This response was developed by a student as a persuasive piece. It is a few years old but provides a high level example of a Statement of Explanation and a student making efforts to write insightfully with sophistication of expression. Note that their piece has been researched and sources are presented in a bibliography.
The Context, focus text and prompt for this piece are different to our present ones, so remember you are viewing this as an example of a Creating and Presenting piece.
As I previously stated I wished to address the issue of social networking to support my contention but realised it wasn’t as strong an argument to present, as the other issues I’ve highlighted. Because of this, I decided to not address it in my piece.
‘Nothing to Fear’
Fear is defined as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger evil or pain, whether the threat is real or imagined; it's the feeling or condition of being afraid. Many people are led to believe that fear must be the cause of conflicts because the emotion is felt so often when people are put into trying circumstances. But, there are many different reasons that lie at the very root of the conflict and whilst fear can be experienced as a conflict progresses, it isn't always the defining cause. This can be seen in historical conflicts such as Nazi Germany and the McCarthy era. Also in modern day conflicts such as Child witches in the Niger Delta. It's so easy to label these conflicts as fear induced, but it's important to delve deeper and see at the very root of the conflict lies many other factors that have shaped the results of those struggles.
Adolf Hitler did not do the things he did
because of fear. The man was driven purely by the burning desire to control and
have power over everyone man, woman and child. He was also driven by the
intense hatred he felt towards the Jewish people. Hitler was convinced that it
was his personal historic destiny to lead the German people to world domination.
He wanted power so he could have a complete Aryan (blonde hair, blue eyes) race
in Germany. Through his actions Hitler instilled fear in many people. Fear of
what would be done to them and fear of what they’d be made to do. The soldiers
that Hitler recruited feared for their own safety and where put in a situation
where they either killed others or would be killed themselves. How do you make
that sort decision? These actions were formulated by a burning hatred and need
for power. Hitler is quoted as saying, ‘I do not see why man should not be just
as cruel as nature’.
The motives of Hitler were similar to that of Joseph McCarthy. Whilst fear of a communist threat seems to be the cause of McCarthy interrogations, it was the personal motives of the Senator that drove what became known as McCarthyism. He simply wanted power. As an individual in the middle of Twentieth century Joseph McCarthy had a rather intense effect on society. He started the movement that bears his name. McCarthyism was the movement that caused many changes in the lives of the people of the 1950's, beginning so called ‘political witch hunts’. McCarthy headed the charge against Communism in the United States after the Second World War and through his actions many people were accused of being communists and hastily judged to be so because of the general feeling toward communism. The major cause of McCarthyism was the attitude of the United States toward the socialists left leaning platforms of politics. This attitude was influenced by McCarthy's own opinion of the left. McCarthy despised it. Joseph McCarthy was relatively unknown and it wasn't until he fell into Senate, and used his position to start these ‘witch hunts’ that people listened to anything he had to say. McCarthy manipulated people to believe that communism was a threat to America’s way of life when he had no real evidence of his claims. This was all to be noticed by the people and have a possessive hold over them. He didn’t fear the communists because he had no real proof they were a threat. Although the events that followed were all reactions of fear; fear of Communism, fear of being accused of Communism and fear of what would happen if they tried to overrule it, fear was not the cause of McCarthyism. It was blatantly, a want for power
The desire as a woman to be noticed and heard and to have some form of power can make someone do unimaginable things. Abigail Williams in The Crucible had held no power; no standing, no rights within the town, until the Salem Witch Trials. It is Abby, after denying all at first, comes to an opportunity in the trials - a chance for revenge on the wife of a man she loves and revenge in a cruel and gossiping community. She says to Proctor, ‘I am but God's finger, John. If he would condemn Elizabeth, she will be condemned’. It's ironic that Abigail, who encouraged the witchcraft in the first place, is the one who prances around accusing everyone else. As ringleader, Abigail excites the other girls into a frenzy of emotion, which allows them to condemn as witches the people they know and love. She riles up the entire village’s hatred of witches, just like her 20th-century counterpart, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, riled up Americans’ hatred of communists. Abigail's main skill seems to be finding people's flaws, their weaknesses, their prejudices and mercilessly manipulating them to her advantage. The words of a vengeful, selfish and magnificent liar are believed by superstitious and gullible townspeople. Here a young woman usually powerless in that day's society finds the ability to grant life or death. What sprang from not a sense of fear, but a want for revenge, came to embody a frightening lust for power.
Priests in poverty stricken parts of Africa’s lust for power and wealth have driven them to manipulate their communities. The modern day witch trials in the Niger Delta see many children being murdered - hacked to death with machetes, poisoned, drowned, or buried alive in an attempt to drive Satan out of their soul. There are numerous so-called pastors in the regions of the Niger Delta who are wrongly branding children as 'witches' mainly for economic self-gain and personal recognition. They are motivated by greed as they profit from performing these exorcisms on the children. The religious leaders offer help to the families whose children are named as witches, but at a price. The churches run exorcism, or "deliverance", evenings where the pastors attempt to drive out the evil spirits. Only they have the “power to cleanse the child of evil spirits”, they say. The exorcism costs the families up to a year's income. So is history repeating itself? Thousands of innocent children are killed all so avaricious humans can benefit from their demise. Fear is not an element for these priests. They are superstitious liars who abuse their standing in the community. The only ones experiencing fear are the parents of these children and the children themselves. A preacher put largely at blame for the hysteria is Helen Ukpabio. She produced a detailed documentary about children becoming possessed and bringing chaos and death to their families. Symptoms that show the children serve Lucifer include crying and screaming in the night, high fever and worsening health - symptoms that can be found among many children in an impoverished region with poor health care. The preacher says that her work is “true to the Bible and is a means of spreading God's word”. It’s really just a means to earn a dollar. Judge Danforth in The Crucible believed he was just doing the work of God sentencing all those innocent people to death and it was the right thing to do. This was his way of removing guilt he felt from his mind about making the horrific decisions he did. People’s strong religions and faith in God being good and pure and Satan being evil can cause many to initiate a conflict. The Puritans had a strong belief in God and believed the words he spoke which led them to hang innocent people. Proctor says ‘the Bible speaks of witches, and I will not deny them.’ The village people in the Niger Delta believe in their faith that witches do exist paving the way for the destruction their actions cause.
Despite the fact that fear is so often thought of as the root cause of the conflict, it is not always the case. When examining the conflict in more depth you can see that usually the underlying cause is not as simple as someone was afraid of something. Humans have many more diverse emotions that can override their emotions of fear. People’s desire for power, wealth, hierarchy and revenge influence conflicts more than their deepest darkest fears ever would.
http://www.shmoop.com/crucible/abigail-williams.html>
The Context, focus text and prompt for this piece are different to our present ones, so remember you are viewing this as an example of a Creating and Presenting piece.
Written
Explanation
I am
writing in response to the prompt ‘Fear of what is different or unfamiliar
always lies at the root of conflict’. Drawing from my knowledge of the play The
Crucible written by Arthur Miller, I will write a persuasive blogpost/essay,
as I want to address the opposing side of the prompt; fear does not always lie
at the root of conflict. There are many reasons why conflict arises, and whilst
fear of the 'unknown' is common in many conflicts, it does not qualify for all
of them. Sometimes fear is not an element in a conflict. Aspects such as anger, greed, power, control,
jealously, ignorance, death, and race/culture can cause the formation of a
conflict. The target audience for my discussion is young people, 16-18 years
old, who are studying the play and keen to engage with the universal ideas of
conflict that the text addresses. My piece will be published on a blog forum as
it is a more accessible tool for young people of this generation. It will be
designed in such a way that readers are able to comment on my piece with their
own personal opinions to discuss the points I’ve addressed.
I
believe the themes and ideas I wish to discuss directly relate to the plot of The
Crucible and a vital element of my discussion will be considering how the
conflicts in The Crucible were not always driven by fear and I see this
to be true in other conflicts that are occurring in the present day. I am aware
of incidents similar to what happened in Salem taking place in different times
in history. Miller used his historical knowledge of the Salem witch trials to
construct The Crucible as an allegory to comment on the fear and
hysteria arising from a perceived communist threat during the McCarthy era and
I am also going to use my historical knowledge to enlighten my essay
discussion. I will consider the McCarthy period, child witches in Niger Delta,
Nazi Germany and social networking incidents to show how it is not always fear
that starts the chain reaction of conflict. I believe exposing my readers to the
issues of these topics will help them to understand how conflict arises from many
different reasons and that each conflict is unique to some degree, as is its
cause. This will hopefully enlighten my readers to where conflicts stem from in
the faith that it may be a stepping stone to prevent conflicts transpiring in
the first place.
I have chosen to write in the form of a
persuasive essay as I believe it is the best way to persuade those reading to
support my opinion. I consider my audience to be passionate about history and
literature studies and will use a cultured level of language in my essay to
appeal to their academic nature and possibly sway their opinion to agree with
mine. I will use biblical allusions to enhance my discussion in the way that Miller
used biblical allusions to inform readers of the Salem witch trials integral
connection to religion through theocracy in The Crucible. 'For God hath
not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound
mind' - II Timothy 1:7. This challenges the prompt as the Puritans believe that
god made them all what they are, but he did not instil upon them the emotion of
fear. I will also be using alliteration to inform my discussion. When I discuss
the examples I have collected I have accumulated to illustrate that 'fear does
not always lie at the root of conflict', I will express my point of view in
such a way that it will challenge the circumstances where I believe fear was
not an underlying cause of the encountered conflict.
As I previously stated I wished to address the issue of social networking to support my contention but realised it wasn’t as strong an argument to present, as the other issues I’ve highlighted. Because of this, I decided to not address it in my piece.
‘Nothing to Fear’
Life as a human is dictated by an inborn
hunger or purpose, and people, in general, will act on this hunger for their
own personal gain in their individual ways. Protecting oneself often means
going against someone else, creating conflict. This hunger, be it driven by
greed, land, fear, power, revenge, jealously, culture or pride, can, and will
be the undoing or failing of all mankind as Miller so clearly points out in his
play The Crucible. It is much more than just fear that lies at the root
of conflict.
Fear is defined as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger evil or pain, whether the threat is real or imagined; it's the feeling or condition of being afraid. Many people are led to believe that fear must be the cause of conflicts because the emotion is felt so often when people are put into trying circumstances. But, there are many different reasons that lie at the very root of the conflict and whilst fear can be experienced as a conflict progresses, it isn't always the defining cause. This can be seen in historical conflicts such as Nazi Germany and the McCarthy era. Also in modern day conflicts such as Child witches in the Niger Delta. It's so easy to label these conflicts as fear induced, but it's important to delve deeper and see at the very root of the conflict lies many other factors that have shaped the results of those struggles.
The motives of Hitler were similar to that of Joseph McCarthy. Whilst fear of a communist threat seems to be the cause of McCarthy interrogations, it was the personal motives of the Senator that drove what became known as McCarthyism. He simply wanted power. As an individual in the middle of Twentieth century Joseph McCarthy had a rather intense effect on society. He started the movement that bears his name. McCarthyism was the movement that caused many changes in the lives of the people of the 1950's, beginning so called ‘political witch hunts’. McCarthy headed the charge against Communism in the United States after the Second World War and through his actions many people were accused of being communists and hastily judged to be so because of the general feeling toward communism. The major cause of McCarthyism was the attitude of the United States toward the socialists left leaning platforms of politics. This attitude was influenced by McCarthy's own opinion of the left. McCarthy despised it. Joseph McCarthy was relatively unknown and it wasn't until he fell into Senate, and used his position to start these ‘witch hunts’ that people listened to anything he had to say. McCarthy manipulated people to believe that communism was a threat to America’s way of life when he had no real evidence of his claims. This was all to be noticed by the people and have a possessive hold over them. He didn’t fear the communists because he had no real proof they were a threat. Although the events that followed were all reactions of fear; fear of Communism, fear of being accused of Communism and fear of what would happen if they tried to overrule it, fear was not the cause of McCarthyism. It was blatantly, a want for power
The desire as a woman to be noticed and heard and to have some form of power can make someone do unimaginable things. Abigail Williams in The Crucible had held no power; no standing, no rights within the town, until the Salem Witch Trials. It is Abby, after denying all at first, comes to an opportunity in the trials - a chance for revenge on the wife of a man she loves and revenge in a cruel and gossiping community. She says to Proctor, ‘I am but God's finger, John. If he would condemn Elizabeth, she will be condemned’. It's ironic that Abigail, who encouraged the witchcraft in the first place, is the one who prances around accusing everyone else. As ringleader, Abigail excites the other girls into a frenzy of emotion, which allows them to condemn as witches the people they know and love. She riles up the entire village’s hatred of witches, just like her 20th-century counterpart, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, riled up Americans’ hatred of communists. Abigail's main skill seems to be finding people's flaws, their weaknesses, their prejudices and mercilessly manipulating them to her advantage. The words of a vengeful, selfish and magnificent liar are believed by superstitious and gullible townspeople. Here a young woman usually powerless in that day's society finds the ability to grant life or death. What sprang from not a sense of fear, but a want for revenge, came to embody a frightening lust for power.
Priests in poverty stricken parts of Africa’s lust for power and wealth have driven them to manipulate their communities. The modern day witch trials in the Niger Delta see many children being murdered - hacked to death with machetes, poisoned, drowned, or buried alive in an attempt to drive Satan out of their soul. There are numerous so-called pastors in the regions of the Niger Delta who are wrongly branding children as 'witches' mainly for economic self-gain and personal recognition. They are motivated by greed as they profit from performing these exorcisms on the children. The religious leaders offer help to the families whose children are named as witches, but at a price. The churches run exorcism, or "deliverance", evenings where the pastors attempt to drive out the evil spirits. Only they have the “power to cleanse the child of evil spirits”, they say. The exorcism costs the families up to a year's income. So is history repeating itself? Thousands of innocent children are killed all so avaricious humans can benefit from their demise. Fear is not an element for these priests. They are superstitious liars who abuse their standing in the community. The only ones experiencing fear are the parents of these children and the children themselves. A preacher put largely at blame for the hysteria is Helen Ukpabio. She produced a detailed documentary about children becoming possessed and bringing chaos and death to their families. Symptoms that show the children serve Lucifer include crying and screaming in the night, high fever and worsening health - symptoms that can be found among many children in an impoverished region with poor health care. The preacher says that her work is “true to the Bible and is a means of spreading God's word”. It’s really just a means to earn a dollar. Judge Danforth in The Crucible believed he was just doing the work of God sentencing all those innocent people to death and it was the right thing to do. This was his way of removing guilt he felt from his mind about making the horrific decisions he did. People’s strong religions and faith in God being good and pure and Satan being evil can cause many to initiate a conflict. The Puritans had a strong belief in God and believed the words he spoke which led them to hang innocent people. Proctor says ‘the Bible speaks of witches, and I will not deny them.’ The village people in the Niger Delta believe in their faith that witches do exist paving the way for the destruction their actions cause.
Despite the fact that fear is so often thought of as the root cause of the conflict, it is not always the case. When examining the conflict in more depth you can see that usually the underlying cause is not as simple as someone was afraid of something. Humans have many more diverse emotions that can override their emotions of fear. People’s desire for power, wealth, hierarchy and revenge influence conflicts more than their deepest darkest fears ever would.
Comments 3
Ber0056
says
‘Fear is always to some degree a cause of
conflict. The immense control that fear has over a person can’t surely be ignored’
Car0004
says
‘How can we possibly think that fear is the
cause for all conflicts? In the many conflicts I have been involved in, fear
never came into play’
Tho0034
says
‘Fear can be a cause, but sometimes it
isn’t the cause. We can’t just lay all the blame on one single emotion. I, as a
human have many more emotions that make me do the stupid things I do’
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
http://www.shmoop.com/crucible/abigail-williams.html>
Insight English for Year 12
The Crucible Miller, A
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