Premium Essay

Dilemmas In The Book Thief

Submitted By
Words 1463
Pages 6
Dilemma #1

The first thing to consider when making the tough decision to turn the trolley or stay straight is to remember that as humans we don’t have the power to decide which lives are worth more than others. By making the voluntary decision to turn the trolley and endanger the lone man’s life the driver is choosing to kill an innocent man. If the trolley were turned onto the side spur the man walking will be caught off guard and have less time to react to the situation by the time he sees the trolley come around the curve. If the trolley driver were to stay straight he would kill five men that are working on the track. If he chooses not to turn the trolley then he is actively deciding to put the five men in danger by leaving the situation …show more content…
Although both of them will be put to death, Sophie does not have the power to decide whose life is worth saving. Like I stated in dilemma 1, humans do not of the right to decide which human lives are worth more than others. Unlike the previous dilemma the lives in question are Sophie’s children whom she loves very much. The conditions in the concentration camp are horrific at best and Sophie’s children are already suffering. If she lets the Nazi soldier execute both children she will be saving them from the misery of slowly starving to death and being abused. By not making the decision to not choose Sophie will be consciously allowing both lives to be ended but by looking at the bigger picture it can be seen as an act of mercy for her children because she is keeping them from suffering any longer. Due to the situation the family is currently in their chance of survival is already minimal …show more content…
They confide in you that they stole the exam because you are good friends and they trust you with their secret. Professor Day being the wise and knowledgeable man that he is clearly cannot be fooled and notices that an exam key is missing and confronts his students about it. If we are judging the situation from just an ethical standpoint then clearly the correct thing to do would be to tell Professor Day everything you know and let your friend suffer the consequences they brought upon themselves. If we look at my personal ethical decision it would be handled a bit differently. If I were confronted by the professor about the whereabouts of the missing exam I would tell him that I knew one had been stolen but that I didn’t know who stole it or by what means. By choosing the middle ground I am upholding my friend’s trust in me but I am also affirming Professor Day’s suspicions so he can look further into the

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Perspective In Zusak's The Book Thief

...“Perspective. You start looking at things differently, like everything's not so important. You don't take things so personally. Everyone changes, becomes better people. We all should get that chance...” (Tupac Shakur) In Zusak's book, The Book Thief, takes place during the Holocaust and focuses on a group of characters who are very different but live through many of the same situations with different views of each dilemma that the characters face including a hidden jew, true love, and leaving. Zusak's purpose of writing The Book Thief was to show the reader how people in a tragic situation each react and see life differently by making death the narrator. Zusak did this so the reader can see a variety of perspectives. By being set in a tragic time, the characters’ raw emotions could be expressed through relationships that go beyond race and or culture. In a book, it's a backbreaking task to take all the characters views and blend them correctly. However, Zusak uses Death as the narrator to show everyone's view of situations that they cannot control. “I do not carry a sickle or scythe. I only wear a black robe when it's cold. And I...

Words: 653 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Dimensions of Action

...Where is the center of the 3 dimensions of actions (ethical, legal, prudential)? In reality, human mankind always comes across situation, occasions, or even dilemma, consisting of the ethical, legal and prudential elements. According to the 3 dimensions of actions, we should try to select within these frameworks, while the best solution always lies among the center of these 3 dimensions. From “Ethics for the Real World” by Ronald A. Howard and Clinton D. Korver, I understand there are a lot of conflicting situations, whereby we are facing dilemmas or complicated decision-making process. For example, Ethical vs. Prudential: you are in hurry to your job interview meanwhile an elder woman being robbed is asking for help; Prudential vs. Legal: you are given an A-grade in a course, but the paper does not belong to you; Legal vs. Ethical: the books quoted Sir Hartley Shawcross’ rejection that obedience to unjust laws and orders absolved man of responsibility for crimes, i.e. there is no excuse for a thief to claim he is being told to steal. The author also commented that we only faced ethical issues if we are tempted to commit something wrong or illegal. Most cases are simply temptations. This comes to a short conclusion, where a man always has a choice to proceed. Whenever we conclude as so-called dilemmas, we are actually unburdening our consciences. Recently, I watched a movie called “Mr. Nobody”. It mentioned about the butterfly effect and the consequences of choices. Within...

Words: 407 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Identity Thief an Old Problem in a Modern Era

...Identity Thief an Old Problem in a Modern Era Your name KNOCK, KNOCK!!! …Who there? It Is I...I who? This is the question everyone must pose nowadays, for we don’t know who actual is behind that door. It could be your friend, family member or you banker but worst yet it can some devious individual posing to be someone you know or impersonating someone else to gain your trust in order to steal from you by stealing your identity. Identity thief has become a common practice in this Age of High Tech. One such area is the internet which has made transmission of our personally identifying information quick and easy, and sometimes less secure. Therefore just about anyone and everyone is susceptible to getting their identity stolen or compromised. So how did we get here you may ask? Well, that a good question. Brief History Identity thief is not something new despite the belief that it began with the internet. It has been around for thousand years or more. One of first recorded Identity thief in history and perhaps one of the greatest to occur happen in the Bible. It is The Blessing of Jacob by Deception (Genesis 27:1-46, King James Version). Jacob the youngest son of Isaac deceives his father by claiming to be his oldest brother, Esau (eldest son of Isaac) in order to receive the blessing that was reserved for the firstborn son. And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pay thee, sit and eat of my venison,...

Words: 2005 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Karl Marx

...Karl maex A Marxist Analysis of an Italian Block Buster - By Vrinda Aggarwal Post the cold war Communism and Marxism remained mere philosophies which couldn't stand the test of time. They were either “impractical" modes of organizing economy and polity or rather were theories which were more advanced than the ages in which they were tested. It is thus the farsightedness of Marx which makes his theory extremely relevant for people to at least study. Marx principally focused on observation and historical analysis. According to him there were two Classes in the society - The Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. The former was the class which owned all the resources and organized production, the later is the laboring class who own nothing but their own physical power to run the machines. Thus both the producers and the workers are in a symbiotic relationship. Still we see that the capitalist can survive for a longer time without the worker as compared to the vice versa, putting the workers in a compromising position. Thus in the fight of wage determination, the capitalists tend to win, thereby fixing the wage rate which is sufficient for survival (which according to Marx s living like cattle). According to the Marxist ideology, “when the capitalists and the laborers suffer equally, the worker suffers in his very existence, the capitalist in the profit on his dead mammon. The worker...

Words: 907 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Loaf of Bread

...the moral dilemma the man must have been facing knowing that stealing is wrong, but also knowing that his family would starve if they were not given food.  I am reminded of my all-time favorite book “Les Miserables”, where Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread for the sake of his starving family. He knows that stealing is wrong, however, his family will surely die if he does not get them food. He is a hard worker, but still is very poor and the only way to get food is to steal it. He faced an inner conflict regarding the decision to break the baker’s window and steal a loaf of bread but accepted the consequences of doing so because he knew that his sister and her children would die without food and as a result, served many years in prison due to his crime. In today’s society, stealing a loaf of bread will not send you to prison for multiple years, however, it does come with a stigmatism of being known as a thief. This is an inner conflict that the person stealing must accept. The family will deal with the shame of knowing their loved one had to steal for food, which brings a stigmatism to the family by the community and society as a whole.  Thieves are generally looked at as lower class people, poor, dirty, dishonest, and someone who you do not want to associate with. This can by a terrible judgment by the community and society altogether.  The family member who stole the loaf of bread may have been a well-educated person, upstanding in the community, but was dealing with the shame...

Words: 538 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Books

...Men" by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein 10. "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt 11. "Are You There, God? It's me, Margaret" by Judy Blume 12. "Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett 13. "Beloved" by Toni Morrison 14. "Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall 15. "Breath, Eyes, Memory" by Edwidge Danticat 16. "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller 17. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl 18. "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White 19. "Cutting For Stone" by Abraham Verghese 20. "Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead" by Brene Brown 21. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 1" by Jeff Kinney 22. "Dune" by Frank Herbert 23. "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury 24. "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream" by Hunter S. Thompson 25. "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn 26. "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown 27. "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens 28. "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond 29. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling 30. "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote 31. "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri 32. "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison 33. "Jimmy Corrigan: Smartest...

Words: 890 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Institutional vs. Community Corrections

...Andrew Knop Professor Hotfelder 11/26/2012 Intro to Criminal Justice Handling the Dilemma over Community vs Institutional Corrections It is the first day of break and Jimmy wants to have a good time with his friends. Long story short, Jimmy decided to drive home drunk and crashed into another car. The driver of the other car passed away.What kind of punishment should Jimmy receive? It seems fair for him to spend time in prison. Should he see probation after the jail time? How much? This scenario helps introduce the dilemma we have today as a society about institutional vs. community corrections. Punishment for crime has always been an issue for debate. With the growth of the American colonies, the colonists needed a system of punishment for lawbreakers. Many methods developed in Europe meant to bring shame to those offenders were adopted. Around this time, the world saw a change in punishment ideology; some began to stress that humans are not perfect and make mistakes. Thus, there should be more reform as well as punish. In 1682, William Penn made a push for change. He limited the death penalty to cases of murder only and called for fines and imprisonment for most offenses. This is widely considered the beginnings of the prison system in the U.S. He also helped start the creation of jails, like the High Street Jail. The first federal prisons were established in 1891. Before this date, prisons were organized by states and territories. The establishment...

Words: 2138 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Tom Well Jesus Teachings Analysis

...Tom, Well Jesus’s teachings are spreading and people are believing in his work every day. Like I said in my book, The Prince, that our founders had great virtue and they were successful in their rise of ruling our nations. They took advantage of a situation and rule with great pride. This new guy has virtue indeed like our founders but, I don't think he will get very far. To be a successful ruler, you need to have good arms and to be prepare to protect yourself at all times. In my work, I stated “The principal foundations that all states have, new ones as well is old or mixed, are good laws and good arms. And because there cannot be good laws where are good arms there must be good laws, I shall leave out the reasoning on laws and shall speak of arms” (Ch.7, pg.48). He has good laws but, he doesn't have the good arms to enforce the people to follow. How can he expect the people or even the great to follow him if he has no protection? He states that God has our...

Words: 885 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Can One Be Moral and Not Believe in God?

...Can one be moral and not believe in God? The argument set forth is best understood by the first line given by Hamlet in Act 3, Scene 1 in this 1600 play, “Hamlet,” written by William Shakespeare (1600). “To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?...” Believing in a spiritual entity or a supernatural supreme being can play a role in one’s moral beliefs, but it is not necessary. The argument will start with breaking down what it is to be moral with the definition of moral, which is “of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior,” (ethically speaking) “conforming to a standard of right behavior.” (Merriam-Webster, 2011) With that in mind now, one can be moral and not believe in GOD, because it is up to the person to choose to be moral, hence “To be, or not to be…” This argument will consist of a brief history in a few religions, church and state, moral education, ethics, and Plato's and Aristotle's take on living morally. Again, believing in God is not necessarily needed for one to be moral; all that is needed is good ethics, belief in oneself, and knowledge. The origin of religion, experts think, arose from the fear and wonder of natural events (i.e. storms, earthquakes, and the how babies were born). Experts believe that the explanations of death were the outcome of supernatural powers...

Words: 2372 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Beowulf Essay

...that era, which was nearly burned. Thankfully, numerous translations and adaptations of this story have been created to make this influential epic a widely spread influence that has impacted future pieces of literature. Seamus Heaney made a translation of the original Old English poem into literature that is accessible to the contemporary English reader. The most recent adaptation was director Robert Zemeckis’s Beowulf, which starred actors such as Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie. Using “performance capture technology”, the movie uses digitally enhanced live action to make a world that looked animated. The movie stays faithful to the old story with the characters and events, but there are many differences that separate the film from the book. King Hrothgar is depicted not as a noble king, but a miserly man full of guilt. Rather than being portrayed as a noble hero, the Beowulf in the movie is a flawed character who succumbs to his desires. Grendel’s mother is a seductress who tempts Beowulf with promised wealth in Zemeckis’s version, and was originally a ferocious creature akin to Grendel. Compared to Seamus’s literature version, director Robert Zemeckis’s film Beowulf introduced humanistic flaws of sin and guilt through his portrayal of Hrothgar, Beowulf, and Grendel’s mother. One of the characters that changed in the movie version of Beowulf was King Hrothgar. In the literature, he was a respected and noble king who was admired by his countrymen and was generous in rewarding...

Words: 1559 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Business Ethics

...Touro University California Theresa Williams-Rivers Module 1 Case Assignment ETH501: Business Ethics Dr. Gary Shelton Saturday, April 26, 2014 A Master’s paper submitted to the faculty of Touro University California In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Graduate Diploma in Master’s Degree in Business Management Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to provide a critical analysis of the 2002 collapse of Adelphia Communications as seen through the lens of Immanuel Kant deontological ethics. This analysis will be accomplished by providing a brief time lime of the Adelphia, identifying and discussing two key ethical problems raised and describing what is meant by deontological ethics. More specifically this paper will show how Kant’s Categorical Imperative (CI) applies to this scenario. The latter discussion will apply the deontological framework of business ethics to the two key ethical problems by constructing CI to the Adelphia scenario. The supporting material for this discussion can be found at Harvard University’s 2011 lecture: Justice, What’s the right thing to do? as presented by Professor Michael Sandel8. To examine the elements of the case, we will inspect the unethical behavior of five key figures culpable in the “rise and fall of the small town saga of epic dimensions8”. John J. Rigas (Founder), his two sons; Timothy J. Riga’s (CFO), Michael J. Riga’s (VP of Operations), James R. Brown (VP of Finance) and Michael...

Words: 2168 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Business Ethics

...University of California Theresa Carter Module 1 Case Assignment ETH501: Business Ethics Saturday, April 26, 2014 A Master’s paper submitted to the faculty of University of California In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Graduate Diploma in Master’s Degree in Business Management Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to provide a critical analysis of the 2002 collapse of Adelphia Communications as seen through the lens of Immanuel Kant deontological ethics. This analysis will be accomplished by providing a brief time lime of the Adelphia, identifying and discussing two key ethical problems raised and describing what is meant by deontological ethics. More specifically this paper will show how Kant’s Categorical Imperative (CI) applies to this scenario. The latter discussion will apply the deontological framework of business ethics to the two key ethical problems by constructing CI to the Adelphia scenario. The supporting material for this discussion can be found at Harvard University’s 2011 lecture: Justice, What’s the right thing to do? as presented by Professor Michael Sandel8. To examine the elements of the case, we will inspect the unethical behavior of five key figures culpable in the “rise and fall of the small town saga of epic dimensions8”. John J. Rigas (Founder), his two sons; Timothy J. Riga’s (CFO), Michael J. Riga’s (VP of Operations), James R. Brown (VP of Finance) and Michael C. Mulcahey (Director of Internal...

Words: 2164 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Muckrakers By John Sprago Analysis

...Muckraking Reformation At the turn of the twentieth century a new part of America’s political culture was beginning to emerge due to the country’s advances in technology and specifically in the creation of mass magazine publications. These publications were able to reach largely the country’s growing middle class. These journalists soon noticed that their readers yearned for magazine articles that investigated the numerous dilemmas that plagued the American society at that time. The ground breaking journalists were labeled as “muckrakers” by President Roosevelt and often became a source of controversy within America’s political culture. Most muckrakers used their skills of descriptive writing to paint vivid and disturbing pictures of the...

Words: 1584 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Brain Implants

...Kevin Wang Dr. Pearce Rhetoric 102 19 March 2010 The Brain Implant Dilemma In 2002, author M.T. Anderson wrote a novel called “Feed”, with a story envisioning a future where all human beings have implanted computer chips in their brains (Anderson 2002). It would be easy to dismiss such a bold concept as a product of fiction. However, many films and books with plots set in the future have successfully predicted the invention of many current technologies that simply did not exist at the time, including flat-screen TVs (Back to the Future II), unmanned aircraft (The Terminator), and video chatting (2001: A Space Odyssey). Suffice it to say, brain implants, as these embedded computer chips are called, are projected to become a reality. The past few years have already seen the integration of computer chip and organism, with millions of cats and dogs across the world injected with identifying microchip implants underneath their skin. Brain implants have also benefitted the medical field enormously, having in some cases cured blindness (Graham-Rowe 2007) and Parkinson’s disease (Harding 2009). However, developments indicate that brain implants for personal consumer use may see the light of day. IBM, the world’s largest chipmaker, recently announced their intent to research and develop brain implants capable of controlling gadgets via brain waves by 2020 (Hsu 2009). Toyota has already successfully demoed a wheelchair that can be controlled by its rider through brain waves...

Words: 2448 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

First Eagle by Hillerman

...The First Eagle – Analysis Adaptations An interesting aspect of Hillerman's fictions is the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural contexts in which they are set with their particular historical imperatives and consequences. The "Big Res" itself although sparsely populated by the standards of large urban enclaves is nevertheless home to a wide mix of Native American tribal entities including Navajo, Apache, Hopi, Ute, Zuni as well as Anglos and Hispanics of various national origins. Add to this cultural diversity such social elements as the disparity of power and wealth between the communities, and the opportunities for friction and conflict are significant. Therefore, a possible focus for discussions of this novel could be to examine the ways in which Hillerman ignores, acknowledges, utilizes, or highlights particular elements of the cultural and economic contexts in the service of his plot, characterization, and themes. Characters Hillerman populates the novel with a rich cast of characters whom he reveals through their speech, their actions, and their thoughts. He also describes their physical appearance so that readers form specific and distinguishing images of them. Jim Chee is portrayed as a "traditional" Navajo who has studied to become a hatathali, a traditional singer who can conduct traditional curing rituals; he is also a universityeducated (University of Arizona) lawman as is his former supervisor, now retired, Joe Leaphorn (Arizona State University). The relationship...

Words: 3942 - Pages: 16