Autobiography, written retrospectively, presents the reader with a number of difficulties. For instance, to what extent can accuracy be credited to an account when it has been written a number of years after the events have taken place? The three selected extracts aptly illustrate this in that they demonstrate a degree of philosophical reflection that could only have occurred at leisure, in safety, and not whilst actually undergoing the trauma of a hostage situation. On the other hand, Keenan's confessional tone and willingness to play the role of 'voyeur' encourages the reader to accept his recollections as perfectly trustworthy.
The poem's title 'Beirut Remembered' is placed early in the text before Keenan has arrived in Lebanon. This placement lends a prophetic interpretation to its content. That it is intended as 'prophecy' is supported by several ominous incidents that occurred prior to departure and that Keenan presents as foreshadowing; namely, the dinner referred to as 'the Last Supper', the exchange of shirts, the lonely bus ride, etc The image of the fish used in the piece is visually striking and can be interpreted as representing Christianity or rather, humanity which has been 'gutted' or destroyed leaving a waste land where the 'ghosts' have become 'masters of the light'. That the citizens of Lebanon are 'ghosts' could suggest that they live lives in the constant shadow of death or perhaps that the continual shelling has turned the populace into zombie-like creatures. The image of disembowelment is one which Keenan makes use of a number of times within the text. In particular, he relates a story to MacCarthy of the butchering of a goat, then draws a parallel with Lebanon. .
In extract two, it is Keenan himself who becomes first a 'bag of flesh', then 'offal tossed unwanted in the corner of this filthy room.' The savage sense of violation and violence whether a gutted fish or a disemboweled goat or even the reference to cannibalism in extract three: 'Abed was feeding off our naked flesh' supports Keenan's contention that inhumane treatment of fellow human beings is abhorrent and completely unacceptable.
Cat's Cradle, a novel that showcases Vonnegut's genius, requires an open mind in order to be understood. This is because there are many meanings and points being made in Cat's Cradle. ... They are not evil by society's standards. Instead they are careless, indifferent, and selfish, which is an evil all in itself. ... Cat's Cradle is a poignant exploration of human stupidity and indifference. ...
Thesis: Cat's Cradle is a story about how mankind use there own technology to destroy them self. ... In the novel of Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut's have examines many aspects and one of those aspects is "Science". Kurt Vonnegut seems to be very interested in science and technology at the times he wrote the Cat's Cradle. ... The potion is not evil until it is given to the hands of the greedy. The tone for the cat's cradle is first person point-of-view. ...
Cat's Cradle is an extremely interesting book, both in content and physical nature. ... The main topic in Cat's Cradle is Bokononism, it's meanings and origins. ... I think Vonnegut uses this idea satirically to scoff at militaries and governments, and how mankind sometimes uses magnificent creations for evil and destruction. ... In the story, he paints a picture of a cat's cradle, and then uses it to show that the formation of string representing the cat's cradle shows neither a cat or a cradle. "No damn cat, and no damn cradle." (166 Vonnegut) he says. ...
All have the same religious beliefs: 1 God who created everything, both good and evil. The evil, which tries to corrupt everyone, is what they strive to fight against. ... Not liking someone is considered an evil which can not always be helped. ... They are called the Council of Cradles. ... When one becomes of age (25) they are put before the Council of Cradles. ...
The animal imagery illustrates evil, deceit, and fearlessness. ... Here Macbeth is describing the wolf as a watch for Duncan that could give Macbeth's evil plot to kill Duncan away at any given moment. ... The toad portrays the witches" ugliness, both the cat and the toad animal imagery shows that witches are ones who believe in evil spirits, and that they have foretelling knowledge. The last nature imagery would be, No jutty, frieze,/ Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird/Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle (191, 6-8). ... The anim...
Throughout his books, Kurt Vonnegut reiterates that war is evil and is harmful to society by showing its effects on society and individuals. ... In Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut repeatedly refers to the nuclear bomb as the end of the world because of its capability to destroy. ... The book is a symbol of the future and the mad scientists are symbols that people who make weapons are evil. ... In Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut says that war machines will be the end of the earth. ... After watching hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians die, he realized that war is evil an...
Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ's grace, erases original sin and turns one back toward God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist and summon man to spiritual battle. ... When Cesira is cradling Rosetta at the beginning of both the novel and the film, it suggests the image of Mary cradling Jesus, her son who was persecuted and killed. ...
God established America to be a promised land to be the cradle of His church (Perry), and be a beacon for the world. ... But at the time, certainly the compromise wasn't ethical, but was a necessary evil in order to have the Constitution ratified. ...
Adverse reaction as a result of action takes place in Plato's Five Dialogues, Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience, Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, and The Marquis De Sade's Justine. ... As Socrates states, "Would that the majority could inflict the greatest evils, for they would then be capable of the greatest good, and that would be fine, but now they cannot do either. ... Grube), "Would that the majority could inflict the greatest evils, for they would then be capable of the greatest good, and that would be fine, but now they cannot do either. ...
