The Never-Ending Journey of the Sisyphean Hero in The Big...

The subject of heroism has been the focus of art since the beginning of civilization. It should be no surprise that the hero would even be at the heart of a dark genre, such as Noir. However, since the time period of Noir, roughly the 1930s-1950s, is simultaneous with such monumental changes as the transition from a Romantic view of America to a more realistic and even existential view, the hero of this genre embodies a similar ideal in his character. Existentialism pivots around the idea that an individual wanders - often disoriented - in an absurd and meaningless world. In his novel, The Big Sleep, author Raymond Chandler introduces protagonist Philip Marlowe as this new existential hero. Marlowe is a detective who is loyal to his client and his client only. He possesses the qualities of an antihero who is not bound by the law, yet fights against the criminal underworld and works for justice in his own way. In the end he does not receive anything in return, except for the satisfact ion of completing his job. Similarly, Albert Camus describes the punishment of his hero, Sisyphus, who is condemned to roll a rock up a mountain for the rest of eternity. Regardless, he performs his task with neither hesitation nor contempt. Raymond Chandler depicts Philip Marlowe as a private eye who concurrently parallels the Sisyphean hero seen in his moment of consciousness when he takes charge of his fate through cogitation, to reveal that one possesses freedom of thought at every step. Both

The Mask Of Command ( London ) - 2122 Words

John Keegan, author of The Mask of Command (London, 1987), is a British military historian, lecturer. Keegan is best known for his comprehensive works on military history, with particular focus on military figures and battles from fourteenth through twenty-first centuries. Keegan also worked on uncovering the psychology which was used in battle. In that respect, in the Mask of Command, Keegan points out effectively the broad aspects of warfare. The Mask of Command breaks into five parts. These include Alexander the Great, Arthur Wellesley Wellington, U.S. Grant, and Adolph Hitler parts. Each part is separate, but the parts are frequently compared each others. Each part gives excellent examination of military leadership. By these†¦show more content†¦But, leadership style transformed itself from pre-heroic to heroic, and wars began more bloody and commanders took a place in front to show themselves how they were brave, and aggressive to gain their followers trust. In other words, the modified themselves according to situation and common perception. This approach is emphasized by Keegan in the end of part as a; the mask -- the image, the spirit, of what subordinates needed to believe in order to fight and motivate. In the second part, Alexander the Great and Heroic Leadership, he details the life and conquests of Alexander the Great. He was a son of Philip II of Macedon whom Philip II had a great influence on Alexander and his methods as a soldier and commander. Throughout Alexander s childhood, he was well educated in many areas suitable to a young royal. Alexander s education included learning to sing and play the lyre, hunt and ride and how to debate, and to appreciate epic poetry, mostly as it related to Homer. On the eve of his march into Asia he was certainly one of the best-informed men in the Greek world. Alexander would become known worldwide for being the leader who did what no other could do before or since conquer states and entities on several continents and create a kingdom greater than any other. He was conquest of the Persian Empire and he marched with his men toward India. HeShow MoreRelatedThe Mask Of Command ( London )1843 Words   |  8 Pagesof The Mask of Command (Londo n, 1987). Keegan is best known for his comprehensive works on military history, with particular focus on military figures and battles from fourteenth through twenty-first centuries. Keegan is also known for uncovering the psychology used in battle. In that respect, Keegan points out effectively the technical aspects of warfare, particularly relates to Alexander the Great, Arthur Wellesley Wellington, U.S. Grant, and Adolph Hitler in the Mask of Command. The Mask of CommandRead MoreProtocol Stack, Subnetting And Results1356 Words   |  6 PagesWithin the subnetting section, I will produce a guide on subnetting an IP address. Within, the results section, screenshots of composing and receiving email will be shown, also screenshots displaying the webpage of web server and outputs of 2 show commands on routing and switching devices. Protocol Stack There are 2 different protocol stacks; TCP/IP and OSI protocol stacks. Both consists of multiple layers and the encapsulation process takes place within each layer. Encapsulation defines sending dataRead MoreVisual Representations Of Propaganda And Divinity1236 Words   |  5 Pagesreligious or about the rulers. Whether they depicted gods of pantheons or themselves as god kings, art wasn’t the art we think of today. Knowing this we can proceed with the examination of two very recognizable pieces of divine rulers, The Funerary Mask of Tutankhamun and the Head of an Akkadian Ruler. The pieces were created around a thousand years apart, but they both represent stylized rulers who thought they were divine. Beginning with the Head of an Akkadian Ruler we see a glorious life sizeRead MoreThe History Of Photography798 Words   |  4 Pagespageant shot from the early 1930s. These ladies were contestants in the Miss Lovely Eyes pageant, and the reason for the unsightly masks was so that judges’ focus would remain on just the eyes of these sweeties with pretty peepers. https://ridiculouslyinteresting.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/melted-and-damaged-mannequins-after-fire-in-madame-tussauds-wax-museum-in-london-19251.jpg This alarming photo from 1925 does not showcase beheaded and badly burned and injured mortals. These are damaged wax figuresRead MoreDaniel Haddad The SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is an advanced, long-range, mach 3 +900 Words   |  4 Pages80.000 feet faced two main survival problems, incluiding maintaining consciousness at such high altitudes, and surviving the ejection in such a case. Even with a standard pressure demand oxygen mask , human lungs could not absorb oxygen quickly enough above 43,000 ft. The pressure difference inside the mask versus the cockpit pressure on the chest also makes exhalation extremely difficult. As it is easily fathomable, not getting oxygen under the trying circumstances of flying at mach 3 while flyingRead MoreCcna2678 Words   |  11 PagesThe prefix of the computer address is /27. The IP address that is assigned to the computer is routable on the Internet. The IP address that is assigned to the computer is a broadcast address. 2. As network administrator, what is the subnet mask that allows 510 hosts given the IP address 172.30.0.0? 255.255.0.0 255.255.248.0 255.255.252.0 255.255.254.0 255.255.255.0 255.255.255.128 3. Which OSI layers offers reliable, connection-oriented data communication services? applicationRead MoreCcna 1 Final Exam2820 Words   |  12 Pagesping a printer that is functioning properly on the local network segment. Which action will verify that the TCP/IP stack is functioning correctly on this PC? Use the ipconfig /all command at the hostï ¿ ½s command prompt. X  Use the ping 127.0.0.1 command at the command prompt. Use the traceroute command at the command prompt to identify any failures on the path to the gateway. Use FTP to check for connectivity to remote sites. Download a troubleshooting tool from the PC manufacturer s website. Read MoreThere Is No I in Government: George Orwell ´s 1984 Novel1230 Words   |  5 Pagesmystery, suspense, and futuristic universe. The book and the movie, respectively, are much more than simple narratives. Using dark dystopian settings, the authors show how futuristic societies are instead tyrannized by their fearsome governments who mask themselves in a utopian ideal. The protagonists, Orwell’s Winston Smith and McTeigue’s V, realize the corrupted totalitarian nature of their government as they plan to break free from their ruling power. While almost six decades separate these twoRead MoreEssay on Little Red Riding Hood 917 Words   |  4 Pages He gradually formulates a strategy to hoodwink the adolescent into entrusting him. By doing this, he reveals that the author subconsciously believes men to be of such evasiveness. He seems gentle and kind, but his true character lies under the mas k of kindness. 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Compair Voyages by Chinese Fleet in Early 1400s to Voyages of Lberians Free Essays

Cody Gundick History Oct 8, 2012 History Essay For most of the last several thousand years, it would have seemed far likelier that Chinese or Indians, not Europeans, would dominate the world by the year 2000, and that America and Australia would be settled by Chinese rather than by the inhabitants of a backward island called Britain. (The Prequel, Kristof p552) The voyages by the Chinese fleet were very different but had some similarities to the voyages of the Liberians. The Portuguese and Spaniards had different goals, because of their heritage, in the voyages. We will write a custom essay sample on Compair Voyages by Chinese Fleet in Early 1400s to Voyages of Lberians or any similar topic only for you Order Now Depending on what Spanish voyage it was the captain of the voyages were different but sometimes similar in some ways. The Chinese were far more advanced in technology that the Spaniards or the Portuguese were. Westerners often attribute their economic advantage today to the intelligence, democratic habits, or hard word of their forebears, but a more important reason may well have been the folly of fifteenth-century Chinese rulers. (The Prequel, Kristof p. 553) Zheng He was a muslin from a rebel family and had seized by the Chinese army when he was a boy. The turning point in the 1400s was when Admiral Zheng He sailed from China to concur the world on several voyages. One captain similar to Zheng He was Vasco da Gama. In 1497 the Portuguese seaman led a fleet of for ships around the southern tip of Africa into the Indian Ocean. He kind of copied off of Bartolomeu Dias but Vasco da Gama didn’t return back to Portugal. Both of those men worked for their king while Zheng He did it all for himself. Not to be selfish, he didn’t keep all the knowledge he got for himself he just went on the expeditions and didn’t have to take orders from anyone. Vasco da Gama was trying to give riches to his king but he failed when none of his worthless gifts were successful. However, his voyages were all about trade routs. They were looking for another way to get to Europe instead of taking the treacherous way across the land. ZHeng He was not interested in trade routs nor with Europe at all. Another captain that has to take orders from a king is Christopher Columbus. He was an Italian sailor from Genoa. He tried to sail west to Asia but as many people know today that is impossible. Columbus reached the Caribbean islands thinking he was by China and Japan. Zheng He would probably laugh in Columbus’s face if Christopher came up to Zheng and asked him to fund his voyages. First Columbus named the islands after his king and queen then he wandered around looking for big cities. He was greatly interested in the people and wanted to learn their speech and ways. Zheng He would have showed up to the island, took one leader and some interesting items back home and try to learn about it from there. If Columbus had as much power, money, and technology as Zheng He there voyages wouldn’t have been much different. The goals of the Spaniards were far different from those of Zheng He. As I said before Zheng He was not concerned in spreading his religions, customs, or technologies. He just wanted to learn about the world in his own way. Yes he had a lot of soldiers but he didn’t capture and concur land with them. He just plundered the lands for knowledge and items. A far different captain from Zheng He was Hernan Cortes. Cortes, of minor noble descent, at the age of nineteen sailed to the Indies, where he established a big estate on the island of Hispaniola. When he heard stories of Montezuma’s gold he was determined to take it from him. (The Conquest of New Spain, Bernal Diaz p598) Unlike Columbus and Zheng He, Cortes geared up for war. He brought 500 soldiers, eleven ships, 16 horses, and several pieces of artillery. (The Conquest of New Spain, Bernal Diaz p598) Cortes still had to follow the rules of his leader but he later disobeyed him and became a wanted man back as his country. Cortes was not interested in trade or economic issues to better his home country. He was determined to have everything for him self and to try spread Christianity to please the king. That also comes with trying to in slave all of the Indians. That he did after he used his brilliant strategy to kill Montezuma and take over the city. The only thing that Zheng He did badly for himself was when he wanted to get items that he had nothing to give in return beside Peaceful power projection. It was that Zheng He promised to ally with the people that gave him what he wanted. The Spaniards did terrible things to the Indians. The took infants from their mothers breast, snatching hem by the legs and pitching them headfirst against the crags or snatched them by the arms and threw them into the rivers, roaring with laughter and saying as the babies fell into the water, Boil there you offspring of the devil. (The Devastation of the Indies, Bartolome De Las Casas p615) If Zheng He had that kind of attitude of capture and concur he could have easily done it. But thank god he didn’t. Zheng He, in my opinion, could do anything he wanted. China was the worlds powerhouse and I wish Zheng He went to the Indians before the Spaniards to give them Peaceful Power Projection because he could have allied with them and gave them protection from the evil blood thirsty Spaniards. Even though he was behind in time China was far more advanced than any other country. In Zheng He’s time, China and India together accounted for more than half of the world’s gross national produce. (The Prequel, Kristof p553) As they have for most of history. In 1820 China accounted for 29% of the global economy and India another 16%, according to the calculations of Angus Maddison, a leading British economic historian. Zheng He’s fleet was far bigger than any Spanish or Portugal fleet. Not until World War I did the west mount anything comparable to his fleet. His ships were filled with 28,000 sailors on 300 ships, (The Prequel, Kristof p552) and all he was concerned about was learning. Zheng He could have easily continued around the Cape of Good Hope and established direct trade with Europe. But as they saw it Europe was a backward region and China had little interest in it. (The Prequel, Kristof p554) Because China was not driven by conquest or imperialistic domination I would have much rather be a soldier on his ship than any other ship sponsored by a king and queen. To conclude, the Spanish were concerned about spreading Christianity, Portugal wanted trade, that’s probably why they had one of the greatest ports, and China, well just the emperor wanted to learn about the world around him. Too bad that was not continued after his death. How to cite Compair Voyages by Chinese Fleet in Early 1400s to Voyages of Lberians, Papers