Crimes And Misdemeanors Analysis Philosophy Essay

Crimes And Misdemeanors Analysis Philosophy Essay Woody Allens film, Crimes and Misdemeanors, explores the different ways that ethics play in the inner workings of the human mind. Throughout the film, the audience witnesses the roles that ethics play in the lives of five different men: Judah Rosenthal, a successful ophthalmologist; Clifford Stern, a struggling documentary filmographer; Lester, a famous producer; Ben, a rabbi whose sense of sight is beginning to fail; and Louis Levy, a philosophical theorist. By the end of the film, each character demonstrates, through his words and actions, how his own system of ethics affects the choices he makes in life. The films first central character to be introduced is Judah Rosenthal, a successful ophthalmologist who seems to be living a perfect life; he is wealthy, successful, and lives with a loving wife. However, despite how he has everything that would seemingly lead to a happy life, he remains troubled by his immoral affair with Dolores Paley, a lonesome woman whom he met years ago. Despite how he managed to keep his affair a secret, Judah realizes that his success is put in danger as Dolores begins to pressure him to make their relationship public. She threatens that unless Judah fulfills her wishes, she would jeopardize him revealing his shady financial transactions and their scandalous affair to the public, including to his wife and friends. Judah must now make a decision that is ultimately an ethical dilemma: he could either do the right thing by confessing his misdeed and hope for the best, which could mean potentially ruining everything hes worked for, or he could save himself the tr ouble by hiring his brother Jack to find someone to murder Dolores and to bring to an end all of his troubles. Though he initially hesitates to do so, Judah ultimately chooses the latter, believing that life is harsh and empty of values and that the murdering of Dolores is the only way he can save himself. As the film progresses, it is revealed that Judah believes that we live in a cold world, where there is no God on whom we can look up to. He states that, God is a luxury that [he] cant afford, and reveals that he would ultimately choose not to confess and beg his wife for forgiveness. In his eyes, such mercy does not exist; he believes that, in the real world, one must do whatever it takes to achieve happiness and success because there exists no higher power to maintain justice. Moreover, one must fend for himself and independently determine what is right, what is wrong, and what is best for him. This ethical system, which prioritizes self-preservation, is what ultimately causes J udah to murder Dolores. On the other hand, Ben, the rabbi, at one point states that Judah maintains a spark of [moral] notion deep inside. This notion, which leads him to know in his heart the morality of his actions, is what causes him to become anxious and tense; it is what reminds him that Dolores isnt just an insect that he can step on. Judah conclusively chooses to murder Dolores, but tries to justify his actions because acted using a utilitarian rationale, protecting his success and doing what is best for the most people. In the end, Judahs decisions and his ethical rationale, which emphasizes self-preservation, have their roots in his view of the life as being cold and harsh. A character that has a minor, but important, role in the film is Ben the rabbi. He serves somewhat as a foil to Judah: as a man of religion, he believes that the world is a lawful and loving place. He believes that the world has a moral structure, with real meaning, [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] and a higher power. Without this structure, the world would have no basis to live. Hence, it becomes evident that Ben lives his life according to his system of ethics, which revolves around his faith in the omniscient God. The choices he makes pose no problem for him because he puts all of his faith and trust in a universe that is loving and lawful. When he counsels Judah, he simply tells him that he must simply accept life as it is presented because God will eventually justify everything in the future. The fact that Ben is physically blind has some symbolic significance: he disregards the wickedness and darkness of the world and blindly trusts his faith. Despite the fact that his blind faith may be mistaken, Ben accepts God over truth and believes that it will lead to a better life than all those that doubt. The films second central character is Clifford Stern, a struggling documentary filmmaker. Clifford is also a virtuous man, but in a different manner. Rather than putting all of his faith into one entity or idea, like Ben, Clifford lives by his own terms. He decides for himself what is right or wrong by examining the effects an action has on the world. He spends his time looking at the effects that his words and actions will lead to rather than the happiness or success to come. This is demonstrated through the manner in which Clifford creates his documentaries: he focuses on material that he sees as significant, such as pollution, cancer, and philosophy, rather than trying to earn a quick buck by simply doing what other demand of him. Though Cliffords loving affection for Halley Reed despite his marriage may be seen as being immoral, it is ethically acceptable in his perspective because not only he knows that he and his wife are bound to become divorced, but also because he is trying to find true love with Halley, a pursuit that he considers to be a fundamental aspect of life. It becomes evident that Clifford is an idealist; he is always looking for meaning in both his documentaries and his life, and this ultimately serves as the basis of what he sees as right and wrong. Clifford remains steadfast in his moral beliefs despite how they may stop him from obtaining what he desires most. For instance, he makes Lester appear absurd and shallow in his biographical documentary of him despite how it could have brought Clifford recognition and success. Despite how the film closes with Clifford feeling dejected, he is still portrayed as a man of virtue who remains steadfast in his system of ethics. The films foil to Clifford is a character named Lester, a famous Hollywood producer. His system of ethics mainly relies on whatever makes him the most successful and happy. To Lester, whatever bring the most satisfaction is right while whatever brings failure is wrong. As a result, Lester does whatever he pleases and seems to completely ignores the moral aspect of things. This is particularly the reason why Lester is portrayed as being crude, arrogant, and womanizing. Additionally, Lester is the complete opposite of Clifford when it comes to the significance of the material he produces-he only cares about the ratings because they will grant him wealth, fame, and a closet full of Emmys. Lesters shallow demeanor can be further seen in his seemingly only ethical question in the film when he asks, Am I a phony? Immediately, however, he resolves the troubling though by believing that others are merely jealous of him, and he proceeds to quickly forget about it. The fact that Lester is able to quickly forget about the troubling matter supports the view that he is faced with seemingly no inner conflict due to how he merely accepts what grants him happiness instead of actually considering the moral aspects of his actions. Another character in the film that has a unique ethical system that he abides by is Louis Levy, a philosopher that Clifford features in his documentaries. Levy uses love to judge whether something is right or wrong. He states that only love gives meaning to the indifferent universe. He believes that life is simply a search for the thing that will allow us to survive the indifferent universe and that the actions people take to attain it makes them who they are. But if love is not found and people feel that it isnt worth it anymore, people begin to feel an inner anxiety and pressure. This struggle was what led Levy to commit suicide or go out the window. Hence, by observing the actions and the words of the films different characters, the different types of ethical system and ways people judge right and wrong are revealed. From an examination of each characters distinct set of virtues and ideas of morality, the audience is able to comprehend the nature and the reasoning behind their decisions and actions.

Gabriela Mistral :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gabriela Mistral was an extraordinary woman. Her life was filled with tragedy but she turned her experiences into beautiful poetry. Her poetry reflected many things about who Gabriela Mistral was and what had happened to her throughout her life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gabriela Mistral was born on April 7, 1889 in Vicuà ±a, Chile. When she was only three years old, her father abandoned her family. She attended a rural primary school and the Vicuà ±a state secondary school. By the age of sixteen, she started to support herself and her mother by working as a teachers aide. Gabriela Mistral is only a pen name for Lucila Godoy Alcayaga. She took the name from her two favorite poets: Gabriele D’Annunzio and Frà ©dà ©ric Mistral. She was the first Latin American to receive the Nobel Prize for literature (1945). After the suicide of her lover, Romelio Ureta, she lived a life of self-described desolation. Although she wanted it, she never experienced motherhood. She did adopt a child but it later died. She taught at Colombia University, and Vassar College. In 1930, she was a visiting professor at Barnard College in New York City. She also became the principal of Santiago High School. Her first text was la Voz de Elqui and Diario Radical de Coqui mbo in 1905. Her second work was called Desolacià ³n. Soon after she accepted her post at Santiago, she was invited to work in Mexico on a plan to reform the libraries and the schools. She lived primarily in France and Italy during 1925 to 1934. She also worked for the League for Intellectual Co-operation of the League of Nations between 1922 and 1938. She was the honorary consult for Brazil, Spain, Portugal and the U.S. In 1933 she entered the Chilean Foreign Service and was appointed by the government of Chile as a sort of ambassador-at-large for the Latin American Culture. During World War two, she became friends with Stefan Zweig and his wife. Later they committed suicide in Rio de Janeiro. Also her nephew, Juan Miguel killed himself. Because of poor health, she was forced to retire to her home in New York. She died on January 10, 1957, at the age of sixty-seven. She died of cancer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like most people, Gabriela Mistral wrote poems about her life experiences or what she holds to be true. In her poem â€Å"Dolor†, which is from the Desolacià ³n collection, she expresses her feelings on the death of her lover.

God Grew Tired of Us Essay

God Grew Tired of Us documents the journey of three Sudanese men who were part of the â€Å"Lost Boys of Sudan†, a refugee camp home to thousands of young men who fled Sudan amidst the wars that went on since the 1980s. The three young men were one of the few who were invited to live in America and the documentary follows the men on their journey of adapting to the North American culture, customs and the new found freedom they never had back in Sudan. Throughout the film, the audience witness their struggle of feeling a sense of belonging and also their strive to find the family members they lost when they had to flee the country during the war. The men began their journey to the United States when they got on their very first airplane to Belgium for a connection flight to New York. There we witness the men embark on their first cultural shock. At the airport, the men are obviously amazed at the diversity of races since they’ve grown up only knowing one, African. Most North Americans grew up with a diverse culture around them so walking down the street and seeing someone who isn’t the same skin tone as you is never really a shock to anyone. For the men it was a first glance of what it’s like to live in the United States, where you’d have to learn to live amongst and get along with people who are of a different race and have different beliefs than you. When the lost boys arrive in America, they are presented with their very own apartment, something they’ve never seen in their lives. Now the men need to adapt with living a modern North American lifestyle with electricity and plumbing. A guide takes them through the house and demonstrates how to use basic everyday appliances. This was particularly amusing because the men were learning basic skills such as using the toilet and using toilet paper, something that North Americans learn in the early toddler years. Also, now that the men live on their own, they’d have to cook for themselves, something that men are not supposed to do in Africa because it is seen as a woman’s job. In North America it is not seen as a humiliating task for men to be seen cooking. Instead, chefs and cooks are stereotyped as a man’s job. As new citizens of America, the lost boys have left behind their extended families back in Africa. In a sense of loneliness they lean on each other for comfort. It makes sense that they travel together to help each other out, but unfortunately locals filed complaints to police that because the men travel in pacts, they’re intimidating. This was a totally absurd and racist accusation. Just because the men are tall and black doesn’t mean they are a threat to society. North Americans tend to stereotype people to segregate certain groups. The men experienced their first account of discrimination, an act that ultimately pushed them to run away from their home country in the first place. At the end of the film, the lost boys have lived in America for over 3 years and have adapted to the North American culture. Two of the three lost boys were lucky enough to locate their family members. The men went on to live separate lives and even got college/university degrees. The documentary ends with a short note about each of the three men and what they did after the film was done. Daniel, John, and Panther, the once lost boys with no future planned ahead are now striving to make a difference for their country.

Juvenile Justice A Difficult Area For Law Enforcement Essay

Juvenile justice can be a difficult area for law enforcement. This is said because unlike adult offenders in the criminal justice system, the juvenile justice is about reform rather than incarceration. The thought process behind juvenile justice is to help these children to become better adults, not only for their community, but also for their workforce as well. There are some rules when handling delinquents. A great example would be an adult who has a public intoxication and has to spend a night in jail. Although, if a juvenile is caught doing the same thing he is to be taken home to his parents, or legal guardian. Also, the way a trial operates is also different. During a trial in adult court, it becomes a formal matter and can be subjected to a trial by jury. Whereas the trial in juvenile court is informal, and under no circumstances, can the defendant be tried in front of a jury. Lastly, the title of the judge is different in a juvenile case and is called a referee. How law enforcement handles a delinquent can go many ways. Most of the time they are taken home to a legal guardian to look after them, but in some cases, juveniles are taken to a juvenile detention center. Juvenile detention centers are usually a long drive to a different county. This is because it is against the law to hold a minor in the same area as an adult before trial. Even after the crime has been committed, it is still against the law. One problem an officer faces when dealing with a juvenile, whoShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Illicit Drugs On The Nation s Rate Of Violent Crime1735 Words   |  7 Pageslevels responded by strengthening enforcement forces against drug law violators, attempting to block illegal drugs at the borders, working with other countries to take down the criminal organizations that produce and distribute drugs, and increasing efforts to reduce demand for drugs (Dept. of Justice, 2005). 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