MLK Letter from Birmingham Jail and President Obamas A More Perfect Essay

MLK Letter from Birmingham Jail and President Obamas A More Perfect Union Compare and Contrast - Essay Example Racism has been a problem for the people of America, which has had the Nation’s leaders up in arms trying to advocate for equality across the land. In the past, leaders like Martin Luther King thought fighting for equal rights would bring unity among the people. That was decades ago, and fast forward to today, the United States has its first African American president. The two are both icons of their times (Leeman, 2012). This paper will examine the similarity they share in some of the famous works that saw their fight across international boundaries. Both Martin Luther King and Obama have something in common. It is their fight to eradicate racism against a nation that is considered a super power. The United States has been one of the countries where racism has had a negative impact on the lives of the American people. Stereotyping has made prisons become full of people of minority groups, and this number is on the rise. Martin Luther King’s ‘Letter from Birmingha m Jail’ talks of the many issues that Americans face, and the long road not travelled. Obama faces the same opposition from the same people who were once accustomed to labelling minority groups as barbaric and incompetent (Brinkley, 2010). In Martin Luther King’s letter, he talks of the racism that affected African-Americans in the country. Often, MLK did point fingers at some of the groups involved in the segregation of the people considered the minority. Obama, on the other hand, did not talk to, or about any group of segregated individuals. He decided to go down the diplomatic route with his speech. They both use emotional appeal to attract their audience to their message. This similarity is common in the political arena as political heads are out to talk to a wider audience than just one group of individuals (Brinkley, 2010). The persuasive manner in which they talk to their audience is evident in both leaders. The manner in which Obama appeals to the wider audienc e, however, makes his speech less concise and specific. MLK’s letter, on the other hand, addresses a specific group. The reason this happens is the difference in time. King’s letter came at a time when the nation was battling seriously with the segregation issue, and there were cases where people of minority groups were being killed. In 1963, segregation laws were in effect and proved difficult for any minority group to be heard. Obama was addressing a much more diverse group of people. This is through the evolution of laws and abolition of segregation laws (Leeman, 2012). The other thing that may differ in the two scenarios is the cultural and political ties the two leaders had while delivering their messages. Obama might have had political ambitions. That made his speech much more focused on the diverse America population. King did not have any political ambition; rather, he hoped for the day that the country would allow an African-American leader to lead the nation. It was through such works from Martin Luther King that leaders like Obama have a chance to give speeches. The American public wanted to evolve from the time of segregation through people such as Martin Luther and Jesse Jackson. The two addressed the issue of special interests among people (Brinkley, 2010). Obama, however, labelled the groups involved as corporate leaders who wanted to enjoy the short period of greed. King addressed white supremacist groups, and their quest to eradicate the minority group, specifically African-Americans. Both

Defining theme of The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon Essay

Defining theme of The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon - Essay Example Thomas Pynchon gives the message that nature constantly moves life from order to disorder. It is worth noting, at this level, that Pynchon publishes the book following his full knowledge of history, pop culture, and paranoia whose identity cannot be easily recognized or combined. Entropy creates a patterned system that is tight and whose progression is unavoidable. The pattern also appears chaotic in nature. Pynchon’s theme of entropy focuses on America’s movement of culture to modernism. This movement seems unstoppable because culture is not static and is representative of trends in societies other than America. Analysis Pynchon centers on entropy from the start of the novel. His introduction to the learner contains this information. Pynchon shows his dissatisfaction in the introduction by explaining that his works seem to be out of various abuses on paper. The abuse to him is overwriting. Analysis of this assertion leads to the conclusion that Thomas Pynchon deliberat ely the dislike as a stylistic device. He claims in his personal critique that writers, in most cases, develop themes for characters. In his effort to introduce entropy, Pynchon avers that characters should generate themes in the novels through their personalities. He arranges his work to flow in a way that gives rise to entropy as the main idea put across. ... Oedipa does this continuously while refining them. This is a comparison to Pynchon’s assertion that characters in novels should generate themes and the other way round (Pynchon, 1965, 51). Just as Oedipa attempts to refine the stories after testing them, the author changes literary renditions in the best way. Furthermore, Oedipa creates a mystery to the reader by finding substantial leeways through coincidence but under very odd circumstances. The mystery involves either comprehending whether life is very amorphous that actions only occur through coincidence and affect people’s live greatly or if it is so void that characters such as Oedipa begin to imagine what they can do because of availability of unlimited information. Oedipa’s quest brings out the theme of entropy. The author combines ideas from other disciplines of studies such as physics and sociology to invoke the concepts of entropy. In addition to the two disciplines, he uses philosophical phenomena to underscore the main concept. The author creates a closed world that is an equivalent of physics’ closed system where particles move in a disorderly way. People and information in Pynchon’s world move in the same way towards entropy. In the continuation of his metaphor, Oedipa moves to correct the disorder from the ugly situations in the closed system. Considering the fact that she develops a closed world, it is difficult to understand whether Oedipa will succeed in her efforts or it is a process in futility. If she succeeds, then she will put truths in a world full of controversies. However, if she fails, she will have faced the normal actions of the world where it