Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of The Lusitania, is a narrative non-fiction thriller written by Eric Larson, describing the final, and disastrous voyage of the British ocean liner, the Lusitania. Similarly to the Titanic, the Lusitania was thought to be unsinkable, and those who voyaged within it had extreme confidence in the ship that eventually contributed to its downfall. The sheer size of the ship, and its speed and capability to exterminate smaller vessels at ease immediately dispelled any thought of it being a target of war. The story takes place in the early 1900 's, when the war between Britain and Germany during World War 1 had just begun. There was an agreement that non-military ships could not be targeted by either side.
World War 1(WW1) is one of the most bloodstained, unpleasant, wide-spread, and history-altering war ever to occur in human history. Many people know this, however, many are not aware of the important factors which impacted the Great War. One such factor is the sinking of the British Ocean Liner Lusitania, a passenger ship stacked with hundreds of civilians seeking a retreat through a vacation. The sinking of the Lusitania was a significant occurrence because it impacted the American public’s opinion significantly, which in result influenced the Great War. Hence, it is imperative one understands the role the Lusitania played during the Great War.
Passengers scrambled back to rooms for life jackets. Then, a second explosion shook the ship, believed to be a steam pressure drop. With the ship moving at 18 knots the water flooding in caused the bow to sink and the stern to lift, and a list towards the starboard, as a result of the empty coal bunker filling up. The men in the forward baggage holds, where the torpedo hit, were all killed or trapped, and they knew how to launch a life boat. The deck was in chaos, the starboard boats were too far for a person to get in them off the deck and the port ones were not over the water.
Empathy is a quality difficult to attain. Not many people can really look through the eyes of someone else most of us are sympathetic. Empathy is almost a rare feeling how often are you going to feel empathy for the syrian refugees or children in Africa? It’s hard to feel empathy for things that we haven't experienced. But in every bundle of people their is an Atticus Finch.
Where would modern civilization be without empathy? Empathy allows us to relate to others in a way that is meaningful during tragedies. Empathy is what makes people human. Without it, humans would act in ways that are closer to zombies or robots. A scary depiction of a world without empathy is “Beggar in the Living Room,” by Bill Watkins.
Most people are fighting a battle but you’ll never realize by looking at them. Another text that teaches empathy is Ode to the Chronically Ill Body. Phrases such as, “I crumple like paper because of this body” (Ode to the Chronically Ill Body 11) and “This body is a stubborn traffic light stuck on red,” (Ode to the Chronically Ill Body 20) create images in the reader's mind. These phrases can allow readers to grasp how the author feels even if they don’t experience the pain of a chronically ill
The Oxford English Dictionary defines empathy as “the power of projecting one’s personality into the object of contemplation.” Furthermore, Katie Rose Guest Pryal proposes that empathy takes action, not just a feeling and emotion. Often confused with sympathy, empathy requires the ability to understand a predicament from another person’s perspective, while sympathy only entails the feeling of pity for another ’s difficulty. Although, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus advocates to empathize with others, Pryal rather implies that Atticus exhibits sympathy.
Poetry is an effective means used to convey a variety of emotions, from grief, to love, to empathy. This form of text relies heavily on imagery and comparison to inflict the reader with the associated feelings. As such, is displayed within Stephen Dunn 's, aptly named poem, Empathy. Quite ironically, Dunn implores strong diction to string along his cohesive plot of a man seeing the world in an emphatic light. The text starts off by establishing the military background of the main protagonist, as he awaits a call from his lover in a hotel room.
Reading Journal 1. 3.05 Poe describes the sensations of being buried alive. What imagery does Poe use to help you hear, see, smell, and feel? The unendurable oppression of the lungs- The suffocating fumes from the damp earth-
Not only can we learn from the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, but also in the poem Sympathy because we can relate to what the author is talking about. Through these examples, it is clear that authors can best create empathy in their readers by developing strong characters that go through problems that the reader can relate to or learn
Using Empathy in Everyday Life In Harper Lee’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, two children and their father (a lawyer) in a small town defending an innocent black man in court. The narrator's perspective of the town and the people has changes throughout the story by experiences she had. People will understand how you feel after something has happened in your life once it happens in theirs. The kids go to Mrs. Dubose’s house when their dad tells them to go read to her.
Expressing empathy towards others creates a sense of understanding and allows the receiving end of the empathy to feel secure and important. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Mayella Ewell is a lonely nineteen year old who faces many trouble throughout the novel. Her family does not acknowledge her hard work and they do not show her the love she deserves. Atticus Finch recognizes how her family neglects and disregards her.
In George Saunders’ essay from The Guardian, he states, “We often think that the empathetic function in fiction is accomplished via the writer’s relation to his characters, but it’s also accomplished via the writer’s relation to his reader” (The Guardian). In Kurt Vonnegut’s story “Harrison Bergeron”, we can see this idea shown through the reader’s connection with Harrison. Vonnegut uses the main character of the story, Harrison Bergeron, as a symbol of empathy by allowing the reader to relate to his desire for individuality.
On April 15 the unsinkable ship went down into the North Atlantic Ocean. I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic by Lauren Tarshis is about the tragedy of the Titanic. I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic is about a 10 year old boy named George. Living in New York, George and his sister, Phoebe, went to England with their Aunt Daisy. They sail home on the ship of the Titanic.
Empathy is one of the things that bonds us as human beings; being able to feel for somebody else’s problems when they clearly do not affect us at all is why valuing literature is so important.