Rough Draft (Not Finished)

Ignore these beads of sweat, and remain restless yet. Conscience will act as nothing but a hindrance to increasing and ever-lasting endurance - that of which will cease to cease, if, mutual are our wants and needs. Nervous? Yes. But notice, not, that minute factor. Contemplate the feelings after...after lights are silenced and noises are dimmed.

Revision of Tartuffe thesis.

Seventeenth century France was comprised of a social hierarchy that was based on three estates: the clergy and the priests, who were supposed to be the most intelligent and superior group; the nobles, who were at a lower status but still had power; and the peasants, who were treated unequally and unfairly by the other two. The involvement of priests in the utmost estate shows that religion, alongside power itself, was of considerably large value. Tartuffe challenges this hierarchy by presenting characters who act in ways the audience does not expect from their respective classes.

How did the social hierarchy in seventeenth century France inform the plot of Tartuffe?

A social hierarchy is a system in which various classes are placed at different levels in order to distinguish their “worth,” so to speak, in order from the highest rank to the lowest. Seventeenth century France was comprised of a social hierarchy in which there were three estates: the clergy and the priests, the nobles, and the peasants. Notwithstanding the saying, “Power corrupts,” power was valued greatly in society throughout all of history, and still is to this day. The fact that the priests were included in the upmost estate in France shows that religion, alongside power itself, was a considerably large value. Molière, a French satirist, wrote Tartuffe with the intention of spreading a controversial view on the sociological issues in France during the seventeenth century. Tartuffe, despite being a fictional story, exposes the unsaid truth about people of a higher status. The clergy and priests were supposedly intelligent people with nothing but good intentions. Orgon, a member of the clergy, provides proof that not all powerful people are alert or perceptive. Tartuffe, a religious hypocrite and the center of the comedic aspects in the play, puts on an act of holiness and purity, when in reality, his intentions are only to kick Orgon out of power and overtake his house. Focusing more on the lower classes, Dorine, a mere servant in the household, is knowledgeable of everything that goes on around her, which was believed to be unrealistic in French society during the seventeenth century.

The History of Guinea

Between the 10th and 15th centuries, today’s area of Guinea, at various times, when the region was associated with European commerce, was included in a number of large West African political groupings such as the Ghana, Mali and Songhai empires. During the mid-fifteenth century, Portuguese traders invaded Guinea. Later on, European countries, such as England, France and Poland, came to Guinea to trade gold, ivory and slaves. It wasn’t until the mid-nineteenth century that Guinea became colonized. Its colonial period began with the intrusion of the French military. Domination by the French was undeniable after being defeated by the armies of Almamy Samory Touré, a Malinke descendent, in 1898. This defeat gave France complete control over what is now Guinea and the surrounding areas.

On October 2nd, 1958, Guinea declared itself as an independent republic, ruled by Sékou Touré. Under Touré, Guinea became a one-party dictatorship, resulting in a socialized and closed economic status. Along with the newly instilled economy, Guinea suffered from a lack of tolerance for human rights, free expression and political opposition. Until his death on April 3rd, 1984, Sékou Touré remained in power, along side of the PDG (Democratic Party of Guinea). After Touré’s death, Colonel Lasana Conté made himself president. In September of 2000, the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) rebel army instituted extensive attacks into Guinea from Sierra Leone and Liberia. In November of 2001, the general public, nationwide, voted that the constitution should allow the president to run for an unlimited amount of terms, and that the years during a term should be extended from five to seven. Finally, in 2007, Conté stepped down because a protest against him turned into a violent strike.

Being about the size of Oregon, Guinea is a relatively small country. Its area is 245,860 square kilometers (95,000 square miles). It only consists of about fifteen cities, including the capital, Conakry. In general, the terrain is pretty flat, but getting closer to the interior, it becomes more mountainous. In respect to the generalization of the terrain, the specifics are hardly a comparison. Guinea only has four geographic regions: the narrow coastal belt; pastoral highlands, the source of West Africa’s major rivers; the northern savanna; and the southeastern rain forest. Throughout the entire country, there is one primary climate – tropical.

Today’s Guinea is a constitutional republic; there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial, just as it is in the United States. The branches, however, are composed differently than those of the United States. The executive branch is compiled of an elected president (chief of state), a prime minister (head of government), and a cabinet of civilian ministers. The legislative branch is simply an elected National Assembly, fitting 114 seats. Lastly, the judicial branch is merely a supreme court. In opposition to the government, the population in Guinea, today, is 8,444,559 people. The official language spoken by the majority of the population is French.

With respect to the economy, Guinea doesn’t have many natural resources, other than bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, water power, uranium and fisheries. The good thing about the natural resources that they do have is that they are, for the most part, high in value, and bauxite, diamonds and gold are popular in the exports of Guinea. Major markets include the European Union, the United States, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, etc. Guinea is located on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Atlantic Ocean, and Guinea Bissau. Its trade with such diverse societies shows that Guinea is of good use to the world. When referring to currency in Guinea, the value of approximately 4833 Guinean francs are of the same value as one U.S. dollar.

Some points of interest in Guinea, when putting thought into the conversion of U.S. dollars to Guinean francs, should be taken into consideration. The capital, Conakry, for instance, is a beautiful city with cocoanut palm trees throughout it. It’s located on the island of Tumbo. Some others to think about would be the Cathedral, located in the town centre; the National Museum; the Kakimbon Caves in Ratoma, a suburb of Conakry; the Kinkon Falls in Pita, between Dalaba and Labé; and many more historical and beautiful landmarks. Aside from the incredible monuments throughout Guinea, there is great music and good food. Though Guinea is not known for their food, it is part of their culture and it is good, nonetheless. For the most part, Guinean food consists of rice and sauce. The main sauces used are leaf sauce (sweet potato or manioc leaves), peanut sauce, and soup sauce. Fish is also a primary part of the Guinean diet.

Even though there isn’t much of a variety when referring to the food, the music is not only fun to listen to, but it is also highly entertaining to watch as it is being performed. In Guinea, music is typically performed by members of a family. Families that are heavily involved in music in Guinea are known as jelis. They are expected to study the history of music and learn to play multiple instruments. Some traditional instruments used in the past, and still used today, are drums: kora, bala, and koni. The most well-known music of Guinea is from the culture of Maninka.

Lastly, Guinea isn’t the most popular or overrated country in the world, but it has its positive qualities. Guinea supposedly has the most reliable business for foreign investors, traders and companies in West Africa. Guinea is also one of the wettest countries in West Africa. This is seen as a better life style and it provides more food for society. The natural earthiness of Guinea is its best known trait.

The Age of Uncertainty

In nineteenth century Europe, uncertainty spread like wild fire, causing distress and confusion among all of the social classes, hence the name, the "Age of Uncertainty." The Age of Uncertainty began with the formation of alliances throughout Europe. An alliance, by definition, is a partership created with the intent of achieving a common goal. Some common goals that Europe yearned to achieve were defense against common enemies, safety and security, and an increase in economic status, as well as an increase in trade. Achievement of common goals was most definitely a positive aspect of forming alliances. The major negative aspect of forming alliances would be the possibility of creating mass conflict amongst the various nations.

Germany, during this time, was ruled by Bismark, who was a big fan of forming alliances. Germany's allies were Italy, Russia and Austria. The decline of the Balkans, formerly the Ottoman Empire, was caysed by mass conflict on freedom of religion and property ownage. The various Slavic coubtries each insisted that they should own the most land, because of previous time periods when their country had been larger than the rest. Seeing as how every Balkan country had, at one point or another, been the largest amont the rest, there was no way to fairly distribute the land. Austria was the protectorate over Bosnia during this age, but this caused overwhelming frustration in Serbia. So, eventually, Austria annexed the land in order to prevent possible uprising conflict.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there was more vast and immediate change - new science. In the past, science was viewed in a positive manner, because it could be tested and proven or disproven. New science, on the other hand, caused confusion all throughout Europe. For instance, Charles Darwin entered the picture, publicizing new views and perspectives of which no one had heard in the past. Darwin created the theory of natural selection; animals with the ability to adapt to their environment would thrive and survive, while animals who were unable to adapt would suffer and eventually die. Such concepts were the most controversial that the world had ever seen. They led to what was known as "Social Darwinism," which essentially provided justification for expansion and colonization.

Arthur de Gobineau spread great controversial thoughts as well. De Gobineau wrote an essay, "The Essay on Inequality of Races." The title is pretty self-explanitory with respect to the content of the actual essay. De Gobineau had a theory that focused on what was known as the "Aryan race." Most believe that the aryan race never existed and was a mere conspiracy. The aryan race was supposed to be the "perfect" race. This idea was later put into action by Adolf Hitler.

Friedrich Bietzsche believed that during the Industrial Revolution and forward, the proletariat had lost all human qualities and become more machine-like than anything. The factory workers followed the same routine, every day of their lives. Their reason to work wasn't pushed by a passion for what they were doing, and Nietzsche thought that passion was greater than reason, and reason without passion wasn't reason, enough. He also believed that those who were stronger shouldn't help the weak. This belief went entirely against Christianity, because God says for people to help those less fortunate. Such contradictory beliefs obviously caused conflict, but they were also inspiration to some, such as Franz Kafka, who wrote "The Metamorphosis," a book presenting a man who, every day of his life, followed the same routine and one day woke up and found himself to be a cockroach. "The Metamorphosis" is an extremely literal translation of Nietzsche's beliefs, and didn't become popular until well after Kafka dued. The bourgeoisie (factory owners) would, clearly, not want their workers reading such a book.

Lastly, Sigmund Freud - the father of psychoanalysis. Freud spread his thoughts on the Id, the Ego and the Superego, which caused mass questioning and confusion. The Id is the unconscious, consisted of one's feelings. The Ego is the conscious, also known as our filter. And, the Superego is also unconscious, but more about society's influence on us. Such thoughts, which were eventually proven, confused many people throughout both America and Europe.

Change is good, but most people fear it. In such a short period of time, all of this immediate change struck fear, uncertainty, etc. in a mass amount of people. Every idea created controversy and went against tradition. Everyone was thoroughly anxious of what their future held for them. The anxiousness was the very opposite of the intent of the Age of Uncertainty, because this age was meant to show improvement. Many changes were positive, while others inspired future leaders in vastly negative ways.

Tartuffe - Socioliogical Relevance

Seventeenth century Europe is known, among many other titles, as the Pre-Enlightenment Era. Before the Enlightenment, Europeans followed tradition, faith and supernatural laws, whereas during the Enlightenment, people followed progress, reason and natural laws. Molière’s Tartuffe is a satire, based on religious hypocrisy. During the seventeenth century, the consensus of the general public was that God was the only explanation or cause of any occurrences, but, in opposition, the eighteenth century presented new ideas of providing proof and moving forward, rather than staying constant to the traditional ways that society had strictly followed for centuries passed. Tartuffe was first performed in 1669, at the fêtes, held at Versailles. Almost immediately after the first performance, the play was censored by the complaints of the dévots. King Louis XIV was radically influenced by the dévots, and despite his strong aversion towards suppressing the play, such influence on his every decisions eventually led to his agreement to subdue the continuation of performing Tartuffe.

The play’s main character, Tartuffe, is a religious hypocrite on which the play’s comedy is based. “Yet Heaven is not averse to compromise; there is a science, lately formulated, whereby one’s conscience may be liberated, and any wrongful act you care to mention may be redeemed by purity of intention” (Molière 126). Out of all of the characters in the play, only two have positive opinions on Tartuffe. Madame Pernelle and Orgon and both blinded by Tartuffe’s supposed strong religious values, which leads to Tartuffe taking advantage of Orgon’s hospitality. To satirize religion in the seventeenth century was offensive and caused the majority of society to look down upon Molière.

The impending changes throughout society during the Enlightenment were essentially predicted through Molière’s Tartuffe. Being the main danger of the play, mocking religion, though not entirely controversial, infuriated the non-secular portion of Europe’s population and showed that not every religious man intends to go good onto others. The ever-important message being conveyed is that not all people are alike. Therefore, one shouldn’t judge people based on past experiences. The plot, all together, is unrealistic, but efficiently presents a vital and comprehendible message.

Imperialism: What Started It?

Imperialism was the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies. Such a policy was instigated in the late 19th century, by European countries, yearning to gain more power. There were three basic motives behind imperialism: political growth, economical improvements and morality. If a nation were to overrule a foreign country, the first nation would be expanding their boundaries to all over the world and have more land and people to control. With respect to economical growth, taking over another country provided raw materials and a wider variety of places to sell goods. Last, but not least, morality was supposedly the main motivation which prompted nations to take control of others. In “The White Man’s Burden,” Rudyard Kipling states his opinion on imperialistic acts and he, clearly, thinks of imperialism as a positive movement. He presents the acts as burdens on white men, but also as great deeds needed to be done.

In opposition to Kipling’s views on imperialism, Edward D. Morel writes “The Black Man’s Burden” as a way of expressing his feelings on imperialism. In “The Black Man’s Burden,” Morel states that the acts of the white men in the past had merely harmed the body, and though harming the body is not seen as positive, it’s not nearly as harmful to the person in full as it is to break one’s spirit, which is exactly what imperialism did to the Africans.

The tremendous diversity just between two perspectives on such a huge era show that imperialism needed to be experienced before being judged. Just as with Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” in which he explains a time when he was in Burma and he was essentially put into a situation with absolutely no positive aspects and he experienced a piece of imperialism, on which he had an extremely negative opinion.

French Revolution

The French Revolution was caused by economic difficulties, despite France being one of the richest and most powerful nations in Europe at the time. Louis XVI was king at this point, and he decided that it would be best for France to divide the people into classes, known as the Estates-General. In 1789, France was an absolute monarchy. The taxation in France was unfair in every way. The peasants, whose income was substantially lower than those of higher classes, were required to pay an immense amount of more taxes than anyone above them.

Aside from the economic issues and classification, the Enlightenment ideas were a large contribution to the start of the French Revolution. These new ideas affected the various classes in different ways. Some saw it as a cover for the self-interest of the bourgeosie.

To prevent the French Revolution, France could have chosen better leaders and they could have not diminished the worth of certain people, just to create a sense of order, when it really only created conflict. In my opinion, though, preventing the French Revolution would have been a bad decision. Despite all of the misfortunes during the Revolution, the progress of the country was vast.

Enlightenment Themes

The Enlightenment themes were reason, progress and natural laws. From my perspective, John Locke's theory of tabula rasa, or blank slate, was one of the most controversial of all. Before he had let that idea out to the public, the traditional belief was that when one was born, he/she already knew right from wrong and had common sense. But once Locke publicized his thoughts, some people were upset and others were opened to the new ideas.

Other controversial ideas were the general themes of the Enlightenment Era, themselves. During the Pre-Enlightenment Era, beliefs were based on faith, supernatural laws and tradition. Obviously the change was controversial in and of itself. The philosophes brought new ideas and possibilities into the world, and it made some question their original views on life and made others, such as the church, hate the philosophes. The three main philosophes were Montesquieu, Voltaire and Diderot.

The philosophes impacted the lives of the europeans so vastly, that some of the ideas were carried on into modern-day belief systems.

The Second Industrial Revolution

The Second Industrial revolution was all about efficiency. Despite the fact that I find the old definition of efficiency during that time period, I believe that some aspects of the efficient tactics to have ben a profound improvement in the general society. The Second Industrial Revolution introduced an entirely new way of life; electricity was brought into the picture. Before electricity, people had to work harder and longer on tasks. But, with the help of the new source of energy, workers were able to get things done in a faster manner. Electricity was not only helpful, but it was cheap as well. Everyone had access to it and everyone benefited from it.

Not only did this new energy source help workers, but it was a great deal of help in everyday life at home. Electricity provided light at home and on the streets. Because of the street lights, crime rate went down a substantial amount. It also caused a decrease in air pollution, because of the lack of gases and fuels being exposed to the open air. Notwithstanding the negative outcome of the use of efficiency, the ideas that went into it were helpful in numerous ways; electricity is still used to this day.