Compassion is the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress, with a desire to alleviate it. In The Vampire Diaries, by Julie Plec, the vampire Damon Salvatore learns compassion. After being turned by Katherine Pierce in 1864, Damon has lived for over 150 years, going from town to town, feeding on innocent citizens for sport. He does this until he gets bored, or until he realizes there is someone better to torture, such as his brother Stefan, who has only ever tried to help. Flash forward to 2009 Damon returns to his hometown, Mystic Falls, a town once filled with vampires until they were all chased out, or killed. He returned to ruin Stefan’s relationship with Elena Gilbert, presumably by killing her. However he wound up sparing her life …show more content…
He never made friends unless it was for personal gain. However he soon finds himself surrounded by friends who love and care for him, even if he is reluctant to care back. One of his most important friends is Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes. The two started off to a rough start, her being the leader of a council who hunted vampires, and him being a vampire, but mutual friends helped the two put their differences away in order to work towards a common enemy, the other vampires. The first time the two actually worked together was when Damon helped save the life of her only child,Caroline. Damon risked his own life to stop a moving vehicle to prevent Caroline from being taken, and for this the sheriff was always grateful. This friendship was one of the most important to the story. When Liz got cancer, Damon worked endlessly to find a cure, however he was unfortunately unsuccessful. Although Damon never said it to her face, in his eulogy for her, he said how he would miss his “best friend”. Damon’s ability to make and care for a new friend shows how his compassion grew in the …show more content…
However, when those close to him die, he feels grief just like the rest of the world. Alaric Saltzman was his wingman, drinking buddy, and overall best friend. When Alaric was killed by a witch and turned into a vampire, and then killed again to spare the lives of everyone around him, Damon was beyond upset. He let his true feelings show by crying at his grave. However his compassion was most apparent because he became a role model for Elena and Jeremy, who were living under Alaric after their Aunt Jenna died. He cared for Jeremy like a little brother and always made sure Elena was safe. He also showed compassion after his friend and love interest Rose died. The two were originally enemies but soon realized they shared qualities and became romantically involved. The two would never admit to feeling anything for the other, but when Rose was nearing death, Damon did his best to finally give her peace and make sure she was comfortable. He spent many hours risking his life to find a cure that would allow her to live. When nothing could be done, he struggled to find a witch that would help him, but in the end he allowed Rose to feel the sun on her skin, something she hadn’t done since she was a human, around 500 years ago. These deaths along with several others led to Damon grieving and becoming more compassionate to the living around
The definition of compassion: sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. As this definition shows compassion shows concern for other that every person would love to have. In The Chosen written by Chaim Potok, Mr. Potok really presents compassion in his book. Not only does he display compassion in one of his character but in every single one he gives them compassion that is expressed in different ways. He goes into detail example of compassion with each of his characters and really emphasizes the true meaning of compassion.
Friendship is an unbreakable bond between two people and contains loyalty and love. In the story Chains, Isabel finds herself in grand friendships that play throughout the story. She showed how devoted she was towards Lady Lockton, Curzon, and Ruth by being there for them during tough times. In the end, friendship is the light through the darkness, powerful and important.
“I looked anxiously. I didn’t see anybody… I’d keep my head up and my eyes open-‘You got a smoke to spare?’” (Walters 3). In Shattered, Eric Walters hauls the reader through the life of Ian, the protagonist who experiences the joy of helping others. Throughout this white pine award novel, Ian continually offers help to people around him reflecting to them that their lives are not perfect and they ought to alter it somewhat. Furthermore, the author effectively compares the significance of family and the importance of acquiring a dream in life. Through the book, Eric Walters demonstrates the theme of compassion through the incidents of Ian helping Jack to overcome his drinking problems, showing Berta the value of patriot and always there for the less fortunate.
The drama, Mission of Mercy, by Esther Lipnick is a very inspiring read. It tells about a girl who doesn’t want to be like her proper, fancy family at all. Instead she wants to become a nurse. She leaves her home and becomes a nurse. It inspires me because both of my parents, and other family members of mine, are teachers, although I’m not going to be one. Mission of Mercy is a drama that could inspire many people to go for what they want, even if other people don’t always approve of it. Florence changes throughout all of the the scenes 1, 2, and 3.
A true friendship is always having each others back through thick and thin, a ride or die. As Claire has been put under a lot of danger the boys were always there to watch over her and protect her like she was a sister. Even when they knew that the secrets could potentially harm them they stayed by her side to ensure her safety to the best of their abilities. For example, Nicholas never left her alone anywhere and always accompanied Claire. When Claire was kidnapped Nicholas was there to try and protect her but was shot. Claire had a choice to make and chose to protect him which saved his life. “I wondered if my friendship and love could ever be an even trade for the pain they had endured” (Maetani 366). Claire is aware of the pain and hardship the boys and her family has faced as she reached further through the past and was distressed for the pain they had faced. True friends will do anything to ensure the safety of each other despite the challenges and adversities encountered.
Friendship is defined as the emotion and conduct of two people who care deeply for one another in a platonic manner. Something Wicked This Way Comes, written by Ray Bradbury, explored the friendship between two childhood friends, Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway, as they defeated the danger in their city, Greentown. William F. Russell portrayed in his version of Damon and Pythias the friendship of Damon and Pythias as they learned the importance of time and death. Jim and Will truly embodied friendship compared to Damon and Pythias through their struggle and triumph, Damon and Pythias along with Jim and Will displayed the meaning of being a true friend.
There are many types of friendships good ones and bad ones. For example in the novela “Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck George and Lennie are the main characters of this novela. George and Lennie face many obstacles throughout their journey. George helped Lennie and lead him throughout this journey. George is a good friend towards Lennie in my opinion because he does so much for him.
whatever it takes to keep them alive. That is not moral, that is legal. But
A wise man once stated, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man 's needs, but not every man 's greed.” -Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was one of the wise people that realized we need to take better care of our home planet Earth. Another wise person who also thought the Earth should be taken better care of was Rachel Carlson. In 1962 Carlson wrote “The Obligation to Endure” in hopes to educate people on this matter. In this essay I am going to explain how Carlson’s ideas have changed since she wrote her book in 1962.
Statistically, over 670,000 Americans are homeless with a growing number. 48 million people go to bed hungry every night. Although we do provide shelters and opportunities in America, millions of people are homeless worldwide. Even on a more minor level there are still hundreds homeless within hometowns. Everyday we encounter the homeless whether by seeing them holding their personal signs at stoplights, confronts with beggars, or viewing them from afar under bridges. In her essay titled “On Compassion”, writer Barbara Ascher uses rhetorical techniques detailing some of her personal homeless experiences within the city life, Asher does effectively use logos, pathos,
On 1/13/16, I watched the TED Talk of Gregory Boyle, “Compassion and Kinship,” a founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries. He explained how we should form a relationship with others so that we can come together as one rather than being enemies towards each other. Specifically he claimed that having kinship and compassion breaks down barriers it allows people who don’t fit society’s standards know that their life has value, meaning, and worth. As he said, “How can we achieve a certain kind of compassion that stands in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgement at how they carry it, for the measure of our compassion lies not in our service of those on the margins but in our willingness to see ourselves and kinship with them and mutuality.” Although some people believe that once they choose to make bad decisions, they have
Empathy is imperative to teach kids from a young age in order to help them recognize mental states, such as thoughts and emotions, in themselves and others. Vital lessons, such as walking in another’s shoes or looking at a situation in their perspective, apprehends the significance of the feelings of another. Our point of view must continuously be altered, recognizing the emotions and background of the individual. We must not focus all of our attention on our self-interest. In the excerpt, Empathy, written by Stephen Dunn, we analyze the process of determining the sentiment of someone.
Radey, M., & Figley, C. R. (2007). The social psychology of compassion. Clinical Social Work Journal, 35(3), 207-214.
In numerous interviews, creator Joss Whedon has explained that the inspiration for Buffy the Vampire Slayer struck while he was watching horror films and TV shows in which pretty women run away from or get killed by monsters in alleyways. Whedon claims he wanted to give this paradigmatic girl-victim a new role: that of the monster-killing hero. Whedon's explanation of his own artistic inspiration reveals at least two things about him as a film-viewer and maker: first, his description suggests his awareness of the pervasive, archetypal quality of the traditional, mainstream horror film. Second, his description rather coyly fails to account for the more marginal genre of the "slasher film," in which the pretty girl often does kill the monster in the alleyway.
Empathy is like reading a story; although the events in the story aren't happening to us, we are still able to connect emotionally to them. If a character in a story we like is hurt, we feel bad for them but oppositely if a character we hate is hurt, we feel relieved or even glad. Whether we like the protagonist or antagonist we have the natural ability to feel an emotional connection to others like us. Agreeing with the article ”Empathy is a actually a choice” by Daryl Cameron, because of this instinct to choose a certain type of person to connect with, empathy is a choice.