KAFKA, HAWTHORNE, AND COETZEE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

KAFKA, HAWTHORNE, AND COETZEE - Essay Example The protagonist of Kafka's The Trial, Josef K, and the protagonist of Coetzee's book share a lot in common, even if the latter book is more political than anything by Kafka. These issues, and the full power of Kafka's The Trial, will be explored in this paper. Many might suggest that Kafka's work has no fore-bearers and that it appeared fully formed. There is sense in this suggestion. The period and place in which his books and stories were written were historically unique. The First World War had demolished many naive beliefs about the world and the rapid industrialization of the modern world was creating difficult conditions for many people. World War II and the destruction of European Jewry lurked on the horizon. The sense of dread in Kafka's work seemed in some way to have the power of a fortuneteller. It is truly terrifying. It is almost as if Kafka knew what was awaiting the world. If he had lived, he too may have perished in the Holocaust. Nevertheless, there were works of lit erature before Kafka that in someways suggest his work. One of these is Nathaniel Hawthorne's the Scarlet Letter. In this famous novel, Hester Prynne is branded with a scarlett A, after committing adultery. She is ostracized from her community and refuses to publicly identify the father of the child that is then illegitimately born. The community has turned against her. She is removed from the community by the force of the institutions that protect public morals. This is similar to Kafka's The Trial, but the most important distinction to be made, however, is what each authors' real subject is. Hawthorne's target is society's hypocrisy and its willingness to ostracize essentially good people. But however much we may dislike the methods of the town people and their treatment of Hester Prynne, we nevertheless recognize their cruelty and hypocrisy as deeply human. We are familiar with the human hypocrisy which these people represent. Additionally, we might even understand that adultery would be a big problem in a small town in New England during that period. The treatment of Hester may be over the top, but perhaps she did deserve some sort of censure. Kafka's work, however, is very different. There is little to be understood about the forces arrayed against his various protagonists. These forces are not really human, they seem to not even be living. In the Trial, Josef K. is accused of an unspecified crime which he did not commit. Although the i nstitution that tries him appears to be human, it is clear that it is instead a monstrous machine at work, slowly seeking to crush him. There can be no appeal to passion or humanity, as in the Scarlet Letter. Josef K. is trapped by forces that do not feel. At first, he feels like if he just explains himself to the court they will understand: â€Å"He had often wondered whether it might not be a good idea to work out a written defence and hand it in to the court. It would contain a short description of his life and explain why he had acted the way he had at each event that was in any way important, whether he now considered he had acted well or ill, and his reasons for each. There was no doubt of the advantages a written defence of this sort would have over relying on the lawyer, who was anyway without his

The Great Wall of China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Great Wall of China - Research Paper Example It stretches to the north from the east and ends at the center of northern part of China. What is not true about the Wall is the myth that it can be seen from Space. This was confirmed by a Chinese astronaut when he went on his maiden voyage. People, however, have witnessed the wall from the airplane. Myths arise from questioning the history of the Wall. Were men buried in the Great Wall? Were human bones used to build its foundations?2 Such questions give rise to legends that may be excellent bed-time stories but not bona fide statements. The wall still holds a rich history and there are many historical, political and religious aspects connected to its construction. The Great Wall of China was constructed under military command. Many men had to take part in the construction unwillingly. The Ming Dynasty stationed one million soldiers in nine garrisons along the wall; also several prisoners were instructed to do tough labor at the wall building. This is proof of the fact that the Wal l is full of versatile artifacts, which represent people from all over China. The Wall is said to be constructed in five ways namely, â€Å"rammed earth, adobe, stone, brick and cliff†.3 The work on the Wall was originally started in the 770 BC during the period of spring and autumn under a feudal system of Zhou Dynasty. Over a period of many decades different independent states built their own wall for defense purposes. During the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the Wall became known as the 10,000-Li-Long-Wall starting from the Gansu Province and extending to the Liaoning Province. With the coming of each Dynasty, there was an addition to the wall, and by the time China was ruled by Ming Dynasty, the Wall near Beijing began to be built between 1368 AD and 1644 AD. There are two monuments which stand famously on each end of the Wall; the First Door under Heaven at Shanhaiguan on the east and the Last Door under Heaven at Jiauguan. The maintenance of the Wall construction lasted til l the Qing Dynasty, which kept it intact till the early twentieth century. China sought defense from the outside invasion, but this purpose was least fulfilled with the passage of time. In the modern Western context, The Great Wall is merely utilized for the purpose of tourism. It is now considered to be one of the greatest heritages of the world.4 The Great Wall of China suffered a major destruction phase. The main causes of the downfall were the natural forces of â€Å"sun, wind and rain† the severity of which led to the ruin of the older sections of the wall made up of rammed earth. Ironically, the Wall was mainly damaged by people themselves. Most sections of the Great Wall were brought down in order to modernize the place by building motorways and railways, besides using the area for dams and pipelines for gas and oil. During the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards literally dismantled several hundreds of kilometers of the wall. Ever since more than fifty years, the Great Wa ll has been opened to the entire world as a touring spot. This has also caused much damage because tourism is not well organized and is often managed at a cheap cost. People use the pathways for the purpose of hiking, and this has caused soil erosion through irreversible track.5 China is said to have been united under the Qin Dynasty for the very first time in the history. It was the first emperor of the Dynasty, Qin Shihuang, who removed