Cowardice

Jennifer Baer Grade 9 Mrs. Villanova American Literature 1 On Courage, Cowardice, and Masculinity One of the first sights that are thought of on the subject of war is death. More specifically, death caused by other men. In The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the thoughts of individual American soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War are reflected upon, explicitly on what they did and did not execute during the Vietnam War. One of the main themes O’Brien includes is that, “Men killed, and died,…

Michael Morpurgo, Thomas Peaceful's brother, Charlie, is trialed and sentenced to a firing squad for insubordination and cowardice while in the readers eyes he is a hero. This sparked my interest in why people were court martialed and what for. During World War One, hundreds of men were court martialed for reasons that are very questionable in today’s society. These consisted of cowardice or even just disagreeing with their commanding officers over a simple matter. Between August 1914 and 31…

The play Electra discusses many principles that are also the focus of the Tao Te Ching. One of these principles is non-action, which the Tao Te Ching heavily supports and Electra seems to support. The two texts have different views on the core values of non-action, and it is important to make a distinction between the two, for the non-action of the Tao Te Ching is wildly different from that of Electra. The Tao Te Ching believes that non-action should be intentional and beneficial to everyone and…

hair cropped like an oarsman, rather thin-lipped, and was considered handsome” though his life falls apart when he “had just shown himself, very publicly, to be a coward” (Hemingway 122). Macomber’s wife, Margaret, has gotten tired of Macomber’s cowardice habits, for he is no true man. For this reason, she is drawn to Wilson, a hunter, who is far more courageous than her husband of eleven years. This lack of manliness in Macomber is exactly why Margaret cheats on him with Wilson and eventually…

novel The Kite Runner, one of the protagonists in the novel, Amir, strives for redemption throughout the novel. Amir displays a positive change in various characteristics, to be specific, Amir changes from being selfish to selfless, from showing cowardice to being brave and from being cruel to showing caring and kind traits. The significance of redemption for Amir in the novel is for his own sanity. Amir strives to redeem his past as he did not always carry out the right actions. First off,…

that are lurking within a person. However, in Lord of the Flies, author William Golding shows the reader, through many characters and objects, the terrors of humanity. One of the most important symbols that reveals the innate nature of evil and the cowardice of humans is the Lord of the Flies. One of the most important aspects of human nature that the Lord of the Flies, a sow’s head, illustrates is that evil is within everyone and that it is everlasting. In the beginning of the novel, Ralph…

Colonel Dax is very clearly the most honorable and respectable character in the film “Paths of Glory”, especially when compared to the individuals who out-rank him, such as General George Broulard, and General Paul Mireau, and even his inferiors, such as Lieutenant Roget. Numerous examples are set forth throughout the film that highlight Colonel Dax’s heroism and valor, while also showing how the other characters, or “scoundrels” as he puts it, are all weak-willed men who let their ambition,…

to strongly believe that everyone is honorable, preventing him to distinctly determine moral from immoral. Brutus’ gullibility is what allows him to manipulate himself into believing that everything must be done for the good of Rome. Lastly, his cowardice causes him to give up so easily to his emotions that leads to his death. In comparison to Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet, the faith of Brutus was in his own hands, not…

In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is debated as to whether Arthur Dimmesdale acted out of bravery or cowardice. The book, if one were to delve deeper into the text, reveals that Dimmesdale is not a valiant man, but rather an abashed one. From the beginning, Arthur Dimmesdale is aware of the power that he holds over those who idolize him. He hides behind his holy position, misuses it, and commits adultery with Hester Prynn, a god-fearing woman who fell into his grasp. However,…

could not vote or own land(Deering, Women in Puritan Society, Study). The lack of desirability for the women in the Puritan settlements gave the girl’s motives for starting the holy war. Moreover, the witchcraft plague formed due to the resentment, cowardice and attention seeking actions of the girls in the community of Salem. The girls’ own resentment encouraged them to continue the idea of witchcraft. They wanted to use the intimidating thought of witches to scare the town into turning on…