People are mysterious, and even the most open book full of secrets. An eight-year-old girl, with seemingly nothing to hide, will guard her diary with fierceness much like a mother protecting her young. Whether she is trying to hide something, or simply protecting her feelings, she is a picture of the very nature of humans. People are fundamentally private and do not want their lives open for public scrutiny. This begs to question how people choose those who are worthy of knowing their secrets. A commonly held opinion is that a confidant who never relinquishes information is the only trustworthy type. There are popular conceptions about most of the different types of confidants, though the discerning confidant is widely misconceived and undervalued. The Slipper and the Blabbermouth are largely seen as untrustworthy; still the offenses of the Slipper tend to be diminished for their effort in being discreet. The Slipper understands the need for secrecy and truly believes they are keeping confidence when they share intimate information. However, this brand of information transfer is likely to resemble a children’s game of telephone as the story morphs with each whisper. Suddenly, “Sally is mad at Joey” turns into, “Sally beat up Joey at recess,” and then, “Sally broke Joey’s nose,” all before Joey even knows anyone is mad at him. Because no one really knows who said what, the Slipper is off the hook, due largely to their poor attempt at discretion. The Blabbermouth is less discreet, but like the Slipper finds satisfaction in being the bearer of news. They feel little, if any, concern for the person they are betraying. This is evident as they continue to hunt for information and opportunities to pass around the newest b... ... middle of paper ... ...heir self-defined lines while handling the same situation in their own way. The song “Takes All Kinds,” sung by the duo Montgomery Gentry, captures this idea in its lyrics “…just tryin’ to keep in between the lines. To each his own.” The duo’s song portrays types of people whose only commonality is their circumstance; they are sharing the same stretch of road. He refers to them as each being “a spoke in the wheel.” When spinning in the common wheel of secrecy, whatever the moral reasoning of these confidants, they each have their own unique manner that causes people to develop various conceptions of them. In evaluating their behavior and moral reasoning, it becomes evident the misconceived Discerner stands apart from the rest as the ideal confidant. Works Cited Montgomery Gentry. “Takes All Kinds.” Uulyrics.com. ToneFuse Music. 2011. Web. 27 February, 2011.
The reading “Stranger Than True” by Barry Winston is not familiar to me, yet an intriguing and fascinating story. The principal point of the writer, who specializes in criminal law tried to convey was that everything isn't so black and white. Everybody is honest until demonstrated blameworthy despite all proof points against them.
In “A Half-Pint of Old Darling”, by Wendell Berry, being honest is an important factor in a relationship. Miss Minnie and Ptolemy Proudfoot are a prime example as such when they keep secrets from one another, but then fix some things with the truth. They head over a major road bump that is eventually solved after being honest with one another. It seemingly makes their relationship stronger when the story concludes. Most of the secrets are kept in fear of hurting the other, which ends up happening one day when Tol sneaks Old Darling alcohol into their buggy. It is seen that hiding the truth means one is not being honest to his or her self, as well as to another. In this story, secrets leave speculation as to just how well Miss Minnie and Ptolemy Proudfoot’s relationship really is, and if things end up changing after a huge mistake.
In Harry Mulisch’s novel The Assault, the author not only informs society of the variance in perception of good and evil, but also provides evidence on how important it is for an innocent person experiencing guilt to come to terms with their personal past. First, Mulisch uses the characters Takes, Coster, and Ploeg to express the differences in perspective on the night of the assault. Then he uses Anton to express how one cannot hide from the past because of their guilt. Both of these lessons are important to Mulisch and worth sharing with his readers.
Deception is present in Tennessee Williams’s drama ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, William Shakespeare’s Tragedy ‘Othello’ and L. P. Hartley’s novel ‘The Go-Between’; the writers choose to use characterisation to explore the theme in depth. Often the protagonists of each text are the primary offenders of deceit, though some supporting characters mislead as well; although Iago is the antagonist of ‘Othello’, he is incomparably the most deceitful character in the entire play. Similarly, Williams uses Blanche to develop the plot by misleading the other characters and even herself at times, though arguably, unlike Iago, Blanche is presented as a character who lacks the motivation to hurt anyone. Conversely Leo, although the protagonist and narrator of the novel, is not the most deceitful character – Ted Burgess and Marian Maudsley not only coerce him into the deceit, but they themselves are presented as masters of the game they play, however, this essay will focus on Leo as he is a unique symbol of deceit; he is unaware of the consequences of his actions.
Who can people trust in dire times. Many people don’t believe they have someone to fall back on. Family has this position covered. for example “Chee’s daughter”, “Catch the moon”, and “Two kinds”, family takes the stage. Particularly all of these stories show that people need to believe in what they have for support. Family will always be there. In fact, in “Chee’s daughter” there is a prime example of his daughter never giving up on him. Another key point is when people have no family to fall back on, their life falls apart. For this example, “Catch the moon” is a perfect story. A point often overlooked is that family can be to hard on some people. As a matter of fact, “Two kinds” is the epitome of this saying. As shown above these stories clearly link to the idea of family.
When pondering about what an individual thinks of you, people have varying views. Some people are not concerned; to others it is the most critical matter on their mind. The feeling of being judged is a very potent emotion. Likewise, conformity is one of the largest controversies in today’s society; the behavior of someone in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. So if someone personally made his or her expectations on what you should be like evident, would you change? In Matthew Quick’s The Silver Linings Playbook, he illustrates that judgment and expectations conform a person into someone they are not due to their personal identity. This can be seen through a character’s loyalty to another, dominance and the vulnerability it includes, and a character’s love and devotion. Conformity and the reasons for its appearance will be analyzed through samples from Matthew Quick’s bestselling novel.
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since."Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had." He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgments. (1). To me, it seems as if the narrator, Nick, is very privileged, but he was raised with a moral conscious. Since he grew up in a privileged society, Nick knows that all anyone truly cares about is the size of someone’s wallet. Nick’s father’s advice allows him to not pass judgment on anyone and it allows Nick to be more conscience of his [class] whenever he meets new people. (Example: When Jordan spoke about class and he asked her to change the subject). His reserved judgement makes him want to have “the world to be uniformed.”
When two siblings are born together, and are close in age, many people wonder whether they will be the same or different altogether. A “River Runs through it” shows two brothers who grew up in the same household, and grew up loving to do the same activity fly fishing. Both brothers were raised in a very strict presbyterian household. Norman is the older brother, and he is much more responsible and family orientated. Paul is the irresponsible younger brother; Paul as an adult was not at home much anymore. Both brothers were loved equally as children, but how they view and use love is what separates them. Paul and Norman differ in behavior and character.
Yet another example includes the parable entitled “The Ministers Black Veil” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, where a highly respected minister is looked down upon for wearing a black veil over his face. The minister is aware of the gossip his veil initiates within the town, but continues to wear it despite the opinions of others. The importance of maintaining ones individuality under the pressures of conformity is an idea most pertinent to “Outside of a Small Circle of Friends”, “The Dying Girl that No One Helped”, and “The Minister’s Black Vail”.
Harris, George C. "Testimony for Sale: The Law and Ethics of Snitches and Experts." Pepperdine Law Review (2000-2001): 28. Online.
...us on deadly revenge. In each case, a retribution that is carried out in a cruel and callous fashion. The men fulfilling these actions are cold, calculating, and contemplative. They have painstakingly endeavored to seek retribution against what has plagued them: Fortunato and his insults to the Montresor and the old man’s piercing, chilling eye for the man from “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Driven to the point of madness by their own obsessions, they plot to murder their offenders. The tales are told each by the man who has indeed committed the crime. Each man’s insanity becomes more and more clear as they narrate confession; the Montresor with the unfailing ease with which he dictates his account and the man from “The Tell-Tale Heart” with his jagged and rough delivery. Their distinct mental instability calls into question to reliability of the report they give.
One of the guests, Vera Claythorne, was guilty of killing Cyril Hamilton, a young boy she babysat who came from a wealthy family. Her explanation to the accusation was, “Cyril was forbidden to swim out far. One day, when my attention was distracted, he started off. I swam after him . . . I couldn’t get there in time . . . It was awful . . . But it wasn’t my fault.”(Christie pg. 44). It was discovered later that Vera had lied. Vera was dating Cyril’s uncle, Hugo. If anything were to happen to Cyril, Hugo would inherit all of Cyril’s money. So, Vera decided she would get rid of Cyril and marry Hugo for the money. One day, Cyril went out too far in the water and started to drown. Vera swam out to him but swam very slowly so she wouldn’t reach him. When she got to Cyril, he was dead. Everyone believed it was an accident, except for Hugo, who knew what she had done. After that, Hugo wouldn’t marry her and Vera regretted letting him swim out farther. This just proves that however innocent someone may be or act, they may have a dark secret--something you would never
An issue which is mentioned throughout the story is the concept of “Ignorance is bliss”, which is an old cliche meaning what we don’t know can’t hurt us. While massaging his naked female neighbor’s body, the narrator is asked if he’s going to tell his mother. No, he answers. “So you even know that certain things are better left unsaid! You really are a devil” (Mahfouz, 13). The neighbor makes the obvious point that sometimes there are things that don’t have to be repeated, for the benefit of all the parties involved. Some might argue that the Truth will always come out, and by hiding it someone will end up being affected by it much more later on. But that is only if the information does get repeated. Knowledge doesn’t always have to be repeated, as was shown by our narrator and his neighbor. If the narrator had told his mother, would any of the parties benefit from this knowledge?
It is a story that provides the ultimate explanation of how two different people who are witnesses to a crime give completely different psychological recollections of the same event. The author reminds us that truth depends on the telling. Someone must step forward and tell that truth.
“…each private world manifests a fixed and distinctive way of reacting to and ordering experiences” (Vickery 50). They may choose to constrain their reaction to the realm of audible indulgence in the form of word, through the actions they take, or by reflecting upon the situation in contemplation. These responses shed light upon what kind of personality each character possesses.