value of the times , living in purity of the moment character sthat are pure of heart  
“When a character acts selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself.” Examine pivotal moments in Brian's childhood and discuss what life lessons he experienced that put them on a path of  virtue. Finally, what conclusions do you reach about the universality of the human condition as you see it play out on Prairie?
     

           In the story "Who Has Seen the Wind"by W.O. Mitchell, the pivotal moments in Brian's childhood teaches him the cycle of life, which allows him to accept the faits of the world and people and earth around him; the faits within his life. Specific selfless characters in Brian's life allow him to recognize the main statement, rather than him preform acts that represent the main statement like in Anthem and The Pearl. Throughout the book, Brian is seeing the way the world brings and takes life. He experiences the birth and death of his dog, the birth of chickens, the death of his father, what deadly storms are capable of. By experiencing each of these predominant life events, he does not only learn the cycle of life, but he learns what the earth is truly capable of, and that this is not his world, he has no control over nature. Although all of these recognitions are beginning to happen for Brian, he is too young to understand what these major experiences have really given him. In the end, it will be these understandings that allow Brian to develop into a virtuous character. We can recognize that Brain has come to such an understanding when we read his thoughts on page 246 "People were forever born; people forever died, and never were again. Fathers died and sons were born; the prairie forever, with its wind whispering through the long, dead grasses, through the long endless silence. Winter came and spring and fall, then summer and winter again; the sun rose and set again, and everything that once was -- was again-- forever and forever. But for man, the prairie whispered--never--never. For Brian's father -- never" (Mitchell, W.O., 246).  In Who Has Seen The Wind, Brian is able to observe virtuous behaviour from other characters in the story that "act selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order".  I would like to recognize one character in particular that Brian is able to observe virtue from in his day to day life, the first character being The Young Ben. All along, The Young Ben has rebelled from the exclusive, judgmental society that he lives within. He goes where he wants, when he wants. He acts how he wants, when he wants. Although his character may seem futureless and dingy, what's important about The Young Ben is that he puts himself at risk to protect what he cares about, showing attributes of the main statement. He is a role model for Brian throughout the book and caters to Brian the importance of selflessness. We see selfless acts from Young Ben when he sacrifices himself for the prairies and the creatures on it when it is being attacked by the other young boys in Brian's group. As well as this, he is always there for his alcoholic father, although by helping his father when he is in such inebriated states puts Young Ben's safety at risk. He does not need to put up with his hazard of a father when he gets taken to jail for storing substances illegally in the basement of the church and causing an explosion. However, he visits his father and brings him food in jail, once Brian even went with him. The Young Ben has been a quiet, virtuous role model for Brian, as we can tell by the amount of attention Brian has for The Young Ben, that Brian has always looked up to him for his straying from the hypocrite society they both live in. 

          Finally, the conclusions I have reached after reading this book about the universality of the human condition as I saw  it play out on Prairie is that nothing, and nobody, lasts forever. There is a time limit to all things, and as soon as you are able to realize this, you can figure out the value of time. In true conclusion, Brian says it best, "People were forever born; people forever died, and never were again. Fathers died and sons were born; the prairie forever, with its wind whispering through the long, dead grasses, through the long endless silence. Winter came and spring and fall, then summer and winter again; the sun rose and set again, and everything that once was -- was again-- forever and forever. But for man, the prairie whispered--never--never. For Brian's father -- never" (Mitchell, W.O., 246).  

The Pearl by Jack Steinbeck

The Question at hand: On page 129 of the notes, the editor writes that "the artist probes the central mystery of life as he sees it, the paradox of how evil comes out of good, the tear at the heart of laughter, the dream doomed to disappointment in the moment of dreaming, the despair conjoined with hope, with which humanity, if it is wise, must learn to live."

In a well-developed blog post, discuss how Kino and Juana suffer through the paradox outlined above.  Based on a rereading of pages 120 - 122, what can the reader infer from the description of the couple upon their return:  have they learned to live with the paradox, and what have they learned. 

Finally, discuss the connection between The Pearl and the novel study topic:  When a character acts selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself.

Kino and Juana begin to suffer from the paradox, ‘evil comes out of good’, when they find the pearl. The pearl is described as the biggest pearl the Earth has known, a most beautiful miracle. Kino and Juana believe in the beginning that the pearl is good, it is the answer to their prayers. With the money they make from the pearl, they can take their baby to see the doctor, they can be wed in a church, they can send their son to school. The pearl looks like the material item of what they’ve always wanted. What they do not know when they first lay eyes on the pearl, is that it is soon to bring them much misfortune. When the appraiser in town will not give Kino the money valued for the pearl, Kino, Juana and their baby, Coyotito, must go on a quest to find a different appraiser, to get their money’s worth for the pearl so they can do all the good things that they’ve always wanted. It doesn’t take long for people to hear about Kino’s massive pearl, and this brings on the first wave of evil. First, Kino is beaten and searched in his sleep by men in search of the pearl. There are other men searching for the pearl also that end up burning down Kino and Juana’s house, leaving them with nowhere to live. At this point, Kino becomes desperate to protect the pearl and the material object begins to bring out a hasty, greedy, malicious side to Kino that Juana has not seen before. As the family is about to depart on their adventure to the new appraiser, yet another man tries to jump Kino for the pearl. In desperation to save the pearl,that will bring the family good and fortune, Kino acts in an evil manner and ends up killing the man. 

              Juana can see the evil the pearl is bringing to their family clearly, but Kino’s eyes are hazed with a want to protect the pearl. In desperation, Juana tries to throw the pearl away, which leads to another evil act on Kino’s part, beating his wife. In the end, the good values that Kino had to begin have been diminished and he lets his want for the pearl overtake him. The evil sweeps over Kino, and with that, he forces his family into a dangerous, risky situation. By the end of the book, Kino’s selfish, evil attitude has led to the death of his baby. I believe it is in that moment that his view on the pearl becomes clear once again, he can see it for it brings with its good, evil. At the end of the story,  I believe Kino and his wife grasp the paradox to the fullest, and learn that nothing is good enough to make one act in evil manners. 

 
            The second question was “Finally, discuss the connection between The Pearl and the novel study topic:  When a character acts selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself”. I believe the connection between the the book and the novel study topic is Kino and ‘the evil’, if you will. In the very end of the story, when Kino is able to act selflessly for his family, and forgets his wants for the pearl, true virtue exhibits itself. I believe that although the character that acts selflessly in the end is Kino, the prevailing vice of the dominant social order in this case is also Kino, and the evil that overtakes him. This makes the novel study topic in relation to the book a self versus self conflict. Kino needs to do anything for he pearl, so he can have money and afford everything he never could before (his selfish evil thoughts). As he plays on his wants for a while, and only evil comes out from them (Kino murdering a man, Coyotito dying) he knows he must put his needs aside and finally make a selfless act by throwing the pearl away. By doing so, he is behaving virtuously by putting aside his own desires and demolishing the evil his life, and everyone else involved with the pearl’s life. 

Anthem by Ayn Rand

The Question at hand: "Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own  happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life."First of all, how is this ideal realized in the story of Equality 7-2521?  Secondly, according to Rand's philosophy, humans should act selfishly in their own self-interest first and foremost.  Therefore, how does our understanding of virtue change if we alter the question as follows:  When a character acts selfishly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself?  Does this question even make sense now?  Discuss the possible conundrum with reference to the novel.  

           This ideal is realized in the story of Equality 7-2521 when Equality 7-2521 finds the tunnel, enters it even though it an act against their vice, and comes to the realization that he has a want to know more about the light box. Equality wants to expand his own knowledge, knowing that it is a strong, personal desire. At this point, the idea of thinking and acting for oneself is recognized as something needed, but absolutely forbidden. All along Equality 7-2521 has had self thoughts about what he wants, (to become a member of the house of scholars) but punishes himself for having these thoughts because the vice of the story says everyone must think alike. In short, do what you are commanded to do and if you dare believe in anything otherwise, you will be punished. When the tunnel is found by Equality 7-2521 and the overwhelming want to disobey the vice and make a self choice happens, he realizes he no longer wants what the vice wants, discovering the ideal Rand talks about. Equality 7-2521 puts his own rational self-interest and his own happiness at the highest purpose of his life, versus thinking about what the rulers want from him. Equality 7-2521 continues to realize the ideal Rand talks about when he realizes just how incompetent the World Council is. When Equality brings the electric light from the tunnel to the house of scholars, the reaction from the Council is terrified at first. “They leap to their feet, they ran from the table, pressed against the wall, huddled togehter, seeking warmth of one another’s bodies to give them courage” (Rand 78).  Then once the fear, the Council becomes enraged at Equality 7-2521’s want to improve life for everyone, but mostly for defying what they had been told, which was pretty well to never have self thoughts. When Equality 7-2521 realizes the pure stupidity of his elders, the people he has looked up to for his whole life, he then goes with the ideal and jumps out the window, acting the way he wants, and fleeing the world of banal activity behind.  

            The second question asked was,  “Secondly, according to Rand's philosophy, humans should act selfishly in their own self-interest first and foremost.  Therefore, how does our understanding of virtue change if we alter the question as follows:  When a character acts selfishly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself?  Does this question even make sense now?  Discuss the possible conundrum with reference to the novel”. I would say this question is twisted, meaning that their are multiple answers, seeing as it is more of an opinion question. However, I think that if our understanding of virtue in relationship to the question and the story of “Anthem” has been altered, it has been altered to believe that selfish acts exhibit true virtue. This is the opposite of what we usual think, that selfless acts exhibit true virtue. However, in “Anthem”, when Equality 7-2521 acts selfishly against the prevailing vice of the dominant social order and true virtue exhibits itself, I think Equality 7-2521 is also performing a selfless move by risking his life, and giving up everything, which in the end, would really be furthering the knowledge and freeing the minds of mankind. If this is true, this tells us the so called selfish acts of Equality 7-2521 are not actually selfish but are truly selfless. Extending on this though, I would then have to say that the reworded question “When a character acts selfishly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself?” does not make sense. I guess it depends on your values and your thoughts on being selfish, but I think that if you are exhibiting true virtue by acting against a prevailing vice, it is for the better good, and will help other people than just one. Hence, it would not make sense that a selfish act against a prevailing vice of a dominant social order would allow true virtue to exhibit itself. This is because in my opinions of virtuous behaviour, acting selfishly does not allow true virtue to exhibit itself. 

           I would say that yes, there is possible conundrum with this book in relation to the question  “When a character acts selfishly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself?”. In the beginning of the text, Equality 7-2521 is always thinking of the rest of their society, and how the Council wants him to act, in comparison to what he really wants for himself. He acts the way he is told for other people, which is a selfless act. He puts his own wants and desires second to what other people want. Then, when Equality 7-2521 finds the tunnel and the light source, although he is disobeying his elders, he continues his work for the good of mankind. Although jumping out the window and fleeing from society because of his own personal wants could be looked at as selfish, in the long run, Equality 7-2521 is performing a difficult selfless act by putting themselves at risk. The conundrum is that it seems as though a selfish act (in regards to the story) leads to a selfless one, creating a cycle.