Man vs Man
...rector Martin Scorsese makes the audience feel sympathy for Amsterdam in the opening phases of the movie. The audience feels remorse for young Amsterdam and supports his actions. During the movie “Gangs of New York”, Director Martin Scorsese exposes the treatment of Irish immigrants as they come off the boat from a long journey from Ireland and step on to United States soil for the first time. The Irish immigrants receive chants and jeers from the New York natives; the natives even throw rocks and spit at some of the Irish immigrants. The audience sees the Irish immigrants, who look innocent and harmless, only receive hostile treatment from the New York natives. “The Irish immigrants—who had expended their last shilling paying for passage to the New World, had been deceived by unscrupulous agents, and were left to starve among strangers” (national review). William “the Butcher” Cutting says at one point in the movie, “If only I had the guns, I’d shoot everyone of them before they touched U.S. soil”. The audience sees how the New York natives hate and judge “them”. Director Martin Scorsese makes the audience once again feel sympathy for the Irish immigrants. “The Five Points” is the slums or ghettos of Manhattan, New York (the movie). As the movie progresses, the audience is exposed to the harsh living conditions of the Irish immigrants. “The immigrant communities were composed of old houses, with damp cellars, little ventilation, poor sanitary conditions and insects and rodents everywhere” (websitenational review). Director Martin Scorsese shows how the Irish are struggling. “The Irish immigrants swelled the ranks of the city’s almshouses” (nationalreview). The audience witnesses how the Irish are going through extremely hard times. The audience is exposed to all of the issues the Irish immigrants must face, from hostility from New York natives to harsh living conditions in “the Five Points”. The audience can then pose the question, “Then why are the Irish immigrating to America?” Director Martin Scorsese explains why the Irish are immigrating to America through Amsterdam Valloo. Amsterdam Valloo says, “We come over here because of the Great Famine, we did not really want to be here” (from the movie). The Great Irish Famine of 1846 was a hard time for the Irish. When harvests across Europe failed, more than one million people died from hunger and disease (virginia.edu). “A half million were evicted from their homes during the potato blight (virginia.edu). The Irish had no other choice but to immigrate to America in overcrowded “coffin ships” (virginia.edu). Fifteen thousand Irish immigrates came to America a week (from the movie). “Having subsisted in Ireland by cultivating potatoes, many of the Irish immigrants lacked skills for city life “(national review). When the audience learns that the Irish are suffering from the Great Irish Famine, there is additional sympathy for the Irish. Director Martin Scorsese obviously wants the audience to support the Irish because he exposes all of the issues they must go through. Author Chinua Achebe explains the culture and structure of the Ibo tribe in Umofia. He gives reasoning for their actions that today’s society would consider “controversial such as “drinking palm-wine form a human head” (10) or having multiple wives. Author Chinua Achebe makes you feel sympathy for Okonkwo, the main character, as he becomes a tragic hero throughout the story. Okonkwo is the main char...