“And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time.” (Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing) Change has been humanity’s companion for centuries. There is no way to describe the world except as “ever-changing.” And the companion to change has always been words. Words have instigated change and words have recorded it. The instigation of change is what makes words so important. And change is ever constant during times of war and times of civil protest. The words of works like “Never Give In” and Slaughterhouse Five changed our view on war, either as a positive or a negative. Words in “I Have a Dream…” and To Kill a Mockingbird changed the course of an entirely different war. Either way, these words brought about change in
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“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” (Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five p. 60) Slaughterhouse Five is an anti-war book written by a veteran named Kurt Vonnegut. The main character is a broken man named Billy Pilgrim. Billy had been captured by the Germans and had to bear witness to the allied bombing of Dresden. According to History.com, “The bombing was controversial because Dresden was neither important to German wartime production nor a major industrial center.” It left the historical city of Dresden in ruins, and killed between 35,000 to 135,000 civilians. Vonnegut described the aftermath as a scene of sadness and empty spaces. “It looked a lot like Dayton, Ohio, more open spaces than Dayton has. There must be tons of human bone meal in the ground.”(Slaughterhouse Five, p.1) The bombing made Billy unable to cope with a post-war world. So Billy made his own dimension. In Billy’s world, he could travel through time, and was also captured by aliens, called the Tralfamadorians. The change that Billy underwent was one brought about by the actions of the RAF and U.S. Airforce, and Billy was determined to to describe it with words. He wrote the …show more content…
His name was Atticus Finch, and he resided within the pages of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is told from the point of view of Atticus’ young daughter, Scout. Her naivety was shown through the way she expected equal rights for everybody in a time where equal rights didn’t always exist. The main plot of the book is about the trial that is being held against a black man named Tom Robinson. Having been accused of rape and assault, he was tried with no evidence, and no logic. Tom, being lame in one arm, could not have possibly committed the crime he was charged for. And all Atticus could fight with were his words. He tried showing the court the similarities between all races, because in the end, we are all human. He explained that “You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women-- black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men.” (To Kill a Mockingbird, p.207) Sadly, Atticus’ words did not save Tom Robinson, but Harper Lee’s words helped more and more people realize the significance of her cause. She wanted to show the racial injustice of courts in the 1930’s, and to help show the world that we are all human. Her words helped change the way people look at their own actions and words for the
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” (Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five p. 60) Slaughterhouse Five is an anti-war book written by a veteran named Kurt Vonnegut. The main character is a broken man named Billy Pilgrim. Billy had been captured by the Germans and had to bear witness to the allied bombing of Dresden. According to History.com, “The bombing was controversial because Dresden was neither important to German wartime production nor a major industrial center.” It left the historical city of Dresden in ruins, and killed between 35,000 to 135,000 civilians. Vonnegut described the aftermath as a scene of sadness and empty spaces. “It looked a lot like Dayton, Ohio, more open spaces than Dayton has. There must be tons of human bone meal in the ground.”(Slaughterhouse Five, p.1) The bombing made Billy unable to cope with a post-war world. So Billy made his own dimension. In Billy’s world, he could travel through time, and was also captured by aliens, called the Tralfamadorians. The change that Billy underwent was one brought about by the actions of the RAF and U.S. Airforce, and Billy was determined to to describe it with words. He wrote the …show more content…
His name was Atticus Finch, and he resided within the pages of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is told from the point of view of Atticus’ young daughter, Scout. Her naivety was shown through the way she expected equal rights for everybody in a time where equal rights didn’t always exist. The main plot of the book is about the trial that is being held against a black man named Tom Robinson. Having been accused of rape and assault, he was tried with no evidence, and no logic. Tom, being lame in one arm, could not have possibly committed the crime he was charged for. And all Atticus could fight with were his words. He tried showing the court the similarities between all races, because in the end, we are all human. He explained that “You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women-- black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men.” (To Kill a Mockingbird, p.207) Sadly, Atticus’ words did not save Tom Robinson, but Harper Lee’s words helped more and more people realize the significance of her cause. She wanted to show the racial injustice of courts in the 1930’s, and to help show the world that we are all human. Her words helped change the way people look at their own actions and words for the