Is It Our Own Freedom We Destroy? | Teen Ink

Is It Our Own Freedom We Destroy?

May 10, 2017
By jennifer27 PLATINUM, Sunnyside, Washington
jennifer27 PLATINUM, Sunnyside, Washington
20 articles 0 photos 2 comments

When a person turns into a tyrant, is it really his own freedom he destroys? When we talk about communism and imperialism we see how a country takes over another country for a gain of power or a gain in economics, but is it really worth it? When taking over a country; people die and hatred grows, is it satisfying? When gaining all the power over something or someone does it will make you a better person? Looking at history we see how Europe took over Africa and Burma a town in Moulmein, America took over the Philippians. In history, we see how countries take over other countries to grow economically or to gain power. Does that make them a cruel country?
Orwell, in “Shooting an Elephant” (1936), asserts that imperialism is an evil thing. He provides examples of how peer pressure can have a big impact on the decision they make. Orwell provides the example of a police officer that makes the decision of shooting an elephant that is disrupting the town because all the people around him believe that the right thing to do. Given the subject matter, it is clear that Orwell is writing to the British Empire to explain how their imperial government has a big impact on others.


Eliot, in “The Hollow Men” (1925), asserts that the person that is filled with their own desire will never be satisfied or find peace. He provides examples of metaphors and allusion to get his point across to his audience. He provides these examples in order to show us that the countries that use imperialism to gain power will never be satisfied with how much power they’ve gained and they’ll never find peace. Given the subject matter, it is clear that Eliot is writing to the central powers after the world war one.


Conrad, in “Heart of Darkness” (1899), asserts that a person's desires can affect a lot of people. He provides examples of how Kurtz becomes obsessed with irony and how his obsession affected people. He provides this example in order to show the reader that a person's actions can affect a lot of people in a positive or negative way. Given the subject matter, it is clear that Eliot is writing to the Europeans to explain to them how they destroyed the African culture, by comparing and contrasting their actions with Kurtz.


Kipling, in “The White Man’s Burden” (1899), explains that the white men have the responsibility to civilize and Christianize tribal people, even if it’s a difficult task. He provides examples of metaphors and allusion to get his point of view across to his audience. He provides these examples in order to show us that the Natives are not civilized and it is the responsibility of the white men to do something about it. Given the subject matter, it is clear that Kipling is writing to the white men to take action on civilizing the natives.


When a person lets their pride get to them, that person turns into a tyrant, trying to gain more power and control over a country, which causes them to destroy their own freedom. The person becomes hollow like a scarecrow stuffed without feelings after gaining all that power and hurting people. White men always believed they were better them the natives. White men are always living to a higher standard than the natives because they believe that the natives needed help. The natives needed to be civilized and Christianized, the way the natives lived was wrong, they need to be more like the white race. (Kipling) . The white people were frustrated because all the weight was on them to civilize and Christianize the natives. Show them the way they need to live. Trying to change the natives never brought the white men to be satisfied it only brought them sorrow. White men are always trying to gain power, money, and control over people to change them, but this never satisfied them, they were never happy. The white men were always hollow and stuffed without peace. “We are the hollow men / We are the stuffed men … With direct eyes, to death’s other Kingdom / Remember us-if at all-not as lost / Violent souls, but only / As the hollow men / The stuffed men”(Eliot 1) The white men never cared for others they only cared for their own kind. They hurt many people but they didn’t care. The white men are filled with so much pride they can’t have peace in themselves because they believed they were better than those of a different race or opposite gender. “A sahib has got as to act like a sahib; he has got to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things” (Orwell 4) The white men live to a higher standard than everyone else, always trying to prove to others that they’re better. The white race people were filled with so much pride they did what was convenient for themselves. Always trying to find a way to satisfy their own personal desires never caring for those around them. Kurtz was the youngest chief of the Inner Station. He had an obsession for ivory and he died on one of his journeys trying to find ivory. Kurt was sick and instead of being considered of his health he was always thinking of how to find more ivory. Kurt's let his house fall apart, he writes to the British in this secret journal. Kurtz did more harm than good to the company because he was always focusing on ivory. (Conrad) Kurtz was always trying to satisfy himself with his desires of having more and more ivory, he was hurting the company and people without even noticing. Kurtz let his obsession control him which destroyed his freedom, like when the white race lets her pride gain control over them, they stop caring about what others think or feel and only care for themselves. Their pride, obsessions at the time is important to them without even caring about who they're hurting but when they’re at the edge of dying they don't have peace in their soul and they try to recite a praying thinking that will set them free, but they can never finish the prayer because they feel and are guilty of what happened and can’t do anything about it now. It's too late when they realize that they've been wearing a mask all along and fit to grow into it. They think that reciting a prayer everything can be fixed, but they can't finish it because of their guilt. Their way of asking for forgiveness is by reciting that prayer for the damage they've accomplished, but they'll never quite find the peace they need. Their devilish decisions destroyed their freedom of having peace within. A Person is willing to destroy their freedom for their obsessions, or pride without even noticing. They grow to fit a mask without noticing. They become a whole devilish, uncivilized, unchristianized kind of person that hurts everyone even themselves without noticing like they're being controlled.
Freedom is a choice everyone has from the day they are born till the day they make the wrong decision. Life is all about making decisions for the best of us or the best for other. As a person, you know what is right from wrong. The decisions you make can impact a lot of people. When people let something or someone gain control over them that is when they turn into a tyrant person, so be careful. We see in history how central powers take control of other countries for power or economy they believe that is right for them and their people, but they don't notice that the decisions they make will change their lives forever. Becoming a tyrant person is a choice that a person or countries makes, which changes their life forever and impact millions of people. They make the decision them holding the mask and in the way, they put it on and never find a way to take it off because that is not an opposition they learn to live with that decision they made. Freedom is what everyone is born with and once make the wrong decision that freedom vanishes into thin air and you have the responsibility to take the guilt of everything that was caused.

 

 

 

 

 


Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph, and Ross C. Murfin. Heart of Darkness. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Print.
Eliot, T. S. “The Hollow Men.” All Poetry. 1925. 
Kipling. Rudyard. “The White Man’s Burden.” The Literature Network. 1897. 
Orwell, George, and Jeremy Paxman. Shooting an Elephant. London: Penguin Classics, 2009. Print.



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