Stolen Childhood- Child Soldiers - 1434 Words

Children in America may spend their evenings doing homework or watching television, or some adolescents may have jobs. This is normal for persons under the age of 18 in America. However right now, in other parts of the world, children are being bought, sold, and recruited into armies, where their fates and evenings are left in the hands of their leaders. Many people wonder why children are so often recruited into armies, and what happens to them once they are enlisted. Many different variables, including what are called push and pull factors, can play a role in the process of turning a child into a soldier. The term â€Å"push factor† is used to describe any external source of pressure to enlist or be recruited. These factors can include†¦show more content†¦This loophole has allowed many tyrants to enslave children and escape punishment. These are just a few of one group of factors that can play a role in becoming child soldiers. While â€Å"push factors† are external forces of pressure, â€Å"pull factors† refer to more internal struggles. Some factors could include desire for acceptance and religious honor. Some militant groups had â€Å"voluntary† recruitment because the men were too old to fight. Also, in some countries, the boys saw fighting as a personal honor. In Sri Lanka during their civil war, the Tamil Tigers, a military group, had banned joining any other military groups. This group was one of the major separatist groups during this time. The Tamil Tigers had an estimated 7,000-10,000 soldiers, and about 20-40% of these were estimated to be children, despite the fact that they claimed to never use child soldiers (Somasundaram). This trend of using children as cheap labor is one of the reasons why the up and coming generation is already hindered with setbacks. While the older group of people in the world are simply power hungry, the children are taught from a young age to seek acceptance and approval from authority. In many countries, the children may go as far as to be easily swayed into military service. This is demonstrated in Liberia, where the mistreatment and discrimination against women instills an inferiority complex in females across the country. This also makes it easy for men to enslave young girls in sexShow MoreRelatedChild Soldiers901 Words   |  4 Pagesdiscuss the contentious issue of child soldiers and inform you of the implications this issue has for our modern society. Despite popular opinion, this issue is prevalent in our post-modern world and is far too widespread to ignore. The contentious t heme of child soldiers is represented as atrocious and an infringement of human rights in a diverse range of literary and non- literary texts such as the movie Blood Diamond, the poem Child Soldier Diary and the article Stolen kids turned into terrifying killersRead MoreChild Soldiers Essay907 Words   |  4 PagesPaper 4: Synthesis Worldwide the use of child soldiers is a serious issue. Today there are about 300,000 children as young as nine years old involved in armed conflicts all around the globe. These children are living under constant fears of being trapped in an ambush, landmines or gunfire. Girls are used as well in fact approximately one third of child soldiers are girls, they are given the same job as the boys but are used as a sex slaves and forced to be the â€Å"wives† of their commanders. Girls areRead MoreA Long Way Gone Argument Essay examples990 Words   |  4 PagesEddie Salcedo Mr. Stone December 5, 2012 7th period A Long Way Until The End of This Essay The author of A Long Way Gone argues against boy soldiers but also against the loss of innocence. Beah’s parents are burned alive by the rebels; this is the first step towards his animosity towards them. In his story he talks about snorting brown brown, shooting men and how he was slowly corrupted by the men around him, turning him into a machine. It tells the story of a world as horrendous as anyRead MoreThe Affect of War on Ones Innocence1099 Words   |  5 Pagesin the eyes of naive children or experienced soldiers. Whether one is a young boy or a soldier, war is never as easy to understand as the definition. comprehend. There will inevitably be an event or circumstance where one is befuddled by the horror of war. For a young boy, it may occur when war first breaks out in his country, such as in â€Å"Song of Becoming.† Yet, in â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† it took a man dying in front of a soldiers face for the soldier to realize how awful war truly is. Both â€Å"SongRead MoreEssay about The Hunger Games and Child Soldiers: the Sad Truth1441 Words   |  6 PagesHunger Games and Child Soldiers: The Sad Truth The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins,(Collins) and Child Soldiers are intertwined together because they are both children fighting for their lives. The children are alike because they got executed into being prisoners, that fight to their deaths and kill savagely. The children live similarly because they both have organizations or sponsors helping them get out of their situation. Lastly, the children experience the same emotions because The Hunger Games(Collins)Read MoreLord of The Rings/Kite Runner Compare and Contrast Essay1556 Words   |  7 PagesKite Runner and Lord of the Flies: Compare and Contrast What objects do you associate innocence with? Marriage, virginity, a childhood toy? When we think of dominance we think of war; we think of negativity. When the phrase ‘parental influence’ comes to mind, we go to our mothers tucking us into bed and watching the game with our fathers—at least that is what us lucky ones think of. Not everyone is lucky enough to have that innocence stored forever, violent free lives, and a mother and father byRead MoreAustralian Theater Ruby Moon and Stolen1413 Words   |  6 Pagesother fairytales, but in a distorted manner which challenges the audience’s perception of ‘the perfect story’.   Cameron also involves the question of ‘How well do we know our neighbors, especially living in suburbia.’ â€Å"Who would you trust with your child?† Techniques such as symbolism, metaphors, lighting and sound can support his message of suburbia being the dangerous, eerie place that Cameron portrays it to be The play uses a non- naturalistic style that brings an eerie, strange and disturbed senseRead MoreEssay on Resist The Feed1175 Words   |  5 Pageswho work as child labourers or the estimated 300,000 boys and girls who are exploited by armies during times of conflict, and forced to act as soldiers, sex slaves and servants† (FreeTheChildren.com). As Franklin said, â€Å"Society constructs the children it needs. Instead of policies to protect children in the community, the government and media have preferred to promote polices to protect the community from children† (5). This is exactly what the Feed has done to us, Titus. It has stolen our rightRead MoreEssay about Anne Frank1484 Words   |  6 Pagespatrolled frequently. Anne Frank’s family was one of these Jews and took up residence in the hidden rooms above her father’s former office. As the end of the war neared, Nazi soldiers began to get worried and cared less about apprehending Jews than they did about killing the ones they already had taken as prisoner. Since the Nazi soldiers were male, they treated men and women prisoners in their camps with a significant amount of difference. Prisoners were forced to do pointless yet challenging labour forRead MoreThe Childrens Crusade: Innocence, Masculinity, and Humanity1440 Words   |  6 Pagesbook is how innocent the soldiers are that are fighting in WWII. Towards the beginning of the book, Vonnegut visits his friend O’Hare when O’Hare’s wife, Mary, confronts Vonnegut on him writing his book, stating that they were just babies in the war. After her statement, he acknowledges that they were indeed just virgins in the war, right at the end of childhood(Vonnegut, 11). When going to war, he and others were unprepared both mentally and physically. The soldiers were naive and did not know

Causes And Effects Of The Japanese War - 3355 Words

Causes and Effects of the Russo-Japanese War Prepared By: Joseph Coccia Submitted To: Dr. Eric Ash Course: Regional History 5333: The Soviet Union Virtual Campus, Summer Session Due date: May 10, 2015 The 1904-1905 war between Tsarists Russia and the Empire of Japan pitted a newly developed modern military against and poorly funded, organized, and outdated war machine. It to become the bloodiest war fought prior to World War I. The conflict gained universal recognition as the Russo-Japanese War. The Russians desired to expand eastward and reap the economic benefits created by the natural resources contained within China and Korea. In addition, and most importantly they desired year-round access to a warm-water†¦show more content†¦Throughout all of the years of war Russian leadership sought to maintain political control, expand westward, and defend its perceived sovereign territory. Russia, under the leadership of Peter the Great, looked to the West as a model for modernization and westernization. However, due to continued economic strife, and an inability to align with western nations Tsar Nicholas II, turned his attentions to the Far East. It was his hope that Russia wo uld be able to gain access to the warm-water of the Pacific Ocean at Port Arthur, Manchuria. By controlling the port Russia could institute a military presence, gain economic access to other Asian nations, and establish a gateway to the East. In 1898 the Qing, China’s ruling government leased the Liaodong Peninsula to Russia and by 1903 Russian expansionism into the Far East included Port Arthur. Russia anticipated open trade with China and Korea. The lease irked Japanese leadership and the citizens and would be a primary cause to the war. The leaders of Japan had previous dealing with westerners, and had grown tired of unequal treaties that they were forced to sign. Japan first encountered European traders in 1542. The Europeans introduced religion and Western technology to the Japanese. Even though the Europeans and Japanese considered each other barbarians, Japanese leadership realized that their system of governmental control was antiquated. A continuing

Atomic Bomb 8 Essay Example For Students

Atomic Bomb 8 Essay Atomic Bomb In 1945, two bombs were dropped on Japan, on in Hiroshima and one in Nagasaki. Theses bombs marked the end to the worlds largest armed conflict. Despite the ghastly effects of such a weapon, it offered the best choice for a quick and easy defeat of Japan. President Truman, who authorized the use of the atomic bomb, made a wise decision under the circumstances of the war. Fifty years ago this is what people thought. Now many people are starting to find out that there might be more to the story than what was originally thought (Grant 26). The bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima caused massive amounts of damage and ruined thousands of lives, but they saves many more lives by ending the war quickly. Many questions pop into the heads of people that might have doubts whether or not the bombings were necessary. Such questions might include: Why, exactly, was the bomb dropped? Was the second bomb necessary? Was Japan about to surrender? Was there a way to end the war less savagely? Would our current leaders have made the same decision? Was any authority opposed to the idea? Should we have bombed military bases instead of cities? These and many other questions arise. Before these are analyzed, a brief background on the bombs and the tests are in order (ONeal 47). When a man from the Soviet Union successfully split an atom, the question of a bomb immediately arose. Einstein wrote a letter to President Truman stating that if a bomb was possible then the country to own it would have complete power. In light of this information, Truman formed an Interim Committee to research the topic and find out if it was possible. It was funded by Trumans multi-million dollar personal budget. The results came back positive and full financial support was given to the team to start working on it immediately (Grant 29). The calculations made by the research team were as follows. The bomb would be equivalent to 4,000 planeloads of the current explosives. And estimate on cost and time could not be predicted because some still believed it wasnt possible (Reflections 1). At the end of a three-year research, a bomb was ready for testing. A test site was cleared in New Mexico. It had a 120-mile radius. Once the President gave the final confirmation, the test commenced. The test was on July 16, 1945, 30 min. before dawn (Teller 4). The scientist booth was 20 thousand feet away from ground zero. The bomb, weighing nearly 2 ton, was placed on a 70-foot tall tower made with 220 tons of steel. The scientist wore wielding goggles, dark sunglasses, and suntan lotion. When the bomb went off one scientist recalled lifting his glasses a bit and saw the sand as if it were noon. The light was brighter than any ever seen on earth before. The core temperature exceeded that of 3 times the surface of the sun. The mushroom cloud was instantly formed and climbed to 40 thousand feet. The bomb was equivalent to about 18 thousand tons of TNT. The tower it sat on completely demolecularized. A test rod of about 70 tons of steel embedded in a 20 foot wide concrete base 1000 feet away was never recovered (Purcell 14). The scientist had mixed emotions about the results of the test. They were happy that it had worked, but they soon realized the awful thing that they had created. The head scientist took a pole that most signed not agreeing to any decision to use the bomb (Grant 47). Truman was soon notified and a committee to determine alternates to the drops was formed. Few suggestions were made. Many thought that Japan was ready to surrender and a few more months of bombing and they would surrender. Truman didnt want to wait. .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 , .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 .postImageUrl , .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 , .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11:hover , .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11:visited , .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11:active { border:0!important; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11:active , .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11 .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub27dd23d4fa666f3fbcca46b59590a11:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Arts Rationale Paper Essay Also he believed that Japan was willing to fight to the bitter end (Ferrell 34). Japan possessed little or no offensive threat to American forces. Despite this fact the Japanese were the most tenacious and driven of American foes throughout the war. The battles for Okinawa, Wake and Guam all were ample testament to the Japanese willingness to die in the face of overwhelming .

The Company of Wolves Research Paper Example

The Company of Wolves Paper In The Company of Wolves the distinction made between man and wolf is based upon, the wolf is the worst for he cannot listen to reason. (p. 111) The forest the wolf inhabits represents an intermediary between the natural and unnatural worlds and it is between the portals of the great pines (p. 111) that the danger lies. It is the apparent danger and inherent fears of the intermediate grey areas that allows Carter to use these realms as the centres for her subversive discourse. The wolf may be more than he seems, (p.111) for in his human form he also represents the peril that is the naked man (! ) The emphasis in this tale resting on the masculinity of the wolf. The wolf is carnivore incarnate,'(p. 110) a phrase repeated three times in the tale, thus the predator/prey relationship between the man and woman is focused upon and subverted when it is the adolescent girl who encourages the sexual encounter with the wolf. By actively burning his clothes she condemn [s] him to wolfishness (p. 113) a state, which to the girl seems preferable to manishness. We will write a custom essay sample on The Company of Wolves specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Company of Wolves specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Company of Wolves specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Alice and the girl in The Company of Wolves both reside in the realms between childhood and adulthood, on the brink of sexual maturity; between the virgin-child and the fallen woman of Perraults tale. Red Riding Hood ripped (p. 118) off the wolfs shirt and despite the fact that the old bones under the bed set up a terrible clattering she did not pay them any heed. (p. 118) In some aspect of the adaptation the girl has outwolfed the wolf. She will lay his fearful head on her lap, (p. 118) the ambiguity lying in where the fear dwells, is the wolf now afraid of her assertive sexuality? An image strikingly different from her initial presentation, She is an unbroken egg; she is a sealed vessel; she has inside her a magic space the entrance to which is shut tight with a plug of membrane. (p. 114) Egg, membrane, all serving to demonstrate the fragility and precarious stability of her situation, similar to Beautys glass bed in The Courtship of Mr Lyon. In contrast wolf-Alice already inhabits a world of sexual immediacy,'(p. 119) that the young girl has just entered, permitted by her wolf-like existence. The association between the animalistic and sensual working both when the wolf is masculine and feminine. The onset of menstruation in Alice serves to bring her into the human realm through her awareness of time, she discovered the very action of time by means of this returning cycle. (p. 123) Adolescence makes Alice no more or less of a sexual being than her animalistic associations have already allowed. Gamble notes that the virginity of the Beauty and Red Riding Hood figures, Constitute both her particular vulnerability and her peculiar defiance. It is what marks her out as the lycanthropes prey, as the shedding of her hymeneal blood is what he specifically desires. She argues that the girls actual pursuit of the sexual threat is necessary in order for her to develop from her virginal state. Her declaration that she is nobodys meat (p. 118) demonstrating this neither submissive nor aggressive11 pursuit of maturation. The presentations of virginity and femininity represent a change whereby the women are no longer gobbled up or passively taken by male sexuality, but meet on equal sexual terms. Carters representation refuses the Wholesome or pretty picture of female gender (nurturing, caring) and deal [s] plainly with erotic dominance as a source of pleasure for men and for women. 12 Warner argues that it is Beautys attraction to the beast before his metamorphosis that represents the most disturbing image of the story, the attraction of the feminine to the monstrosity of the other. The first connection between Beauty and Mr Lyon requires a transformation of her beliefs on the nature of the other, with a flood of compassion, understood: all he is doing is kissing my hands. (p. 47) Yet Carter does not present this alteration naively, she saw, with an indescribable shock, he went on all fours. (p. 47) Beautys metamorphosis is more gradual than the transformation of the Beast. Through her vanity, Beauty also possesses an element of monstrosity. Carters fashioning of the tales raises the question about the nature of beastliness and the true location of monstrosity. The original sources represented a difficulty in ascertaining friend from enemy, the normal from the monstrous, traditionally established through demonising these figures. 13 Carters interpretations of monstrosity and demonisation, initially, dared to look at womens waywardness, and especially at their attraction to the beast in the very midst of their repulsion. The presentation of an attraction to beastliness serves to deconstruct the marginalisation inherent in the original tales. The monstrosity of the wolf and the beast is replaced by that of grandmothers, fathers and the heroine herself. And what, I wondered, might be the exact nature of his beastliness? (p. 55) Yet the Beast himself shows no evidence of beastly behaviour. Her father a feckless sprig of the Russian nobility,'(p. 52) whose gaming whoring agonising repentances,'(p.52) killed Beautys mother is criticised more than the noble beast, who in his appeal to see Beauty naked wishes to see her true self beneath the artificiality of her clothing. Carter uses her examination of the location of monstrosity to investigate identity and individuality in a genre associated with stereotypes. Carter makes sense of the disparity between this contradiction through her understanding of the mercurial slipperiness of identity, as well as the need to secure meanings. 15 Carters fairy tales represent struggles and inner conflict her characters need to overcome in order to secure their identity and enter a true existence. Brewer suggests that this exploration is most successful when depicting processes of maturation, emotional maturation through the Beauty characters, coupled with the physical and sexual maturation of the Red Riding Hood figures. Carter extends the sense of individuality of Beauty in The Tigers Bride, through her use of the first person narrator, combining the narrative of the narrator with Her own prose, [which] was glitteringly, self mockingly hybrid, contrived and slangy at once, mandarin and vulgar, romantic and cynical. 17 In the same way as the narrative is hybridised, the tales are a combination of modernity and traditionalism, individuality and stereotypes, a modern view on the traditional discussions of identity. In The Tigers Bride the concentration of mirrors, images and unexpected reflections create the basis for Beautys quest to reconcile her confused identity. When Beauty looks in the mirror she sees the true vision of beastliness in the story, I saw within it not my own face but that of my father, as if I had put on his when I arrived Now all I saw was myself, haggard from a sleepless night. (p. 60) Beauty takes on the identity of her father in the paying of his debt. Warner suggests that Carter was fascinated with female impersonation and disguise. Similarly to Beautys confusion of identity, the beast also disguises himself in a mask, But one with too much formal symmetry of feature to be entirely human: one profile of his mask is a mirror image of the other, to perfect, uncanny. (p. 53) The beast adopts his disguise to make himself socially acceptable, to dispel his otherness. However, its perfection serves to isolate him more, he becomes uncanny. His identity becomes too slippery, Beauty can no longer simply label him as The Beast. The beast provides Beauty with the mirror image of herself in the form of the automaton, She is a marvellous machine, the most delicately balanced system of cords and pulleys in the world. (p. 60) A description one could easily apply to Beauty herself; the image of Beauty expected by her father and the patriarchal society, the element of control lying in the key in her side, to perform the part of my fathers daughter. (p. 65) Daughterhood becomes a role to be acted out. Otherness becomes acceptable to the father if it is conformist and obedient, as a robot. The moment of metamorphosis or the moment the disguise is removed represents the solidifying of identity and individuality. The metamorphosis of the Beasts changes their positions in society; the revealing of the wolf affects the identity of the girl, The granny bonnet, the wolf mask have offered a helpful disguise to some of the boldest spirits. The revealing of the wolf manifests a choice of situations for the girl, assimilation with otherness and individuality, the grasping of her own sexuality, or her allegiance with the mass culture of those who inhabit the areas outside the forest. For Mr Lyon, metamorphosis allows him and Beauty to join the domestic suburban life of modern civilisation, in his transformation he chooses Red Riding Hoods second option. In The Tigers Bride, Beautys revelation of her nakedness and her transmutation represent her maturation into her sexual role and her acceptance of otherness.