What Caused the Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What Caused the Civil War - Essay Example The technological changes in the mid-19th century were extensive. To being with, agricultural, long a staple of the South, and an important livelihood in a country that had not yet rapidly urbanized, was hugely important. The steel plow and the mechanical reaper were invented in this period and allowed for farmers to spend less energy harvesting and to produce greater yields (Boyer, et al, 238). New irrigation techniques also provided more arable land. An additional technological change that had a big impact was the rise of railroads (Boyer, et al, 240). Rail coverage expanded nearly ten times over a twenty year period. Americans of all classes were able to travel freely and comfortably. Perhaps more than anything this helped to open up the West during this period. Culture was rapidly increasing during this period too, as American writers looked inward to their soul and outward to their growing country. Writers like Dickinson, Thoreau and Emerson published works that began the process of defining what it meant to be American. A definition that would be sorely tested during the Civil War. The president at the time, Abraham Lincoln was a very principled and serious lawyer who cared a lot about his country. He fought against politicians who were pro-slavery, but he was conflicted about what the solution to this terrible problem. When he became president at first he didn’t believe the solution was to free all the slaves, nor did he think this was the most important issue in the Civil War between North and South. He saw too many shades of grey. But as the war progressed, he began to see that slavery was the main issue and he would have to do something about it. Slavery was an important issue, but one thing that Lincoln didnt understand was how technology was changing things dramatically. One of the great consequences of technology was that it allowed the war to be that much more vicious and to kill many more people than expected. This

Intertextuality in Contemporary Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intertextuality in Contemporary Writing - Essay Example However, it must first be questioned whether or not sharing a general plot makes stories similar, or if it is the unique creation of that story which is valued above all others. The concept of intertextuality is not new. Intertextuality is defined as "Intertextuality is the shaping of texts' meanings by other texts. It can refer to an author's borrowing and transformation of a prior text or to a reader's referencing of one text in reading another" (Wikipedia). Another, more clear and accepted definition describes intertextuality as Texts, whether they be literary or non-literary are viewed by modern theorists as lacking in any kind of independent meaning. They are what theorists now call intertextual. The act of reading, theorists claim, plunges us into a network of textual relations. To interpret a text, to discover its meaning or meanings is to trace those relations. Reading thus becomes a process of moving between texts. Meaning becomes something that exists between a text and all other texts to which it refers to and relates, moving out from the independent text into a network of textual relations. (Hansen, Intertextuality) Even the word draws from other sources, having been changed and developed to its' current meaning. Yet intertextuality is more than just the influences that other writers and texts have upon the text in question. It affects the subject of the piece, the style of the writing, even the word choice made. It is semiotics to every detail, and intertextuality suggests that there is actually nothing new in a new text, that all ideas have been borrowed or influenced by other writers and texts. To suggest that all writing is a form of plagiarism is an interesting concept, and yet holds quite a bit of validity. Even now, in this essay, the ideas have been written before. The form has been written before. Other authors have expounded on the concept of intersexuality. If all essays were compared, chances are there would be little that was not found in at least two essays. If not even an essay can be unique, then how can a novel, or a play Yet, at the same time, how can they not be unique An excellent example of this is Carpentier's essay, "Like the Night." Clearly, the concept of looking at how a soldier feels about war is not unique in and of itself. Look at contemporary classics, such as The Things They Carried. Like "Like the Night" the story focuses on the tales of men at war, and their thoughts and feelings about what is happening around them. Yet, while they each share unique thoughts and ideas, would they not both be strengthened by reading both texts They are a part of the intertextual network that Hansen described. Another piece that deserves notice is Barth's "Dunyazadiad." This piece clearly draws on other works and ideas, as it is not a story meant to stand alone, but rather a remake of an already written story. His story not only connects to other stories on an idea basis but also embellishes and changes a story that already had meaning and idea. There are deeper concepts in this story then, since it adds yet another layer to the original story, bringing the meanings written by that author, and by Barth. Clearly, this piece cannot stand by itself, since it would lose so much. So, the answer to the question â€Å"The concept of intertextuality reminds us that each text exists in relation to others.     Ã‚