Department of English                               Gymnasium Steglitz Berlin

Contact

Home

Table of Contents

Thurber accuses Man of inconsiderate acting
Two powerful appeals for peace in the world
 
   
  

Thurber accuses Man of inconsiderate acting

In the fable by James Thurber " The Human being and the dinosaur" a man and a dinosaur meet each other. The dinosaur can feel that the man represents the glory and terror of the future world. The man is very arrogant and he informs the dinosaur that his species was only an "experiment". He thinks he is something better than the dinosaur and he, the human being, will go on forever and he will make a perfect world. The man compares the dinosaur with himself. The man has brain cells, the dinosaur will die.

jg_dinosaur.jpg (11057 Byte)But the dinosaur does not want to be like the human being and he does not want die unhappy!

I like the story because I think James Thurber chose two characters who have interesting topics to talk about. On the on hand the dinosaur, who feels that the human beings will destroy the world and on the other hand the human being that is arrogant and symbolizes the future progressive civilisation. He says that the human beings are the most powerful species on the world and they will make a perfect world. The man also says the dinosaurs will die and are useless. I think the story is a bit ironic, because the man compares the dinosaur with himself. And the story shows an arrogant and inconsiderate human being, who makes no mistakes and is blinded by power. The dinosaur could symbolize nature, respectively the world, which suffers under the inconsiderate acting of the human being.

I have chosen to draw this picture like this because I think the dinosaur dies with a smile in his face (does not die unhappy) even though he will be extinct. I also think in reality the man, who is very arrogant, is much more limited in his thinking than the dinosaur. (Sep 2007)

 

Back to the top of the page                                                                       Whatīs your view?
  

Two powerful appeals for peace in the world

  

Whatever Happened To Peace On Earth - Willie Nelson

 

 

 

 

 

There's so many things going on in the world
Babies dying
Mothers crying
How much oil is one human life worth
And what ever happened to peace on earth

We believe everything that they tell us
They're gonna' kill us
So we gotta' kill them first
But I remember a commandment
Thou shall not kill
How much is that soldier's life worth
And whatever happened to peace on earth

(Bridge)
And the bewildered herd is still believing
Everything we've been told from our birth
Hell they won't lie to me
Not on my own damn TV
But how much is a liar's word worth
And whatever happened to peace on earth


So I guess it's just
Do unto others before they do it to you
Let's just kill em' all and let God sort em' out
Is this what God wants us to do

(Repeat Bridge)
And the bewildered herd is still believing
Everything we've been told from our birth
Hell they won't lie to me
Not on my own damn TV
But how much is a liar's word worth
And whatever happened to peace on earth

Now you probably won't hear this on your radio
Probably not on your local TV
But if there's a time, and if you're ever so inclined
You can always hear it from me
How much is one picker's word worth
And whatever happened to peace on earth

But don't confuse caring for weakness
You can't put that label on me
The truth is my weapon of mass protection
And I believe truth sets you free

(Bridge)
And the bewildered herd is still believing
Everything we've been told from our birth
Hell they won't lie to me
Not on my own damn TV
But how much is a liar's word worth
And whatever happened to peace on earth

 

In the song "Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth", Willie Nelson criticizes the current political climate and world conditions. It is a controversal track which reflects the pacifistic position of Nelson. The song opens with the line "How much oil is one human life worth?” and swings into the chorus: "Hell they wonīt lie to me/ Not on my own damn TV/ But how much is a liarīs word worth/ And whatever happened to peace on earth?” In these lines I see a connection to the Iraq war which began in 2003 and how Nelson criticizes the decision of the Bush administration to invade Iraq and those who thought it unpatriotic to speak out against war. “Whatever Happened...” is provocative. It insists that we consult the paradox of culture where many are really anxious for peace, in contradiction to the government which crushes those hopes, ruthlessly pursuing war.

The song “Peace on Earth” by U2 is about the conflicts between catholics and protestant people in Northern Ireland. The song lists the names of people (“Sean and Julia,Garreth,Ann and Breda”) killed in the Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland. This song continues U2īs anxiety about the violence in that region. It also shows their deep Christian faith. Their message is that war continues around the world even to the present day and God has not put an end to it. It is a bitter song about how our world is in confusion and unless we do something about it, or God, we cannot achieve peace.

Both songs criticize governments and appeal for peace in the world. (Dec 2007)

 

below: The Irish group U2

 

 

Peace on Earth - U2

Heaven on Earth
We need it now
I'm sick of all of this
Hanging around

Sick of sorrow
I'm sick of the pain
I'm sick of hearing
Again and again
That there's gonna be
Peace on Earth

Where I grew up
There weren't many trees
Where there was we'd tear them down
And use them on our enemies

They say that what you mock
Will surely overtake you
And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you

And it's already gone too far
You said that if you go in hard
You won't get hurt

Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth

Tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth

No who's or why's
No one cries like a mother cries
For peace on Earth

She never got to say goodbye
To see the color in his eyes
Now he's in the dirt
Peace on Earth

They're reading names out
Over the radio
All the folks the rest of us
Won't get to know

Sean and Julia
Gareth, Anne, and Breeda
Their lives are bigger than
Any big idea

Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth

To tell the onesw ho hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth

Jesus in the song you wrote
The words are sticking in my throat
Peace on Earth

Hear it every Christmas time
But hope and history won't rhyme
So what's it worth

This peace on Earth
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth

Back to the top of the page                                                                       Whatīs your view?