Julia's Justifications

We consider comics and graphic novels less intellectual than books without pictures because we always tie them to children’s literature, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all books with pictures are not mature or powerful.   Traditional thinking holds that truly great works of literature and art are best appreciated when viewed separately.   “Words and pictures together are considered a diversion for the masses, and a product of commercialism” (McCloud 808).   The idea that combining words and pictures is somehow “basic or simplistic” is something that I don’t really agree with at all.   I believe that comics would be more highly respected if people did not have this attitude toward combining the two art forms.   Novels aren’t the only kind of literature out there.   Short stories, poetry, and plays are all considered literature, but somehow comics are not.   Technically speaking, the definition of literature is “a written work,” so even a news...

“.. but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.”   - Henry David Thoreau   In “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau speaks of how it is every citizen’s duty to resist unfairness shown by the government, and to break the law if necessary.   My question now to you is, do you believe breaking the law is ever justified? Of course, change is not liable to ever occur is there is no resistance or revolution.   Nothing will change without support.   However, is breaking the law morally or, ethically right? In Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” King speaks of just and unjust laws, insisting that an individual has both a right and responsibility to break the law.   He defines just laws as such that should uphold human dignity, and unjust laws that “degrade human personality.” He argues that “unjust laws hurt the oppressed and the oppressors, since they are given a f...

"There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.” – Frederick Douglass Seventy-six years after the very first July 4 th had passed, Douglass gave a speech in Rochester New York at a period the country was ridden with tensions of abolitionists, and the slaveholding south.   He states, “To him, your celebration is a sham” for his people that are not free.   America was being incredibly hypocritical considering white men are busy celebrating their “freedom” while slaves are held captive in the same country that values the idea of freedom so greatly.   Douglass conveys this idea of realism while delivering his speech, as he is an African American man in front of white males.   Either if they are no longer in chains, or still are, they are not treated as citizens or human beings.   Frederick Douglass condemns the “scorching irony” of America for not being true to thei...

  Memorials are an important piece to every country and culture.   They allow people to remember and honor those who were important to us.   For example, such memorials as the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, and the Korean War Veterans’ Memorial were created for the purpose of commemorating and honoring the heroes and great leaders that lost their lives.   It is because of memorials that we can respect and remember the deceased.   War memorials, specifically, are extremely important to remember because of their abilities to look toward the future while still reflecting on the past and can be crucial to the younger generations in recognizing and realizing the sacrifices and tribulations made by those who are no longer here.    One thing we must remember is that death is a natural part of life, even though nobody wants to witness it.   It is only human to grieve and mourn for the loss of your loved one, but you must honor the...