Stalin s Power Of The Communist Party Essay - 3755 Words

How was Stalin able to assume control of the Communist Party by 1929? The assumption of power by Joseph Stalin was arguably one of the most significant periods of Bolshevik Russia’s history. Stalin is recognised as one of the most influential men to have ever lead Russia, and he did so through the largest war the world has ever faced, World War II, and through the beginning of one of the most tense periods of modern history, the Cold War. It is easy however, to get lost in the legacy Stalin left behind, and forget about the events leading up to his total control over the communist regime of the 20th century Russia. During his reign as the near absolute ruler of the Soviet Union, Stalin incited a plethora of atrocities, notably the manufactured famines, purges, and labour camp imprisonments. Stalin was able to be the primary blame for the death of an estimated 20-60 million people, with nearly no regard for human life. (Ghosh, 2013) Throughout his journey to power, Stalin faced several blockades and proved his leadership worthy by defeating them and coming out a stronger politician. Examples like Vladimir Lenin’s dying testament to the Communist Party, and the turmoiled years of the struggle for power in the Politburo, are all examples of which Stalin has bested his opponents. An abundance of evidence in both the life and times of Joseph Stalin, and a hundred years of speculation of the USSR, should lead for an interesting debate with multiple perspectives. Ultimately, byShow MoreRelatedStalins Achievement of Total Power in the Ussr911 Words   |  4 PagesWhy was Stalin able to achieve total power in the USSR by the end of the 1920’s? Stalin’s rise to power was due to many different factors. Firstly, on Lenin’s funeral day Stalin had given the wrong date to Trotsky which meant that Trotsky never turned up. Stalin took great advantage of the ‘Lenin Levy’ and how they worshipped Lenin. Stalin had written a short book which had summarised all of Lenin’s ideas and plans. From the side of the new Bolsheviks, this showed Stalin as the ‘true heir’ or naturalRead MoreComparing The Way Of Adolf Hitler, A Fascist Dictator, And Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin1629 Words   |  7 Pagesanalyze the differences in the way Adolf Hitler, a fascist dictator, and Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, a communist dictator, controlled their countries and made political decisions, we have to learn what Fascism and Communism are. We must also look at how Hitler and Stalin came to power, as well as how they controlled their government. Starting with Fascism, it is basically when the state is the supre me power. Nothing gives orders above the state, and the state gives all orders. It is a strong dictatorshipRead MoreWhy Did Stalin Come to Power and Not Trotsky1370 Words   |  6 PagesHistory Essay: Why Stalin Not Trotsky Stalin’s race to become the all mighty ruler fully started after Lenin died of a stroke on the 21st of January 1924. With Lenin gone, Stalin started to eliminate the other members of the Communist Party: Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Rykov, Tomsky and Bukharin. He very cleverly switched between the left wing and the right wing, by making alliances with one wing the suddenly breaking with them, only to join the other wing, going against everything that they hadRead MoreThere is No Justification for the Terror in the U.S.S.R. in the 1930s1164 Words   |  5 Pagesfor the Terror in the U.S.S.R. in the 1930s I agree more with the statement ‘There can be no justification for the â€Å"terror† in the USSR in the 1930’s. It was motivated purely by Stalin’s lust for power.’ However, I can understand why one could say that terror was essential for the survival of the new communist state or Soviet Union. Stalin used terror to force the USSR to industrialiseRead MoreWhy Did Stalin Rather Than Trotsky Emerge as Leader of the Ussr610 Words   |  3 PagesWhy did Stalin rather than Trotsky emerge as leader of the USSR in 1929? When Lenin died in 1924 there was no clear leader of the communist party. By 1929 Stalin had successfully managed to take power and begin his regime as leader. Here are the reasons to why Stalin beat Trotsky. Firstly many members of the communist distrusted Trotsky due to his Menshevik past and didn’t see him as a true and Loyal Bolshevik. He didn’t join to Bolshevism until 1917 and this made the ‘old’ Bolsheviks suspect himRead MoreThe Rise And Fall Of The Communist Party1530 Words   |  7 PagesTwo men were vital to the rise and fall of the Communist Party in Russia. Their names, which are as synonymous with reform in Russian politics as they are the Communist party and Cold War, are Joseph Stalin and Mikhail Gorbachev. Both, who were born peasants, rose up the social ladder to greatness one wrung at the time. While both were radical political and economic reformers who truly left their marks on history, their policies were antipodal at best. Gorbachev was the frigid water to Stalin’s roaringRead MoreThe Soviet Union And The Cold War1693 Words   |  7 Pagesduring the Cold War. The conflict between the communist and the capitalist ideologies was the main cause for starting the Cold War. The Soviet Union had a different idea on how they wanted to run their country. The Soviet Union want to run their country as a communist country, which a communist country is ruled by one dictator who is calling the shots and they put the needs of the country before the needs of personal human rights. The Western powers want to have worldwide run as a capitalist countryRead MoreStalin s Leader Of The Soviet Union Essay843 Words   |  4 PagesJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was born 18 December 1878 in Gori, Georgia and died 5 March 1953. Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union for over two decades. He was trying to modernize Russia and help to defeat Nazism. Stalin ruled up until his own death in 1953. He was known as a brutal leader who was responsible for the deaths of over 20 million people. Stalin s parents were poor and he had a rough childhood. He later went to become a priest in a Georgian Orthodox Church, but, he was expelledRead MoreNazi Aggression And Its Effects On The World1286 Words   |  6 Pagesfought back under the guiding light of Comrade Stalin with violent terror masked by promises of false prosperity and equality. German philosopher Karl Marx put the original ideology of Communism to words in 1848. In his manifesto, Marx stressed the importance of the proletariat or working class and suggested that they would take power from the dying hands of capitalists. However when communism first appeared on the world stage in the early 1900’s, its implementation was far from the ideas thatRead MoreThe Russian Revolution s Influence On Joseph Stalin1436 Words   |  6 PagesSerene Singh Psarakis SL History G1 5 November 2014 The Russian Revolution’s Influence on Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin greatly influenced Russia and the international community in the years 1924 through 1932. His rise to this power can be explained by the Russian Revolutionary experience that allowed him to gain influence in Russia. Although historians often refer to Stalin as a ruthless, mindless dictator, he redirected the Russian Revolution to later present economic development and opportunity

Ethno 50B Essay #1 - 1347 Words

Small Changes Make Big Differences A living jazz legend once exclaimed â€Å"jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.† Herbie Hancock makes it clear that jazz has been an evolving form of art. And just as simple as the notion that music can change the world, music changes in itself. Jazz once evolved into something we call swing. Back in the roaring twenties people got up and danced to this kind of music. However, these simple and playful melodies that everyone were accustomed to transformed into intricate music with a different basis. When jazz was over everyone’s head and people stopped dancing, we call this period bop. Inevitably, new ideas emerged and jazz musicians decided to take a†¦show more content†¦Monk was a self-taught pianist that played with flat fingers, yet had incredible control and improvisation skills. Gillespie was a genius musician trumpet player that had a great deal of fun with his se nse of humor and comedic skits, nicknamed Dizzy. â€Å"Dizzy developed bunny routines as fast as he developed original music. With them he attracted and held audiences that might not have understood everything he was playing† (Crow 1990: 331). As Crow shows, Dizzy had a silly side but knew when to buckle down and be serious. The combination of Bird, Dizzy and Monk, meant endless hours soloing at Minton’s and Monroe’s. They explored their individual sides of soloing and created unison soloing between trumpet and saxophone when improvising. The only problem was, even when Dizzy was serious, his style of music was not adored by everyone. The very fast tempos and blur through notes made it hard to dance to like in the swing period, which made it hard to be popular. It was this lack of an audience that started the transition over to the cool era. The reason it’s probably called cool jazz is because it brought the energy down a level compared to bop. â€Å"In a macro sense, it describes a jazz musician whose performance style is restrained subdued, or understated when compared with â€Å"hot† taken in bebop† (Meadows 2003: 262). Some people consider cool jazz a reaction to bop, yet

Bioethics Roman Catholicism vs Buddhism Free Essays

string(44) " but the use of them to prevent conception\." Roman Catholicism and Buddhism are two very different religions. They vary greatly on many aspects of contemporary life issues, such as the environment, personal health and violence. The following essay will contain similarities and differences between Roman Catholicism and Buddhism, focusing on the contemporary issue of Bioethics. We will write a custom essay sample on Bioethics: Roman Catholicism vs Buddhism or any similar topic only for you Order Now The ideas debated will include views on abortion, in vitro fertilization, organ transplantation, euthanasia, contraception and cloning. The Collins Australian Dictionary definition of Bioethics is the study of ethical problems arising from biological research and its applications. Roman Catholicism and Buddhism both have similar views about Abortion. The definition of Abortion reads as an operation or other procedure to terminate pregnancy before the foetus is viable. The Roman Catholic view about abortion is that it is gravely evil at all times. James 2:26 states that the body without the spirit is dead. Since from the moment of conception the human body starts to develop, it is considered to be alive and to then have spirit. This view also ties in with the fifth commandment, Thou Shalt Not Kill. In Buddhism, there is no actual rule on Abortion, but many view it as wrong. Buddhists believe that life should not be destroyed, and believe that causing death is wrong if the death is caused purposely or through carelessness. Traditional Buddhists disapprove of abortion due to the fact that it is deliberately destroying a life. Buddhists also believe that life starts at conception. Some less traditional Buddhists believe that abortion should be permissible if the child is to be severely handicapped as to cause suffering when they are born. The Dalai Lama stated in 1993 stated that abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative, generally speaking. But it depends on the circumstances. He then went on to mention the child being born handicapped or the birth putting the parents into serious problems, that the pregnancy should be stopped. The first of the eight precepts of Buddhism states that the Buddhist will abstain from being harmful to living beings. Hence, to have an abortion is breaking the 8 Precepts of Buddhism, just as it is violating the Ten Commandments in Christianity. Euthanasia is the act of killing someone painlessly, especially to relieve suffering from an incurable illness. Roman Catholics and Buddhists generally have the same view on the way euthanasia is approached in everyday life. Roman Catholics mostly believe that euthanasia is wrong. They mostly base their arguments around the teachings that life is given by God, and that the natural process of death should not be interfered with. Roman Catholics are taught to believe that all life is sacred and that life should be valued no matter to which level of pleasure and well-being the person living such a life is receiving. This means that no person should be purposefully killed, even if they wish to be euthanized. This conclusion can be supported once again with the fifth commandment, Thou Shalt Not Kill. In Buddhist tradition, there is no final answer as to whether euthanasia is morally correct or not, however most Buddhists are against involuntary euthanasia. Their views on voluntary euthanasia are less clear. Most Buddhists are against voluntary euthanasia, as it depicts that the person who is suffering is not at a peaceful state of mind and has let their physical suffering affect their mental state. A problem regarding Buddhism and euthanasia is the factor of reincarnation. In their current form, Buddhists are unaware of what their next life will bring. This means that if Buddhists were to permit euthanasia, it would be practically wrong because it would be shortening ones suffering in this life to be born into a life that could possibly be even worse. Another reason why euthanasia is an issue is because the way that a Buddhist ends one life greatly affects the way they are to start the next. Buddhists are meant to reach a state where their thoughts are free of anger hatred or fear, and should be selfless and enlightened. Voluntary euthanasia is only permitted for those who have reached such a state, and should be avoided by anybody who has not yet reached a sense of enlightenment. The practice of euthanasia is also breaking the first of the 8 precepts of Buddhism, which is abstaining from being harmful to living beings. Consequently, euthanasia is a similarity between Roman Catholicism and Buddhism, because, though at varying degrees of severity, both religions generally disagree with euthanizing a human being. Contraception is another bioethical field in which Roman Catholicism and Buddhism share common grounds. Contraception refers to the intentional prevention of conception by artificial or natural methods. Roman Catholics and Buddhists both accept and reject the use of certain types of contraceptives and the ways that they prevent conception. In the Roman Catholic Church, all uses of contraception other than family planning are looked upon sourly. (Note that the Roman Catholic Church teaches its followers that sexual intercourse should only be present between man and woman who are married to each other to begin with, and so the following views on contraceptives should be viewed in the position of man and wife. The Roman Catholic Church believes that intercourse is an act that was created for couples to procreate, and so any method which prevents such chances is considered to be immoral. If couples wish to engage in intercourse and not conceive a child, they are to do so naturally, in the period that a woman is infertile, that is, the time when a woman isn’t ovulating. As said in Genesis 1:28, man was specially made by God to be fruitful and multiply. This basically says that man was engineered by God to procreate; hence forth contraceptives are directly doing the opposite of what man was created to do. Though, the Roman Catholic Church does not directly condemn contraceptives in themselves, but the use of them to prevent conception. You read "Bioethics: Roman Catholicism vs Buddhism" in category "Essay examples" For example, if a woman who is not in a sexual relationship is to use the pill to regulate her cycle it is not wrong in one bit. Buddhism permits the use of contraceptives if that particular method prevents contraception, however it is not acceptable is that certain type of contraception works by stopping the development of a fertilized egg. Buddhists believe that life begins, or a form of consciousness is created as soon as an egg is fertilized. As the Buddhist religion believes that no living being should be harmed, many types of contraceptives are unacceptable, such as the IUD. However, using contraceptives is not against the religion. Although the Buddhist teachings do not condemn intercourse with no desire for conception, the Third Precept teaches that Buddhists will abstain from all sexual practices that are inconvenient. This says that Buddhists seeking enlightenment should not use contraceptives for one’s sexual pleasure. Unlike Roman Catholicism, the Buddhist religion does not regard having children as a religious duty, but the two religions meet in their views on how certain types of contraceptives are acceptable and others are not, with the Roman Catholic views being more strict rather than the more lenient Buddhist views. Though Roman Catholicism and Buddhism can have very similar views on different aspects of Bioethics, the two religions also have very differing viewpoints on other aspects on the issue. One area of Bioethics in which Roman Catholicism and Buddhism do not meet on is the idea of Organ Donation. Organ donation is the act of giving up one’s organs to help others in need of such organs to live. Roman Catholicism encourages organ donation, and it is seen as an act of charity, fraternal love and self-sacrifice. Roman Catholics believe that it is a Christian duty to help others, and so organ donation is praised as it is giving other a chance of life that they may have otherwise not of been given. Pope John Paul 11 spoke of organ donation and stated that there is an everyday heroism, made up of gestures of sharing†¦ A particularly praiseworthy example of such gestures is the donation of organs†¦ offering a chance of health and even of life itself to the sick that sometimes have no other hope. The Current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, is a registered organ and tissue donor. The Buddhist faith teaches that organ donation is neither right nor wrong, and it is more of a personal decision rather than a Church teaching whether to donate organs or not. In some instances, organ donation is seen as an act of charity. Many Buddhists, Tibetan Buddhists in particular, have concerns about organ donation due to their beliefs of when consciousness leaves the body. Because donation from a deceased body has to occur immediately after the person dies. Tibetan Buddhists worry that the human body will be tampered with before the consciousness leaves the body. This is a worry to them because they believe that if the body is touched before consciousness leaves, it could potentially cause harm to the deceased’s future lives. As it can be seen from the above two examples, the Roman Catholic and Buddhists religions have differing views on organ donation, as Roman Catholicism is all for the issue and certain fields of Buddhism have a few more concerns about the matter. Cloning is an area of bioethics in which Roman Catholicism and Buddhist views differ greatly. A clone is a segment of DNA that has been isolated and replicated by laboratory manipulation. Cloning has achieved great scientific feat in previous years, with the successful cloning of dolly the sheep in 1996. There are no teachings in Roman Catholicism that directly state negative views on cloning as it has only been a matter in the past few decades, but there are principles in scripture that reveal opinions on such matters. In an excerpt from Genesis 1:26-27, it is revealed that God said, ‘and now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us’†¦ So God created human beings, making them to be like himself† It is taught that all human beings are created in the image of God and are therefore unique, hence cloning contradicts this theory as it is indeed, creating an exact duplicate of another human being. Also, Roman Catholicism teaches their followers that life is sacred and it should not be treated as an inanimate and worthless object, due to the fact that cloning causes scientists to experiment with human cells and embryos as if they have to spiritual value. Pope John Paul II stated in a speech to Vatican-based diplomats that one’s right to life is the most fundamental of human rights. Abortion, euthanasia, [and] human cloning . . . risk reducing the human person to a mere object. Buddhist belief with the matter is significantly on the other end of the scale. Buddhists do not have such a concept of individuality between each other, so Buddhist scholars don’t necessarily feel that there is any relevance in the way a child is born, rather than Roman Catholicism. The religion of Buddhism teaches that the earth is a place of suffering in which sickness, old age and death are unavoidable. Buddhism also teaches that to be healed from such a place is to reach a state of enlightenment. Some Buddhists believe that reproductive cloning can even help people reach such a state due to the fact that one can possible select certain attributes, such as selectively breeding people with advanced moral qualities. Professor Yong Moon from Seoul National University stated that Cloning is a different way of thinking about the recycling of life. It’s a Buddhist way of thinking. As the above examples show, Roman Catholicism and Buddhism have greatly differing views on the concept of cloning. Since it was first used in 1978, In Vitro Fertilization, or IVF, has caused significant amounts of controversy between many of the world’s religions and cultures. IVF is a technique enabling some women who are unable to conceive to bear children, in which egg cells removed from a woman’s ovary are fertilized by sperm in vitro. Some of these eggs are then incubated until the blastocyst stage, which are then implanted into the woman’s uterus. The Roman Catholic church condemns IVF births as children are meant to be conceived though natural means, that is, sexual intercourse between man and wife. It is also due to the fact that children are meant to be created through man, woman and God, rather than man, woman and doctor. Another reason why Roman Catholicism disagrees with IVF is because of the way that the sperm from the male is produced – masturbation. Such acts are looked on dishonourably by the Roman Catholic faith. An excerpt from CCC2352 states that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action. The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose. Roman Catholics also believe that a life is created the moment a child is conceived, and that every blastocyst deserves the right to life. IVF contradicts this as for most IVF procedures, the woman will produce many eggs, and only a select few will be implanted into her uterus, leaving many to be either washed down a sink or kept for medical research. The Roman Catholic Church does not agree with stem cell research on embryos for the reason that these embryos will inevitably die. There is little information on Buddhist belief and IVF, but it is known that Buddhism presents greatly opposing beliefs on IVF. They believe that every human has been closely connected with another and one time or another, due to the belief of previous lives. Also, Buddhists believe that any person involved in the creation of a child has a karmic connection. A karmic connection is a sense that one feels instantly comfortable and familiar with another, as in the relationship between mother and child. In a â€Å"regular† pregnancy, this connection is felt between the mother, father and child. However, in a pregnancy which was a result of IVF, the connection is evident between the mother, father, child and doctor, as they all played a role in the creation of the life. To sum up, Roman Catholicism and Buddhism have greatly differing views on whether or not IVF should or should not be used when trying to conceive a child. In conclusion, Roman Catholicism and Buddhism share common grounds on many Bioethical issues, yet their views and beliefs can also differ greatly. Buddhism tends to accept bioethical issues that do not affect the life and death process of the human person, such as contraception, cloning and IVF. The Roman Catholic Church disagrees with forms of Bioethics that prevent, end or create life in an unnatural manner, such as euthanasia, abortion and cloning. The Roman Catholic Church has more set in rules and restrictions, rather than Buddhism in which many bioethical issues are left to the individual person to decide whether they are right choice to make or not. References http://www.jfinternational.com/psy/karmic-connections.html http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2352.htm http://www.gotquestions.org/birth-control.html http://www.gotquestions.org/cloning-Christian.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/buddhistethics/organdonation.shtml http://www.bioethics.org.au/Resources/Resource%20Topics/Cloning.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/buddhistethics/contraception.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/contraception_1.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/buddhistethics/euthanasiasuicide.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/euthanasia_1.shtml How to cite Bioethics: Roman Catholicism vs Buddhism, Essay examples

Nature- to Build a Fire free essay sample

These two authors apply a unique perspective of how nature can apply to everyday life. The aspects of interacting with nature and human emotions analyzed and examined in the works of Jack London and Henry David Thoreau. Nature can be a dreaded enemy and can drain life out of humans and animals that are not aware and cautious. In the short story â€Å"To Build a Fire† by Jack London, nature sets and controls the tone throughout and interacts with the man and his dog. In the story, a man and his dog are traveling through the Yukon, in Alaska, to meet the man’s friends in a cabin miles away. They encounter an enormous amount of adversity and pain while trying to reach his friends. The Yukon is one of the coldest places on Earth and the man and his dog have to travel for hours in the bitter cold. They discover the power and ruthlessness of nature head on in their journey. The man had an estimation of how cold it really is while he and his dog were walking, the temperature is, â€Å"Fifty degrees below zero meant eighty-odd degrees of frost. Such fact impressed him as being cold and uncomfortable, that was all. It did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature, and upon mans frailty in general, able to live within certain narrow limits of cold† (London). This quote shows that the man believes that he is stronger and more powerful than the cold. Nature interacts with the man and slowly causes him to loose his human sense. The man becomes mentally and physically weak and eventually dies from frostbite and vulnerability to nature. Nature’s interaction with the man and his dog clearly set the scene for the whole story. On the other hand, nature can be a person’s best friend and fantasy. In the book Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau becomes one with nature and lives on the shores of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. He moves to the woods and lives by himself and observes nature first hand. Thoreau states exactly why he goes to the woods, â€Å"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach† (Thoreau 406). Thoreau believes that nature is an essential part of his life. Thoreau moves to the shores of Walden Pond because he believes that he needs to simplify his life, believing that the best way to live was uncommitted, free, and as long as possible. Rather than nature being a threatening part of life, as in â€Å"To Build a Fire†, Walden describes nature as calm and inviting. Thoreau values the opportunity to control what he does and when he does it. He knows that he is free in nature and enjoys the fact that he can go fishing on the river and exploring in the woods, whenever he desires. Thoreau interacts and connects with nature in a calm and productive way. The way that nature interacts with Thoreau creates a distinct tone for the whole story. Jack London bases his short story on the fact that nature is always pushing man to his limits. James R. Giles, in his Introduction to American Realism, states London inspired a fiction that can best be described as the naturalistic and imperialistic epic that has been a mainstay of twentieth-century American popular literature and culture† (Giles). This shows that London encompasses all of the assets to be known as a naturalist writer. London creates a way to make readers feel scared, cold, and lost in Jill Widdicombe’s overview of â€Å"To Build a Fire†. Widdicombe describes how London incorporates the story of a Yup’ik (a people group indigenous to Alaska) family traveling throughout Alaska in a car, when they become jammed in a snow bank and have nowhere to go being far from any major roads. While in temperatures below negative sixty degrees fahrenheit, the family tries to build a bonfire to keep warm, but their attempt at the fire fails. When the attempt at building the fire fails the family has nothing else to save them and eventually all die because of the horrendous cold and hypothermia. In addition to the aspect of nature, the aspect of the family being alone in nature also applies to the transcendental approach London is using. In â€Å"To Build a Fire†, London’s uses his love and knowledge of nature to provide a naturalist approach. London describes how a man has to survive in terribly cold temperatures, â€Å"When it is seventy five below zero, a man must not fail in his first attempt to build a fire – that is, if his feet are wet† (London), showing that nature is extremely powerful and man has no time for istakes when nature is at full force. London’s naturalist writing style helps bring out the real human characteristics in all of his characters. The naturalist approach to incorporate the outdoors and the ideals of nature, add tremendously to the short story â€Å"To Build a Fire†. In contrast, Henry David Thoreau shows the aspects of transcendentalism throughout his book Walden. According to Perry D. Westbrook, an Amer ican Social philosopher, â€Å"Walden is a major literary expression of New England transcendentalism. It records its authors experiences and thoughts while living for two years and two months in a hut that he had built on the wooded shores of Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts† (Westbrook). Thoreau values the simplicity and pureness of nature rather than the complex hustle of normal society. The transcendental value of being alone in nature is reflected by Thoreau when he says, â€Å"But I would say to my fellows, once for all, as long as possible live free and uncommitted. It makes little difference whether you are committed to a farm or the county jail† (Thoreau 405). Thoreau wants his readers to live free and to the full potential and he believes that can only be done alone and in nature. According to Overview: Walden†, Thoreau â€Å"urges his readers to simplify their lives† (Overview: Walden. ), and to live as one in nature. Thoreau perfectly imitates the fundamental aspects of transcendental writing in Walden. Jack London uses his imagery in â€Å"To Build a Fire† to show the emotions of his characters, painting a picture in the heads of his readers. London uses his words in a unique way to show how human emotions are in fact a reflection of nature. Throughout the story, the man struggles with the fierce cold in the Yukon territory and continuously tries to complete his goal of reaching his friends miles down the trail. The man tries for the last time to light the match to start a fire, â€Å"At last, when he could endure no more, he jerked his hands apart. The blazing matches fell sizzling into the snow† (London), showing that his emotions and body could endure no more and that nature had taken its toll on the man. Nature and its powerful ways, throughout â€Å"To Build a Fire†, cause the man to build up numerous emotions that compile and eventually lead to his death. Human emotions are a reflection and response to the brutal effects of nature. In Walden, Henry David Thoreau also expresses that human emotions are a reflection of nature. According to Kent C. Ryden an American scholar, â€Å"First, Thoreau sought to live a life grounded imaginatively, ethically, and sensuously in the textures of the natural world. Second, over the course of his career he became more and more interested in natural life itself, in understanding how nature worked† (Ryden). Throughout most of Walden, Thoreau’s mood is directly related with the weather in Walden Pond. During the winter season, Thoreau’s mood is calm and silent due to the gray skies and quiet woods; he has few visitors and is left alone to think during the winter months. Nature plays a pivotal role in expressing human emotions in â€Å"To Build a Fire† and Walden. Nature is a defining force in the lives of every single person living on this magnificent planet. The weather controls what people do and when they can do what they desire, no person in their right mind will go on a jog in the middle of a tsunami. Jack London brings out the brutal force of nature in his short story â€Å"To Build a Fire†. On the other hand, Henry David Thoreau brings out the calm and in depth part of nature in his book Walden. Even though the way nature acts is completely different in these two stories, many comparisons can be made. The aspects of involving nature and becoming one with nature show transcendentalist and naturalist values in the respective stories. Also, the reflection between human emotions and nature are demonstrated throughout â€Å"To Build a Fire† and Walden. Jack London and Henry David Thoreau show exemplary skill to be able to apply such detailed aspects of nature in each of their stories. Word Count: 1621 Works Cited Giles, James R. Introduction. The Naturalistic Inner-City Novel in America: Encounters with the Fat Man. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995. 1-14. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 182. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Literature Resource Center. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. London, Jack. To Build a Fire. N. p. : n. p. , n. d. JackLondons. net. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. Ryden, Kent C. Thoreaus landscape within: how he came to know nature, and through it came to know himself. American Scholar 74. 1 (2005): 132+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. Thoreau, Henry D. Walden. Prentice Hall Literature. Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: The American Experience. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. 400-11. Print. Westbrook, Perry D. Walden: Overview. Reference Guide to American Literature. Ed. Jim Kamp. 3rd ed. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. Widdicombe, Jill. An overview of To Build a Fire,. Gale Online Encyclopedia. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. Overview: Walden. Nonfiction Classics for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Nonfiction Works. Ed. David M. Galens, Jennifer Smi th, and Elizabeth Thomason. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Feb. 2013.