the individual. It helps your physical and emotional growth and builds valuable social skills. It also helps to build ones character, develops your people skills, teaches perseverance and develops your integrity, giving you moral fibre. Being part of a team you will have to sacrifice and it asks for a great deal of commitment and perseverance. Giving up on spending time in front of the television and spending it at practise is vital for any team’s success. The fact that you have your teammates around you makes the difficult task of sacrifice and attending every practise very easier as you are there to motivate each other. â€Å"I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion†- Anonymous Team sports provide an opportunity to learn discipline, confidence and leadership. It teaches principles such as tolerance, co-operation and respect. Above all it teaches the value of effort and how to manage victory as well as defeat. It will help the individual to also be happy for other player’s successes because they see how it benefits the greater team. The individual will appreciate fair play in their team sport. Playing team sport is the easiest way to stay fit and healthy and still enjoy doing this. Team sport fosters the development of a healthy lifestyle. It is possible to stay fit and healthy playing any sport, but once again having that friend next to you, motivating you through the last twenty metres can definitely not be replaced by any accomplishment in an individual sport. Being part of a team, especially across different cultural barriers can develop and build your character. A team sport can instill core values in an individual, such as, co-operation, sharing and respect. It helps a person connect with others and accept each other for who they are, despite the fact of being different and making mistakes on the field. To be an individual on the sports field can never beat the sensation of belonging to a team. That is why I know that the development of an individual can only increase in a team sport. As we have all heard so many times: There is no â€Å"I† in team. Working together is fun. So, join the team and develop every aspect of your life, while having fun and not being lonely and all by yourself.

The Importance of Being Earnest, Love and Marriage

The Importance of Being Earnest â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest† is a play written by Oscar Wilde in the late 1800s. The story takes place in late Victorian England, where two young gentlemen take on the same pseudonym â€Å"Earnest† in order to escape reality when needed and to satisfy their lovers. It is a humorous story about how the fake personalities clash with each other and cause complications. A central theme and topic in the play is love and marriage. It is a primary force motivation the plot and a reoccurring subject up for debate. Love and marriage is presented in different ways through different characters, which I will be taking a closer look at. Lady Bracknell represents the â€Å"proper† Victorian ways of society and her view on†¦show more content†¦The higher class in society believes it is more of a duty than pleasure and you do not simply marry for love. You need to come from the right background and be an appropriate match for each other. Love is not an important factor. Love is something you can enjoy before you get married. Lane on the other hand represents the lower social class where money is not and important factor for love and marriage which we get a brief impressionShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Comedic Element in The Importance of Earnest582 Words   |  3 Pageshave more importance in the world than they do. On any given night if someone were to watch the news or read the newspaper they would see just how dire and depressing the world actually is. It is important to take the time now and then and have a good laugh to ease the tension that the news can cause. Oscar Wildes The Importance of Being Earnest is a witty and amusing comedy which conveys real life everyday themes such as real love as opposed to selfish love, religion, marriage, being truthful andRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest Satire Essay1291 Words   |  6 PagesMaverick Yabut Professor Tina Regan ENGL 200 June 18, 2017 Satire in the Importance of Being Earnest Introduction Throughout Oscar Wilde’s play â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest†, Oscar Wilde routinely uses satire throughout the story amongst character dialogue and actions to scorn the Victorian society audience. Oscar uses satire to mock love, and the concept of marriage as well as the Victorian-aristocratic class system and society mentality. The play is described as â€Å"A trivial comedy for seriousRead MoreTo what extent do you think The Importance of Being Earnest is only a comedy of manners?1475 Words   |  6 PagesThe importance of Being Earnest is a comedy of manners, as it explores codes of upper and middle class society. For example,I dont play accurately - any one can play accurately - but I play with wonderful expression.. However, The Importance of Being Earnest has other types of comedy, such as, comedy of humours and farce. Comedy of humours focuses on a character of range of characters, who have an over riding trait or humour that dominates their personalit y. For example, Algernon’s greed. FarceRead MoreSatire in â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest† by Oscar Wilde Essay example716 Words   |  3 Pagespiece of work that is designed to ridicule or tease a group or organization, generally for the purpose of being humorous. â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest,† a play by Oscar Wilde, is a satire, ridiculing class, gender, and marriage. This essay will describe some points from each of these sections, as well as give a brief synopsis of the play these examples come from. The Importance of being Earnest includes three acts, with seven major characters. In act one, we start with a conversation between JackRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde773 Words   |  4 PagesIn the play by Oscar Wilde â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest†, Wilde takes a comedic stance on a melodrama, portraying the duplicity of Victorian traditions and social values as the modernism of the twentieth century begins to emerge. The idea of the play revolves around its title of the characters discovering the importance of being earnest to their individual preferences. The author uses the traditional efforts of finding a marriage partner to illustrate the conflicting pressure of Victorian valuesRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde1642 Words   |  7 Pagesnda Beckwith AMU/APUS ENGL200 Professor Green 25 Oct 2015 Satire in The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde can be termed as a complete satirical work because of the path it chooses on harshly, but at the same time humorously criticizing and ridiculing social issues, such as marriage, wealth and death. The author approaches these issues with absurd mockery evidently with the intention of tickling his audience while driving his point home. Regarded as one ofRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde707 Words   |  3 PagesWebsters dictionary defines earnest as â€Å"characterized by or proceeding from an intense and serious state of mind. Which can be considered a pun since thought this play we see the characters being more apathetic. The Importance of Being Earnest is the story of Jack Worthing is the main character and the protagonist of this play. He is a well of business man who lives in the country and is very well respected there. But Jack has a secret he lives another in the city of London where he claims to goRead MoreTh e Importance of Being Earnest Essay1439 Words   |  6 PagesA Trivial Comedy for Serious People Oscar Wilde mocked his audience while he entertained them. Perhaps his most loved and well-known work, The Importance of Being Earnest, satirises the manners and affections of the upper-class Victorian society. Satire is a literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, usually with the intent of changing or correcting the subject of the satirical attack. The play focuses on the elite, while making fun of the ludicrousness and extremityRead MoreWilde as Parodist: a Second Look at the Importance of Being Earnest : a Review877 Words   |  4 Pagesperiod (late-Victorian). Wilde was being satirical and paradoxical in his play to show the hypocrisy and entertain the viewers in a play that is still being repeated till today. It is a witty and amusing comedy which conveys real life everyday themes such as real love as opposed to selfish love, religion, marriage, being truthful and country life as opposed to city life. Richard Foster, author of â€Å"Wilde as Parod ist: A Second Look at The Importance of Being Earnest†, published in October 1956, writesRead MoreEssay On The Importance Of Being Earnest1087 Words   |  5 PagesThe Importance of Being Earnest The title of the book I read for my summer reading is called The Importance of Being Earnest which is a drama book written by Oscar Wilde. It was set in London in the year of 1895. A constant theme throughout this book was marriage beginning with Lane and Algernon discussion. Everyone has different ideas of what marriage is, Lane believes it is a pleasant state, Algernon and Jack discuss if its for business or pleasure. Lady Bracknell believes that it should be a