King Leopold II | Analysis

King Leopold II | Analysis King Leopold II has the dishonorable reputation as one of the most brutal and cruel colonial rulers of the 19th century for what he has done in Congo. Even after his merciless reign was completely turned over to Belgium, tons of books, articles, photos, and essays were released to reveal all of King Leopold IIs atrocities to the people around the world. Some scholars have tried to justify his actions arguing that King Leopold made a great contribution to modernizing and civilizing Congo. However, one cannot ignore the unchangeable fact that King Leopold II has, in fact, committed unforgivable crimes against the natives of Congo for his own wealth from ivory and rubber collected through forced labor. Therefore, despite what some people argue in helpless attempts to justify King Leopold IIs actions in Congo, what he did during his 22-year reign in Congo are too inhumane and unjustifiable for people to honor him as a sage king. Leopold II was the king of Belgium from 1865 to 1909 and was the founder of Congo Free State (Present-day The Democratic Republic of Congo). By the time Leopold II succeeded his father as king, he had travelled around the world much and had become a supporter of the expansion of Belgium into other territories. He managed to formulate an agreement with Henry Stanley, an ambitious journalist who is famous for exploring Africa, to bring Congo under European control through unfair trade and slavery. This is how Congo Free State of King Leopold II was founded and it existed from 1885 to 1907. Disappointed and outraged by what King Leopold II was doing in Congo Free State, many journalists and writers began to write about the crimes he was committing. Among these works, Mark Twain, encouraged by the Congo Reform Association, wrote a gripping literary work expressing his thoughts about King Leopold II called King Leopolds Soliloquy. It is a satiric soliloquy, or dramatic monologue published by Congo Reform Association rather than a commercial publisher, which means that Twain was writing for a cause, not personal gains. The main influence on making Twain write this particular work was Edmund D. Morel of the English Congo Reform Association who wanted Twains help in gathering support for an American branch of Congo Reform Association. This work specifically focuses on several issues regarding King Leopold II, and among these are brutality, absolute materialism, morality and media. As for brutality, 2 million to 15 million people of Congo supposedly died during the reign of King Leopold II. The exact number is nearly impossible to discover as no concrete records of Congo Free State could be found today. King Leopolds 19,000-man army used their developed weapons such as rifles, cannons, and machine guns to slowly take control of Congo from the natives who were only equipped with spears or antiquated muskets. The theme of brutality is very closely related to materialism. At first, King Leopold IIs main interest was ivory. However, in the early 1890s, with the invention of bicycles and their wide-spread usage, the demand for rubber suddenly skyrocketed and started what people call The rubber boom. Luckily for King Leopold II, nearly half of Congo Free State was covered with rubber trees that would have taken over 50 y ears to fully grow elsewhere. With an increasing demand for rubber from Congo, King Leopold II quickly came up with a cruelly effective idea to collect rubber. It was quite simple; executive officers under King Leopold II would go into a local town and take the women there as hostages. To free their wives, men had to go out into the woods and collect a certain amount of rubber. If they did not fulfill their required amount of rubber, they received cruel punishment from these officers; they were often whipped with chicotte, a lash made from hippo hide, or their hands were cut off for not meeting the demands. Also the soldiers were ordered to bring back a hand for every bullet fired. As it was not actually possible, these soldiers instead cut off the hands of the living resulting in mutilation and a decrease in the population. As for morality and press, a fairly large amount of the soliloquy is used to criticize the media (newspapers and photographs), for revealing what King Leopolds done in Congo Free State. Before the invention of Kodak, cameras, all the atrocities and chaos King Leopold II was creating in Congo Free State could not be fully known. Many articles and essays were written but there was no visual evidence for the public to prove it. Also, King Leopold II went out of his way to ensure that none of his deeds became known to the public, or as Morel puts it, Not one in a thousand of the dark deeds performed under such a regime can ever, in the nature of things, become publicly known. In King Leopolds soliloquy, King Leopold blames the results from his cruel actions on reporters and the camera, rather than himself. This also means that Leopold cares much more about how people conceive him as a king instead of the morality or justness of his actions. This can be witnessed when he says Ten thousand pulpits and ten thousand presses are saying the good word for me all the time and placidly and convincingly denying the mutilations. Then that trivial little Kodak, that a child can carry in its pocket, gets up, uttering never a word, and knocks them dumb. He also calls the camera The only witness I have encountered in my long experience that I couldnt bribe. King Leopolds Soliloquy is quite significant in its form. Twain takes the character of King Leopold himself, embattled by those who wish him to change. By presenting his ideas through a soliloquy, which is a monologue rather than a literary work with a plot or characters, he creates special tension in the readers mind. From the readers perspective, hearing such ravings and evil deeds from King Leopold IIs own mouth would have made a strong impact on their mind; it brings the reader into a greater sense of anger and disgust at the callousness of deeds and thought from the king. As effective as it may be, however, readers of this work must be aware that this is not a transcript of King Leopold II but a soliloquy written by a different person based on his imagination. Therefore, certain parts of it must have been somewhat exaggerated and may not even be true. Although most of what was happening in Congo Free State was well known by the time King Leopolds Soliloquy was written thanks to the development of technology, especially Kodak, it would have been quite difficult to be aware of all of King Leopold IIs intentions for his actions. Nevertheless, Mark Twain, with his effective usage of language and satire, was able to create quite a sensation across America. According to Justin Kaplan, it was the most effective and most widely circulated piece of American propaganda in the cause of Congo reform. Twain once said in an interview of Boston Herald on Nov 6. 1905, The condition of things in the Congo is atrocious, as shown by the photographs of children whose hands have been cut off. Leopold thinks this can go on because the Congo is a distant out-of-the-way country. But once we can get England and America to investigate, and take this matter up, something will be done. We Americans are especially interested, because it was our recognition of the flag there that led to recognition by other powers. By writing such work, considering the social and political impact of Ma rk Twain, he was trying to encourage its readers to actively participate in speaking against King Leopolds regime. By touching on pathos of the readers, Twain was clearly arousing them to active protest with his very effective writing style which may sound satiric and scornful to the readers. Advocates of King Leopold IIs reign in Congo Free State, however, argue that this is all just an accusation of the King and he made a great contribution to modernizing and civilizing Congo. In An Answer to Mark Twain by Donald Kerr, a pamphlet written in response to King Leopolds Soliloquy, Kerr states that lies and slanders are accumulated and, as stated by Mark Twain the only true thing in his soliloquy they slander and still slander. Like such, lots of controversies exist among scholars and historians regarding King Leopold IIs Congo Free State. Advocates first criticize Mark Twain for stating that King Leopold taxes his stolen nation but provides nothing in return but hunger, terror, grief, shame, captivity, mutilation and massacre More than half of the pamphlet, An Answer to Mark Twain, is dedicated to showing photographs of what King Leopold II gave them in return. It contains more than 30 photographs of schools, bridges, hospitals, villages, railways, motor-cars, and all oth er things that were built during King Leopold IIs regime. As the anger and disgust towards King Leopold II spread across the world after witnessing photographs thanks to the development of Kodak, Kerr must have thought it would be effective to show pictures supporting King Leopold IIs achievements during his reign. Advocates of King Leopold II also insist that there is no factual evidence connecting the mutilations and murders of the natives to the army of King Leopold. Kerr also questions the validity of the photographs of the mutilated natives asserting that such is the value of the photographs produced, and as it is not proved by specific dates and places that these acts of cruelty can be directly or indirectly imputed to Belgians having resided in the Congo they must be considered as slanderous. These advocates of King Leopold II endlessly try to justify the chaos he created in Congo Free State, but nothing will ever change the fact that the natives of Congo suffered greatly from the reign of King Leopold II both emotionally and physically. What people can read from King Leopolds Soliloquy by Mark Twain, and all the other evidence that people can see such as photographs, articles, essays, and historical records point to the fact that King Leopold II was willing to apply any and all possible measures to gain wealth and did not care one bit about the natives. Despite the contributions the king made to Congo, like modernizing and civilizing Congo during his reign, people of our generation remember him as a brutal and greedy colonial ruler rather than a sage king. Therefore, even though what these advocates say of King Leopold II may be true, what he did to the natives of Congo and how he gained his wealth are too inhumane and cruel to be justified.

Improving personal and professional skills to meet goals

Improving personal and professional skills to meet goals To achieve the personal goals and organisational goals each individual needs a set of certain skills to carry out his / her duties and responsibilities. The improved level of skills the organisation employees have, the more the chances of getting goals and objectives achieved. So for both individual and organisation the personal and professional skills advancement always remains of high importance. The requirement from this assignment is to produce a Personal Development Plan for medium term and demonstrate the steps taken within the plan. Explain methods to improve personal and professional skills to meet organisational and own goals and objectives. Personal and professional skills are those skills which are owned by individuals, personal skills are commonly by nature, but can be developed through certain processes and activities, when an individual use his personal skills for his organisational or professional goals / objectives, then it is referred as professional skill. The most common personal and professional skills are communication skills, management skills, interpersonal relations, innovative skills, analytical problem solving, decision making, social skills, pro activity and much more. Skills development method Skills development methods and techniques are the activities or actions taken by an individual or an organisation to explore the hidden potential of their employees and make their capacity more for performing certain task and activities to achieve the organisational goals and objectives. Through skills development methods and techniques increase the knowledge and skills through a consistent process of learning and education. A professional development program boosts the individuals career, through travel, research, workshops and seminars and by working with professionals who are experienced. People take up a professional development course to build their expertise in business, teaching and nursing and contribute to organizational development. Following are the details of various personal and professional skills development methods use in different organizations to achieve the organizational and individual career goals. Class room Courses / Certificates this method widely used now days at almost all good organisations, to provide their employees the opportunity to enhance their skills and learn the latest knowledge through formal class room courses and they are awarded certificate which may help them in getting better positions in future. Crew Development Program is use by the different multi-national organisations, in which they train their current employees working at operational level in order to take some management position at tactic level or strategic level. For example Mc Donalds, has a very structured program in which they train their crew member for future leadership and management of the company, and is also a very successful one because 40 % of the top 50 mangers of Mc Donalds worldwide join this organisation as crew member. Training and Development is a key method to improve skills of employees, to improve the employees basic skills initially the pre job training is provided and to enhance the capabilities of employees on job training is provided also a series of skill development activities is carried out. Leadership Development Program is an important program in practice in good and well structured organisations. In this program they select the potential employees for taking over the future management positions and then provide them training, and educate them on how to carry out management activities. Social Gatherings is also an important activity through which these companies try to socialise their employees, and provide them opportunity to attend these gatherings alongside with their families to give them insight on how to socialise with different people and for their company they value the most. College / University Placement is the method of skills development in which different organisation arrange different courses for their employees in collaboration with good universities or other degree awarding institutes to cope them with latest knowledge and skills of their field. Award Winning: To have a healthy competitive environment among their employees which may result in the personal and professional skill development, the method of award winning strategy in which the employees producing good results are awarded benefits (both financial and vertical movement in the management hierarchy) is very helpful. For example Mc Donalds have award winning scheme, employees producing better results are awarded benefits as financial, promotions etc. while to provide their employees an opportunity for distance learning they also have e-learning strategy and online resources. Personal Skill Audit Skills audit is a process that can be used to identify the skill gaps for an individual. The outcome is a training and development needs analysis that identifies where training and development programs are needed. Skills audit results in An understanding of the skills required and the gaps the organization currently has. A targeted analysis of development needs. A listing of skills which need development. Information that can be used for dynamic succession planning. Skills Audit Form I have developed the following skills audit form, after completion of this form this provides me clear understanding of my current skills level, my strengths and weaknesses and will definitely help in identification of the Skills Audit Form 1 = wide experience 3 = a little experience 5 = dont know 2 = some experience 4 = no experience Name: Date: Work as part of a team 1 2 3 4 build and develop working relationships with academic staff, peers and colleagues work effectively with others to complete tasks and achieve results empower others to work together as part of a team or group recognise and understand when compromise and accommodating others is necessary interact well with others and work co-operatively as a team member understand how to gain the attention of others in a team or group when required understand how to contribute effectively and co-operatively with others even if they do not share the same ideas and ways of working express self effectively in a group and in one-to-one situations have an understanding of team roles Use your problem solving abilities 1 2 3 4 use an appropriate approach to questioning in order to gain information from which to draw conclusions use an objective approach to relate to others in order to achieve goals make good use of verbal reasoning skills, able to handle complex data and make selective use of information explore more than one solution in order to solve a problem consider the ideas of others to help solve problems manage the process of problem solving over a period of time demonstrate resilience and lateral thinking abilities when applied to problem solving Apply your communication skills, both orally and written, and use ICT 1 2 3 4 5 understand the differences in presenting types of documents, e.g. reports, essays, dissertations, summaries check written work for errors before submission use a range of ICT packages to support work express and convey ideas appropriately and accurately in writing successfully give a presentation or demonstration demonstrate that information being received is understood by using a range of verbal and non-verbal signals understand when people have taken account of your views and you of theirs Reflect upon and review your own personal and career development 1 2 3 4 5 recognise and develop skills and competencies required for learning and future employment develop opportunities for learning activities through current and future roles recognise the importance and value of activities outside the curriculum, e.g. work experience, sports, clubs identify when extra support and help may be useful understand the importance of actively reviewing and maintaining your own development plan in order to set appropriate learning targets maintain positive attitudes to work and understand when a task has not been completed well and identify changes for the future understand how to gain feedback on work or performance Work autonomously and set your own goals 1 2 3 4 5 aspire to and maintain a results-driven approach where appropriate focus on results and performance indicators and use different strategies to achieve targets apply suitable approaches and put in extra effort if required in order to meet tight deadlines work without close supervision and use own initiative identify resources required to complete a set task harness motivation and hard work to assist in the completion of work objectives Plan, monitor and evaluate in order to influence change 1 2 3 4 5 make use of effective planning and preparation in order to anticipate and overcome problems maintain effectiveness in changing environments make appropriate adjustments when undertaking tasks set own goals and review these systematically adjust to meet different work styles work alongside colleagues in different environments Develop time management and organisational skills 1 2 3 4 5 establish a course of action for self and others to achieve goals plan and prepare effectively for assignments, including use of appropriate resources plan day in order to manage time more effectively prioritise own and others work meet set deadlines and understand the process required to meet project outcomes keep track of work schedules and deadlines by applying multi-tasking abilities Creatively apply your academic knowledge in work and non-work related settings 1 2 3 4 5 generate and recognize best practice and apply imaginative ideas to different situations work out a preferred course of action think laterally and encourage others to do so and consider how they approach an unconventional task present complex and unusual ideas to friends and colleagues Understand business environments and other organizations 1 2 3 4 5 understand what is entailed in working in an organization understand the perspectives and expectations of employers, customers, suppliers and employees appreciate business activities such as selling and marketing, budgeting and finance and how these interrelate with one another have an understanding of business issues, such as profit, revenue, productivity, company image have an understanding of own personal budget and awareness of financial trends, e.g. interest rates understand how the significance and impact of an organizations internal politics and business strategy can affect everyday work keep up to date with current affairs affecting businesses

The Battle of New Orleans: Jimmie Driftwood Essay -- heroes, trials, g

Throughout history courageous, unselfish, sacrificial acts have described ‘heroes’ as unique individuals that served their communities above and beyond the norm. Song lyrics from the 1930s to 1970s have praised and denounced heroic actions found in songs by Jimmie Driftwood, The Battle of New Orleans (1936), and Mitch Murray and Peter Callander’s, Billy Don’t Be A Hero (1974) along with songs like John Henry (1870), John Brown’s Body (1861), and many others. Humanity craves heroes regardless of the culture or worldview people need to have something or someone to worship, admire, emulate, or detest; Joseph Campbell attempts and succeeds in describing in detail the arduous journey one must survive and endure to be reborn through the world navel and become the hero. Whether the hero is a favorite sports figure or singer/song writer or movie/television star or just a simple mom/dad trying to do the best they can for their children each has undergone mom ents of despair while in the dark valleys or exaltation of the mountain top to become the hero in the eye of the public or within the soul of themselves. â€Å"And so every one of us shares the supreme ordeal---carries the cross of the redeemer—not in the bright moments of his tribe’s great victories, but in the silences of his personal despair† (Campbell, 337). As can be seen in the story of Jonah as related in the second chapter of Jonah in the King James Version: â€Å"Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, 2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows a... ...ous and barbaric by our genteel Methodists, yet by those noble ‘savages’ their gods were beautiful beyond measure. â€Å"Hence the figures worshiped in the temples of the world are by no means always beautiful, always benign, or even necessarily virtuous. Like the deity of the Book of Job, they fare transcend the scales of human value† (Campbell, 35). Earnest Their of Rockwood, Tennessee stated: â€Å"One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.† Same could be applied to the faces of the gods or heroes. Trials and tribulations, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, in for a penny in for a pound, and dynamite comes in small packages are a few idioms from the lexicons of the people of earth describing the ordeals one must faithfully endure to overcome in the end and join the ranks of the heroes with a thousand faces. Works Cited Campbell, Joseph The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Sigmund Freud Essay -- Biography

Sigmund Scholmo Freud was born on May 6, 1865 in Freiburg, Moravia. Freud was orginally born Jewish but changed over to Atheism, later his Jewish past would come back to â€Å"haunt† him. An interesting (yet disturbing) fact is that Freud's mother, who was also his father's second wife, was only a few years older than his two stepbrothers. Many people believe that this was a cause to why Freud to believe that the psychological issues are related back to sexual issues in childhood, since he had an psychological issue with this (Isbister, pg 9). As a child, Freud was the favorite among his ten brothers and sisters and the most intelligent. He was the only child among his siblings to get the best education that money could afford. When he was growing up he wanted to study law but instead chose medicine because (his quote from his autobiography) â€Å"at the time, the theories of Darwin, which were then of interest, strongly attracted me, for they held out hopes of an extraordin ary advance in our understanding of the world; and Goethe’s beautiful essay on nature read aloud in a lecture before I left for school that decided me to become a medical student.† (Strachey, pg.8). At age seventeen Freud went to the University of Vienna and then graduated in 1885 with a doctoral degree in medicine but this was hard to do because of all the negativity towards the Jewish people. During and after his college career he always believed that evolution and psychology determined people’s behavior. During college, Freud done an internship at Theodor Meynert’s Psychiatric Clinic and studied under Ernst Brucke, a psychology Professor. He did research about cocaine at Theordor Meynert’s Pyschiatric Clinic. Midway through the research he believe that cocaine cou... .... According to some people this ended psychoanalysis, however, it did not because even today psychologist still follow Freud’s theories by disproving them or proving them. On September 23, 1939, Sigmund Freud died from a physician assistant overdose on morphine because he could not handle the pain from battling jaw and throat cancer, anymore. â€Å"The twenty-first century was also known as the Freudian century† (Thruschwell, pg.7). Sigmund Freud changed the way we think, understand, and look at psychological issues today. Of course, some of his theories has been proven false or has been â€Å"updated† throughout the years but he is still known as the father of psychoanalysis. Even though Freud thought that everyone’s problems can be traced back to childhood or sexual issues, he created and done so many different good things in the psychological and neurological field.

The Characters of Maria and Oscie in Ann Rinaldis In My Fathers House :: Ann Rinaldi In My Fathers House

The Characters of Maria and Oscie in Ann Rinaldi's In My Fathers House   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the book In My Fathers House, written by Ann Rinaldi, there are two main characters whose names are Maria and Oscie. These two girls are sisters that live in a house that is being divided by the civil war. Their stepfather (Will McLean) is from the north and is known as a Yankee in the south. Most southerners disagree with his beliefs on slavery, but nevertheless, he is still a respected town leader on the school board and is head of the volunteer fire department. Maria, fifteen and more a southern belle, tries to get along with people and stays out of trouble with Will. Oscie, who is a year younger, often tries to get the better part of Will.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oscie and Maria vary in many obvious ways. One of these ways is that Oscie is more independent and can be more self sustained. Maria on the other hand is a southern belle who is heavily dependent on her family for all sorts of different needs. Maria is able to accept reality more than Oscie, is more mature and can handle being beaten in an argument, but Oscie can not accept losing and is always trying to best people around her and herself. An example of this is how Oscie is always arguing with Will. She even asked her tutor, â€Å"will you teach me to best Will McLean?†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Maria and Oscie are very different they do have a few things in common. They both have an odd attraction to military men. This is shown in their choice of guys. They also both share the same parents. Sarah who is dead now, also has Dr. John and Mama as parents. Both Oscie and Maria are in love with the south and don’t want to part with most of its ways when they move.

Macbeth Illness Motif

PD:3 Macbeth Motif: Illness Motif statement: Shakespeare utilizes the motif of illness to highlight how Macbeth’s thirst for power has led Scotland into tyranny. Illness symbolizes the decay of Macbeth’s morals along with the fall of Scotland. Quotations with explanations: 1. Scene 4 Act 3 Lines 169-181 Context: Malcolm and Macduff are speaking; the doctor enters and reports on the well-being of a cured patient. Macduff asks about the illness, Malcolm explains that the English King has healing powers. Explanation: This depiction of the king of England stands in an obvious contrast to descriptions of Macbeth.The king is shown to be one of the best of men, illustrated by his healing. His â€Å"heavenly gift of prophecy† allows his country to prosper. However, Macbeth’s forsight has led into a dark cave that it cannot escape from until Macbeth is dead. â€Å"Sundry blessings† hang around the English throne, while curses hang around the Scottish. 2. Sce ne 5 Act 4 Lines 62-64 Context: Just after Macbeth receives news of the soldiers marching against him, the doctor delivers a short but horrendous report of the condition of Macbeth’s wife.Macbeth compares the shambled state of his country to the unfortunate state of his wife. Explanation: In asking the doctor for a cure for Scotland, Macbeth displays that he finally notices the consequences of his actions. However, he is not admitting to his own actions being the cause of his country’s â€Å"disease. † This is said just after Macbeth has been told of the army marching toward the castle, and of the desertion of his nobles, which illuminates that the real illness in the country is him, Macbeth.By asking the doctor to purge Scotland of her disease, Macbeth is really asking the doctor to cure Scotland by removing him. 3. Act 3 Scene 4 Lines 51-55 Context: Lennox and another character are speaking of the political terror in Scotland, and Lennox comments on the desire for Macduff to return soon and save Scotland from the tyranny of Macbeth. Explanation: Before Macbeth’s thirst for power overcame his good nature, these two lords were close followers of Macbeth and obeyed his every command.Now that Macbeth has been utterly corrupted, Lennox is praying that the English rescue Scotland from their tyrant of a leader. Lennox describes Macbeth as having â€Å"a hand accursed† showing that any respect that he had for him has now vanished. Macbeth has shed all of his supporters and has put the country that he once longed to rule in terrible suffering. Quotes with context only: 1. Act 5 Scene 1 Lines 75-77 Context: The doctor sees firsthand the sleepwalking, and talking, and crying that Lady Macbeth does while asleep and says why he thinks she is doing it. . Act 5 Scene 3 Lines 49-55 Context: The doctor announces to Macbeth that his wife is not physically ill, but that her minds troubles are preventing her from sleeping. Macbeth then asks th e doctor why he does not just drug her so she could sleep. 3. Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 18-20 Context: After receiving the letter from Macbeth about the witches’ prophecy, Lady Macbeth wonders whether Macbeth has the courage and brutality to kill Duncan to become king, as the witches said. 4.Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 68-70 context: Macbeth returns from killing Duncan and is not able to put the knives back in the room. Lady Macbeth insults Macbeth by calling him weak and places the knives by the guards herself. 5. Act 2 Scene 3 Lines 25-26 context: Macbeth has just sent two murderers to kill Banquo and is now haunted by his past treasons. He dwells on how even through the pain that he had run Duncan through with his dagger, at least Duncan is able to rest, unlike him.

Existentialism & Fight Club Essay

?From an existentialism point of view, there is no right or wrong choice, since one gives an action value by the virtue of choosing it. Choices can only be judged on how involved the decision maker is when making it. Judging by this standard, the narrator is justified in killing Tyler, since he fully became involved in choosing to both accept and reject Tyler’s values by that action. â€Å"Existentialism’s first move is to make every man aware of what he is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him. † In my essay, I shall first discuss how shooting Tyler is crucial in allowing the narrator to achieve the first move in embracing existentialism. He acts as the catalyst for the narrator to make the first move in existentialism: being aware of what he is by acknowledging all his primal instincts and assuming responsibility for his existence. Tyler does so through his acts of escalating violence and atrocity to provoke the narrator to confront both who he is and his responsibilities, culminating finally in his own death. I shall also discuss the theme of consumerism as portrayed in the movie, and how the decision of shooting Tyler relates to the narrator’s interpretation of this theme. The narrator had been hesitant to assume full responsibility for his existence at the start of the movie. He dislikes his present circumstances- he is jaded with his current job and lacks a clear purpose, as illustrated by the quote †A single serving package, a single serving†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Once he consumes the single serving, he is done. He makes a fleeting impression in someone else’s life before he fades from their memory. He feels his existence is meaningless because he has no connections with anyone. He is not content with the present state he is in, but makes no active effort to consciously define his own existence. He shows bad faith in this respect, because he deceives himself into believing that he lacks complete freedom of involvement in making this decision. He is a coward by Sartre’s definition: â€Å"Those who hide their complete freedom from themselves out of a spirit of seriousness or by means of deterministic excuses. † He possesses the desire to redefine his existence by rebelling against the values in society, but this conflicts with his conscious mind (the ego), which restraints him from doing anything socially unacceptable. His conscious mind hides these unacceptable desires in the subconscious mind, coming up with excuses that prevent the narrator from fulfilling these desires. Eventually, the repressed energy from these unconscious desires resulted in the fracturing of the ego itself- into two conscious minds, hence resulting in the manifestation of Tyler. Tyler represents everything that the narrator subconsciously wishes to be. He is the personification of the ID itself, representing the narrator’s repressed death instincts (our innate instinct for survival), aggression instincts (instincts for violence), and the libido. Before he meets Tyler, the narrator is defines his existence though furniture he purchases and assembles from IKEA. He attempts to make himself into a being-in-itself, believing his perfect state of existence can be reached by purchasing that last piece of furniture he needs. When the narrator’s house was bombed, annihilating the means by which he defines his existence, the narrator felt as though his existence itself was erased. â€Å"Every stick of furniture in there was my life. † Tyler teaches him not to rely on material goods but to define his existence by his actions. The fight club thus became the new means through which the narrator could define himself through acts of fighting. The narrator learns to revel in violence and physical pain as a means of defining his existence and to transcend the physical limits of the body. He achieves the first step of self-awareness by satisfying his primal instincts for aggression. His first epiphany occurs when he realizes Tyler is himself. In a sense, he realized that he (as Tyler) is free and capable of inventing and creating himself as whom he chooses to be. This is an important step because he now wants to assume responsibility for his existence. His second epiphany occurs when he shoots Tyler, and thus himself. On the first level, the narrator acknowledges his death instincts by confronting his fear of pain and death. He accepts Tyler’s ideas of experiencing death so as to be fully conscious of his physical existence. When he shoots Tyler, he does so with the awareness that he is shooting himself. This is the final step he needs to take in order to be fully aware of what he is. On the second level, by rejecting Tyler’s nihilistic ideas of destroying institutions and value systems, he chooses what values to stand for and thus creates his own purpose for himself. â€Å"In choosing his ethics, Man makes himself. † He also translates the belief in these values into the actual action of shooting Tyler, thus defining his existence through actual action. On the third level, by shooting Tyler, he assumes responsibility for all of Man, not just himself. He assumes responsibility for Man because he invents what Man should be: one who does not act in an uncaring and destructive manner towards others. On the fourth level, shooting Tyler allows the narrator to be defined in a way he wishes to be defined in the eyes of the â€Å"other†. Shooting Tyler is crucial towards removing the existence of Project Mayhem. He does not want Marla to find out about Project Mayhem because he will then lose his connections with her. It is important to the narrator to have a close relationship with Marla. Firstly, she is the only surviving real human being he has a close relationship with in the movie. Secondly, Marla, playing the role of the â€Å"other†, allows him to seek out knowledge about his existence and she is the condition for his existence. By shooting Tyler, he prevents the loss of this â€Å"other† that is crucial for his existence. Important themes discussed in the movie include consumerism. To be specific, it shows how the modern consumerist society affects Man’s determination of his existence. In Sartre’s words, how a change in the â€Å"a priori limits which outline man’s fundamental situation in the universe† affects Man’s determination of his existence with respect to these limits. According to Sartre, all configurations â€Å"either appear as attempts to pass beyond them or recede from them or deny them or adapt to them†. Consumerism imposes limits on Man to work and to consume, because only if Man works can he consume, and he can consume only if he works. He is emasculated because he is unable to fulfill his natural role as a hunter-gatherer as dictated to him by biology. Man is limited or restricted in the sense he is unable to fulfill his primitive instincts. As seen in the movie, Tyler tries to pass beyond these limits by destroying symbols of consumerism, such as credit card companies, so as to â€Å"return to Ground Zero†. Since many people define their existence by numbers in their bank accounts, destroying the bank records will erase their previous existence and allow them to create their existence anew, much like how the narrator’s apartment was bombed so that he could create his new existence through Fight Club. Tyler’s ultimate goal seems to be changing the limits by which people define their existence by. He envisions the destruction of modern civilization, and a regression back to a more primitive hunter gatherer state. â€Å"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the same canyon forests around the ruins of Rock feller Centre†. In the world he envisions, the new limits by which people will define themselves with respect to are undoubtedly physical strength and prowess. On the other hand, the narrator, like so many of us today, adapts to these limits by embracing consumerism as indoctrinated into him by society through advertisements. He avidly purchases IKEA furniture and defines his existence by these material goods. In Tyler’s words, he works jobs he hates so he can buy shit he doesn’t need. He assumes that his furniture uniquely defines him as a person, from the â€Å"glass bowls with imperfections made by the simple and honest people of wherever† to â€Å"his yin-yang coffee table†, while missing the irony that IKEA is a chain-store that mass produces furniture. He is no other different from many other consumers of IKEA who believe that their furniture is unique on virtue of it being selected by them. At the end of the movie, the narrator realizes he needs to strike a balance between the two opposing configurations, one that is in the pre-consciousness state, afraid to confront his freedom, and the other that embraces existentialism and freedom to the point of reckless destruction. Shooting Tyler thus allows him to reunite his opposing configurations and strike a middle balance. Marla is an example of how a person recedes from limits that outline the human condition. She does not know what values to choose to define her existence. As a result, she adopts a nihilistic attitude and attempts to hit rock-bottom by trying to court death. Lastly, another important theme in the movie is that of mental pain. Many characters in the movie experience mental pain because they are unable to reject the â€Å"being in itself† others force upon them. Thus, they cannot achieve a true state of â€Å"being for itself† This is because we â€Å"perceive others as a condition of our own existence†, as how Sartre puts it. According to Sartre, once we realize we exist, we realize the existence of others who are free to define us according to how they view us. We are objectified in the eyes of others because others view us as a â€Å"being in itself†. We lose our freedom through their perception of us. Only we looking back and viewing others as objects can we regain our freedom. Bob is viewed as a man who has lost his masculinity. He accepts this â€Å"being in itself†, believing that he is condemned to this fixed and unchanging physical body. Thus, he suffers mental pain because he does not reject the attempts of â€Å"being in itself† others force upon him by realizing his freedom to create his own existence. The narrator similarly suffers from accepting the â€Å"being in itself† society forces upon him- as a member of society whose purpose is to work, to consume and to obey his superiors. His ideal self-image is that of a strong and ruthless primal human being. However, he dares not embrace his freedom to reject this â€Å"being for itself† and work towards the transcendent goal of his ideal self-image. Thus, his mental pain caused Tyler to manifest, who violently abuses the narrator to symbolize the mental pain the narrator is experiencing. Tyler tries to push the narrator to be fully aware of his unconscious desires, and to assume responsibility for his freedom. Only when he confronts this mental pain (Tyler’s physical abuse) can he reject â€Å"being for itself† and achieve true â€Å"being-for-itself†, the state where he is constantly and freely choosing his future. His decision to shoot Tyler was justified-because he is freely choosing to reject Tyler’s destructive ideas, and to transcend his initial transcendent goal of becoming Tyler. In conclusion, the movie has strong themes of existentialism running through it. The act of shooting Tyler was justified because it signifies the first step of existentialism for the narrator- he becomes fully aware of what he is, and assumes full responsibility of his existence. It also shows how human beings may choose to define themselves with respect to the limits of the world they exist in. Lastly, shooting Tyler allows the narrator to confront his mental pain and reach the true state of â€Å"being for itself†.