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The Meaning of Progress
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The Meaning of Progress
The essay discusses the Tennessee rural community where Dubois got his first teaching position. Dubois had just graduated from school and was actively looking for a town in dire need of a teacher. He met a homely girl, Josie, aged about twenty. Josie enthusiastically oriented him, telling Dubois “that she longed to learn.” The families only take their children to the schoolhouse for lessons when they are not required to participate in farming or assist in house duties, and Dubois stays with all of them. Dubois’s attention is mostly drawn to Josie as she has a bright mind, committed to her studies, more importantly, passionate to join school one day in Nashville city. Those things qualify Josie to be part of the Talented Tenth that Dubois advocated getting access to higher education. In the essay, Dubois treat race and racial problems as an object of philosophical consideration (Gooding-Williams, Np). This paper clearly explains what Dubois thinks concerning Progress for rural African Americans communities during his time and whether or not the Progress was worth fighting.
As per the essay, Dubois went back to Tennessee town ten years later and learned that his old schoolhouse was demolished, and instead, an ugly new building was in place, not to mention the much-transformed lives of the people he had known. Dubois continued to stroll around the town, visiting some farms of his former students, among them, Ben and Tildy. Perhaps, Dubois did not rate them highly, but surprisingly, they were among the most financially stable people in the town. To make the matter worse, Dubois found that Josie died following the relentless sacrifices that she made to her broken family irrespective of their mistakes and misfortunes. Reflecting how he was inspired by the place a decade earlier, Dubois says, “How shall man measure Progress there where the dark-faced Josie lies?… How hard a thing is a life to the lowly, and yet how human and real!” (Rodrigues, Pg. 2). Dubois held that it was a prerequisite for them to study, and they had to investigate and solve. Perhaps, the world could more but not human interest or moral conviction; thus, despite the possible unpleasantness, what should always prevail is heart-quality of fairness and an earnest desire.
Dubois is somewhat relentlessly focused on the aftermath effects of exposing the truth. Perhaps, they cannot deny that indeed Dubois how influential the propaganda can be, since, as an activist, sociologist, curator, philosopher, among others, engaged himself in propaganda politics either willfully or happily. Dubois endorsed propaganda practices as he viewed it as a significant criterion for a “stripped and silent” group of people to employ (Rodrigues, Pg. 3). Regarding the Dubois articulation of propaganda, there are three notable moments in his career where they consider the functionality and purpose of propaganda.
Dubois’s analysis of social problems, more specifically, his diagnosis of the nature of Negro problems, shows his social construction accounts for racial injustices. Dubois fought the moral significance of social inquiry, which all together played a significant role in ultimately achieving what he called “evolving program for Negro freedom” (Gooding-Williams, Np). He objectively regards the Negro issues from a perspective of lived experience and thinks that he can liberate his community. He defines the social problem as “the failure of an organized social group to realize its group ideals, through the inability to adapt a certain desired line of action to the given condition of life.” Dubois gives one example where he thinks the organized social group has failed to enact a luxurious home life ideal as a result of customs that prevail in marriages. Also, crime and lawlessness have come due to failure to impose economic and social development ideals.
The evolution of Negro problems has been a “baffling adjustment of action and condition, which is the essence of progress” (Gooding-Williams, Np). Dubois considers the existing social issues have been mainly orchestrated by many failures, such as disregarding the incorporation of the Negro communities as part of the American people. The most notable losses, according to him, were racial discrimination and prejudice towards the African American people and the backwardness of the black culture. according to the essay, “people of Negro blood should not be admitted into the group life of the nation no matter what their condition maybe” (Gooding-Williams, Np). By cultural backwardness, Dubois meant that African Americans were economically disadvantaged, and at least a defective organized social life. He primarily thought that through his influence, he could air all these issues and help to make the society at least good if not better. Perhaps, racial prejudice is one lagging indicator that has accounted for Negro problems since they are entirely ignored regarding their social and economic well-being.
Dubois felt that the Negro Problem was subject to scientific inquiry. He states, “strivings of the Negro People” (Gooding-Williams, Np). as a way to adduce the double-consciousness concept for the characterization of the subjectively lived experience of social problems of African America. Dubois double- consciousness characterization appears as a “sense of always looking at oneself through the eyes of the others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” (Gooding-Williams, Np). According to Dubois, African Americans often regard themselves as worth pitying and displaying a feeling of intense dislike when with racist whites who are among the leading causes of the Negro problem. Dubois has extensively covered the concept of double-consciousness concept in his literary works, which did receive substantial attention from different scholars while at the same time facing some contemporary philosophical disputes concerning the significance of the idea.
Dubois’s life is full of remarkable events. He was the first African American to pursue and graduate a doctorate program at Harvard. He was a civil rights champion and the founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Dubois choose to define Progress based on the humble narrative of Tennessee village instead of other story starry exploits. The essay focuses on the incompleteness of the Progress, where schools and farms are experiencing growth, but people’s lives are slipping through the cracks. Josie dies at the expense of her family, not to mention the incarceration of Jim as opposed to society promoting his potential. The town is in good shape and more prosperous, while the vast majority of the families were unstable.
Dubois’s explanation of the term progress is somewhat similar to today. A significant number of politicians offer racing tips on record lows in African American unemployment as Progress. Of course, it can be regarded as Progress, but it was still the case for Burke Farm and Jim’s underemployment. Just like the case for Josie, Jim, and the Burkes against the Jim Crow, there exist little or no service jobs that could resolve the systemic racism. Raw employment numbers could not answer to mass incarceration, biasness, and gaps. The successes were barely accommodation in the system of whichever the time. To achieve substantial and meaningful justice, it requires mechanisms that should be put in place to eradicate institutions, laws, and norms that advocate injustice acts. According to Dubois, two conditions should be satisfied for politics to fit and be in a position to respond to Jim Crow Laws of racial apartheid.
Works Cited
Gooding-Williams, Robert. “WEB Du Bois.” (2017).
Rodrigues, Donald T. ” Of the Meaning of Progress”: DuBoisian Double Consciousness, Propaganda, and the Rhetoric of Scientific Racism. Diss. Vanderbilt University, 2013.
The Meaning of Home
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The Meaning of Home
A variety of meanings can be used to describe home. Multiple writers utilize varying techniques to ensure controlling their particular style of diction. Hence, this enables the author to choose how the targeted reader will define a specific word in the story. In “Soldier’s Home” by Earnest Hemingway and “Eveline” by James Joyce, both authors utilize the word home to portray varying meanings, both similar and opposite. The two authors resulted in different “home’s” interpretations because they use varying ways to ensure uncovering the protagonist’s story. Thus, Eveline in “Eveline” and Krebs in “Soldier’s Home” can compare and contrast the word home. In comparison, home for Eveline and Krebs is portrayed significantly through their fathers’ and mothers’ attitudes, although they have varying situations that force them to decide whether to leave or stay at home.
Eveline’s and Kreb’s fathers and mothers have similar attitudes in numerous ways, which gives information contributing to everyone into their particular state of home. The father of Eveline started to give her threats and claim the things he would not do for Eveline; this is because Eveline was not motivated to continue in life (Joyce 326). Threats from fathers to Eveline and Krebs forced their motive with regard to going to a new home. The father of Krebs portrayed forces as he at all times desired that the car be where he commanded. Therefore, both fathers’ functions had a significant influence on how Eveline and Krebs lived in their specific homes.
Nevertheless, the mothers of Eveline and Krebs were a bit different regarding how they were involved in treating their children at home. Eveline and Krebs’ mothers attempt to ensure keeping their children at home by ensuring that the children feel wanted. A better explanation of this is when Krebs, together with his mother, is involved in kneeling down next to the dinning-room table (Hemingway 114). Krebs’ mother then prays to make him feel wanted; this is after Krebs says that he does not love any person. He became sorry for her mother and made him lie to ensure she felt okay; this portrays human nature to comfort people. Therefore, Krebs’ mother attempts to make Krebs stay at home by making him feel loved and cared for.
Eveline’s mother treats her differently at home. When she was on her deathbed, she left her a crucial task of keeping the family together. Eveline promised her mother that she would ensure that the home was held together for as long a period as she could. After her mother’s demise, Eveline was left with the responsibility of taking care of her siblings and father. However, due to her father’s violent personality and high temper, Eveline feared living with him (Joyce 325). Later, he started threatening her, saying that all he would do to Eveline was because of the sake of her demised mother. Even after the demise of her mother, Eveline carried a significant responsibility that would come at last force her decision concerning staying at home. Thus, this shows that people’s responsibility is important in enhancing their relationship with home. Therefore, although Eveline does not desire to have an ending similar to her mother’s, she comprehends her final words and ensures keeping the promise.
Additionally, Krebs’ father made threats to Krebs; this was after he plainly desired Zhu 2, his son, to make use of his car as an expression of motivation for his success in life. On the other hand, Krebs’ mother also desired to motivate Kreb to have success in life. However, she failed to have a better understanding of Kreb, especially after coming back from war. Thus, her mother failed to identify her mature son, who she identified when he was in high school. Krebs had felt a traumatic war experience that changed him, making him lack the ability to ensure loving his mother (Hemingway 114). Therefore, Krebs left his home and family to begin a new life where he would not face emotional complications.
In conclusion, by bringing all the facts together, readers can gain insight that the authors in both stories are involved in determining the protagonist’s home. Eveline is captured by Joyce as a weak woman who depends upon her mother’s promise. She kept her responsibility of ensuring the family was together at home and avoided the repercussions of disregarding her mother’s promise. On the other hand, Hemingway portrayed the way Krebs suffered weak ties with his family due to his traumatic war experience. Thus, the reader can acquire a clear insight into the meaning of home from the two others. Therefore, comparing Eveline and Krebs’ fathers’ and mothers’ attitudes portray home for both protagonists.
Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. “Soldier’s Home,” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, edited by Michael Meyer and D. Quentin Miller, 12th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2020, pp. 110-115.
Joyce, James. “Eveline,” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, edited by Michael Meyer and D. Quentin Miller, 12th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2020, pp. 325-328.
The Maze Runner
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The Maze Runner
Description of the Film
The Maze Runner is a science fiction action film. The film was directed by Wes Ball, produced by Lee Stollman, Wyck Godfrey, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, and Marty Bowen, with a screenplay by Grant Pierce Myers, Noah Oppenheim, and T.S. Nowlin. The movie stars Dylan O’Brien, Aml Ameen, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, and Patricia Clarkson. In the film, a group of young people is sent to live in a community isolated from the rest of the world to secure them from a deadly disease called the Flare. The community is surrounded by a giant maze, which the children must enter to find a cure for the disease. The film follows Thomas (O’Brien), a young man who arrives in the community and soon becomes a leader in the quest to escape the Maze (Ball n.p).
Film’s Popular/General Audience Review
The Maze Runner was a commercial success, grossing $348 million worldwide in 2014 (McNary para 4). It was generally criticized positively, with praise for its action sequences, acting, and themes. The Maze Runner had a mixed reception from critics. The film has received a rating of 51%, based on 210 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, (Rotten Tomatoes). The critical consensus of the cite reads, “With strong acting, a solid foundation, and a thrillingly dark approach to its young adult protagonists, The Maze Runner stands out from the crowded field of YA sci-fi adventures” (Rotten Tomatoes n.p). On Metacritic, the film scored 51 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews” (Metacritic n.p). Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B” on an A+ to F scale (Brodie-Sangster, Gillen and Scodelario n.p). Critics praised the visual effects, direction, and acting but criticized the screenplay and pacing.
Response to the Popular Review
I found the Maze Runner to be a fascinating and well-made film. I agree with the author’s assessment of the technical aspects of the film, as well as the strong narrative. The film does a great job of establishing mood and tension, and the scene analysis was particularly well done. I particularly enjoyed the scene where the main character, Thomas, tries to solve the Maze. The viewer is on the edge of their seat, rooting for Thomas to locate a way out of the Maze. The scene is expertly shot and edited, and the acting is top-notch. This scene is an excellent example of the film’s ability to create tension and suspense. This scene significantly furthers the plot and establishes the character’s determination and intelligence.
Maze Runner is an excellent film for several reasons. The acting is robust across the board. Dylan O’Brien, in particular, does a great job as the lead character, Thomas where he conveys a wide range of emotions and really makes the audience care about his character. Its visuals are awe-inspiring evident by well-designed maze and very suspenseful scenes. Maze runners’ story is also engaging. I was always curious to see what would happen next, and the twists and turns kept me guessing. Overall, I think the Maze Runner is a well-made and exciting film, and I would recommend it to others.
Academic Discussion of the Film
Dr. Katherine S. Young conducted a peer-reviewed discussion of The Maze Runner in The Science Fiction Studies Journal. In her forum, Dr. Young examines the film’s themes and how they relate to the science fiction genre (Young 566). She also discusses the film’s treatment of gender and race (Young 567). The author argues that The Maze Runner is a successful science fiction film because it uses the genre to explore universal themes like human nature and the fear of the unknown. She also praises the film’s treatment of gender and race, which she argues is more progressive than most science fiction films.
Author Michael D. Hill also argues that the film is a “visually stunning” and “intelligent” work of science fiction that “explores themes of human cooperation and sacrifice” (Hill 552). The author praises the film’s “well-developed” characters and “complex” plot and notes that the film’s ending “leaves the door open for further sequels” ” (Hill 554). This focuses on the film’s themes of survival and human nature, its use of the post-apocalyptic genre, and its violent treatment.
A peer-reviewed discussion of The Maze Runner can also be found in the journal Science Fiction Film and Television. In the article “The Maze Runner and the Dystopian Young Adult Film,” author Sarah E. Boslaugh examines the film’s themes and how they relate to the more significant genre of dystopian fiction (Boslaugh 33). Boslaugh argues that The Maze Runner is a successful example of the dystopian young adult film, a subgenre that has become increasingly popular in recent years. She notes that the film’s themes of survival and escape are common in dystopian fiction and that it’s setting – a maze – is a metaphor for the characters’ challenges. Boslaugh concludes that The Maze Runner is a well-crafted film that effectively utilizes its genre conventions to tell a story that is both entertaining and thought-provoking (Boslaugh 48).
Response to the Academic Discussion
The first thing academic critics usually discuss in the Maze Runner is the film’s use of symbolism. Critics have noted that the Maze is a symbol of the trials and tribulations the characters must go through to find their way out. They also refer to the fact that the characters are all teenagers as another symbol of the coming of age they must undergo to find their way in the world. While the symbolism is undoubtedly one way to look at the Maze Runner, I do not think it is the only way. I also see the film as a commentary on the human condition. The characters are all struggling to find their way in a confusing and often scary world. They are forced to rely on each other for support and guidance, and in the end, they all find a way to survive.
I think the value of an academic analysis of the Maze Runner is that it provides a different perspective on the film. It’s easy to get caught up in action and the film’s suspense, but when you step back and look at it from an academic perspective, you can see all of the different layers the film offers. Widespread criticism is typically more focused on a film’s entertainment value, while academic criticism is more focused on the film’s artistic merits. For example, a famous critic might say that the new blockbuster movie is “a lot of fun,” while an academic critic might say that the same film is “visually stunning.”
Differences between Popular and Academic Criticism
There are a few critical differences between widespread and academic criticism: Widespread criticism is typically more focused on a film’s entertainment value. Widespread criticism is personal and vibrant and also short and detailed while literary criticism focuses more on the film’s artistic merits and it is objective and analytical and also long and more detailed. These differences can be seen in how widespread academic critics approach the film “The Maze Runner.” For example, famous critic A.O. Scott of the New York Times says that the film is “a lot of fun.” In contrast, academic critic David Bordwell of the online journal Observations on Film Art says the film is “visually stunning.” While both critics enjoy the movie, Scott is more focused on the entertainment value, while Bordwell is more focused on the film’s visual aesthetics.
The differences between widespread and academic criticism are not necessarily indicative of quality. Both forms of objection can help viewers understand and appreciate films. However, it is essential to understand the differences between the two states to know what to expect from each.
Works cited
Ball, Wes. “The Maze Runner.” 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxl21uzRCioBoslaugh, Sarah. “The Maze Runner and the dystopian young adult film.” Science Fiction Film and Television, 8.1(2015): 33-48. https://doi:10.3828/sfftv.2015.8.1.33Brodie-Sangster, Thomas, Gillen, Aidan, and Scodelario, Kaya. “Maze Runner: The Death Cure.” https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Maze_Runner:_The_Death_CureHill, Michael. “The Maze Runner. The Journal of Popular Culture,” 50.4 (2017): 852-854.
McNary, Dave. Box Office: ‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ Dominates With $62.6 Million Internationally. 2018, https://variety.com/2018/film/news/box-office-maze-runner-death-cure-international-1202679471/Metacritic. “The Maze Runner Reviews.” 2022. https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-maze-runnerRotten Tomatoes. The maze runner. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_maze_runner
Young, Katherine. “The Maze Runner: A Science Fiction Film That Gets It Right.” Science Fiction Studies, 42.3 (2015): 566-569. https://doi:10.5621/sciefictstud.42.3.0566