Is There Nowhere Else Where We Can Meet Free Essays

?This short story, by Nadine Gordimer, overall, speaks on the deep-seethed racial tension that influenced the individuals in this story. In essence it is about a presumably white woman being mugged by an equally presumable black male (Gordimer is from South Africa and frequently wrote about racial tension). The tension in this story is so saturating that it even manages to conquer the language, imagery, and actions of the two people involved. We will write a custom essay sample on Is There Nowhere Else Where We Can Meet or any similar topic only for you Order Now The first paragraph reads, â€Å"It was a cool grey morning and the air was like smoke. In that reversal of the elements that sometimes takes place, the grey, soft, muffled sky moved like the sea on a silent day. † In the very first sentence it is established that there is a smoggy, perhaps suffocating quality in the air. Smoke is a hazardous, cancer causing gas that is also an agent of concealment; these attributes can also apply to the effects of apartheid. Like cancer, racial tension spread rampantly through South Africa and concealed a person’s character by his skin color. Even in the morning the â€Å"air was like smoke† as if to almost say, no matter how early you wake up racial tension is prevalent. In the very next sentence, it is stated that a reversal of elements has taken place which foreshadows a reversal of sorts in the later part of the story in which the woman becomes a victim. As she walks by the man her concentration is directed towards the scent of pine needles that were formerly held in her hand. A thudding is heard and the man appears unexpectedly panting in her face. This sequence of events inspires another theme in the story—fear. A fear of the unknown is evident early in the story, if only subtly, and evolves into an overwhelming sense of dread. As the woman first notices the red-capped figure in the distance, she inexplicably switches her â€Å"bag and parcel from one arm to the other†. This is a common defense mechanism for women fearing a mugging from a perceived source or to simply add a sense of security. Later, as she nears the figure on the path, she grabs â€Å"a little sheath of pine needles†¦and as she walked she ran them against her thumb. † An innocuous action that seems to hold her attention until the visage of the man steals it away. After passing the now weary, raggedy man, she realizes that the pine needles were no longer in her hand (she doesn’t know when this happened which would lead to the conclusion that she was transfixed on the man when the needles were dropped). The woman then decides to sniff her hand in order to remember what the needles smelled like in order to compare them to a similar scent from her childhood. The pine needles, which leave a residue on her fingers, leaves the woman with a need to wash them for, â€Å"Unless her hands were quite clean, she could not lose consciousness of them, they obtruded upon her.† By being keen on washing her hands, she would no longer be wary of the figure in which she passed and therefore relinquish her caution. This sets up the next scene as just when the woman decides to let her mind linger on her hands, the man makes his move. â€Å"†¦and then he was there in front of her, so startling, so utterly unexpected, panting right into her face. He stood dead still and she stood dead still. Every vestige of control, of sense, of thought, went out of her as a room plunges into dark at the failure of power and she found herself whimpering like an idiot or a child. Animal sounds came out of her throat. She gibbered. For a moment it was Fear itself that had her by the arms, the legs, the throat; not fear of the man, of any single menace he might present, but Fear, absolute, abstract. If the earth had opened up in fire at her feet, if a wild beast had opened its terrible mouth to receive her, she could not have been reduced to less than she was now. † It is expressly stated that she did not fear the man, so why does Fear present itself only when he bounds to her? Such terror is realized when preconceived notions of class barriers are shattered unexpectedly and what’s to come next remains a mystery. The language changes to reflect the horror that the woman experiences in this moment. She does not simply stand still but dead still, a simile is used to express the fleeting feelings of control, and animal (inhuman) sounds are produced from her throat. Fear also becomes personified by being made a proper noun and entangling her in its grip. Throughout the story the man is made to seem opposite of the woman. As the woman in the story is traveling along a path, she spots a figure (a â€Å"native†) with a red cap. Upon reaching the man, by following the path, it is expressed that his trouser leg is torn off, revealing â€Å"the peculiarly dead, powdery black of cold† (the effects of the weather on his cracked skin); his eyes are also red and he smells of sweat. When the confrontation occurs, his depiction of something different from her becomes more pronounced. His foot is stated to be â€Å"†¦cracked from exposure until it looked like broken wood†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , his face is sullen, voice is deep and hoarse, and he has a pink injury on his skin. Such a distinct contrast with the woman is made to emphasize the cause of the tension. After the woman escapes, she desperately runs from the scene in order to get back on the road. The language that follows gives a sense of one escaping a foreign world, â€Å"And she was out. She was on the road†¦. She could hear a faint hum, as of life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her once encompassing fear has now eased slightly and the cause seems to be her flight from the velds and brush. The setting of where the â€Å"native† resided and where the woman wants to go are also contrasts that make-up the difference between the two and only add to the foreignness of the encounter. The last two paragraphs of the story are most interesting in that after the tussle, the woman decides, after some deliberation, that she would not tell anyone of what just happened. â€Å"Why did I fight, she thought suddenly. What did I fight for? Why didn’t I give him the money and let him go? † Perhaps she felt pity for the man? He was obviously poor and tired with severe exposure to the elements â€Å"His red eyes, and the smell and those cracks in his feet, fissures, erosion.† Perhaps her story would appear shady to the people she told, â€Å"She thought of the woman coming to the door, of the explanations, of the woman’s face, and the police. † It is evident from her previous behavior that a mugging was in the realm of possibility, and from the man’s appearance it was also evident that such an action was not beneath him. The woman doesn’t tell anyone of her encounter because of the social difference between the two. At the end of the day, the woman can most likely replenish her lost items but, from the description of the man, his survival could have been at stake if he didn’t acquire assets or funds. The is described walking down the road, â€Å"like an invalid†, because she was robbed and such an occurrence leaves a hollow feeling but she realizes that she must move on, signified by her picking the â€Å"blackjacks from her stockings. † â€Å"Is There Nowhere Else Where We Can Meet? † is a unique title, firstly in its use of ‘nowhere’ instead of ‘anywhere’ and secondly, that the meeting between the two characters in the story is an undesirable one because of the racial tension in South Africa. Had these two people met in a different country things might have been different. How to cite Is There Nowhere Else Where We Can Meet, Papers

Art History modernism paper Essay Example For Students

Art History modernism paper Essay Garbage! Absolute Garbage! That would have been my response and opinion of John Balderdashs work if the field trip to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolly was held in the first week or second week of this Art History course. Admittedly, I had to make a concerted effort not to raise that shield of indifference that I normally bring up when exposed to modern or contemporary art. Prior to the museum visit I did not do much research on Balladeers other than lightly glancing through his Wisped page on the Internet. My first assumption was that he was robbery some kooky old fart that was way out there if he was making contemporary art at eighty-one years old. Considering myself a neophyte in the world or art, I did not recognize many of Balderdashs pieces to be interesting or even eye catching save for a few of his more recent works. The ones that did catch my eye in particular was the Foot and Stocking line of screen prints as they were the the easiest to interpret and allowed me to ever so slightly gain a better understanding of some of his earlier works. The Foot and Stocking line of photos consists of six different works depicting a lack-sock covered foot set up against a background with a combination of three different colors. In each one the big toe sticks out off hole in the sock. All six of these works Juxtapose the black sock and big toe with the trip-colored background. Another observation on the art work is that the pattern of the background is the same for all photos where there is one color filling the upper two-thirds and another filling the bottom third with a white border between on the right side of the foot between the two colors. One noted difference is that the color combination is reversed between three groups of photos. For example, one would have purple occupying the upper portion and orange the bottom portion and the art work next to it would use the same colors but in reversed position. The other two groups used different colors but followed the flipped pattern. In all the aforementioned works Balladeers forces the onlooker to look at the big toe. It is one part of the body that is rarely seen but the large size of the photos makes it very difficult to focus on anything else but the big toe. The flesh color starkly contrasts with the black sock so it draws your attention. The next thing I noticed was the black sock as it occupies a rage amount of canvas space so it is difficult not to notice it. Another pattern that I noticed was the use of warm/warm-cool complimentary two-color combinations between the differing patterns (Bear). Blue-Violet with yellow-orange, yellow-green with red-violet, and blue-green with red-orange (Settling and Gilbert, Living with Art 89). The colors had the effect of putting me at ease combined with the non- threatening mystery cast by the black color of the sock. One could almost say that Balladeers injected a little humor into these six artworks even though he dispels that notion (Hanley). Overall, I think Balladeers made good use of the colors and does a pretty good Job of catching a viewers attention with the big toe. It seems that Balladeers decided to do the complete opposite of what he did in his previous works. A lot of his works older works consisted of him removing and replacing the heads of various photographs and replacing them with primary-color circles. The main reasoning behind that was to force the viewer to focus on other parts of the picture besides the tact as stated in Saran Kirk Handles coverage o t Balderdashs work in the Art:21 blob. Whether he was bored or Just wanted to do things differently he finitely achieved the opposite look with the Foot and Stocking. Instead of focusing on the rest of the picture I ended up staring at that big toe which was the complete opposite of the other works like Hedges Cellar line of pictures. .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab , .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab .postImageUrl , .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab , .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab:hover , .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab:visited , .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab:active { border:0!important; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab:active , .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u88423ec97014e774aec9f58fc89881ab:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: An Outline Of American History EssayIn those my attention was drawn to everywhere else outside of the two primary-color circles. All of them had something going on in the background which was a direct contrast in Foot and Stocking where there was nothing in the background except for solid colors so there was not that much else to stare at besides the big toes and black sock. I liked Foot and Stocking and very much enjoyed it. The black socks and big toes definitely drew my attention but the warm complimenting colors also made the work feel inviting to look at even with the distractions. The first memories that popped into my mind was of my first deployment to Kuwait in 2001 where my unit (F-18 squadron) was sent to help enforce the Southern No-Fly Zone in Iraq. I was there during the summer months and remembered wearing thin-layer cotton socks due to the insanely hot temperature (OFF+) on the flight line. I was one of the Junior Marines in the shop so I ended up running around with my head cut off doing a lot of the manual labor. I also had this habit of not clipping my big toe nails, consequently, I went through many socks where my big toe would wear a hole. Several times during that deployment I remembered sitting in my bunk and staring at my big toe poking out of my sock and it looked exactly the same as the pictures, with the exception that my big toe nails were a little bit longer. I was also rewarded for my hard work in that deployment. My supervisor assigned me to the last group of our unit to leave Kuwait. As luck would have it that transport plane experienced some engine trouble and had to divert to Thailand for three days. Needless to say, what goes on in Thailand stays in Thailand These pieces did not move me emotionally in any major way but I did experience some very fond memories which certainly helped when looking at the other pieces of art by Balladeers. When I sat down with my advisor and started picking out classes a year ago I told her that I did not want to take any art classes whatsoever to fulfill my general education requirement. Being a Computer Science major I felt that it would be a waste of time to take any art class. Prior to this course I had either a hostile or indifferent attitude towards modern/contemporary art pending on my mood.

Tomb Effigy Of Jaquelin DeFerriere Essays - Architectural Styles

Tomb Effigy of Jaquelin deFerriere The Tomb Effigy of Jaquelin deFerriere (Limestone, North French, late 13th century) is unusual in style for the time and place in which it was created. In the 13th century, Gothic art in France consisted of more three dimensional sculpture and more of a variety in the poses of the figures than in the Romanesque period which preceded it. The Tomb Effigy of Jaquelin deFerriere falls into the transition period between the Romanesque (11th- 12th century) and Gothic time-frames (12th- 15th century), which may contribute to its flat, simple, linear appearance. Its appearance is not exactly Romanesque or Gothic, though it contains features from each period. The Tomb Effigy has the Romanesque features of being flat and rectangular with much empty space. The stiff pose of the figure is also Romanesque in style. The Tomb Effigy also has some Gothic features, such as the strong outline, which makes up each section of the image. This feature is reminiscent of French stained glass from around the same time period. The large, plain rectangular shape of the Tomb Effigy is like the boxy and geometric appearance of architecture from the Romanesque period. Buildings from the Romanesque period were generally plainer than in the Gothic period, with little decoration. They seemed to be sectioned in large rectangular shapes and had a boxy appearance. Saint Etienne, a church built in the Romanesque period in France, shows this geometric rectangular style (fig.2). The style is flat and does not feature many sculptural adornments, if any at all. As in the Tomb Effigy, the blank rectangle is interrupted only by the figure carving of Jaquelin deFerriere. This plain adornment carved into a large rectangle of Limestone is like the style displayed in the facades of Romanesque

Dumping essays

Dumping essays The World Trade Organization Agreement on dumping defines it broadly as a company exporting a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its home market for a like product. When goods are imported at a price below the domestic producers price, cries of unfair competition and dumping are often heard. Pressure is exerted among the countries government to do something to protect their market against the imported products. The government may impose duties to the imported product under three WTO agreements. The Anti-dumping Agreement and The Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures take action against those importers who are importing at unfair import prices. The third agreement, The Safeguard Agreement, takes action when the import price is fair but the imports are seriously damaging domestic production. Domestic companies can request safeguard action if the market share of imports would otherwise substantially increase. This usually involves the obli gation of quantitative restrictions on imports, though these cannot be targeted at a specific country. Anti-dumping provisions, on the other hand, allow nations to retaliate against specific trading partners who are exporting goods at prices lower than those that thrive in their domestic markets. This retaliation generally involves charging a compensatory duty to bring the price of a specific good from a specific country back to a "normal" price. Finally, countervailing tariffs are measures designed to reduce the effect of foreign subsidy programs. All are intended to be short-term actions that resolve the issues quickly. However as seen in many dumping cases worldwide that is often not the case. When a country believes that goods are being dumped into their country, the first step they can take is to file a formal complaint against the importer. The domestic government, based on detailed requirem ...

Compare and contrast the economic mobilization during the World Wars I Essay

Compare and contrast the economic mobilization during the World Wars I and II ( in the United States of America) - Essay Example The Axis powers mainly comprised of the countries like Germany, Italy, and Japan. Other countries were also included in the Axis powers such as Finland, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania and the others. Before 1861, United States of America was recognized as one the most powerful shipbuilding nations in the world. But threats gradually came when the European navy started focusing on the new techniques of shipbuilding by substituting wood with iron, introduction of steam driven sea vessels which substituted the primitive sails and awkward paddle wheel were replaced with screw propeller. In August 1914, the United States was almost fatigued by fighting the guerillas and disease in Cuba and Philippines in the Spanish-American wars and Philippine insurrections. USA after a long driven fighting was ready for peace. The president of the United States Wilson Woodrow also showed disinterest in war. On the other hand the Germans were very much alert about the position of the Americans in the water w ays. The Germans believed that they have to curb down the American power through the water way which will provide them easy communication with the allied power countries. On May 7, 1915 the German submarine U-20 sunk down the ocean liner Lusitania where 124 Americans lost their lives. This was a major blow to USA and in 6th April, 1917 war against Germany was declared by a joint resolution by the Congress in USA1 World War II and USA In the history of mankind World War II can be regarded as the largest and the most violent conflicts with the use of modern lethal weapons.2 The World War II was even more dangerous and violent than World War I. In September 1939, Britain declared war against Poland but America did not involve them in this conflict. But when on 7th December Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, America entered into a complete war with the Pacific and Europe. By 1944 US fighter planes carried on severe bombings starting from bombings of Dresden in Germany and then Japan and sixty three other countries and finally the atomic explosion in Hiroshima, Japan on 6th August 1945.3 Having an idea of the backdrop of involvement of USA in both the wars the paper focuses to highlight the economic mobilization of USA in both these wars and how it emerged as a superpower in the world. Economic mobilization of USA in World War I The United States of America declared war against Germany in April 1917. But the main problem which the US army faced was the availability of necessary resources in order to carry on the war. Apart from that US did not also had the plans in mind and was not also acquainted with the character and magnitude of wartime needs as well as specifications for several kinds of equipments.4 Mobilization of the force of army After the declaration of the war with Germany in 1917, there were no immediate reserve force of army in America for the combating the war. However there were high expectation from the Britain and France and they believed that a huge for ce of army would be infiltrating immediately in France. But their expectations were wrong. Only a small army of soldiers under General Pershing was sent to France.5 The problem of manpower issue was solved in May 1917 when President Woodrow Wilson approved a draft law which was formulated in order to prepare a solid army base for

Natural Catastrophes Caused by Plate Tectonics Essay

Natural Catastrophes Caused by Plate Tectonics - Essay Example Another proof of the theory is that coal deposits usually associated with tropical areas are also found near the North Pole, and that signs of glaciations are evident in the plains of Africa. A third proof is the presence of fossils of exactly the same species during the prehistoric times are located on the earth in the spots where one would find them if the Continental Drift Theory were true. (Sant, 2010) Wegener’s explanation for the Continental Drift Theory is the â€Å"centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the earth† and â€Å"the ‘tidal argument’ based on the tidal attraction of the sun and the moon† (Sant, 2010). In short, Wegener hypothesized that either or both the rotation of the earth and the pull of the tides caused the continents to drift. However, he did not have any explanation for how exactly the continents were able to move. He met with opposition from fellow scientists who said that the centrifugal and tidal forces were too wea k to to move continents (â€Å"Alfred Wegener,† 2011). However, the reasons for the opposition were perhaps because there was a great anti-German bias in the 1910’s and that his work was discredited because his training was more on astronomy and not geology. (Sant, 2010) Theory of Plate Tectonics (Theory, Evidence) The Plate Tectonics Theory originated in 1915 as an answer to the weaknesses of the Continental Drift Theory (Glasscoe, 1998). However, by the 1960’s, the theory has been widely accepted by scientists. The one principle on which the Plate Tectonics Theory lies is that â€Å"both continents and ocean floor form solid plates, which ‘float’ on the asthenosphere [and thus move]† (â€Å"Alfred Wegener,† 2011). The asthenosphere is the molten, viscous liquid rock on which the plates move and is the one causing all the movements of both seafloor and continent. (â€Å"Alfred Wegener,† 2011) Evidence for the Plate Tectonics Th eory include fossils of similar species found in continents that have now separated as well as evidence provided by paleoclimate studies which reveal signs of glacier formation in parts of the world that are now geographically separated (Glasscoe, 1998). Another evidence is the age of the crust. In Plate Tectonics Theory, â€Å"the farther away you travel from a ridge, the older the crust is, and the older the sediments on top of the crust are† (â€Å"Alfred Wegener,† 2011). This is one fact that the Continental Drift Theory was not able to account for. If all land masses separated from Pangaea, then the land must be as old as each other, but how come the ages of these land masses are different from each other? (â€Å"Tectonic Plates,† 2011). Thus, the Plate Tectonics Theory is more plausible than the Continental Drift Theory. Characteristics of Tectonic Plate Boundaries (Divergent Boundaries, Convergent, Transform Fault Boundaries, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Mount ain Building) Based on the Plate Tectonics Theory, plates are created through â€Å"rifting† or the separation of a continental crust leading to the formation of a â€Å"diverging plate boundary.† The formation of the divergent plate boundary occurs in four steps. First, the rift valley begins to expand from the pressure coming from the asthenosphere. Second, two continental plates result from the continuous expansion of the rift valley with the molten rock continually pushing the crust apart. Third, water collects in the middle forming a sea. Fourth, the

State Of Nature Would Be State Of War

State Of Nature Would Be State Of War Thomas Hobbes set out to account for political authority with the use of the State of Nature. He illustrated what life outside of society without any overall authority keeping anyone in check would be like. Hobbes identified the State of Nature with a State of War but used war in an extended sense, to include not just armed hostilities but any situation where there is no reasonable expectation that hostilities will not erupt. He argued that the known readiness to engage in acts of aggression amounts in itself to a State of War. Specifically there are three principal causes of quarrel (lev) which throw people into hostilities. These causes are competition, diffidence and glory (Lev p. 88) and together they ensure that the State of Nature is a State of War. The State of Nature put simply is a situation in which human beings have no government, no political institutions and the feelings that they engender and no executive forces such as a police force or army in other words, it is a condition of anarchy. The State of Nature is an idealisation, a model. (Engaging P.19) Hobbes uses the State of Nature to justify political authority, or as Hobbes calls it, the commonwealth. He does not describe literally everything that would be the case in the absence of political arrangements, but only those things that matter for explaining political authority. What Hobbes did, was to identify features of human nature and the human condition that are universal, that in no way depend upon political authority relations, and that are relevant to explaining political authority causally. The State of Nature can be considered as a condition from which people are to escape if political authority is to be justified. So the sole alternative to political authorit y is the State of Nature, however according to Hobbes, the State of Nature is unbearably nasty as what is crucial to the state of natures justificatory role is the fact that life in it is pretty grim. Therefore the sole alternative to political authority is unbearably nasty, hence imposing political authority is justified. Hobbes attempted to illustrate that subjection to authority is vastly preferable to anarchy the State of War; he held the view that if we had reasons to believe that political authority is much better than the State of Nature, then imposing political authority is justified. Hobbes attempted to demonstrate that the State of Nature is a State of War in order to justify political authority. He depicted the State of War as a place full of insecurity and uncertainty in order to further substantiate his claim. The State does not necessarily consist in actual fighting, but a known disposition thereto, during which there is no assurance to the contrary. (page 86 Leviathan). Hobbes depicted the State of War as a condition in which civilisation and its benefits are absent. Only through the organisation of society and the establishment of the commonwealth can civilisation be attained. One thing that Hobbes recognised about the natural condition of mankind was the relative equality of individuals within it. When Hobbes spoke of equality he did not mean equality in a moralised sense, but more the distribution of physical and mental endowments. Nature has made men so equal that, although some humans are manifestly stronger in body or of quicker mind, these endowments are distributed in such a way that even the weakest, slowest and dumbest among them can kill the strongest, fastest and smartest. Hobbes claimed that when all is reckoned together, the difference between man and man is not so considerable, all human beings are, in other words, vulnerable to assault at the hands of all others. Equality, for Hobbes, is based upon the equal ability to kill or conquer others so inevitably equality leads to conflict, a State of Nature will be a war of all against all.(leviathan p. Vii) In the State of Nature, there are three causes of conflict: competition, distrust and the desire for glory. Competition leads to fighting for grain, diffidence to fighting to keep what has been gained and glory to fighting for reputation. These sources of conflict arise from what Hobbes calls the equality of ability (lev) in men. This natural equality of men is not equality of rights or of worth but an equality of ability, which leads to equality of hope in attaining ones ends and so to competition. The right of each to all things invites serious conflict, especially if there is competition for resources, as goods -are in relatively short supply in the State of Nature.(Stamford) So if any two men want a single thing which cannot be attained by both, they will become enemies (page 84 Leviathan) Conflict can occur for example when someone has come to possess a better piece of land. If an invader would have nothing to fear but that one mans individual power, then it is more than likely that someone will choose to invade this estate and attempt to deprive the owner of his possessions. But then the successful invader will then be in similar danger from someone else. It is an endless cycle of conflict in the State of Nature, which inevitably creates hostile conditions. However, Hobbes claim that all men are equal is false. The very young, the very old and the infirm generally pose no mortal threat to able bodied persons in the prime of life and therefore there would be no competition in some circumstances. Whilst it was not Hobbess aim to describe what is literally the case, this does demonstrate that not all of his reasons were convincing when explaining why the State of Nature would be a State of War. Hobbes further illustrated a State of as a State of War as it is a place where nobody feels secure, each person has a reason to attack any other person, for fear of being attacked first; this is what Hobbes referred to as diffidence. Because of this distrust amongst men, the most reasonable way for anyone to make themselves safe is to strike first, so attack can be seen as the best form of defence in a State of War. And, because each person has roughly equal killing power, everybody is both a potential killer and a potential victim. The fact that each of them is liable to aggression from others means that each person has to treat every other person as an enemy. People dont just regard everyone as possible enemies, in the State of War everyone is an enemy. Hence diffidence makes people invade one another for safety. Hobbes quite rightly held that the State of Nature would be a State of War therefore as people would fear that others may invade them, and may rationally plan to strike fi rst as an anticipatory defense, a natural human instinct to preserve their own safety. Hobbes also said that The State of War arises from the nature of some people, mainly those who want others to value them as highly as they values themselves. Glory drives people to attack others to raise their value in the eyes of others. Glory is therefore a source of unwarranted aggression and when there is no common power to keep people at peace, conflict will occur which Hobbes quite rightly said. Hobbes had a particularly good reason for believing that the State of Nature would be one of war as morality has no place in this pre-political world that Hobbes created. Everyone has an interest in killing everyone else pre-emptively, whenever possible, and this is acceptable as nothing holds any individuals back from committing any immoral acts, humans would merely act as their interests dictate. In a State of Nature, by definition there are no rules, not even unenforceable ones that might deter some from committing such acts. Therefore even moral restrictions to do or withhold from doing certain things for example, not to kill have no effect in a State of Nature. Hobbess view was that in the natural State of War there are no objective moral distinctions. In this State of War of every man against every man nothing can be unjust. The notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice, have n place. Where there is no common power, there is no law, where no law, no injustice. Hobbes assumed that the state of nature would be a state of war as taking people as they actually are, if you were to remove all political institutions, the natural proclivities that would ensue would lead to a state of war. Notably, without political institutions, the natural impulses to self-preservation are doomed to failure. In the state of nature, that is our unhappy predicament. Natural right of self-preservation (ch. 14): the liberty each one has to use her/his own power for self-preservation. A central claim of Hobbes: It is rational to give up ones right to self-governance to a sovereign, if everyone else agrees to do the same. (See chapter 17, section 13) The natural state of war, therefore, is the state of affairs in which the individual is dependent for his security on his own strength and his own wits. In such conditions there is no place for hard work, because there is no assurance that it will yield results; and consequently no cultivation of the earth, no navigation or use of materials that can be imported by sea, no construction of large buildings, no machines for moving things that require much force, no knowledge of the face of the earth, no account of time, no practical skills, no literature or scholarship, no society; and-worst of all-continual fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Perhaps we would imagine that people might fare best in such a state, where each decides for herself how to act, and is judge, jury and executioner in her own case whenever disputes arise-and that at any rate, this state is the appropriate baseline against which to judge the justifiability of political arrangements.