Assignment #4

Kenneth Smith II

Can "ghosts of the past," particularly in the form of books, transform

individuals or even the world?

Certainly, every generation rediscovers the literary treasures of the past. These are the
foundation upon which new discoveries are founded. No matter what we pioneer, we are
often brought back to principal that is hidden in a forever discovered work of wisdom:

Ecclesiastes 1:9 - What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Can you think of any examples from throughout history in which books
(not including religious texts) have done just that? Give one example of
a book causing a positive transformation and one example of a negative
transformation.

I will admit now that the sighting of both these treaties as either good or evil and positive
or negative is chiefly that of my opinions, and the result of my own experiences. I know
of and am happy for those who will enthusiastically debate my choices. Such debates are
seeds from which these two works have grown.

The Rights of Man Thomas Paine (1791) [positive results]

Paine argues that Human Rights come from nature and natures creator, not from
government, and therefore not revocable.
Paine greatly influenced France during the French Revolution, England, and The
American Revolution. His ideas are still the source of debate and progress today.

Communist Manifesto Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (1848) [negative results]

While on its face, this manifesto appears to champion those who are helplessly
disenfranchised by greedy capitalist; it is actually one the first great pieces of
propaganda. I find that its impact on the world is clearly measurable by enduring
atrocities of the communist governments: Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, Lao
People's Democratic Republic, The Peoples Republic of China, North Korea and North
Vietnam. Surely democratic republics have had their share of human rights failures, but
their systems of government better allow for the progress of the human rights that the
Communist Manifest proclaims to fight for.

Have you at any point in your life been changed by the better from
something that you read?

Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell (1949)

One of many books that teach us to open our eyes and not be lazy minded. I still
remember chills from the timely relevance felt when I first read this book. Government is
necessary. When we allow ourselves to be governed we surrender a certain amount of our
power, but we should never surrender our minds.

Big brother is watching!!!!

Works Cited

Marx, Karl, and Fredrerick Engels. "Manifesto of the Communist Party." Www.anu.edu.

Www.anu.edu, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2013.

<http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html>.

Orwell, George. "1984." Ebooks.adelaide.edu. Ebooks.adelaide.edu, n.d. Web. 24 Jan.

2013. <http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/george/o79n/>.

Paine, Thomas. "The Rights of Man." Www.ushistory.org. Www.ushistory.org, n.d. Web.

24 Jan. 2013. <http://www.ushistory.org/paine/rights/>.

Solomon. "Ecclesiastes 1:9." Bible Gateway. Bible Gateway, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2013.

<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?

search=Ecclesiastes+1%3A9&version=KJV>.