The Wars by Timothy Findley Essay -- Justifying Wars Timothy Findley E

The Wars by Timothy Findley Justification. Defined as the act of justifying something. To serve as an acceptable reason or excuse for our actions, based on actual or believed information. Throughout the history of not only the modern world, but certainly back to the â€Å"barest essentials of reason† our species have made decisions that have effectively shaped our world into what it is today. Or have not. The judgments made in the past may also have been relatively insignificant to a larger picture, but would still be important in one persons or a group of people’s day-to-day life. Either way, choices made in any way, shape, or form, are based on what the decision maker believes to be true or morally right. Timothy Findley displays the abovementioned opinion-based judgments in the novel The Wars. From the background behind the novel, to the ending scene of the main character being burned to the ground in a flaming barn, many choices are made. Whether large and important or small and insignificant, Mr. Findley asks us as readers and as humans to look into ourselves to uncover the reasoning behind the choices, as well as our own actions and the actions of our leaders. The justification for most of the aforementioned incidents in The Wars can be classified under 3 broad-based ideas: safety, self-interest or the moral/general good. The first of these main ideas brought up in the novel is safety. The time setting of the story starts in 1915, almost a year after the First World War has begun. At the beginning of this war, the first major decision based on the idea of public safety was made: going to war in the first place. Assassination at Sarajevo sparks what would be a catastrophic loss for nations all across the world. This decision that directly affects the main character, Robert Ross, is Britain declaring war on August 5, 1914. This automatically makes Robert’s home country, Canada, at war as well, as they were part of the British Empire. In the past century, public safety has been the main justification for most types of war. But is going to war really safe? The conceived viewpoint of the author, often referring to the battlefield as lifeless and, in essence, counterproductive, says no. 9,000,000 casualties in four years across the world says no. Many attempts at peace by the UN and peacekeeping coun tries such as Canada say no. Yet, world leaders still pos... ...n for his condition after the fire, Robert would have been in prison for his actions. Instead, his almost lifeless body was guarded all day, even though it was stated by doctors that he would never be able to function or be capable or reason again. Or treason again. Second Lieutenant Robert Ross was a tyrant or pioneer. â€Å"Bastard† or â€Å"hero†. This is for us to decide for ourselves. Throughout The Wars, the main character is involved in many decisions, most of which fit under three main ideas or categories of justification: moral/general good, self-interest, and safety. Timothy Findley indirectly asks the readers of his novel to take these ideas into our own lives, and apply them to the decisions we make as a person or as a society. These decisions may be as simple as what type of bread we buy in the morning to more significant, such as who we vote for on Election Day. For any action we take there is always some type of justification or reason for doing what we are doing. It occurs today as it has occurred in centuries before. And surely, as we look into the future, the decisions will remain, only the justifications will differ, based on information we believe or know to be true.

The Listeners by Walter de la Mare and Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley: Poems mystery

The Listeners by Walter de la Mare and Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley both immediately convey a sense of mystery as they are set in the past. Ozymandias revisits the very distant past and The Listeners revisits the past in the lifetime of a single man. Shelley uses the technique of a story within a story to create mystery, where de la Mare uses an account. However they both make use of a lone traveller who visits lonely places to evoke a sense of fear, encouraging you to think about what might have happened in these places and that events could have been very sinister. Both poems have the main focus of an isolated structure: That dwelt in the lone house then Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight (â€Å"The Listeners†, lines 14 & 15, Walter de la Mare) Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. (â€Å"Ozymandias†, lines 13 & 14, Percy Bysshe Shelley) The poets inject both of these inanimate structures with a sense of humanity, which furthers the mysterious aura surrounding them. Shelley uses a human description to do this: And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, (â€Å"Ozymandias†, line 5, Percy Bysshe Shelley) Where de la Mare instead uses the spirits of the Listeners to give the house a sense of humanity, as if the house itself is possessed and listening to the traveller: And he felt in his heart their strangeness, Their stillness answering his cry, (â€Å"The Listeners†, lines 21 & 22, Walter de la Mare) Both poets cleverly use imagery to create pictures in our minds. De la Mare uses very detailed and lengthy descriptions, which build mystery and suspense and make you feel as if you are watching the lone traveler: Knocking on the moonlit door; (â€Å"The Listeners†, line 2, Walter de la Mare) This makes you feel very apprehensive. Shelley's descriptions in Ozymandias are more limited and rather abrupt, which I think creates mystery because the reader has to use their imagination to picture events clearly. The poems differ at this point because in The Listeners, de la Mare's setting is full of life, for example he describes trees, turf, grass and a horse. In contrast to Ozymandias, where Shelley uses bleak descriptions of a setting, which indicates an extremely barren and empty expanse. The Listeners hints at the enduring quality of the spirits who dwell in the house. Whereas Ozymandias gives a clear message of the ephemeral nature of the effects of power and pride. The end of each poem has both similarities and differences. Ozymandias has no clear end. There is nothing to sum it up. Shelley has left a gap to use our own imagination. But in The Listeners, de la Mare clearly describes the traveler retreating back to where he had come from. Creating a clear end to the story. The similarities arise at the end of each poem because both the poets use alliteration to describe distance, space and quiet. Shelley manages to create a large expanse of space, distance and emptiness: The lone and level sands stretch far away. (â€Å"Ozymandias†, line 14, Percy Bysshe Shelley) But de la Mare creates a feeling of stillness, quiet and distance with: And how the silence surged softly backwards, When the plunging hoofs were gone. (â€Å"The Listeners†, lines 35 & 36, Walter de la Mare) By using this alliteration right at the end of the poems and the ‘S' sound all the way through, both poets have finished with mystery and quiet foreboding of what might be. I think that both poems are telling a ghost story. They are quite frightening and very mysterious. Out of the two my favourite is the listeners. I prefer this as I think it is a clear story, which made me feel on edge. Where I found Ozymandias too vague and without a clear ending.

How to Remain Calm and Avoid Power Struggles

You know the circumstance all too well, a child disrupts you or the class or doesnt want to adhere to rules, routines or your instructions. You reprimand the child who then becomes defiant and refuses your request outright. Before you know it, youre engaged in a power struggle. In no time you send the student to the office or have somebody from the office come to collect the student. What have you gained? The term for this is Short term relief but long term grief. There are no winners in a power struggle. Do what the great teachers do - avoid power struggles. Unfortunately, the classroom is the place where power struggles can occur on a frequent basis because teachers are always wanting our students to comply with things they would prefer not to do. However, think of your strategy as getting commitment rather than compliance. Here are some of the tricks that will help you to avoid power struggles: Remain Calm, Do Not Become Defiant Dont over-react. You are always modeling appropriate behaviors in all that you do. Do not show your anger or frustration, believe me, I know this can be difficult but it is a must. A power struggle requires 2 people, so you cannot engage. You do not want to escalate the students behavior. Remain calm and composed. Save Face Dont center the student out in front of their peers, this is very important to the child. It is never good to humiliate the child in front of their peers and you wont build positive relationships if you do. When you respond with an Ive had enough of you speaking out, off to the office with you or If you dont stop that, Ill.......... youll gain nothing. These kinds of statements often escalate a situation in a negative way. You need to think of the end result and statements like this in front of the childs peers will make him more confrontational and a power struggle is more likely to occur. Instead, get the rest of the class working to enable you to have a one to one conversation with the disruptive student just outside the classroom door or quietly at the childs desk. Do not engage with anger, frustration, power or anything that may intimidate the student, it is more likely to escalate the disruptive behavior. Try to validate the students need, I can see why you are angry about....b ut if you work with me, well talk about his later...... After all, your goal is to calm the student, so model the calmness. Dis-engage Do not engage the student. When you model confrontation you will naturally end up in a power struggle. Regardless of how stressed you are - dont let it show. Dont engage, after all, the disruptive student is usually seeking attention and if you give the attention, youve given the student a reward for acting negatively. Ignore minor behaviors, if the student is acting in such a way that a response is required, simply use a matter of fact comment (Jade, your comment isnt appropriate, lets talk about it later and carry on. If its more severe: Jade those comments you made surprise me, youre a capable student and can do better. Do you need me to call the office? At least this way, they make the choice. Deflect the Student's Attention Sometimes you can re-focus the student by ignoring what was said and ask if the specific assignment is done or if the student has something that needs finishing. A little later you might have a one to one with the student suggesting that you didnt appreciate the interruption earlier that disrupted the rest of the class but that youre happy to see him/her working productively again. Always re-focus on what matters. Ask the student how the problem can be resolved, make the student part of the solution. Chillax Time Sometimes it is important to allow the child a chilling out time. Quietly ask the child if a quiet time elsewhere is needed. A buddy classroom or study carrel might just be enough. You may wish to tell him to take some chillaxing time and remind him/her that youll talk when theyre feeling up to it. Wait Time Allow some time for the child to calm down before determining what the consequence will be. This helps to de-escalate the anger the child may be feeling. If you can use humor in the de-escalation process, all the better and it will help you out of a power struggle. Remember the golden rule: Up, down and up again. For instance Jade, youve had such a terrific day, Ive been so proud of you. I dont understand why you are choosing not to follow instructions now. Perhaps Ill give you 5 minutes to think about it and youll be that terrific person I know you to be. Up, down, up. Use common sense and know when to be flexible enough to compromise.