Generosity is the virtue of not being tied down by concerns about one's possessions. In the stories “Day 10, Story 3” and “ Day 10, Story 4” by Giovanni Boccaccio, the protagonists, Nathan and Gentile have a unique style of expressing their generosity and both have pure intentions towards helping people in need. Although, Nathan is more generous than Gentile as Gentile boasts about his generosity. In Both stories, the protagonists prove their generosity and kindness by their unique style and personality. Both, Nathan and Gentile would willingly do anything for the people in need. As they would both do anything and everything to make everyone feel comfortable and content. Nathan demonstrates his generosity by building “one of the largest, …show more content…
However, Nathan proves that when it comes to generosity he is superior to Gentile because Gentile boasts and has pride for being the most generous ; and both are proud of the title they have achieved. Though, Nathan does not boasts about his generosity, in fact he helps others and teaches them the importance of being generous and forgiving. Nathan advises Mithridanes to kill “Nathan” in the “little woods where, every morning Nathan takes a long, Leisurely walk all by himself ” (Story 3) so Mithridanes won't get caught. Also, it gave Nathan a chance to talk to Mithridanes alone and Nathan’s willingness to sacrifice his life, changed Mithridanes decision of killing Nathan. Although, Mithridanes was ashamed of what he was about to do, yet, Nathan did not boast about his generosity in fact he felt “ that the longer [he] keeps”(Story 4) the title of generosity “ the less value it will have”. Nathan does not criticize or depreciate Mithridanes , but gives Mithridanes his title and name. Whereas, Gentile grasps the opportunity to gloat about how kind and generous he is. Gentile very cleverly uses “the Persian custom” of honoring “the the thing [a gentleman] holds most dear”, like “his wife or his mistress”(story 4), and along with the Persian custom, Gentile presents the guest with a problem and ask for their suggestions. In reality, the problem is Gentile’s love life and he bring this problem up just to embarrass Niccoluccio. As Gentile wants the crowds attention on him and his sacrifice of love which clearly proves that he wanted people’s good attention, wanted them to think that he is the generous one. Both, Nathan and Gentle should feel proud of what they are known for but unlike Nathan, Gentile abused the power and the title by boasting and showing off, which eventually makes the reader realize that Gentile is actually a self-praising man, whereas Nathan genuinely wants to
In a short story called, “Thank you ma’am”, the author is trying to convey the theme, or message, of the importance of showing random acts of kindness towards others to help institute change. Mrs.J show one act of kindness when she washes his face. Another when she makes Roger food at her house. Mrs.J is kind and shows multiple examples throughout the story.
When Nick’s father told him that “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had” (1) he most likely meant not all people have the same opportunities in life. However, Nick perverted his father’s meaning and understood it as “a sense of the fundamental decencies us parcelled out unequally at birth” (2). Nick’s interpretation of his father’s advice provides insight into his conceited, somewhat supercilious attitude, as he believes that not all people are born with the same sense of manners and morality. Throughout the entirety of The Great Gatsby, Nick continuously elucidates on his poorness in many scenes. For instance, Gatsby, knowing that Nick was poor and did not earn much income, offered him an easy job, which Nick refused due to his honor.
Barbara Ascher’s, essay, “On Compassion,” compels the audience to interpret the compassion and empathy with their underlying definitions. Ascher states “I don’t believe that one is born compassionate. Compassion is not a character trait like a sunny disposition. It must be learned” (189). By depicting deeper meaning from three events which took place in Manhattan, New York, she helps her audience reanalyze the thought process when we believe that we have done something out of the “kindness of our hearts” without some kind of hidden agenda. Ascher requests that her audience takes a deeper look at the idea when she states “Could it be that the homeless, like those ancients, are reminding us of our common humanity? Of course, there is a difference. This play doesn’t end—and the players can’t go home” (189). After referring back to her everyday life examples of what anyone would all call acts of kindness she questions her audiences’ understanding. By analyze these story’s she informs the audience there is a thin line between compassion and pity or being empathetic and being annoyed.
The gift of knowledge and understanding would drive him crazy and he would pity the others in the cave. The others would not believe a word he said because they have never known anything but the shadows. This issue relates to Nick Carraway’s encounter and time with Jay in The Great Gatsby. When Nick met Jay, he had experienced a small portion of life and had experienced the “light” gaining an abundance of knowledge. As he spent time with Jay, who remained in the “cave”, slowly began to enter back into the darkness. Nick pitied Jay because he was missing out on so much simply because he would not let go of his fantasy which ultimately blocked out the “light”. You cannot pity one who refuses to advance into the light, for you will begin to lose your knowledge for the greater
She uses a string full of rhetorical questions throughout her article, as well, to make us contemplate whether people do deeds out of compassion, fear, or something else. She uses rhetorical questions such as “Was it fear or compassion that motivated that gift?”(6), “...what compels this woman to feed this man? Pity? Care? Compassion? Or does she simply want to rid her shop of his troublesome presence?”(9), and “Could it be that the homeless, like those ancients, are reminding us of our common humanity?”(14). These questions make the audience think and contemplate why these people did these acts of kindness. Ascher includes some of these rhetorical questions at the end of both of the narratives to force the readers to quickly analyze the situation and decide what the motivation was. As a result, I can conclude that one woman did it out of fear while the other did it out of compassion; therefore, this proves that people are not born compassionate, but they develop the quality later on in life. This is more effective instead of just expressing how she personally feels about each
By definition, altruism is "the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others". Through vigorous analysis, however, I have established it to be a complex ideology whose followers can be divided into three categories: slaves, abusers, and advocates. The slave abides by the ideals of 'pure' altruism. In other words, he does not act according to personal need or desire; humanity is all that matters. This is altruism in its purest form and is the branch of altruism which envelopes Catherine and allows her to feel a sense of purpose. Yet, much more common is the abuser of altruism. He is the altruist who ascertains and seizes any opportunity for personal gain by abusing the ostensibly philanthropic ideology. As ironic as this seems, it is common practice for one to proffer with the intention of receiving something in return. Peter Keating demonstrates how such an abuser manipulates altruism into a golden ladder by which he may reach success. Reigning over even the most conniving abuser is the omnipot...
In the story On Compassion, the author, Ascher, explains how no one is born with compassion and must be taught it. A homeless, black man was staring at a women’s baby in the stroller and she offered him a dollar. At first he was hesitant to take it, but eventually did. Later another man walks into an overpriced coffee shop in which the store owner handed him a bag with food. Ascher makes the readers question whether these were acts of fear, pity, or just simply out of the good of heart.
In the movie A Beautiful Mind, the description of schizophrenia is shown in many accurate ways. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) states that the symptoms of this disease are delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, or unorganized or catatonic behavior. People with schizophrenia are also socially withdrawn and awkward when in contact with other people. These traits of the sickness are shown in detail throughout the movie by way of the character John Nash’s struggle with the disease. Nash is a very intelligent professor but believes he is working with the government to foil a Soviet attack plot. Nash eventually goes onto win a Nobel Prize for one of his theories. The movie shows the effects of schizophrenia on not only one man, but also on the friends and family of the ill individual. Treatment is discussed but not to any great length due to him ignoring the doctor’s orders on medication. Overall the movie shows some very prevalent traits of the disease in great detail during certain parts of the film.
Our current society is not capable of turning into one similar to Gilead. Gilead is an unstable time period, for what was known to be the United States of America. There are several reasons why our society today cannot be one like Gilead. The people of Gilead do many acts that violate the Bill of Rights, which our society respects highly. The United States Constitution is also violated in the novel, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
In the beginning of this thrilling novel The Great Gatsby, one of the main characters named Nick tells us he is a non-judgemental person, the most honest person he knows, and that he doesn’t let people influence his outlook on life. As he witnesses first hand the differences between the rich and the not so wealthy with his new friend. But towards the ending of this book we see all of that change due to certain events that take place and he recognises this and regrets everything.
Nathaniel feels why he would not work for little for nothing when he can make twice as a beggar. Nathaniel don’t feel what his is doing is wrong. In fact he wants to help upcoming beggars. He wants to start a union and write a book about how to beg. He feels it can become a professing for cripples.
My attention was also drawn to several questions in this podcast, which made me eager to find the answers to these questions. For example, one interesting question I heard was “when you do see generosity how do you know it’s really generous” (Levy, 2010). This question stood out to me because it is one particular question I don’t think about often and made me wonder whether people help someone out because they see it as a duty. However, I believe the best answer to this question is the portrayal of the concept of norm of reciprocity, which indicates “the expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future” (Akert, Aronson, & Wilson, 2013, p.303). This is true because “generosity” happens when both persons are nice to each other and if an individual helps another person then it’s easy to assume that the person who was
The literary fiction “A Visit of Charity” is a deceptively simple story. Marian, is a young Campfire Girl, who dutifully visits an “Old Ladies’ Home” (122) to gain points for her charity work. Although, one would expect at first that Eudora Welty’s story would be all about charity, care, and being noble in the process of doing so. A closer look at the characters’ real motives, along with the settings and imagery reveals that the visit becomes one of selfishness which blinds people to the real needs of others, rather than being truly charitable and noble.
The Gift of a Lifetime: Sacrifice in a Tale of Two Cities. Some men are engraved eternally in the hearts and minds of those he inspired. It is done so in a fashion that allows his name to live eternally, long after his ephemeral existence. However, what truly sets a man apart from his lesser counterparts is his willingness to give without taking.
As presented by Aristotle, generosity is the intermediate of wastefulness and ungenerosity, wastefulness being the excess and ungenerosity being the deficiency. Ungenerosity is a greater evil than wastefulness and error in this direction is more common. It is always better to be wasteful than ungenerous but one should strive to reach the intermediate.