Datasets:

Salesforce

/

wikitext

like 348

The hull of the casemate ironclad CSS Jackson can be seen in the National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus , Georgia .

The new United States Navy <unk> @-@ class guided missile destroyer has been described as bearing resemblance to ironclads .

= Little <unk> ( poem ) =

Little <unk> is the fourth and final poem of T. S. Eliot 's Four <unk> , a series of poems that discuss time , perspective , humanity , and salvation . It was first published in September 1942 after being delayed for over a year because of the air @-@ raids on Great Britain during World War II and Eliot 's declining health . The title refers to a small Anglican community in <unk> , established by Nicholas <unk> in the 17th century and scattered during the English Civil War .

The poem uses the combined image of fire and <unk> fire to emphasise the need for purification and <unk> . According to the poet , humanity 's flawed understanding of life and turning away from God leads to a cycle of warfare , but this can be overcome by <unk> the lessons of the past . Within the poem , the narrator meets a ghost that is a combination of various poets and literary figures . Little <unk> focuses on the unity of past , present , and future , and claims that understanding this unity is necessary for salvation .

= = Background = =

Following the completion of the third Four <unk> poem , The Dry <unk> , Eliot 's health declined and he stayed in <unk> Green , Surrey while he recovered . During this time , Eliot started writing Little <unk> . The first draft was completed in July 1941 but he was dissatisfied with it . He believed the problems with the poem lay with his own inability to write , and that , precipitated by air raids on London , he had started the poem with too little preparation and had written it too quickly . After the first draft was written , he set the poem aside , and he left in September to lecture throughout Great Britain .

After months of not working on the poem , Eliot began to feel compelled to finish it ; it was not until August 1942 , however , that he started working on it again . In total , there were five drafts . The poem was finished by 19 September 1942 and published in the October New English Weekly . Little <unk> was intended to conclude the Four <unk> series , <unk> Eliot 's views expressed in this series of poems .

Little <unk> was the home of an Anglican community established in <unk> by Nicholas <unk> . The <unk> household lived a Christian life according to High Church principles and the Book of Common Prayer . The religious community was dispersed during the English Civil War between <unk> and <unk> but reformed , ending with the death of John <unk> in <unk> . Eliot had visited the site in May 1936 .

Unlike the other locations mentioned in the titles of the Four <unk> poems , Eliot had no direct connection to the original Christian community . As such , the community is supposed to represent almost any religious community .

= = Poem = =

Critics classify Little <unk> as a poem of fire with an emphasis on <unk> and the <unk> fire . The beginning of the poem discusses time and winter , with attention paid to the arrival of summer . The images of snow , which provoke desires for a spiritual life , transition into an analysis of the four classical elements of fire , earth , air and water and how fire is the primary element of the four . Following this is a discussion on death and destruction , things <unk> , and regret for past events .

While using Dante 's <unk> <unk> style , the poem continues by describing the Battle of Britain . The image of warfare <unk> with the depiction of <unk> , and the Holy Spirit is juxtaposed with the air @-@ raids on London . In the second section , a ghost , representing the poets of the past stuck between worlds , begins talking to the narrator of the poem . The ghost discusses change , art in general , and how humankind is flawed . The only way to overcome the problematic condition of humanity , according to the ghost , is to experience <unk> through fire . The fire is described in a manner similar to Julian of Norwich 's writing about God 's love and discussed in relationship to the shirt of <unk> , a shirt that burns its wearer . Little <unk> continues by describing the <unk> of the present and how history exists in a pattern . The poem concludes by explaining how sacrifice is needed to allow an individual to die into life and be reborn , and that salvation should be the goal of humankind .

= = Themes = =

In terms of renewal , Eliot believed that suffering was needed for all of society before new life could begin . The original Little <unk> community was built for living on monastic lines , but the community was damaged and dispersed by Puritan forces during the English Civil War in 1646 . The church , the centre of the community , was restored in 1714 and again in 1853 . The image of religious renewal is combined with the image of the London air @-@ raids and the constant fighting and destruction within the world . This compound image is used to discuss the connection of holy places with the Holy Spirit , <unk> , communion with the dead , and the repetition of history . The theme is also internal to Eliot 's own poems ; the image of the rose garden at the end Little <unk> is the image that begins <unk> Norton and the journey is made circular . Also , the depiction of time within the poem is similar to the way time operates within The Family <unk> .

Like the other poems making up the Four <unk> , Little <unk> deals with the past , present , and future , and humanity 's place within them as each generation is seemingly united . In the second section , there is a ghost who is the compilation of various poets , including Dante , Swift , Yeats , and others . When the ghost joins the poet , the narrator states " Knowing myself yet being someone other " . This suggests that the different times merge at the same time that the different personalities begin to merge , allowing a communication and connection with the dead . Later , in the fourth section , humanity is given a choice between the Holy Spirit or the bombing of London ; redemption or destruction . God 's love allows humankind to be <unk> and escape the living hell through <unk> by fire . The end of the poem describes how Eliot has attempted to help the world as a poet . He parallels his work in language with working on the soul or working on society .

The ghost , a combination of many literary figures , was originally addressed in the poem as " <unk> <unk> " before being revised as an ambiguous " you " . " <unk> <unk> " was Dante 's way of addressing <unk> <unk> , a former mentor whom he meets in Hell to which he has been condemned for <unk> . Eliot , in a letter to John <unk> dated 27 August 1942 , explained why he changed the wording :

I think you will recognise that it was necessary to get rid of <unk> for two reasons . The first is that the visionary figure has now become somewhat more definite and will no doubt be identified by some readers with Yeats though I do not mean anything so precise as that . However , I do not wish to take the responsibility of putting Yeats or anybody else into Hell and I do not want to <unk> to him the particular vice which took <unk> there . <unk> , although the reference to that <unk> is intended to be explicit , I wish the effect of the whole to be <unk> which is more appropriate . That brings us to the reference to swimming in fire which you will remember at the end of <unk> 26 where the poets are found .

The theme of swimming through flames is connected to the depiction of <unk> <unk> , a poet that influenced Dante , seeking such a state in <unk> <unk> . However , the depiction of swimming was transformed into an image of dancing , an act that appears throughout Yeats 's poetry , within <unk> flames . The critic Dominic <unk> suggests that , in combining the image of dancing with <unk> , Eliot <unk> Dante 's and Yeats 's poetic themes .

= = Reception = =

Critics such as Malcolm <unk> and <unk> <unk> describe mixed emotions about the <unk> of the poem . <unk> emphasised the mystical nature of the poem and how its themes were closer to Buddhism than <unk> while mentioning his appreciation of many of the passages . <unk> also mentioned the Buddhist images and his admiration for many of the lines in Little <unk> . F. B. <unk> believed that the fourth section of the poem costs " Eliot more trouble and <unk> than any passage of the same length he ever wrote , and is his greatest achievement in the Four <unk> . " E. M. Forster did not like Eliot 's emphasis on pain and responded to the poem : " Of course there 's pain on and off through each individual 's life ... You can 't <unk> it and so on . But why should it be endorsed by the schoolmaster and <unk> by the priest until the fire and the rose are one when so much of it is caused by disease and <unk> ? It is here that Eliot becomes unsatisfactory as a seer . " Writing in 2003 , Roger <unk> wrote that in " Little <unk> " Eliot achieved " that for which he <unk> Dante — namely , a poetry of belief , in which belief and words are one , and in which the thought cannot be prized free from the controlled and beautiful language " .

= The Portage to San <unk> of <unk> =

The Portage to San <unk> of <unk> is a 1981 literary and philosophical novella by George Steiner , in which Jewish Nazi hunters find a fictional Adolf Hitler ( <unk> ) alive in the Amazon jungle thirty years after the end of World War II . The book generated considerable controversy after its publication because in it , Steiner , who is Jewish , allows Hitler to defend himself when he is put on trial in the jungle by his captors . There Hitler maintains that Israel <unk> its existence to the Holocaust and that he is the " benefactor of the Jews " .

The Portage to San <unk> of <unk> was a 1983 <unk> in the <unk> / Faulkner Award for Fiction . It was adapted for the theatre by British playwright Christopher Hampton and was staged in London in April 1982 with Alec <unk> playing the part of Adolf Hitler . It was also staged in Hartford , Connecticut in the United States in 1983 and starred John <unk> as Hitler .

= = Plot summary = =

From his base in Tel Aviv , Holocaust survivor Emmanuel <unk> directs a group of Jewish Nazi hunters in search of Adolf Hitler . <unk> believes that the former <unk> is still alive , and following rumours and <unk> , he tracks Hitler 's movements through South America , until after months of wading through swamps in the Amazon jungle , the search party finds the 90 @-@ year @-@ old alive in a clearing . <unk> flies to San <unk> where he awaits the group 's return with their captive . But getting the old man out of the jungle alive is more difficult than getting in , and their progress is further hampered by heavy thunderstorms .

Meanwhile , broken and incoherent radio messages between <unk> and the search party are intercepted by intelligence agents tracking their progress , and rumours begin to spread across the world of Hitler 's capture . <unk> flare up over his impending trial , where it will be held and under whose jurisdiction . <unk> is identified as the nearest airfield to the last known location of the search party , and aircraft begin arriving at the hitherto unknown town . But when the search party loses radio contact with <unk> , they must make a decision : do they sit out the storms and deliver their captive to <unk> later , or do they try Hitler in the jungle before their prize is <unk> from them by the world at large , who they know will be waiting ? Their decision is the latter , and against <unk> 's advice ( " You must not let him speak ... his tongue is like no other " ) they prepare for a trial with a judge , prosecution and defence attorneys selected from the members of the search party . <unk> , a local Indian <unk> , is asked to observe the trial as an independent witness .

The attention Hitler is receiving , however , <unk> his strength , and when the trial begins , he <unk> aside his " defence attorney " and begins a long speech in four parts in his own defence :

Firstly , Hitler claims he took his doctrines from the Jews and copied the notion of the master race from the <unk> people and their need to separate themselves from the " <unk> " . " My racism is a parody of <unk> , a hungry imitation . "

Hitler <unk> the Final <unk> by maintaining that the Jews ' God , <unk> than any other , <unk> its subjects , continually demanding more than they can give and " <unk> " them with ideals that cannot be attained . The " virus of <unk> " had to be stopped .

Hitler states that he was not the originator of evil . " [ Stalin ] had <unk> <unk> when I was still a <unk> <unk> in Munich . " Further , Hitler asserts that the number of lives lost due to his actions are <unk> by various world atrocities , including those in Russia , China and Africa .

Lastly , Hitler maintains that the Reich <unk> Israel and suggests that he is the <unk> " whose infamous <unk> were allowed by God in order to bring His people home . " He closes by asking , " Should you not honour me who have made ... <unk> a reality ? "

At the end of his speech , <unk> is the first to react and jumps up shouting " <unk> " , only to be drowned out by the appearance of a helicopter over the clearing .

= = Main characters = =

Emmanuel <unk> – Jewish Holocaust survivor and director of the search party to find Hitler ; after <unk> out of a death pit in <unk> he never took the time to <unk> and embarked on a life @-@ consuming obsession to bring those responsible for the <unk> to justice .

Search party ( all Jewish with family ties to the Holocaust , except for John Asher )

<unk> – search party leader and " presiding judge " at Hitler 's trial ; he is <unk> 's <unk> and torn between leading the party into " <unk> <unk> and green <unk> " and turning his back on the " quiet <unk> of <unk> 's conviction " .

Gideon <unk> – falls ill and dies before the trial begins ; during one of his fever @-@ induced <unk> he suggests that Hitler is Jewish ; he had sought out <unk> after being released from a <unk> and spending three years <unk> in Paris where the care @-@ free living consumed him with guilt .

Elie <unk> – Orthodox Jew and " prosecution attorney " at the trial ; he is the moral <unk> of the group , but his convictions are disturbed by Gideon <unk> 's fever @-@ induced <unk> that Hitler is Jewish and ends up believing that Hitler may be the second <unk> .

Isaac <unk> – an 18 @-@ year @-@ old boy and witness at the trial ; he is the son of Isaac <unk> senior , former member of the search party killed earlier in a <unk> in São Paulo ; he joined the party to avenge his father 's death .

John Asher – half @-@ Jewish and reluctant " defence attorney " at the trial ; fascinated by the capture of <unk> and the rumours circulating that Hitler may be alive , he had approached Nazi hunter <unk> who directed him to <unk> ; despite being an " <unk> " ( no ties to the Holocaust ) <unk> assigned him to the search party because of his military training and his clear @-@ <unk> ( " no metaphysical lusts , no <unk> for <unk> " ) .

<unk> – local Indian <unk> and independent witness at the trial ; previously the search party 's guide who had abandoned them when they insisted on entering <unk> regions of the jungle , he continued tracking them from a distance before revealing himself .

Adolf Hitler – now 90 years old , the former leader of the Third Reich had not died in the <unk> in Berlin , but escaped to South America and hid in the Amazon jungle .

= = Background and publication = =

George Steiner , literary critic for The New Yorker and The New York Times , had written about the Holocaust in some of his previous books , including <unk> <unk> ( 1964 ) , Language and Silence ( 1967 ) and In <unk> 's Castle ( 1971 ) . Many of the ideas Steiner expresses in The Portage to San <unk> of <unk> were reworked from these earlier works . Steiner told New York Times editor D. J. R. <unk> that this book arose out of his lifelong work on language . " Central to everything I am and believe and have written is my <unk> ... that you can use human speech both to <unk> , to love , to build , to forgive and also to torture , to hate , to destroy and to <unk> . "

Commenting on the controversy the book generated , Steiner admitted to literary journalist and critic Ron <unk> ( author of Explaining Hitler ) that he too was disturbed by it , adding that his fictional Hitler had gotten the better of him , " <unk> or <unk> @-@ like " . He said that it felt like the book " wrote me " . Steiner also pointed out that the novella is not only about his thoughts on the Holocaust , but also about the horrific events that took place in countries like Cambodia , Vietnam , El Salvador and <unk> : " My feeling is that one has to <unk> with the <unk> if one can . "

Steiner wrote The Portage to San <unk> of <unk> in 1975 and 1976 in Geneva , Switzerland , and the 120 @-@ page work originally appeared in the Spring 1979 issue of the United States literary magazine , The Kenyon Review . It also appeared in the Spring 1980 issue of <unk> , the British literary magazine . Its first publication in book form , with minor revisions by Steiner , was in May 1981 by <unk> and <unk> in the United Kingdom — and as requested by Steiner , it was a paperback original . The first United States edition was published in hardcover in April 1982 by Simon & Schuster .

= = Adaptations = =

The Portage to San <unk> of <unk> was adapted for the theatre in 1982 by British playwright Christopher Hampton . It was staged in April 1982 at London 's <unk> Theatre under the direction of John Dexter with Alec <unk> playing the part of Adolf Hitler . <unk> won the 1982 Evening Standard Theatre Award for best actor for this performance . In 1983 the production moved to the United States where it played at the Hartford Stage Company in Hartford , Connecticut , directed by Mark <unk> and starring John <unk> as Hitler .

This book is the only work of fiction by Steiner to have been adapted for the stage .

= = Reception = =

Reaction to The Portage to San <unk> of <unk> was mixed . Anthony <unk> in The Observer called it " astonishing " , Christopher Booker of The Daily Telegraph described it as a " powerful piece " , and English author A. S. <unk> said it was a " masterpiece " . In Explaining Hitler , Ron <unk> called The Portage " A <unk> story " , referring to Steiner 's <unk> Hitler has having taken on a life of its own . Writing in Time magazine , Otto Friedrich described the book " a <unk> fantasy of remarkable intensity " , adding that by not <unk> Hitler 's speech , Steiner <unk> from the <unk> of traditional Holocaust literature and ends the book " on a note of bleak ambiguity " .

Morris <unk> of The New York Times was more critical of the book , calling it " a <unk> and badly executed novel , a <unk> distraction from the serious business of thinking through the <unk> <unk> of the Nazi era . " He described it as " <unk> " that is " <unk> [ d ] " by too much " fine writing " ( <unk> @-@ <unk> ) . He also complained that the characters are lifeless , and while they each have detailed histories , they are only " verbal <unk> " that do not separate them from one another . Finally <unk> noted that because almost all the points of Hitler 's speech are drawn from some of Steiner 's earlier works , he " unwittingly creates sympathy for Hitler by making him old and pathetic yet also <unk> and brilliant — at once <unk> harmless and <unk> dangerous . "

In another review in The New York Times John Leonard wrote that while the book has its strong points , " some wit , a <unk> disdain , multiplicity of character and a South American swamp @-@ life that <unk> " , its weaknesses are that " the characters are really ideas , ... the symbols clash and there are too many echoes of better books by <unk> and <unk> " . But Leonard 's biggest criticism of the book was Hitler 's speech , which he called " obscene " , and Steiner 's decision to end the book at that point , which Leonard said " not only denies the power of art to arrange and transcend , but ... makes me sick to my stomach . "

Writing in the American literary magazine <unk> , Alvin H. <unk> called The Portage a " breakthrough work " that " <unk> " . He was struck by the book 's interplay between the landscape of swamp and jungle , and the " landscape of speech " — the former being " brilliantly registered " with its " immense feeling of <unk> " , and the latter , " even more dramatic " in the way it exposes " the dark underside of words " and how its use and misuse reveals the true nature of a person . He was particularly impressed by the depiction of Nazi hunter Emmanuel <unk> and his role as representative of the Jewish consciousness . <unk> noted that while Holocaust literature often either <unk> to " <unk> and apostrophe " , or sinks to " a <unk> <unk> of elegiac lament " , Steiner 's <unk> " <unk> between these two extremes , ... simultaneously records and <unk> , <unk> <unk> yet carries an immense affect " . What did concern the reviewer , however , was the way Steiner used ideas from his earlier works , that he had put them " virtually <unk> " into Hitler 's mouth , creating the impression that " Steiner 's understanding of Hitler were identical with the latter 's self @-@ understanding " . <unk> also questioned why the book had to end with Hitler 's speech . He said that Steiner 's <unk> Hitler plays " the devil 's game of language subversion " , making " madness [ sound ] like music " , something the real Hitler had <unk> . By stopping at this point , <unk> felt that Steiner " <unk> [ s ] , <unk> , to the seductive <unk> of negation " , which <unk> his own " high standards of moral intelligence " . But overall <unk> said The Portage " must be counted among the most vigorous attempts to portray the presence and meaning of Hitler " , forcing us to confront him " in a way hardly seen before in fiction " .

The Portage to San <unk> of <unk> was a <unk> in the 1983 <unk> / Faulkner Award for Fiction .

= = Controversy = =

The book generated considerable controversy because of its apparent " admiration for Hitler " . The controversy grew further when the faithful stage adaptation ( " too faithful " , according to Steiner ) was performed in the United Kingdom and the United States .

Hitler 's speech at the end of the book disturbed many readers and critics . Steiner not only lets Hitler justify his past , he allows him the ( almost ) last word before the outside world invades . The fact that Steiner is Jewish made this speech in particular even more contentious . One critic , while acknowledging that Steiner always saw Hitler as " the incarnation of unprecedented and unparalleled evil " , felt that there was no clear distinction in the book between Steiner 's own views and those of his fictional Hitler , even going so far as to accuse Steiner , who rejects Jewish nationalism and is a critic of Israel 's treatment of the Palestinians , of anti @-@ Semitism .

In contrast , a Time magazine article at the time felt that Steiner 's intention for the Hitler speech was to use it to explore his previously stated belief " that Hitler wielded language as an almost supernatural force " , drawing attention to Nazi hunter Emmanuel <unk> 's warning from the book regarding Hitler : " There shall come a man who ... will know the grammar of hell and teach it to others . He will know the sounds of madness and <unk> and make them seem music . "

Steiner responded to criticism that Hitler 's speech in this book is <unk> by saying that it had been done before : for example Satan 's speech in Milton 's Paradise Lost ( 1667 ) , and The Grand <unk> 's speech in <unk> 's The Brothers <unk> ( 1880 ) . He also reminded the reader that Hitler 's speech is balanced out earlier in the book by <unk> 's long monologue on the <unk> of the Holocaust . Finally , Steiner said that his Hitler ( A. H. ) is " a <unk> figure " , and that it is not he who has the last word , but <unk> , the Indian <unk> , who shouts " <unk> " . <unk> is also the Hebrew word used to indicate that " there are issues here beyond our wisdom to answer or decide . "

= <unk> =

<unk> ( from Greek <unk> ( <unk> , " to cut " ) and <unk> ( <unk> , " <unk> " ) ) is a diverse <unk> of extinct small to giant <unk> — often considered primitive amphibians — that flourished worldwide during the <unk> , <unk> , and <unk> periods . A few species continued into the Cretaceous . <unk> have been found on every continent . During about 210 million years of evolutionary history , they adapted to a wide range of habitats , including fresh water , terrestrial , and even coastal marine environments . Their life history is well understood , with fossils known from the <unk> stage , <unk> , and maturity . Most <unk> were <unk> , although some were almost fully terrestrial , returning to the water only to breed . These <unk> were some of the first vertebrates fully adapted to life on land . Although <unk> are considered amphibians , many had characteristics , such as scales , claws , and armour @-@ like bony plates , that distinguish them from modern amphibians .

<unk> have been known since the early 19th century , and were initially thought to be reptiles . They were described at various times as <unk> , <unk> , and <unk> , although these names are now rarely used . Animals now grouped in <unk> were spread out among several amphibian groups until the early 20th century , when they were found to belong to a distinct taxon based on the structure of their vertebrae . <unk> means " cut vertebrae " , as each <unk> is divided into several parts .

Experts disagree over whether <unk> were ancestral to modern amphibians ( frogs , <unk> , and <unk> ) , or whether the whole group died out without leaving any descendants . Different hypotheses have placed modern amphibians as the descendants of <unk> , another group of early <unk> called <unk> , or even as descendants of both groups ( with <unk> evolving from <unk> and frogs and <unk> evolving from <unk> ) . Recent studies place a family of <unk> called the <unk> as the closest relatives of modern amphibians . <unk> in teeth , skulls , and hearing structures link the two groups .

= = Description = =

Many <unk> are much larger than living amphibians , and superficially resemble <unk> . Others are smaller and resemble <unk> . Most have broad , flat heads that are either blunt ( <unk> ) or elongated ( <unk> ) . The skulls are rounded or triangular in shape when viewed from above , and are usually covered in pits and ridges . The rugged surfaces of bones may have supported blood vessels , which could transfer carbon dioxide to the bones to neutralize acidic build up in the blood ( early <unk> <unk> would have had difficulty <unk> carbon dioxide from their bodies while on land , and these dermal bones may have been an early solution to the problem ) . Many <unk> also have canal @-@ like grooves in their skulls called sensory <unk> . The <unk> , which usually run around the nostrils and eye <unk> , are part of a lateral line system used to detect <unk> in water . As <unk> animals , most <unk> have small limbs with four toes on each front foot and five on each hind foot . <unk> <unk> have larger , thicker limbs , and some even have claws . One unusual terrestrial <unk> , <unk> , has relatively long limbs for its body , and probably lived as an active runner able to chase prey .

<unk> of most of the bones of <unk> are also seen in other early <unk> , aside from a few bones in the skull , such as <unk> , <unk> , and <unk> , that have developed in some <unk> taxa . Most <unk> have <unk> horns in the backs of their skulls , rounded projections of bone separated from the rest of the skull by <unk> called <unk> <unk> ; in some <unk> , such as <unk> , they are pointed and very prominent . Among the most distinguishing features of <unk> are the <unk> <unk> , two large holes in the back of the palate . Another pair of holes , <unk> , are present in front of these <unk> , and connect the nasal passage with the mouth . <unk> often have teeth on their <unk> , as well as in their jaws . Some of these teeth are so large , they are referred to as <unk> . In some <unk> , such as <unk> , <unk> in the lower jaw <unk> the palate and emerge through openings in the top of the skull .

Very little is known of the soft tissue of <unk> . A block of sandstone , described in 2007 from the Early <unk> <unk> <unk> Formation of Pennsylvania , included impressions of the bodies of three <unk> . These impressions show , when alive , they had smooth skin , robust limbs with <unk> feet , and a ridge of skin on their <unk> . <unk> <unk> to small <unk> have also been found in <unk> and <unk> rocks . The <unk> , called <unk> , are usually found in strata deposited around freshwater environments , suggesting the animals had some ties to the water .