Definition of The Cold War - Essay Example

? Cold War Matt Barras Historical Contexts & Literature Lib 316 Prof. Stiene 27 May Cold War According to diplomatic terminologies, there are three basic types of wars. They include the hot war, warm war and the cold war. The cold war is a term used to illustrate the relation between the Soviet Union and America (1945-1991). The war can be described as the persistent military state and political tension amongst the two states (Leffler, 2008). The Soviet Union and its associates branded the Eastern bloc while the United States and their allies referred to as the Western bloc. The cold war was the tension that existed between the Western and Eastern blocs. After, the end of World War II, an English journalist named George Orwell used the term cold war in his essay. As stated above, the cold war led by the States, its NATO accomplices and the Soviet Union together with its satellite associate. Some of the Soviet Republics included Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Eastern Finland, Lithuania and Eastern Romania. These territories got liberated and transformed into satellite states (Leffler, 2008). The United States was the Western bloc while the Soviet Union was the Eastern bloc. The war commenced after the triumph of their coalition against Nazi Germany. This triggered political and economic differences among them. The worrying factor in the war period was the introduction of weapons of mass destruction. Prior to the war, the two superpowers fought together during World War II as they had one enemy in common (Arne, 2007). The reason behind the naming of the war originates from the fact that the war did not involve direct military action as both sides were in possession of nuclear weapons. Some of the prevalent issues that caused the war include; Truman’s dislike of Stalin, Russia’s dislike for capitalism, nuclear power secrets, fear of attack by the America, need to secure the western border and the need to spread communism across the world (Brown, 2011). However, there was rivalry through espionage, aid to client countries and propaganda campaigns. Some of the proxy wars that the Soviet Union fought with the United States is the Space Race (Leffler, 2008). Both parties sought a detente to relieve the military and political tensions (Arne, 2007). In the 1980s, the Western bloc increased their military, economic and diplomatic pressures, a time when the Soviet Union faced economic stagnation. The cold war was the first-ever war between the social and economic systems (Bahm, Enright, and van Tuyll, 2011). In this period, Britain’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, felt that the Soviet leader; Joseph Stalin was untrustworthy. Stalin got viewed as distrustful after Truman informed him of a new weapon that he was to use against the Japanese. In addition, Stalin knew about the weapon’s power after reports of Hiroshima went back to Moscow. He also asserted that World War II was an inevitable case of capital imperialism and that the implications of the war reoccurring were exceptionally high. The Soviet Union had a vast army known as the Red Army headed by the Zhukov. The United States region was in possession of the atomic bomb; the world’s most destructive weapon. (Bahm, Enright, and van Tyull, 2011) Patton, one of the leading generals in the Western bloc, recommended the bloc to fight the Red Army of the Soviet Union. In 1946, Churchill talked about the iron curtain that was to hit Europe in his speech in Missouri. The speech encompassed an Anglo-American deal based on fighting the Soviets. Between 1947 and 1953, the restraint rose through the Korean War. By 1947, the U.S president Harry Truman got urged to counter the Soviet’s influence (Bahm, Enright, and van Tyull, 2011). Afterwards, the American government adopted a restraint position. The goal was to halt the spread of communism (Pipes, 2003). Truman also gave a speech for allotment of 400 million dollars to intercede it the war. He also unveiled the Truman Doctrine that viewed the difference between the two blocs as rivalry between totalitarian and free regimes. Later on in 1947, the United States, France and Britain attempted to sign a treaty with the USSR. In accordance with the Truman Doctrine, the United States endorsed the Marshall Plan, which was a pledge of economic assistance to all countries in Europe. The Marshall Plan aim was rebuilding the economic and democratic systems of Europe (Sanders, 2005). The plan stated the Europeans affluence was reliant upon the economic recovery of Germany. Later, Truman appended the National Security Act thereby creating a fused National Security Council, the CIA and the DoD. This roused fear in Stalin who was reluctant of a reconstituted Germany, since; this would be a threat to the Soviet Union. Stalin came up with the Berlin Blockade which prevented aid from the United States from reaching the citizens of West Berlin. However, this led to the Berlin airlift program partaken by the United States together with its associates (Brown, 2011). In 1949, the United States among others, signed the North Atlantic theory which led to the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In 1953, radical changes got made in the political leadership of both blocs. After Stalin’s death, the Soviet leadership got taken up by Nikita Khrushchev. His death (Sanders 2005) reduced the tension in Europe. This made the Soviets form the Warsaw pact in 1955 due to their large network of treaties. Khrushchev always threatened the West with their nuclear power, stating that they had the potential of wiping out the European countries and the United States (Lewis 2006). In November 1958, he made an attempt to turn Berlin into an independent country. In this period, there was also the commencement of the European integration promoted by both Eisenhower and Truman. In 1962, Khrushchev learnt about America’s plan towards Cuba. The plan Cuban project approved by the CIA in order to overthrow the Cuban government evidenced by the Cuban Missile crisis in 1962. Towards the end of the war, tension mounted between both sides. There was a disagreement between them and Afghanistan. The Soviet military supported the Marxist government. Ronald Reagan had immense interest in the cold war (Lewis, 2006). In 1980, Reagan became the president and promised to defeat the Soviet Union, eradicate communism and increased the military spending on wars (Pipes, 2003). He developed the Reagan Doctrine aimed at anticommunism. Even Pope John Paul II focused on how to alleviate communism (Brown, 2011).In 1988, the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan. Hungary and Berlin became independent, Germany got reunited, and the Warsaw Pact came to an end. The cold war got declared officially at the Malta Summit on December 3, 1989 by George Bush (Arne, 2007). There have been various literary contexts about the cold war like “The Remains of the Day by Ishiguro Kazuo”. The Remains of the Day incorporate two memory streams – the present, in 1956, and the past, in the 1920s and 1930s. The narrator, Stevens, goes on a trip where he reflects on his past and the happy days of England. He realizes the ideals he has stuck to in his entire life no longer hold. He is nostalgic of the old English ways and the world that ended with Lord Darlington’s death, his previous master. As Britain’s imperial power and role in world affairs come to an end, wealth and privileges slip away from its nobility. The old structure got confronted by better ideals. America, the promoter of these ideals, was the new superpower. Darlington Hall had a new owner Mr. Farraday a wealthy American (Ishiguro, 1989). Mr. Farraday symbolizes the newly rich who were in Lord Darlington’s days and got despised by the noble families. The main house welcomed many prominent persons who gathered to talk about “the great world issues.” On such instances, Stevens and his servants made sure the guests received the best service. Stevens describes the great, extravagant dinner parties and stylish, prominent people who came to dine and reside at the Darlington Hall. It is progressively revealed mainly through Stevens’ interaction with other characters, rather than through his own acknowledgement that Lord Darlington had a mistaken notion about the German agenda before World War II. Lord Darlington empathized with the Nazis. Lord Darlington also arranged and hosted the dinner parties between the heads of Germany and Britain to aid both countries to come to a peaceful accord. The narrator maintains that Darlington was an ideal gentleman. He believes that it was a shame that Lord Darlington’s reputation got tainted just because he misinterpreted the Nazis' true motives. He became filled with melancholy about those years, when his staff would number twenty-eight, knowing they would never return. He forgets what hurts him and only remembers what he can stand. All these events happened during the World and Great War. Stevens cannot recall the war. This also happens during the independence of the colonies when he decides to go to bed. There is a parallel between Stevens’ memories and the British history. Stevens avoids recalling the events because he believes he never contributed to it. The only way he can say he contributed to history is by avoiding the significance of astronomical events. There are various historical figures in the text like Winston Churchill and Lord Halifax. However, Stevens equalizes them to unknown people like Mr. Graham and Mr. Marshall. The latter got referred to with so much respect and admiration. The narrator explores differences between the old English and American culture. The latter had freedom of expression and opinion while the English culture did not. The spread of American culture into England got fastened by the two world wars, and it ends Stevens’ old ideals. Stevens got portrayed as a character unable to think for himself. He thinks loyalty to his master is the only thing that matters. This old service culture in England changed radically after the two wars. Stevens decides to change when the old ways had gone already. He relates passive English nature scenery to the modest way of noble behavior. According to him the English countryside is more regal than the attractive American landscape. The English landscape that he admires on the onset of the road trip is significant such that he applies the same principles of greatness of this landscape to himself. He believes that the English landscape is attractive because of its restraint, calmness, and lack of marvels. Stevens fruitfully cultivates these qualities in his life as a person aspiring to be great. However, at the end of the text, Stevens was no longer certain if he had been wise to stick to those values so firmly, to the omission of open- mindedness and love. The book focuses on the narrator’s biography, and personal history symbolizes a break from the old-fashioned approach to history and historicity. Dealing with his private and public past and handling it, is an important theme that reoccurs within the dissertation of British postmodern style. In The Remains of the day as an example of Stevens’s manner of narrating, history stands out in the discourse (Ishiguro, 1988). The plot in a typical sense is quite invariable. Stevens, the narrator, is not objective and trustworthy at all. As his memory plays ruses on him, his language alters to reveal the real truth which got buried under the layers of self-deceit. This language is as a vital weapon, and it is used by the narrator, as a means of defeat of the state of affairs. Another literary text is “My First Loves” by Ivan Klima. In the introductory story, the narrator hunkers in an oppressive Prague ghetto. He hopes he will not be the next person to be dragged away by the SS. He struggles to comprehend the reason for his father’s incarceration, not by the Nazis, but by the communists whom he so expressively and honestly championed. The narrator is his own hero in this set of love stories. This story of sorts explains the significant loves of the narrator’s younger life. His loves shape him up for the political mayhem and confusion. It begins at an early age where he gets interested in a woman who serves his milk as he lived in the slums (Klima, 1988). Each woman portrays her own truth. He also gives them the truth in his search to discover them. He knows these women had a past before they met. He is disturbed as he thinks he is inexperienced. The narrator is honest in character and passions. He does not shy from the fact he seems unrealistic. This melancholic and lyrical quartet of stories on disenchantment, love and obsession follows this boy in one Czech ghetto to his life as a student under the Marxist regime. This text mainly integrates the theme of love that is doomed to that of treacherous politics. ``Miriam'' represents devoutness to the narrator. She offers him a special portion of milk when he was in the ghetto. After some time, she is no longer in love. He is thrown into a distress worse than the nervousness prompted by the story of his aunt. His Aunt Sylvia offers food that is stolen to the family for them to celebrate her wedding. Unfortunately, she is deported to a camp with her husband on what would otherwise mean to be their honeymoon. The story ``My Country'' presents the outrages of the recent war that are pondered over. The fames and hazards of a spanking communism are evaluated. The contemplative narrator realizes that an elder woman could also yearn for him and make love (Klima, 1988).” The woman in this story is the wife of a loutish doctor. The narrator meets them when he is on a family vacation. This encounter between a sensitive young boy and an unsatisfied older woman is flavored by the distinct descriptions of the people around them and the way they carry themselves. Politics sets in. The narrator's father, a principled engineer, enthuses over the new age, when economic scroungers will disappear. He tells the doctor that he hopes only people who are working would share out the goods they fairly produce. Another interesting story is ``The Truth Game.'' Here, the hero experiences a double loss of naivety. He ascertains both the disloyalties of his first lover, an erratic, obsessive but alluring liar, and of an autocratic, enigmatic Czech Communist leader. The paralleling of romantic instigation and political trauma, the narrator’s major structural ploy, often occurs through patchwork juxtapositions. The narrator’s experiences during the Cold War and a dictatorial regime forced him to find solace and power in his writing. He desires to love and to be loved, but in return he is heartbroken. It is easy to feel the pain in his words. He is not a brave character, but his writing is full of honesty. He clearly explains the story of his nation from a Nazi holding camp until when Russian invaded. He depicts the mystical image of a gymnast on rope who could fall any moment. References Arne, O. (2007). The global cold war: Third world interventions and the making of times. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Print Brown, A. (2011). The rise and fall of communism. Oxford: Ecco Press. Print Leffler, M. (2008). For the soul of mankind: The United States and the Cold War. New York: Hill and Wang Publishers. Print Lewis, J. (2006). The cold war: A new history. New York: Penguin publishers. Print Pipes, R. (2003). Communism: A history. Harvard modern library. Print Sanders, T. (2005). Encounters in world history: Sources and themes from the global past. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers. (Bahm, Enright, and van Tyull, (2011). Historical Contexts and Literature. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Read More