julz_s

“They had a choice, all of them. They could have followed in the footsteps of good men like my father, or President Truman. Decent men, who believed in a day’s work for a day’s pay. Instead they followed the droppings of lechers and communists and didn’t realize that the trail led over a precipice until it was too late.” (Moore 1). The word “dystopia” in literature is used to describe an imaginary place in which everything is unpleasant and the conditions of society are less than ideal. (“Dystopia”). It can be used to describe the future or, as in Watchmen’s case, it can describe an alternate history resulting in a different reality of modern day time. (“Watchmen”). Utopia, the opposite of dystopia, is used to describe an imaginary place where the conditions of society are perfect. (“Utopia”). Watchmen is considered a dystopia because it is set in an alternate world of 1985 in which society is defined by very right-wing politics and America is on the brink of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. (“Watchmen”). Alan Moore, the author of Watchmen, uses dystopia and the idea of nuclear war to frighten idealists and create a world of extreme realism where everything is far from perfect and the outcomes are less than ideal, describing his audiences worst fears in the process. (Hughes). "Watchmen superheroes, unlike those of fantastic worlds and abilities, are completely caught up in ideology. They choose to do what they do for much more mundane reasons--money, power, fame, or to promote their own ideology” - the consequence of this resulting in the plight of New York City or in the grand scheme of things, society as we know it. (Hughes). All in all, the graphic novel Watchmen is considered a dystopia because it is an imaginary alternate world of 1985 created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons that shades in the dark side of what life might be like if superheroes were real and as it turns out, the outcome is less than favourable for society.

Works Cited:

Moore, Alan. Watchmen. Illus. Dave Gibbons. New York: DC Comics, 1986, 1987. Print.

“Watchmen.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Nov 7. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2011

“Dystopia.” Oxford Dictionaries Online. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

“Utopia.” Oxford Dictionaries Online. Web. 11 N0v. 2011.

Hughes, Jamie A. “‘Who Watches the Watchmen?’: Ideology and ‘Real World’ Superheroes.” Journal of Popular Culture. Vol 39:4 (2006): 546-557. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2011.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” is the most well-known quote in “Letter from Birmingham jail” written by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963 during the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Just as the title suggests King wrote this letter from a cell in the Birmingham city jail as a response to the statement “A Call for Unity” made by a group of white Alabama clergymen. “A Call for Unity” was released on the same day that King was arrested for his role in the Birmingham Campaign, a nonviolent protest planned by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to peacefully protest against racial segregation and discrimination against African-American people.

Although King’s letter is addressed to his “Dear Fellow Clergymen” (271). it was actually intended for national consumption. His letter was published in various American magazines such as Liberation, The Christian Century, The New Leader, and The Atlantic Monthly reaching a very widespread audience as each magazine was geared toward different target audiences. The letter reached politicians, Christian communities, civil rights activists and also a general American audience composed of literate white and African-American citizens.

King had multiple purposes for the letter, one being to address some of the criticisms made by the clergymen in “A Call for Unity”, while also hoping to ignite some emotion in his readers. One criticism received from the clergymen was that the demonstrations were “unwise” and “untimely” and although they agreed that social injustices were happening in the community they felt that the battle should be negotiated in the courts and not protested in the streets. King’s response to this was that “It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.” (272). King also addresses the unjust laws and speaks about how to identify an unjust law from a just one, he then goes on to say “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” (275). His purpose in saying this was to encourage activists to break the unjust laws for they will only be noticed as unjust if numerous people take a stand against them instead of abiding by them. King also brought light to the police brutality that was used against the unarmed protesters, he wanted to make sure that their use of fire hoses and viscous police dogs against the nonviolent protesters would not go unnoticed as it had by the clergymen who commended the police force for “keeping order” and “preventing violence”. Another of King’s purposes was to inspire the realization in white churches that segregation should be abolished because it is not God’s way. With the quote “Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their ‘thus saith the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid” (272). he illustrates similarities between himself fighting for civil rights and biblical figures spreading the word of Jesus to connect better to the white religious readers as well as defending his reason for demonstrating in Birmingham.

Even though King’s letter was a response to criticism his tone remained polite and respectful when addressing his fellow clergymen. He established his equality with the clergymen by defining his position as a clergyman and leader, and thus demanding equal respect. His voice is determined to promote change, optimistic for the future but also shows disappointment with the white church when he says “I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows.” (279). When speaking about just and unjust laws King uses specific contrasting words such as “segregator” and “segregated”, “superiority” and “inferiority”, “majority” and “minority” to clearly define the unjust line between black and white.

King’s piece arouses emotion in his readers because of his adept use of pathos throughout the letter. He provokes sadness and sympathy for the unfair treatment of African-American children when he says “You suddenly find your [self] tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children.” (274 ). He also uses pathos to stir emotions of anger and disgust towards the police department with the quote “I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes; if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail, I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together.” (282). When he addresses his critics that tell him to wait, that African-American rights will one day come but that now is “untimely” he uses pathos to tell them why they cannot wait any longer “You are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading ‘white’ and ‘colored’; when your first name becomes ‘nigger,’ your middle name becomes ‘boy’ (however old you are) and your last name becomes ‘John,’ and your wife and mother are never given the respected title ‘Mrs.’; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of ‘nobodiness’--then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.” (274).

Martin Luther King, Jr’s purpose in everything that he did was to fight for African-American rights, to abolish racial segregation and the unifying purpose of this letter is no different. King usually used public speech for the delivery of his messages because a huge portion of his African-American communities were illiterate and even though King was stuck behind bars when his letter was published and could not deliver it through speech his message was still heard loud and clear. After his letter was published the commanding officer at the Birmingham Campaign, Eugene “Bull” Conner, lost his job at the police department, the humiliating segregation signs in Birmingham came down and public places became more open to African-Americans. Even though King did not live to see the great effects of his demonstrations on America, due to his assassination in 1968, there is no doubt that he made amazing strides in achieving civil rights for African-Americans. Today, there is no segregation in America, all African-Americans have the full rights that they deserve and as time has passed racism has become less and less present, proof of this holds true in the fact that The United States elected their first African-American president in 2008.

Pandemic: My Country Is On Its Knees was part two in a series of lectures written by Stephen Lewis for the Massey Lectures. The Lectures were published in October 2005 and were aired on CBC Radio One reaching a broad range of Canadian listeners. Stephen Lewis, the former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, wrote the lectures in response to the Millennium Development Goals addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. He speaks about his personal experiences gained through years of travelling and working all over Africa and how much the countries have changed since the first time he set foot on the continent. He addresses Africa’s biggest issues; the HIV pandemic, famine, the “brain drain” trend, extreme poverty and how they are all intertwined.

Lewis’s general voice throughout his lecture is passionate and concerned for Africa’s wellbeing as a country and as a people. Although his underlying tone seems to be very emotional and also critical of the UN’s decisions (among other country leaders) concerning support for Africa, his voice remains optimistic such as when he says “I believe to the depths of my being that Africa will one day rejoice in a time when families are whole and funerals are rare.” (390). Lewis’s lecture is coloured with idealism based on his family background and his time spent as the leader for Ontario’s New Democratic Party in the 1970’s. His voice is also very candid and sincere when telling of his personal stories about visiting families who have been affected so heavily by the HIV pandemic in Africa.

Lewis’s book; Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS–Ravaged Africa (in which, Pandemic: My Country Is On Its Knees is the second chapter) reached mostly a Canadian audience due to Stephen Lewis being such a well-known and highly respected Canadian figure. His Canadian audience was widespread as his lectures were aired all across the country on CBC Radio One starting in Vancouver and moving across the country to end in Toronto, each province airing a new chapter. An American audience also caught wind of Lewis’s book and in 2005 he was deemed one of the most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, the same year his lectures were published and aired. Lewis also received criticism from an article published in The New York Times reporting on his slanted views of the South African government.

Everyone has heard of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa and anyone who hasn’t clearly must be living under a rock. The purpose of Stephen Lewis’s piece wasn’t to rant and rave about something that everyone already knows is a terrible situation by using overwhelming statistics and the horror of his “never before heard” stories; but to use his personal experiences in Africa to dive a little deeper into the already known details of the situation and in turn possibly find some realistic and achievable solutions. One of his purposes was to scold the western world for head hunting African doctors and nurses when he speaks about the “brain drain trend” saying that “there are more Malawian doctors in Manchester than in Malawi, more Zambian doctors in Birmingham than in Zambia.” (379). A huge portion of Africa’s doctors and nurses have been “poached” by Western countries that can offer better working conditions and better pay leaving nearly no one left in Africa to tend to the Pandemic ravaging their own countries. Another purpose was to address the Millennium Development Goals released in 2000 regarding HIV/AIDS and how they simply won’t be reached by 2015 if international support is not achieved.

Lewis spends the first portion of this piece contrasting the Africa he remembers from the 1960’s compared to the Africa he knows today. Back in the 1960’s when Lewis first travelled to Africa he discovered a continent that had just gained independence from colonial rule, a place that was full of optimism and joy. “The Africa I knew was poor, but it wasn’t staggering under the weight of oppression, disease, and despair; it was absolutely certain that it could triumph over every exigency. There were countless health emergencies – but it never felt like Armageddon.” (378). The purpose of this is to convey that Africa hasn’t always been plagued with disease, extreme poverty and famine, it is because of the pandemic that Africa has become so hopeless and helpless. If other countries lost their apathetic attitudes towards the pandemic and offered some real support Africa may be well on it's way to having the upper hand in the fight with HIV/AIDS by now.

Lewis recounts multiple stories of desperation and hardship due to HIV/AIDS and he credits famine to be a huge part of why the pandemic has gripped Africa so tightly, the treatment of AIDS must be supplemented with nutritious foods as the body cannot handle the drugs without it. Full blown AIDS can sometimes be forestalled if the body is receiving adequate nutrition but when famine and HIV walk hand in hand there is no hope. “If the body has no food to consume, the virus consumes the body.” (384). Lewis hopes that this passage will inspire the realization that famine is an extremely important factor when dealing with AIDS and that countries hoping to aid Africa can send all the drugs they want but they won't work unless the sick aren't starving, thus dealing with the famine is the first step to recovery.

In Pandemic: My Country Is On Its Knees, Stephen Lewis delves a little deeper into the issues of the pandemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa through demonstrating his own personal experiences over many years spent travelling the continent. He hopes to impress upon Canadians and citizens of the world that in order for our Millennium Development Goals regarding HIV/AIDS to be achieved by 2015 the world must be realistic and stop turning a blind eye to something in great need of support, much more support than we have thus far offered. Africa needs international help in order to achieve change and as citizens of the world it’s our duty to make something so clearly in need of our help a priority instead of just speaking about it optimistically and then turning back to our own countries dismal problems in comparison. Lewis’s message is to be optimistic but remain realistic and if we keep this in mind when searching for solutions and put them into action effectively then we can create dramatic changes in our world!

A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick was written by Jonathan Swift and published anonymously in 1729. It is a satirical essay written as a solution to the growing issue of poverty and famine plaguing Ireland after the English Civil War. It proposes cannibalism as a means to deal with the overpopulation of catholic peasant children which in turn would provide answers to the other economic issues of the country. Swift plays upon the fact that his readers will take the essay literally at first when in fact it is more of an immodest economic and political statement than a solution to anything.

Swift’s essay has two aspects of voice; the first is the “proposer” who seems pompous but delivers his argument in a calm and reasonable tone. When speaking of suffering humans he is apathetic and uses dehumanizing words like “breeders” (189.) and “savages” (190.) as if they are animals or statistical entities instead of living, breathing, human beings. The second aspect of voice is Swift’s own, his tone and opinions shine through in the irony and various jabs targeted at failed politicians, the general attitude towards the poor and England’s oppression of Ireland. The sarcastic quote "I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children" (190.) is Swift's true voice stating that the landlords have already consumed the Irish's money and resources along with their dignity and patriotism so they may as well eat their children too. His tone is generally exasperated and frustrated in relation to Ireland’s politicians, compassionate with regard to the poor and bitter towards England.

The style of Swifts essay mimics a political pamphlet, which in his day was a fashionable way for writers to express opinions and was used quite often to propose solutions for Ireland’s economic problems. His use of outrageous statistics “The number of souls in this kingdom being usually reckoned one million and a half, of these I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couple whose wives are breeders; from which number I subtract thirty thousand couples who are able to maintain their own children” (189.) takes a stab at the way political pamphleteers perceived the poor when devising their ignorant plans and used ridiculous statistics to prove their points.

Jonathan Swift’s intended audience were the English, the landlords who owned Irish land from abroad in particular. When the English Civil War ended in 1640 Ireland was left in ruins as England had destroyed most all of their profiting goods and resources. The English landlords took advantage of this situation and charged extremely high rent on the farms they owned in Ireland knowing that there was no other work for the peasants and they would be forced to pay one way or another. Swift believed that while some of the English might read his work and agree with the proposal's strategy (thus emphasizing their greed and lack of morality), in others it may inspire some sympathy for the Irish. Swift's other audience would be the Irish political leaders whom he hoped to impress upon the true gravity of the situation concerning the poor. Lastly, a portion of his Irish audience would have been Protestants and he addresses their prejudice towards the Catholics when he says “because the number of popish infants is at least three to one in this kingdom; and therefore it will have one other collateral advantage, by lessening the number of papists among us” (190.) he sarcastically implies that if all the Catholic children were eaten they would never grow up to attend church and carry on the religion.

Swift proposed cannibalism to shock his readers into thinking critically about the state of starving Ireland and how England’s greedy motivations had got them into such a horrible position to consider cannibalism a suitable solution to sustain a country. The proposal brings attention to the deterioration of Ireland by the British oppression and consumption of all things Irish. He also touches on prejudice of Protestants towards Catholics and on the ineptitude of Ireland’s politicians as well as the general population's attitude towards peasants. Swift was passionate about politics and while I found his essay did convey his underlying message in an extremely unique way I think his proposal may not have had the effect he intended. Although he did intend it to be a satirical piece I think he meant to cause more of an outraged stir by shocking his readers into feeling sympathy for the people of Ireland, unfortunately it was received as a big joke and his message may have been missed by many of his readers.