Goodbye Darkness is a memoir written by William Manchester. Manchester was a U.S. Marine in the Pacific during World War II. What truly made this book stand out for me was how deep it goes in philosophically. For instance, it talks about the concepts of survivor’s guilt. When on the patrol on the Guadalcanal, Manchester’s entire group that he fought with was struck by a Japanese mortar leaving him the only survivor.
The over whelming assignment of archiving dark history regularly entice researchers to cover a wide scope of history in a predetermined number of pages. In Dark Texans: A past filled with African Americans in Texas in 1528 to 1995, Alwayn Barr looks at the issue of race and acknowledgment all through the historical backdrop of blacks in Texas. By centering his consideration in one range, the creator sets the phase for inside and out exchange of dark history, individuals, and occasions special to Texas. Each of the seven parts are separated into subcategories: "Governmental issues, Brutality and Lawful Status"; "Work and Financial Status"; "Training"; and "Social Life." The content is supplemented by 16 outlines, which start with a 1891 painting
With this catastrophe, many relied on their leaders and the clergy in which they want to hear a message of hope, encouragement, togetherness and also faith. Moreover, it assured that no matter what tragedy that they faced, they must be strong and also unite as one as they embark on a journey to a recovery and also a renewal of friendship. In conclusion, what was once lost has blossomed anew and the message that God will protect his people has prevailed. The victims of Joplin are now on their path to recovery and religion binds them together as they complete the healing
Un-afraid of The dark, Rosemary L. Bray’s gut wrenching novel about overcoming one’s own life struggles to become successful. Bray’s life at home can be described as extraordinarily trying and demanding. Living with a father who cares more about gambling and arguing with his wife rather than being the man of the family and working, a substantial amount of her life revolved around welfare and her father’s disapproval of her. Bray soon discovers her way out of her fathers verbal and physical abuse, learning how to read and write.
The Chicago World Fair stirred many emotions in this great time of industrialization, but not only was Chicago shining in the spotlight from the fair, it was also promoting something much more sinister, this dark enclosing spotlight shined directly on H.H Holmes. Burnham the leader of the World Fair and H. H Holmes the notorious serial killer, are the two main characters in this novel that Erik Larson uses the balance between light and dark between these two’s personalities. In the novel The Devil in the White City Erik Larson uses Imagery, paradox, and alliteration to show the balance between the light and dark in the ever growing city of Chicago. Imagery paints an ever expanding picture for the audience, the detailed descriptions such as “but his eyes are as blue as ever, bluer at this instant by proximity to the sea" (Larson 3).
The Devil in the White City was written by Erik Larson. The brief summary of the book which has fifty-six chapters is that it tells the story of the architects of the World’s Fair in Chicago and also the current events during that time period. It also shows us the true of a dark and eerie part of the World’s Fair. A killer using the fair as his hunting grounds looking for his prey. We will go deeper into the book late on but first let’s get to know the author and all his accomplishments.
Throughout “The Devil in the White City,” author Erik Larson uses contrasting descriptions to portray the sharp differences between the magnificence of the fair and the harsh and cruel reality of Chicago. The awe-ing descriptions of the fair and the dark interpretation of the streets of Chicago comments on the beautiful facade that the Gilded age produced. The temporary and shallow grandeur of the fair masked the poverty stricken city and gave a false sense of elegance to a city deep in despair. Larsons vivid descriptions of the beauty and elegance of the fair serves to reinforce the idea of its temporary masking of the city. He describes the fair as an art piece, a historian calling it, “no more the white city on the lake… it is dreamland.”
Gitta Sereny's book "Into That Darkness" illustrated a disturbing perspective into the life of Franz Stangl, a former police officer of Schloss Hartheim which was part of the Nazi's Tiergartenstrasse 4 (T4 program) of murdering individuals with disabilities, he was also a former SS commandant of the Sobibor and Treblinka camps. Stangl was held accountable for the deaths of thousands of Jewish people and other minorities during the Holocaust, with this, Sereny sought to understand how a seemingly average and intelligent individual such as Stangl could take part in participating in genocide. Stangl attempts to resolve his cognitive dissonance through the rationalization of his actions, manipulating his memory of events through selective attention,
In A Paradise Built in Hell, Rebecca Solnit focuses on the occurrences of the aftermaths of five major North American disasters and how strong bonds within communities form because of those disasters. Each case study provides a concrete description of what surviving residents themselves understand to be an unusual sociological change arising in the midst of casualties, disorientation, homelessness, and significant loss of all kinds. Reflecting on the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; the enormous 1917 explosion in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the devastating 1985 Mexico City quake; Lower Manhattan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks; and Hurricane Katrina’s 2005 deluge of New Orleans, Solnit brings a new perspective to these heart-wrenching tragedies. Solnit tells many enlightening stories of altruism and courageous social action. Moreover, although providing insight on these tragedies, Solnit presents her case with a redundant political bias and can seem to show problems that were not there.
Have you ever been caught in a natural disaster, losing your home, place to work, or even a friend or family member? Today there is the Red Cross and other organizations to help people survive these events, but what would you do without them? Clarissa “Clara” Barton is a hero because she founded the red cross in the U.S., helped and risked her life in the Civil War, and served as a symbol for women’s rights and support for the oppressed. Clara Barton was the founder of the red cross in the U.S, and served as its first president. Clara had the Red Cross founded after visiting Europe for rest (Redcross.org), where a treaty was signed for the Red Cross to help anyone.
Many times, the strength of an establishment is not fully realized until it has proven its ability to overcome a setback and become better for it. Chicago is a primary example of a city which proved its strength by undergoing disaster, and becoming better for it. Perhaps the most jarring of these disasters was the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, symbolized by the second of four stars on the Chicago flag. This tragedy, claiming the lives of hundreds and causing millions of dollars in damage, was horrid, but the city overcame and grew to be one of America’s most influential cities. A crucial element of Chicago’s history, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 can be understood by studying the cause of its severity, its impact on the city, and the recovery efforts of the people.
On December 21, 2012, Los Angeles Times published “Let There Be Dark” adapted from Paul Bogard. In this article, Paul persuades his audience that darkness should be preserved by using evidence, reasoning and persuasive elements. Paul uses the natural environment as evidence to persuade his readers that darkness should be preserved. For example, Bogard states in paragraph 4 “The rest of the world depends on darkness as well, including nocturnal and crepuscular species of birds, insects, mammals, fish and reptiles.” This is convincing evidence because he explains the importance of darkness in the everyday lives of many different species in the world and the absence of this darkness would lead to an unstable ecosystem.
Traveling through the Dark Every day the average adult, "makes 35,000 decisions in one day", but one wrong decision can change lives and history. In the poem, " Traveling through the Dark," by William Stafford, he shows the decision making in human nature. The first stanza opens with the man driving down the road only to find a dead deer on the side. He is initially left with an easy decision to either throw the deer off the side of the road or allow people to die trying to avoid the deer.
The analogy of life, along with the obstacles that one must overcome in order to advance and to succeed is portrayed through the narrator’s experience with a dead deer in “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford. An interpretation of the title “Traveling through the Dark” is one’s outlook of life. Ultimately, humans are incapable of being all-knowing; living day by day without the ability to predict tomorrow. The dead deer on the edge of the road symbolizes unexpectancies in life, the speaker 's ability to make a critical decision when no one is watching allows the speaker to progress in the journey of life.
Conrad uses examples of order and chaos throughout his novel to aid in the delivery of the differentiation of the truth of human nature and the sham of civilization. In these examples, order represents civilization and chaos represents the wilderness of Africa. When Marlow finally left the central station to retrieve Mr. Kurtz, he and his crew stop at an abandoned cottage in the middle of the jungle where a European once lived and noticed an old book on the table. Marlow says, “Not a very enthralling book; but at the first glance you could see the singleness of intention, an honest concern for the right way of doing work, . . . The simple od sailor, with is talk of chains and purchases, made me forget about the jungle and the pilgrims in a delicious sensation of having come upon something unmistakably real” (78).
