How does war affect relationships in Regeneration? Essay example -- En

How does war affect relationships in Regeneration? "Regeneration" is a novel that combines fact and fiction to describe a soldier's experiences of the war. It does this successfully through a series of relationships, not only of a sexual nature but also relationships between Rivers and his patients, which reveal how difficult it is for rivers to form a trust relationship with patients and how stressful their revelations are on him. There are also examples of friendships, between Sassoon and Graves, and love, in particular between Priors and Sarah. One of the first relationships we come across is the doctor - patient relationship between Sassoon and Rivers. Evidence from their first conversations seems to suggest that at least on an intellectual level they are equal. Sassoon indicates his intelligence when Rivers questions him about his declaration, he is quite aware of how it sounds for a "Second Lieutenant" to say "The war must stop" however he doesn't see how any war can "justify this level of slaughter." Sassoon appears defensive at times during the first conversation, particularly when Rivers refers to Sassoon throwing his medal in the river as "agony." He appears to snap back almost immediately "No agony is lying in a shell hole with your legs shot off" indicating his bitterness towards civilian ignorance at emotional and physical suffering for soldiers in the war. At this point Rivers, indicating the honesty of the relationship, makes his opinion on Sassoon's state of mind clear and tells him that he seems to have "very powerful anti-war neurosis" and that it is his duty to "try and change that." This honesty is essential in the relationship between Rivers and his patients. At this time in the n... ...ctant at first she agrees, as "the thought of being collected from her lodgings by an officer was too much for her." There is irony here, as she complains about the class system and wants it to change, however she is thrilled at the thought of being courted by an officer. In the novel "Regeneration" the portrayal of the different relationships gives us an idea of the effect war had on, not only the soldiers but also the people back home, in particular the women. Which as Prior pointed out in the novel "seemed to have changed during the war." These relationships can also give us an idea of how the soldiers felt connected and became comrades, but also of how, after being at war for so long, the soldiers began to hate the civilians back home for being so ignorant as to what was actually happening and being to concerned with trivial things in everyday life.

Blood Imagery in Macbeth

Blood Imagery in Macbeth Imagine a war without guns, missiles, or bombs. A war with swords, daggers, and arrows. A war with blood, gallons and gallons of blood flooding the battlefields. Set in eleventh century Anglo-Saxon Scotland, this would be the typical battle scene in Shakespeare’s bloody tragedy, Macbeth. In Macbeth Shakespeare presents a bloody tale of an age-old struggle for power when Macbeth, the play’s protagonist, and his wife plan to kill Duncan, Scotland’s current beloved king, after hearing a prophecy told by three evil witches proclaiming Macbeth to be the new king.The higher Macbeth rises to the throne the deeper he slips into a bottomless pool of the blood of those who dared stand in his way. Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare uses images of blood as a means of symbolism, using multiple recurrences of blood imagery to promote the primary feelings of â€Å"fear, honor, and pain† (Spurgeon 115). As a symbol blood ultimately â€Å"covers ever ything Macbeth has touched† in many ways â€Å"both qualitative and quantitative† that â€Å"real blood† is unable to do (Mack 53).As the play progresses the symbolism changes and transforms from honor to betrayal and ultimately to guilt and revenge. Macbeth begins as a courageous hero in the midst of battle. A â€Å"bloody man† in King Duncan’s court tells a story of a bloody battle in which Macbeth fulfills the role of the hero (1. 2. 1). On the verge of bleeding out the Captain manages to â€Å"paint Macbeth’s valor† despite his blood flooding the King’s court (â€Å"Character Profile† 193). Images of the Captain, a man mortally wounded protecting Duncan’s son Malcolm in battle, smothered in his own blood gives a symbol of an honorable death.While the Captain lay dying, he still goes on about Macbeth unseaming an opponent from â€Å"the nave to th’ chops,† building King Duncan’s trust in Mac beth (1. 2. 18-23). After the three witches visit Macbeth and Banquo, Macbeth tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, of the promises the witches mentioned. Hearing her husband’s prophecy to be king, Lady Macbeth begins plotting the murder of the current reigning king, Duncan. She calls upon spirits to â€Å"make thick† her blood and stop the â€Å"access and passage to remorse,† so that she can murder Duncan without regret (1. . 44-45). Wishing her ability to regret her actions to be replaced with â€Å"direst cruelty† leaves Lady Macbeth believing that she and her husband will be able to kill Duncan with no remorse (1. 5. 44). While Macbeth contemplates his wife’s treasonous plan, he sees a dagger before him covered in â€Å"gouts† of King Duncan’s blood (2. 1. 46). The blood and dagger are not real, though Macbeth believes they are, but instead they are a vision that Macbeth sees before the â€Å"bloody business† (2. 1. 48).These bloo d images convey a symbol of betrayal as well as treason. Murdering Duncan involves Macbeth betraying his trusting cousin and committing treason against Scotland. Immediately after Macbeth kills Duncan, he is â€Å"rigid with horror at his â€Å"blood-stained hands† (Spurgeon 115). The â€Å"endless red of the blood† on his hands is all Macbeth can focus on (Campbell 130). Seeing the blood on his hands begins amplifying the guilt, sending him into shock, forcing Lady Macbeth to smear the â€Å"grooms with blood† (Campbell 130-131).Lady Macbeth plans to shift the light of guilt from her and her husband to the guards who were supposed to keep watch over the noble king. Using Duncan’s blood to â€Å"gild† the guard’s faces Lady Macbeth transforms blood into a physical symbol of guilt (2. 2. 55). Lennox, a Scottish nobleman, reports on the scene of Duncan’s death describing the guard’s faces to be â€Å"badged with blood† an d their daggers â€Å"unwiped† (2. 3. 104-105). Because they are covered in the king’s â€Å"golden blood† the alleged murderers are â€Å"steeped in the colors of their trade† (2. 3. 114-117).Bloody stains of the hands and hearts of Macbeth and his wife and the blood that covers the faces and weapons of the guards becomes a physical symbol of guilt. The guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is hidden from others while the guilt of the guards is painted on their faces. Macbeth is fully aware that he is totally consumed by the blood of his murderous deeds. He states that his hands are stained with blood from the murder of Duncan. As the play progresses, the guilt of Macbeth multiplies as the amount of blood on his hands continues to grow, becoming a symbol of Macbeth’s guilt.Each death at the hands of Macbeth causes the stain of red to expand from his hands and spread all over him, â€Å"from head to foot†, symbolizing his growing guilt that beco mes more inescapable (McElroy 46). As time goes on after the murder, Lady Macbeth begins to slowly unravel into insanity. She is haunted by memories â€Å"deeply etched in fear† (Campbell 131). One of these memories is the scene of Duncan’s death she recalls the shock of the â€Å"old to have had so much blood in him† as well as the idea that her hands will never be clean (5. 1. 42-43).Walking in her sleep, Lady Macbeth finds a spot on her hand that she is unable to wash clean, a symbol of her eternal guilt. Bloody memories push Lady Macbeth into the waiting hands of insanity through the guilt that she feels. Images such as â€Å"the blood upon her hands,† and Duncan â€Å"bleeding so much blood,† feed Lady Macbeth’s guilt, causing it to continue to grow from guilt to deeply embedded fear, and finally to pure insanity (Campbell 132). With the murderous and wicked deed of the evil tyrant and his wife come plans of revenge and vengeance.Malcol m and Macduff, both having had horrid injustices done unto them, plan to take action to seize the throne from the wicked tyrant, Macbeth. With Malcolm’s father’s murder and the massacre of Macduff’s family, the two men have burning passions for vengeance. In the country near Dunsinane, Scottish nobleman, Mentieth, tells that Malcolm and Macduff are coming to Scotland with Malcolm’s uncle Siward and the English powers. He explains that â€Å"revenge burns† in both Malcolm and Macduff and that they come for revenge for Scotland, Duncan, and Macduff’s family (5. . 2). The bloody deeds of Macbeth drive Malcolm and Macduff toward their goal of reclaiming Scotland. Malcolm describes the bloody state Macbeth has driven Scotland to as a country that â€Å"sinks beneath the yoke† (4. 3. 39). He claims Scotland â€Å"weeps†, â€Å"bleeds† and â€Å"each new day a gash / Is added to her wounds† (4. 3. 40-41). The personifica tion of Scotland as a living being adds to the imagery of cuts and bloody gashes, upholding Malcolm’s need to avenge his father’s death and reclaim his father’s throne.The gruesome murder of Macduff’s family provided him with â€Å"the most natural of motives for revenge† and brought Macduff to the â€Å"impersonal role of Scotland’s avenger† (Felperin 104). In the final act of Macbeth blood comes to symbolize a mean for revenge. It is the bloody acts of the evil Macbeth that drive the good men of Scotland to revolt against Macbeth’s rule, and ultimately in the reclaiming of their homeland and the death of Macbeth at the hands of Macduff. The final scenes of Macbeth transform the symbol of blood to one of revenge.It is bloody acts that lead both Malcolm and Macduff to seek revenge against the tyrant along side the noble men of Scotland who wish to regain their homeland. ? Works Cited Campbell, Lily B. â€Å"Macbeth: A Study in Fear. † â€Å"Macbeth. † Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. , 1999. 126-135. Print. â€Å"Character Profile. † â€Å"Macbeth†. Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publisher, 2005. 193-197. Print. Felperin, Howard. â€Å"A Painted Devil: Macbeth. † William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Macbeth. † Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 91-112. Print.Mack, Maynard. â€Å"Literary and Political References in Macbeth. † â€Å"Macbeth. † Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. , 1999. 45-57. Print. McElroy, Bernard. â€Å"Macbeth: The Torture of the Mind. † â€Å"Macbeth. † Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publisher, 2005. 27-52. Print. Shakespeare, William, and Sylvan Barnet. The Tragedy of Macbeth. New York: Signet Classic, 1998. Print. Spurgeon, Caroline F. E.. â€Å"Shakespeare’s Imagery Heightens Emotions. † â€Å"Macbeth. â €  Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. , 1999. 107-117. Print. Word Count: 1,223

Political Change in Europe in the Modern Era Essay example

European nations gained world dominance between the 15th and 19th centuries through imperialism and industrialization. European nations competed among themselves for international influence, and established by the early 20th century a very intricate balance of power, the disturbance of which ignited World War I in 1914. Over this same period, the power of monarchs within European nations declined as a larger portion of the populace demanded political rights, leading to the democratization of most political systems throughout Western Europe. These shifts in political systems were fed by urbanization, by the rise of class consciousness within the masses, and by the spread of ideas of political and economic philosophers who challenged the†¦show more content†¦Industrialization quickened, but the workers lived in squalor and worked without the enforcement of safety laws or the aid of unions until soviets, councils of representatives from the working class, were formed. Alexander’s reforms opened the door for state officials and others who wanted change to voice their ideas, premiere among which were proposals for zemstvas (local elected officials) to have a role, either advisory or legislatively, in the governing of the empire. Many intellectuals and community leaders called for a moderation of the tsar’s absolute power, and were incensed when Nicholas II (1894-1905) rejected these proposals. A few called for a conversion to constitutional monarchy, and some more radical groups called for violent revolution or dramatic change. A loose anti-autocratic alliance formed between many liberals, assemblies of nobles, professionals, workers, peasants, and minority nationality groups that had long resented rule by the Russian Emperor. 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