Comparing and contrasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparing and contrasting - Essay Example An even more distressing truth is, in most cases, those who seek to overthrow the government are just as corrupt as those they are trying to overthrow, if not more so. This turmoil and unrest has led to many stories being shared, via movie renditions and books. One such book that tells of a story of this unrest in Africa is, A Long Way Gone, written by Ishmael Beah. A movie that tells of another story in Africa is, Hotel Rwanda. Though this book and movie share many similarities in their telling of the turmoil, they also have their differences. By looking at the similarities and differences of the situation, the characters, and by discovering which character is more identifiable, a more inside glimpse into the tragedies, and mercies that surround the turmoil in Africa, can be seen. Similarities and Differences in the Situation To begin with it is important to note the similarities and differences in the two situations presented. A Long Way Gone, is the story of a boy who finds himsel f alone after rebels destroy his home town. He, then, is left to wander the country side, until he is finally picked up by the government army. With this army he is coerced into fighting, against the ‘rebels’ at the young age of thirteen. ... In both of these stories the government is fighting those they deem as rebels whom, they believe, would like to overthrow their leadership. In, A Long Way Gone, Ishmael, said that at a point, when fighting for the government, the lines of good versus bad became blurred. He realized that he was the one now destroying villages of innocent people and possibly taking away families from boys, like his was taken from him. Similarly in, Hotel Rwanda, many Tutsi people who ended up being killed were innocent women and children, not soldiers who were fighting. One major difference that can be seen in these two stories, however, is the fact that in A Long Way Gone, the war that was taking place was a civil war that had been fought, between two groups of people, over a long period of time. In, Hotel Rwanda, however, it was genocide, where the government ordered the complete destruction of this race, or group of mostly unarmed people, in a day. It is said that more people died in this genocide t han all the nuclear bombs ever dropped, put together. Another difference in the situation of these stories is the fact that the war in, A Long Way Gone, was, for the most part, a political one. In, Hotel Rwanda, all though it was initially made out to be a political â€Å"war†, it was mostly a genocide of a group of people because of their beliefs, they were Christians. Similarities and Differences in the Characters It is also important to note the similarities and differences of the main characters of these stories. The main character of, A Long Way Gone, is Ishmael Beah, a young village boy. The main character of, Hotel Rwanda, is Paul Rusesabagina, the assistant manager of Miles Collines Hotel. One of the major similarities between these characters is

Social Contract Theories of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke Essay

Social Contract Theories of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke - Essay Example Thus, in a social contract to which they voluntarily consented, they created the state for the purpose of promoting and preserving their natural rights to life, liberty and property. It was John Locke who painted a picture of liberty of citizens and authority of government in tones which were far moderate than that of Thomas Hobbes. Men in a state of nature could make use of their perfect freedom for their own good, since they were reasonable men. To John Locke, men did not abuse their Liberty. They did not threaten the lives of their neighbors. He wrote: Though this is a state of liberty, yet it is not a state of license. The state of nature of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges everyone; and reason, which is that law that teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent; no one has a right to harm another in his life, health, liberty of possessions. 1 Locke's social contract favored men quitting the state of nature to form themselves into a civil society. In this society men instituted the state where a social contract or covenant was formulated between citizens and government, a trustee which they could dismiss if it did not maintain the freedom and equality that men originally knew and enjoyed. In other words, when government no longer served the citizens' interests and welfare, it might be resisted or overthrown. Why, because government had violated its obligations under the social contract to the extent that it had broken it. What were these obligations The government as trustee had to protect and preserve people's rights, especially natural rights as explained above. Otherwise, the contractual agreement which was the basis of government's existence would be without substance and meaning. Locke asserted that men should retain their natural rights in civil society and that political powers or sovereignty should not be assigned to the monarch, but to the people's representatives in parliament who should be supreme. In Locke's view, the legislative power could never be arbitrary, since under the doctrine of popular sovereignty, the people had the supreme power to change, through peaceful election or revolution, their representatives in the parliament whenever such representatives acted contrary to the trust reposed in them. Locke's social contract puts in perspective the parliamentary democracy of limited government that many states have today, which stresses the protection and promotion of individual rights to life, liberty and property. Locke's reason for favoring a civil government to impose upon man some restrictions of government authority was that men after all were not impartial judges of their friends' shortcomings. He admitted that human frailties could lead to abuse of power. 2 Popular sovereignty is supreme authority of the state which resides in the people. This authority means that the people are the ultimate source of power and so they possess coercive power to control government through which they allow themselves to be governed. It was said that sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. This view is embodied in Locke's theory of popular sovereignty in which the citizens have the vested right and power to choose their representat