Leo Ryan

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Desmond Tutu hold different beliefs on how to achieve justice for all. In his letter, “Letter From A Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. implies that the nonviolent method is the ideal strategy to gain justice for all. On the other hand, Desmond Tutu, in the excerpt, No Future without Forgiveness, claims that forgiveness is the way to achieve justice for all because it helps create a better future. While both methods are uniquely effective, Dr. King’s…

For my Comparative Literature assignment, I will be comparing Jack London’s Call of the Wild and Leo Tolstoy’s “Master and Man”. One of the central themes of Call of the Wild is nature vs. nurture, which is demonstrated through the main character Buck and his regression into an almost feral state. A central theme for “Master and Man” is human foibles, shown through Vasili’s overall character flaws and treatment of Nikita. While each story has their own central theme, they also share a…

Case Study: Meet Samuel Samuel is seven years old and in year three. He attends the local public school. Samuel wears the same t-shirt and shorts each day, regardless of the weather. He finds comfort in familiarity and is put out by change. His mother Lisa remembers many tantrums thrown by Samuel if his daily ‘uniform’ is being washed. Samuel becomes stressed and overcome by emotions if his t-shirt is not an option that day. This particular t-shirt fits him snuggly. He is disturbed by the…

In his book Basic Education, Mahatma Gandhi wrote “I must continue to bear testimony to truth even if I am forsaken by all” to instill the virtue of truth for the creation of ideal citizens. Gandhi was the torch-bearer of civil rights movements during the age of British imperialism, and through his words and actions, the ideals of nonviolence and peaceful protest continue to this day. Gandhi showed that the actions of one individual can represent the sentiments of inequality and discrimination…

Oscar Wilde’s quote of “It is through disobedience that progress has been made” profoundly relates to the quote “When life puts you in tough situations, don't say “why me” say “try me””. Wilde states that disobedience creates opportunity for social progress; through the multitude of impactful nonviolence protest leaders like David Henry Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi, it is crystalline that these memorable figures inspired change through civil disobedience. I firmly agree in…

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.”Elie Wiesel said this in his speech after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. We must know how to take sides to help us be the voice for all of these people that have been silenced due to dehumanization. The Holocaust was a genocide during World War II in which Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany systematically murdered some seven million European Jews.…

Death in Leo Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyich and “Three Deaths” Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, author of the acclaimed novels War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and The Death of Ivan Ilyich is well-known for applying the theme of death to his works. Tolstoy utilizes distinctive techniques to depict demise contingent upon the social positions of his characters. For instance, in The Death of Ivan Ilyich it is entirely evident that Tolstoy believes there are two types of lives—the artificial and authentic…

Leo Tolstoy pulls no punches when the story of The Death of Ivan Ilyich begins. The revelation that Ivan Ilyich has died was met with dismay and shock for all of the wrong reasons. Colleagues and “friends” became concerned for his death not because of the loss of his life, but for the inconveniences and changes it would cause for them. The lack of sincerity surrounding Ivan became very clear in the opening scenes of the story, and we quickly start to realize that Ivan lived a “false” life.…

to live, and living to die is expressed throughout history in all manners of literary works. Of the endless writers whom illustrate the theme of death, four authors whom depict this leitmotif are John Keats, Rosalía de Castro, Emily Dickinson, and Leo Tolstoy. The works albeit different, transcribe the desire to accomplish their goals; to blossom, before they are faced with their mortality; to perish. This idea is both beautifully motivating to fulfill ones dreams, yet exceptionally terrifying…

Eternal Love To the Lighthouse, written by Virginia Woolf, is a novel about the effect relationships have on people’s lives. The first part of the novel The Window is about the Ramsay family and their guests’ time during a 12-hour span period at a summerhouse. All of them have the basic story of considering visiting the lighthouse the next day, but each character has a sub-plot. In the second part of the novel Time Passes, about ten years have gone by. Mrs. Ramsay has passed away, and the rest…