Besoin D'aide Pour Une Correction D'oral

[Lebe-dein-leben]

Bonjour à tous,

voici le texte que j'ai rédigé sur la notion "Formes et lieux de pouvoir" pour le bac. Pourriez-vous y jeter un coup d'oeil?

Merci beaucoup!

PLACES & FORMS OF POWER

In my presentation, the notion 'Places & Forms of Power' will be illustrated by three documents that all have the idea of power in common, that is to say an ability to influence the behavior of others or the political or social authority exercised by a government, individuals or an institution.

This year we studied the USA and during the cold war period in the 1950's, there was a 'red scare'. Indeed the western block was afraid of the Soviet block. McCarthyism is an episode in America during the 1950's, also known as the "Red Scare" and frequently called witch hunt. It means all investigations and repression about American Communists, their sympathizers or supposed.

So I'd like to ask 'how can we explain the hysteria & witch-hunting in the USA in the 1950's ?'

To answer these questions, we studied a passage from a book by Douglas Kennedy, about the McCarthy period. Then I've got an extract of The McCarthy Witch Hunt, a novelette by Kim Newman. Finally I've got a short biography of Charlie Chaplin who left the USA in 1953 because he was accused of communist sympathies.

So let's have a look at the passage of the book The Pursuit of Happiness written in 2002 by Douglas Kennedy, a popular writer today. It's about the atmosphere of the cold war in 1950's America. In this episode, Sara is upset, she can't understand how her lover Jack could have given her brother's name to the un-American activities committee. Indeed Jack said her brother was a communist and named names. Because of this, Sara's brother lost his job & committed suicide. Jack tries to justify himself, he tells that he had no choice. But for Sara, Jack should have refused to give names and she says that everybody could choose. Her brother might be alive now. She can see that the man she's in love with is a coward. This shows the climate of the 1950's. Naming names is easy but can have tragic consequences...

Now the second text is an extract of The McCarthy Witch Hunt, a novelette by Kim Newman. It was written in 1992 but the scene takes place in the USA in the 1950's too. Mrs Stevens is being questioned about her activities. Her name has been given to the authorities. They both Roy Cohn and Finlay want Mrs Stevens to give the names oft twelve people who are involved in illegal activities. When she does, she will be free to go home. But she realizes that Roy Cohn and Finlay have some evidence against her . She says that she'd better talk with a lawyer, but Roy Cohn wants to convince her that she doesn't need a lawyer if she just names names. He might be bluffing. Mrs Stevens knows she can no longer hide the truth. She feels resigned and helpless, she knows that there's no way out if she doesn't give names. She started crying...

Finally let's look at the biography of Charlie Chaplin. He was born in London & came from a poor family. He spent most of his childhood in orphanages. He started work in the movie industry in 1913 and soon became famous with his films 'The Tramp', 'The Gold Rush', 'The Kid'... But in 1952, he was accused of Communist sympathies so he left the USA & went to live in Switzerland. He said 'I was fed up of America's insults and moral pomposity'. In 1957, his film 'A King in New York' is a criticism of McCarthy and American society, never shown in the USA. Charlie Chaplin was a man who had made the American dream come true. He returns in 1972 to the USA to receive a special Academy Award and died a few years later in Switzerland.

So the question was 'why is there a tradition of hysteria & witch-hunting in the USA?'

The study of these documents shows us that there is a history of witch-hunting in American society:

For Sara in Douglas Kennedy's novel, the communist witch hunt was a personal tragedy caused by her lover's cowardice. For Mrs Stevens in the Kim Newman's novelette, she's scared that something bad will happen to her if she doesn't cooperate. During this period, the American Senator McCarthy said that if you were a communist you were an enemy of America. For American society, Charlie Chaplin was an American success story but his ideas were too liberal & dangerous. He had to be challenged.

So we can see that McCarthy's communist witchhunts were an abuse of power. But it was not the first time. The writer Arthur Miller sayd that the communist witch hunt was like the puritan witch hunts. So witch hunts have happened before in American society and they can happen again...

[Jean B]

Bonjour,

Juste quelques petits points à réparer :

Now the second text is an extract of from The McCarthy Witch Hunt,…

He returned to the USA in 1972 to receive a special Academy Award and died a few years later in Switzerland.

For Mrs Stevens in the Kim Newman's novelette,…

For To American society, Charlie Chaplin was an American success story…

Enfin, say devient said/said au prétérit et pp.

[Lebe-dein-leben]

Merci beaucoup pour cette correction!