A Plan Of Investigation On The Peace After World War I

A Plan of investigation This investigation will explore the extent to which implausible peace settlement propositions during World War I led to the Armistice and eventually engendered German animosity and hostility. This investigation will examine the circumstances of the First World War that drove the Allies to push for an armistice as opposed to an unconditional surrender. It will analyze the tactics of negotiation of the Allies in order to end the war and examine German anger when expectations were not met. Overall, this investigation will examine how this well-intentioned urgency for peace negatively impacted the future of Europe in terms of its failure to fulfill the promises made by the Allies. Research for the investigation will be†¦show more content†¦Masses of German troops shifted from the east to the west. It became evident that, with Germany on the rise to power, American intervention was needed on behalf of the Allies. President Wilson clung to neutrality, but the Bolshevik Revolution but a strain on the American people to intervene in order to safeguard international democracy. With an estimated six months until British surrender, the weary Allies waited for aid. America’s mobilization for war demanded extreme sacrifice of the American people; over 7.5 civilians were conscripted into the armed forces, American factories broke all records for production, monetary aid flowed to the Allies, and civilian consumption was cut drastically. The overstrained Germans met American troops in September of 1918; the offensive proved to be more than the Germans could withstand and an armistice was arranged in November. German Sentiment In September of 1918 dictatorial powers rested with German military leader, General Ludendorff, who realized that Germany’s cause was hopeless. He urged the Kaiser to establish a parliamentary republic hoping that the Allies would treat a peaceful German Republic more leniently than a militaristic empire. Kaiser William II was abdicated in November, the new Weimar Republic of Germany was established, and the armistice was signed. The Armistice Germany agreed to armistice negotiations only if the settlement was founded president Wilson’s

Analysis Of Timothy Snyder s Book Bloodlands Europe...

The mid-20th century was a time of mass murders and totalitarian regimes. Many know of the atrocities committed under Hitler’s Nazi Germany and consider it to be the cause of the highest death count of the time. However, this may not be the case. Timothy Snyder argues in his book entitled Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin that Hitler was not the sole bad guy of the time period. Despite the differing goals of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, the two regimes intertwined to create a death toll in the bloodlands region of Europe that neither could have achieved on its own and was unprecedented in western history. The â€Å"bloodlands† region was named to represent the massive loss of life inflicted by the Nazi and Soviet regimes on Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic States. Between 1933 and 1945, an estimated 14 million civilians were starved, shot, or imprisoned as a result of the interwoven efforts of Hitler and Stalin (citation). The interweaving of the plots was not always intentional, and history does not represent the two as being codependent. Snyder argues, however, that neither system could have independently led to as many deaths as they did with the assistance of the other. This is why Snyder includes in the bloodlands only â€Å"territories subject to both German and Soviet police power and associated mass killing policies† (Snyder 409). Additionally, of the 14 million killed in the bloodlands during this time period, almost all were noncombatant;

Comparison of Child Characters in Salingers Teddy and A Perfect Day for Bananafish free essay sample

J. D. Salinger’s Nine Stories there are many tales centered on children, who are often depicted as a symbol of hope and connected with the values that stand in contrast to the ones typical of the adults corrupted by materialism. In my essay, I would like to concentrate on the portrayal of children in â€Å"A Perfect Day for Bananafish† and â€Å"Teddy†. Even though the way these characters are depicted is similar, a child protagonist in each of the stories is representative of different things. While Sibyl can be seen as a prototype of a childlike innocence, purity and simplicity, Teddy can hardly be considered a prototypical innocent child. Despite the simplicity of Sibyl’s thinking, her presence and behavior help the reader draw many complex conclusions about the main adult in the story â€Å"A Perfect Day For Bananafish†, Seymour Glass. Having many abilities and experiences but still being a child at the same time, Teddy also provides us with an in depth understanding of the adult world. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Child Characters in Salingers Teddy and A Perfect Day for Bananafish or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In my essay, I would therefore like to contrast and compare the things the children stand for and represent, and the way they provide us with the illumination of the motives and values of the adult world. The fact that Sibyl Carpenter can be seen as a representative of a pure innocence has a profound impact on the development of â€Å"A Perfect Day for Bananafish†. The certainty that Sibyl is a pure child character is encouraged by the use of the color blue in several parts of the story that is, next to the color white, known to represent innocence and purity. When Seymour first sees Sybil, he says: â€Å"That’s a fine bathing suit you have on. If there is one thing I like, it’s a blue bathing suit. (Salinger 12) Even though in reality it is not blue but yellow, through this single reference, the innocence of a child seems to be pointed out by Seymour. Almost as soon as Sybil is introduced, it is made obvious that she is characterized by the simplicity typical of children of her age. She seems to ingeniously believe basically everything that is told to her and this is the reason why she accepts the existence of a Bananafish without a doubt when Seymour Glass tell s her about it: â€Å"Sybil, I’ll tell you what we’ll do. We’ll see if we can catch a Bananafish† (Salinger 13). Towards the end of the interaction between Seymour and Sibyl, Seymour â€Å"picked up one of Sybil’s wet feet, which were drooping over the end of the float, and kissed the arch† (Salinger 17). She responded with a sharp â€Å"hey! †, but other than that, she did not react at all. In the sample of a few lines, it is shown that Sybil still has the traits of personality typically found in children. When they are offended, they generally do not stay upset for a long time, much the same as how Sybil immediately forgives Seymour. In spite of being one of the main characters of the story, it is clear that she is still a little girl, with all the traits that come with that age. Teddy, the main character in J. D. Salinger’s short story of the same name, is very different from Sybil Carpenter in that he can hardly be considered child like. One can say that he stands somewhere between a child and an adult. Being ten years old, he has obviously retained some of the youthful innocence but because of his abilities, experiences and experience, he cannot be seen as fully innocent. Teddy is a child prodigy, he can predict the future, and remembers instances from his previous lives believing in reincarnation. While he can be considered blessed to possess all of these abilities, it is also a curse to be ten years old and have to suffer through this. At one point, Teddy says: â€Å"It will either happen today or February 14th 1958, when I am 16. † (Salinger 182) He is most likely referring to the day that he will die, being capable of knowing this information because of the abilities that set him apart from the world. Moreover, he has intelligence that puts him in the same class or even higher as most adults, so he cannot be expected to have all of the innocence that comes with his youthful nature. Therefore, it can be said that Teddy has only half of his innocence, while the other half has disappeared due to his abilities and experiences that also led to the loss of simplicity that can be found in Sibyl, who comes across as a simple, naive child. The one trait of personality that Teddy and Sibyl share is the kindness. The kindness is evidence in both, Sibyl’s treatment of Seymour and Teddy’s behavior. When Teddys sister tells the young boy that he â€Å"is the stupidest person [she] ever met† (176), Teddy kindly defends and reassures the young boy. In his journal it is discovered that all Teddy writes about are small kind acts that he wishes to do for other people: he wants to find and wear his father’s dog tags because he thinks it will â€Å"please him;† he wants to write a condolence letter to someone who is ill, and he wishes to be â€Å"nicer to [the] librarian† (180-1). Sybil’s presence and behavior lea ds one to many conclusions about the main adult in the story, Seymour Glass. Seymour’s motives and values are clearly and concisely revealed through interaction with Sybil. Again, the color blue is used to show innocence. When Seymour takes off his robe to go in the water, it is discovered that â€Å"his shoulders were white and narrow, and his trunks were royal blue† (Saliger 13). Even by his name (Seymour – see more), it is suggested that he is much closer to the nature of a child than to the materialistic adult world, he sees in life much more than they do. In addition to the royal blue swim trunks, interaction between these Sybil and Seymour leads to a further illumination of Seymour’s nature. It is suggested in the story that Seymour is probably suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, yet one would never know that based off of his experience with Sybil. In the interaction with her, he simply seems to be a kind man willing to make the child happy: â€Å"Seymour only treats Sybil with kindness and attention. His interaction with Sybil offers insight into the end of the story. Seymour longs for something that is pure and innocent after his traumatic war experience. He does not fit in the current society, and remains separated from those his own age, including his own wife. (McCoppin 4) When Sybil asks him if he has read Little Black Sambo, he responds by saying â€Å"It’s very funny you ask me that, it so happens I just finished reading it last night. What did you think of it? † (Salinger 14) Seymour seems naturally talented in his dealings with children, which can, in fact, be considered as a sign of innocence, as in order to be able to relate to the i nnocence and purity of a child, it is a must that that person has at least a little innocence of their own. Again, this trait of his personality is only shown through his interactions with Sybil. Through Teddy’s interactions with adults, J. D. Salinger also effectively depicts the motives and values of the adult world. The professor to whom Teddy tells his story is, like in a case of â€Å"Perfect Day For Bananafish†, depicted in contrast to other materialistic adults including Teddy’s parents. He listens intently to Teddy and wishes to learn from him. Through their conversation, we learn that Teddy is a genius who can see into his past lives and into the future. He criticizes the adult world claiming that the adults think that they have all the knowledge and that they are everything, but in reality they are not. To exemplify this point, Teddy uses the example of the elephant, through the method of emptying out the mind: â€Å"I’d try to show [the children] how to find out who they are, not just what their names are and things like that†¦I guess even before that, I’d get them to empty out everything that their parents and everybody ever told them. I mean even if their parents just told them that an elephant’s big, I’d make them empty that out. An elephant is only big when it is next to something else- a dog or a lady, for example. I wouldn’t even tell them that an elephant had a trunk. I might show them an elephant, if I had one handy, but I’d let them just walk up to the elephant not knowing anything more about it than the elephant knew about them. † (Salinger 195) Teddy is basically calling the adult world’s knowledge false, as he seems to be of the opinion that they do not really know anything at all, they just believe things to be true. When somebody first learns about elephants, they are just told that the elephant is big, and that person blindly accepts it, which Teddy considers a huge problem in the society because nobody is actually learning anything as they just believe what people tell them. The proper way to learn is to experience, Teddy has those experiences because he remembers his past lives but the adults of the world do not have that ability. Therefore, Teddy’s abilities and experiences shape the reader’s understanding of the adult world’s lack of knowledge. Along with proving Seymour’s innocence, Sybil’s presence and behavior also shows the reader what Seymour thinks about material possession and greed. When Sybil asks what a Bananafish is, she prompts Seymour to respond by saying: â€Å"Well, [the Bananafish] swim into a hole were there’s a lot of bananas. They’re very ordinary looking fish when they swim in. But once they get in, they behave like pigs. Why, I’ve known some Bananafish to swim into a banana hole and eat as many as 78 bananas. Naturally, after that they’re so fat that they can’t get out of the hole again. † (Salinger 16) This conversation with Sybil is concealing what Seymour thinks about the world of material want: He believes that the world is filled with greedy people who never have enough and always want more. A literary critic J. F. Cotter claims that Seymour relates the tale about the Bananafish to Sybil as a lesson, possibly even a warning: â€Å"Sybil is a receptive child, [she] has yet to taste the avarice that fills most grown-up lives, she†¦can turn away from the spoon held out to her. † (Cotter 88) The characters in the story that are clearly depicted as dwelling too much on material needs involve Seymour’s girlfriend Muriel, Muriels mother, and Sibyl’s mother Mrs. Carpenter with their shallow talk of clothes and fashion. Just like bananafish gorge on bananas, they â€Å"gorge† on material things. Having returned from war, Seymour struggles to get involved in this society that is dominated by materialism and greed. In his friends Seymour he only meets apathy and ignorance. He most likely carries some complicated emotions in him and in this society, he can find neither the way to express them, nor someone to share the emotions with. Therefore, Seymour can identify with Sibyl, the pure and innocent child that is not yet burdened with the materialism and consumerism. Though the world of adults within this story is portrayed as either trite or fearful, Sybil’s world is light and innocent. † (McCoppin 3) However, by Seymour’s account, it is suggested that greed and gluttony will always come back to them, and almost always lead to a downfall. Once the bananafish eat too many bananas, they cannot get out of the hole and end up dying there. Again, Seymour’s view of the societ y is only known because of his relationship with Sybil and her youthfulness. â€Å"Salinger’s depiction of children serves to illuminate the tainted adult world Seymour cannot reenter. (McCoppin 3) The story ends tragically with Seymour’s suicide â€Å"that leaves a lasting message for the reader with its contradiction of a simple, pleasant moment with a child, and Seymour’s fatal belief that he is too damaged to ever reenter this life of innocence again. †The metaphor of the fish eating the bananas in â€Å"A Perfect Day For Bananafish† is equivalent to mankind eating the apple of knowledge. While the bananafish are unable to leave the hole, mankind is unable to eliminate the preconcieved notions that it obtained from the apple. Teddy believes that the only way to change and fix it is to completely empty out one’s mind claiming that this is the only path to enlightenment: â€Å"You know the apple that Adam ate in the Garden of Eden, referred to in the Bible? You know what was in that apple? Logic. Logic and intellectual stuff. That was all that was in it. So- this is my point- what you have to do is vomit it up if you want to see things as they really are. † (Salinger 191) When Teddy says one has to â€Å"vomit it up†, he is referring to getting rid of all the previously held notions, and essentially starting over. He believes that this is the only way to the possibility of living a true life without succumbing to the materialistic pressures that society already places on us. It may be painful and uncomfortable, much like vomiting, but it is the only way life can be better. However, concerning the ending of â€Å"Teddy†, â€Å"the question remains if readers should take Teddy’s teachings as Salinger’s genuine message to help the people of the modern era to find meaning in life, or if Teddy’s tragic end represents Salinger’s acknowledgement that Teddy’s vision of life cannot and perhaps should not exist in present reality. (McCoppin 7) It is interesting how Salinger phrases â€Å"Teddy† because it is the last story in Nine Stories, and it focuses on emptying out, but in the first story, â€Å"A Perfect Day for Bananafish†, Salinger focuses on filling up. Both stories are a commentary on the materialism of the adult world, but â€Å"Teddyà ¢â‚¬  seems to be different in the aspect that it actually tells how one can fix this materialism, rather than just telling what it will do to people, like in â€Å"A Perfect Day for Bananafish†. However, one has to take into consideration the tragic ending of â€Å"Teddy† discussed above. The reader would not know any of the aspects depicted above had it not been for the interactions between children and adults that characterize these two stories. Even though Sybil Carpenter and Teddy McArdle are each innocent in their own way, they are similar in that Salinger uses them, and their youthfulness and innocence, to seamlessly build the stories off of each other and illuminate the motives and values of the adult world. WORKS CITED: Cotter, J. F. â€Å"A Source for Seymour’s Suicide: Rilke’s Voices and Salinger’s Nine Storiesâ€Å". Papers on Language and Literature, Vol. 25, No. 1(1989): 83-98. McCoppin, Rachel Season: War, Children and Altruism in J. D. Salinger’s Nine Stories. Akademeia, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2011). lt;http://www. akademeia. ca/index. php/main/article/viewArticle/ea0102/18gt; Salinger, J. D. Nine Stories. Toronto : Bantam, 1986.