Saturday, February 22, 2020

The Role of Religion in Kwame Appiahs analysis Essay

The Role of Religion in Kwame Appiahs analysis - Essay Example One principle that Appiah beholds is the existent of a commonality in all human beings despite the various cultural backgrounds and is responsible for the diversity in the world. Case in point, Appiah demonstrates how his experience with a Ghanaian festival resonates with the attributes of a celebratory environment and feeling over the world in different festivals. Appiah explains that each culture has its own festival and one other worldwide event that appears to make a difference in non-existent culture is globalization. In this regard, Appiah identifies globalization’s main objective as promotion of commonness while getting rid of divisions amongst the world’s citizens. Appiah’s analysis has a religious perspective too. In one instance, Appiah identifies the role of Cosmopolitanism in elimination of what is morally wrong. In this regard, Cosmopolitanism plays the same role as religion would in the world. This expose elucidates the role of religion in Appiahâ⠂¬â„¢s analysis while comparing his approach to my approach. Appiah identifies globalization as an event each individual in the world identifies with. In this regard, he further identifies that the role of globalization is to make the one solid unit where people eliminated the divisions between them and embraced each other as one common people despite their race, religion, and ethnic affiliations. In addition, this commonness in people, as promoted by globalization, should exist regardless of different heritages. The roles of religion while Appiah carried out his analysis is that, religion enabled individuals acquire a global perspective (Livingston). In this regard, a global perspective amongst individuals enabled them to view the world as one homogenous group regardless of the different cultures and religions different people and individuals practiced. Appiah’s approach is not different from in regards to homogeneity of people through globalization. My approach to globalization is that, regardless of the different religions practiced in the word, people are one homogenous group since the role of religion is to enable individuals view others as one homogenous group. However, Appiah identifies people’s fear that the magnitude of globalization in the world posed a challenge whereby western civilization could greatly affect cultural diversity. Nevertheless, he analyses the situation and puts it that the right approach involves taking individuals as the appropriate object of moral apprehension instead of a nation or a particular plan. In this regard, religion plays a role in Appiah’s analysis in that, religions identifies each person as independent of a group regardless of what binds the groups together in this case religion being the common link. In addition, judgment will be passed to a person on an individual capacity (Livingston). This is true of the role of religion in that, an individual is independent of the religion, or creed they practiced. In addition, religion notes that we are humans. In ef fect, we think and reason as individuals and not as societies or as collectives on what is morally right or wrong. This approach is similar to my approach of life that there is nothing like collective thinking. In addition, each individual is responsible for their own actions that are independent of the creed they practiced and their society. Appiah notes that Cosmopolitan, denotes a citizen of this world and further acknowledges that each one of us has a responsibility over the other individual. In addition, it means that it is all right for us to be different but have differences in ideals while acknowledging that we are responsible for each

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Discuss the Setting of Edgar Allan Poe's The Cast of Amontillado Essay

Discuss the Setting of Edgar Allan Poe's The Cast of Amontillado - Essay Example An author also uses the settings to elaborate on the surroundings or to distract one’s reader, to make way for introducing credibility or organization in a story or to make the things more confusing or chaotic. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by Edgar Allan Poe is a story that hovers around revenge and vengeance. The narrator in the story creates a spooky and gloomy setting centered on the underground tomb of a European aristocrat, and ideal locale and ambience to relate a mysterious and blood curdling tale from the past. The settings in this story make it more believable, add to its Gothic appeal and keep the reader expectant and apprehensive till the end. When it comes to the setting in a story, Poe’s approach was to select and reveal the details with precision and care so that they amply contributed to the mood he intended to project, while avoiding all excess and dross. This is what Poe masterfully attempts to do while choosing the setting in the work under co nsideration. The essential objective of the setting in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is to accentuate the tale’s mysteriousness, by leaving many questions unanswered. The writer or the narrator never clearly mentions the locale of the story. It is the narrator’s reference to â€Å"palazzo†, which is the Italian for a palace and his knowledge of the Italian wines that amply corroborate to the conjecture that perhaps the story is set at some place in Italy (Poe: Online). Plausibly, a noncommittal and ambiguous approach on the part of the writer regarding the place where the story takes place in a way allows the readers to let their imagination go free. This stratagem allows the readers to use one’s fancy to guess or often fill in the details that the writer purposely left unanswered and untold. The tendency to hide big details while immaculately etching the micro physical and atmospheric elements of the surroundings in which the story takes place, m akes the writer have a hold over the readers deep seated emotions of pity and fear, while nowhere obviously appearing to do so. Again the writer never directly mentions the time in which the story takes place. However, it will be safe to say that it took place somewhere around 18th or 19th century, as Fortunato is depicted as being a Mason (Poe: Online). Also, Montresor is shown as wearing a ‘roquelaire’, which was a common fashion accessory, attributed to the 18th and the 19th century (Poe: Online). The ambiguity regarding the time and place in the narrative initially frustrates the reader, until one relents and surrenders one’s imagination to the will and intentions of the writer. Poe also uses the setting in the story to create a contrast between the revelry of the carnival in the 18th century Italy and the horror associated with Montresor’s vaults and catacombs (Poe: Online). The parties, costumes, feasts, parades, capes and masks signifying the festiv ities and joys of the carnival are in sharp contrast to the darkness, murkiness and somewhat diabolical nature of the crime that Montresor intends to commit. The gaiety and piety associated with the carnival acts as a file which further accentuates the morbidity of Montresor’s intentions and strategy. The brooding sense of fear and threat are in a way get highlighted by the atmosphere in Montresor’s underground vault where both his wine and the skeleton’s of his family members reside (Poe: Online). To the essentially American readers of Poe, these