ipl-logo

Summary: The Rape Of Nanking

2369 Words10 Pages

Yasmin Kalantar
ID: 54922761
Final Topic One
In the book The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, Iris Chang gives readers an understanding of the brutal massacre that happened in Nanking. She manages to separately describe the Japanese soldiers, the Chinese, and the Westerners. She explains their behaviors, their nature, and their leadership. Looking at Locke, Machiavelli and Rousseau's ideas of basic human nature we can see how these philosophers views of human nature fit with Chang’s description of the Japanese, Chinese, and the Westerners.
When looking at the Japanese army, it is clear to see how cruel they were to the Chinese citizens. The Japanese invaded the city of Nanking, China in 1937. Not only did they destroy the city, but the soldiers murdered, tortured, and raped the citizens. This is one of the most brutal massacres in history, “...if the dead from Nanking were to link hands, they would stretch from Nanking to the city of Hangchow, spanning a distance of some two …show more content…

He talks about how it is better to be hated than to loved if it will benefit you, “Here a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse...anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. . . . Love endures by a bond which men, being scoundrels, may break whenever it serves their advantage to do so; but fear is supported by the dread of pain, which is ever present” (Machiavelli, 60). This quote explains Machiavelli's idea that a ruler ultimate goal is his Country and if cruelty needs to be used to achieve this goal then it is acceptable. He believes cruelty is ok only in the interest of the Country. This shows that he would side with the Japanese being cruel to the Chinese citizens since they are doing it for the goal of expanding their country and benefiting their

Show More
Related

Cocktail Party Economics Essay

570 Words | 3 Pages

These two are used to evaluate systems of resource allocation. Allocating a resource means deciding what to use it for. The reason resource allocation is important, is because economics studies what people do when resources are scarce, that is, when there 's not enough resources to satisfy all the human wants that are competing for them. Its very rare to find a perfectly functional competitive market. Even though they are efficient they result in very inequitable markets.

Read More

World War 2 Page Essay On Unbroken

569 Words | 3 Pages

When learning about and analyzing acts of mass atrocity during World War II, hundreds if not thousands of questions can be asked trying to gain a deeper understanding for their actions. Probably one of the most intriguing thoughts to ponder is what leads individuals and societies as a whole to descend to such a level of cruelty. According to the author of Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand, one reason may be, “Few societies treasured dignity, and feared humiliation, as did the Japanese, for whom a loss of honor could merit suicide. This is likely one of the reasons why Japanese soldiers in World War II debased their prisoners with such zeal, seeking to take from them that which was most painful and destructive to lose” (189). To elaborate, the Japanese

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Japanese War Camps

719 Words | 3 Pages

Dying in war was an honorable thing in the minds of the japanese; therefore seeing people surrendering was like seeing a dead skunk on the side of the road. The japanese pow camps were a lot worse than the german camps. In the german camps the prisoners had to go through medical experiments, malnutrition, forced labor, \ Kronk 3 and gas chambers. In the japanese pow camps the prisoners had to go through random torture, forced labor in terrible conditions, malnutrition, people dying everywhere, and something the prisoners called “give-up-itus.”

Read More

Resilience In Richard Hillenbrand's Unbroken

1428 Words | 6 Pages

In the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, the story is told from the perspective of Olympic-track-star-turned-WWII-airman Louis Zamperini. Zamperini was the youngest of four children, born from Italian immigrants Anthony and Louise Zamperini. He was a very definition of a delinquent. From the time Louis could walk, he could not be controlled. “The instant Louise thumped him into a chair and told him to be still, he vanished.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Pizan And Machiavelli The Prince

1056 Words | 5 Pages

Then for Machiavelli he talks about how a prince should show no fear instead for him to show that he is the one with power. That a prince's people should fear him. Both authors go on to talk on how their people react based on the prince and princesse act. The authors then go on to explain how they should view and run their people. Both authors also reflect the fact that the way their people are going to act towards them is mainly based off of how they treat them.

Read More

How Did John Locke Influence The American Constitution

542 Words | 3 Pages

We find traces of his philosophy in modern politics by how people running for seats of power make many promises in their campaign and once the people elect them, they may fall short in accomplishing their promises. Where Machiavelli mentioned using cruelty, one can say this applied to the rise of Hitler’s reign by how he punished the Jew’s and other minorities all the while maintaining a merciful appearance for those who supported

Read More

War Without Mercy Chapter 1 Summary

1425 Words | 6 Pages

War Without Mercy “Ultimately, it brought about a revolution in racial consciousness throughout the world that continues to the present day.” (Dower 4). During World War II, besides morbid deaths, racism was one of the ultimate factors which sparked this tragic period of time. With the use of propaganda such as cartoons, films, and several other media induced strategies, the extreme hatred between the Americans and Japanese was increasing.

Read More

Chinatown Kid Sparknotes

1603 Words | 7 Pages

Fung also points out, “We were Chinese, so they treated us like animals. They beat us, starved us, and worked us to death. They didn’t care if we lived or died”(Yung 89). Fung shows the harsh treatment that the Chinese prisoners were put under because of their race and because the Japanese prisoners targeted them specifically because they were Chinese. They were treated so brutally that he says it did not matter if they lived or died because they were treated like slaves and animals.

Read More

Thomas Jefferson And Niccolo Machiavelli's The Morals Of The Prince

762 Words | 4 Pages

Machiavelli argues the perfect prince will be both feared and loved by his people, and if unable to be both he will make himself feared and not hated. Machiavelli believes it is much safer to be feared than to be loved because people are less likely to offend and stand up against strong characters, also people are less concerned in offending a prince who has made himself loved. Accordingly, Machiavelli believes generosity is harmful to your reputation and the choice between being generous or stingy, merciful or cruel, honest or deceitful, should only be important if it aids the prince in political power. All in all, Machiavelli believes the ruler must be a great deceiver and do what is essential to uphold power over the

Read More

Dehumanization In The Nanking Massacre

1413 Words | 6 Pages

They would rape the women from the age of 8 to older than 70. If they found anyone with their family they would make members of the family do horrible things to other family members, just to tear the family apart before killing them. Organization was used, as groups of Japanese soldiers would gather and go on mass killing sprees. Polarization was not used, because all of the Japanese already hated the Chinese, and they were already separated.(The Nanking Massacre.com) During the stage of preparation, the Japanese transported Chinese soldiers to a remote location on the outskirts of Nanking to be assembled for killing, and after soldiers were gone the Japanese soldiers targeted the citizens. During the Nanking massacre there wasn’t a persecution because the Japanese soldiers would just kill the Chinese people after dehumanizing them, and once they were dead then the Japanese would take what they wanted.

Read More

Hatred In Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

654 Words | 3 Pages

Thus, hatred should be avoided at all costs. However, Machiavelli also support the “squandering” of other nations, which would breed hatred. Machiavelli establishes that “it does not take away your reputation if you squander that of others, but

Read More

Plato Vs Machiavelli

429 Words | 2 Pages

Plato and Machiavelli were nevertheless, as similar as they were different on their beliefs in an idealistic government. Both of their ideas have been taught for years, and are certainly essential to understand how they interpret a perfect polis. Plato emphasis the question on what is justice for the people as well as for the Kallipolis and whether a just person is better off than an unjust person. Ethical beliefs are Plato’s main focus in a government.

Read More

Comparing Machiavelli's The Prince And The Discourses

1492 Words | 6 Pages

The best place to begin for this where he answered the question which is better to be loved or feared Love or Fear Which is to be better loved or feared? This question is an important one and Machiavelli answer for it is great. “One ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved” (Machiavelli 61). This leads to one of his core beliefs which is that, he believes humans are awful creatures and will seek out

Read More

Dichotomy In Korean Films

1831 Words | 8 Pages

Jiang Wen’s title itself refers to the Japanese as “devils,” since they are the primary reason for the disruption of everyday life. This is evident in the scene where two Japanese soldiers utterly ruin the function and rationality of the village dwellers, especially Ma Dasan who has been burdened with the babysitting of two Japanese prisoners. This satirical scene exhibits how the two soldiers stir chaos and disorder of normality, and the Chinese villagers are forced to comply in such ludicrous circumstances (Wen 0:36:30). The utter fear towards the Japanese military combined with the Empire’s attempt of removing Chinese culture inspire ravenous hate and tension between the two cultures, and the Japanese occupiers in this film are seen as erratic, crude, and

Read More

Erasmus Vs Machiavelli

1034 Words | 5 Pages

Machiavelli believed that men will follow a ruler as long as the ruler serves their interests, and a quick to turn against the ruler unless they fear great punishment. Machiavelli would say that it is best to be feared rather than loved as long as the fear does not cause hate, which he believed to be perfectly possible.

Read More

More about Summary: The Rape Of Nanking

Related Topics

Open Document