ipl-logo

The American Dream In Rights Of Man By Thomas Paine

808 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Rights of man thomas paine partie 2 chapitre 4 analysis

Her American Dream turns into a nightmare. A young girl envisions herself cheering for her country. She smiles at the waving U.S. flag. She exudes patriotic spirit. She joins a loud crowd to celebrate the peace and equality in America only to realize it was a mob condemning the faults of the nation. Dreams are idealistic versions of what is desired, but they may not be representative of reality. In Rights of Man, Thomas Paine dreamt of America as a picture-perfect society and characterized it as a united and fair nation. Paine’s characterization does not hold true today. His depiction of America is no longer applicable since “riots and tumults” are rightfully engendered, the government is unjust, and the rich are privileged. Paine’s claim …show more content…

The government has turned a blind eye to its incarcerated citizens, depriving them of their basic human needs. For instance, jails have become overpacked and unsanitary. Most state prisons have reached seventy-five percent capacity, while nine have already reached more than one hundred percent. As prison populations rise, more diseases spread from reduced space, lower air quality, and contaminated water. Many inmates do not seek treatment because of delays in health evaluation. Inadequate medical care in detention centers reveals the government’s lack of concern for its prisoners’ health, emphasizing the injustice toward the incarcerated. Furthermore, government injustice extends to solitary confinement as it is an unethical practice. Isolated imprisonment dehumanizes convicts by denying them educational programs, social interaction, and mental health treatment which can lead to significant psychological damage. Some may counter that criminals need to be penalized for their crimes to learn from their mistakes. However, such extreme punishment is not an effective method of rehabilitation. Prolonged isolation reinforces feelings of worthlessness or insensitivity, which decreases a prisoner’s ability to reform. Despite these reasons, it continues to be in use which highlights how unjust the government truly is. While dehumanizing acts of mass incarceration and solitary confinement exist, Paine’s assertion that the “government is just” is

Show More
Related

How Does Thomas Paine Use Rhetorical Appeals In The Crisis Number 1

1053 Words | 5 Pages

By bringing this up, Paine strengthens the argument of Britain's

Read More

Comparing The American Dream In Coates 'Book Between The World And Me'

350 Words | 2 Pages

Recent events have given rise to the growing issues in the black community here in the United States. Issues such as police brutality, racism and inequality. These recent events are also the main topics in the book Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. In Coates’ book he discusses these issues in depth along with correlations to this idea known as the American dream. Together the idea of the American dream and the issues presented give rise to the question; how does Coates define the dream and what does his definition say about America?

Read More

Hard Rock Returns To Criminal Insane By Etheridge Knight Analysis

540 Words | 3 Pages

The poem “Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane” by Etheridge Knight is a commentary on the twentieth century American prison system. It invokes within the reader a feeling that many of the processes used to ‘correct’ a prisoner is dehumanizing. Solitary confinement is one such method. Solitary confinement should be outlawed because it is ineffective as it traumatizes the victims and is a violation of human rights. To begin, solitary

Read More

Radicalism Of The English In The Pamphlet Of Thomas Paine

189 Words | 1 Pages

That to Mr. Paine was unwise, unjust, and unnatural. Something

Read More

Jon Krakauer's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

595 Words | 3 Pages

Advertised as the land of the free and a beacon of hope and opportunity, America is a nation where a single ideal has drawn masses of immigrants who conquer difficulties. When one ideal has shaped the history of an entire nation, one must ponder the meaning of the American Dream. The American Dream manifests itself in Christopher McCandless’s journey to the West as chronicled by Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild. It weaves itself into the fabric of every American story, such as that of Maya Angelou’s memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Moreover, it finds itself voiced by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Zitkala And Mary Antin

1871 Words | 8 Pages

Zitkala-Sa and Mary Antin both approach this nation with the same hope, however, upon arrival, Mary Antin’s experience is positive, while Zitkala-Sa’s is much more painful. Mary Antin and Zitkala-Sa overcome obstacles to achieve the American dream. Through the act of storytelling,

Read More

The City That Became Safe Summary

843 Words | 4 Pages

This article is based on imprisonment and the basic reality of American prisons is not that of the lock and key but that of the lock and clock, so it states. The scale and the brutality of the prisons are the moral scandal of American life. The United States is known to have the highest rate of incarceration per capital to other countries. Many people are trapped for many years in prison, sometimes even for life due to being caught with the procession of marijuana or for committing some brutal crimes. Just like the article stated, around fifty thousand men wake up every day to be found in solitary confinement.

Read More

Communication In The Attica Sparknotes

1011 Words | 5 Pages

In this prison, inmates were subject to psychological abuses and absolute isolation. This “…demonstrated that the state’s power was in fact growing rather than shrinking, at least with regard to punishment” (Berger,

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Supermax Prisons

635 Words | 3 Pages

While it is true that prisoners in these facilities are kept in solitary confinement for long periods of time, and their interactions with the outside world are limited, the conditions in some supermax prisons are not as inhumane as they are sometimes portrayed. Many facilities have implemented programs to mitigate the effects of isolation, such as education and rehabilitation programs, as well as regular interaction with staff members. The question of whether the conditions in supermax prisons constitutes cruel and unusual punishment is a complex one. The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, but the interpretation of this clause has evolved over time. In recent years, there has been a growing consensus that prolonged solitary confinement can amount to cruel and unusual punishment, especially when it is used as a punishment in and of itself, rather than as a temporary measure for security

Read More

Summary Of Rights Of A Man By Thomas Paine

697 Words | 3 Pages

Who doesn’t look up to the flourishing, thriving country of America and want to support its causes and freedoms? Paine is a prime example of support. Although shackled by the King of England, Paine is a firm believer in the freedom of America and their way of life. Throughout the passage from his book, Rights Of A Man, he discusses the diversity of America: so many different people, languages, religions, ways of life. The list is never ending.

Read More

Rehabilitation In Shawshank's Redemption

766 Words | 4 Pages

First you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That 's institutionalized.’ A prison should aim at retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation. I am very well convinced that prison has served its first three purposes by depriving offenders’ freedom, but the

Read More

Thomas Paine's Rights Of Man Anywhere In The World

810 Words | 4 Pages

Unfortunately, you would be pressed to find the image of perfection that he implies in his book Rights of Man anywhere in the world, and certainly not in modern America. One specific quote from Paine’s’ passage I don’t believe holds true today would be “there, the poor are not oppressed, the rich are

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Solitary Confinement

906 Words | 4 Pages

Over the last couple of decades, prison systems have adopted the use of solitary confinement as a means of punishment and have progressively depended on it to help maintain obedience and discipline inside the prison structure. Solitary confinement is a form of incarceration in which a prisoner is isolated in a cell for multiple hours, days, or weeks with limited to no human contact. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the United States represents only 5% of the world's population, yet houses 20% of the world’s prisoners (ACLU, 2017). Two of the biggest problems with our modern day criminal justice system is the overwhelming number of people that are incarcerated in the United States and the overwhelming number of convicts who

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Solitary Confinement

1512 Words | 7 Pages

Within the United States, approximately 80,000 prisoners are currently in solitary confinement (Nolan and Amico). For countless people, that is 80,000 too many. Encyclopedia Britannica states, “Solitary confinement is a form of incarceration in which a prisoner is isolated from other inmates.” Critics of this controversial practice characterize it as inhumane. However, simultaneously an opposing side of the argument supports solitary confinement.

Read More

Supermax Prisons

1728 Words | 7 Pages

This research paper will explore the relationship between solitary confinement and self-harm, mental illness, and the amount of violence inside and outside of prisons. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the impact that extreme isolation in prison has

Read More

More about The American Dream In Rights Of Man By Thomas Paine

Open Document