Hardships are a part of life that will never go away. No matter what we do, somehow we always seem to find a brick wall that stands in our way and life just seems to give us a giant slap to the face. But no matter how frustrating life can be we need these walls in our life; without them we wouldn’t learn the difference between right and wrong. We are faced with decisions that will affect us for possibly the rest of our lives. In the novel Silence, Father Sebastian Rodrigues goes through unbearable trials and pain while faced with the decision that holds the lives of innocent people including his own life. Silence takes place in Japan as Rodrigues searches for his former teacher, Father Ferreira. Along with another priest, Father Garrpe, they travel …show more content…
Father Rodrigues chooses to trample on the fumie just to save the people dying. The fumie, a mere picture of Jesus, was just a formality. The Japanese translator explains to Rodrigues that he could trample on this picture and “only go through with the exterior form of trampling” (Endo 171). The translator fabricates the actions of stepping on the fumie saying that he can step on it and it can mean nothing because it is ultimately his internal motives that matter. The priest is misled by believing this because through his actions of trampling on the fumie in the eyes of man he apostatizes. In the book of Matthew, Jesus says that “…whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (English Standard Version, Matt. 10.33) Even if Rodrigues trampled on the fumie just to save the people, everyone on Earth observations this as him renouncing his faith and based on what Jesus says he also observations this as renouncing his faith he deny him. Rodrigues openly is denying Christ and what he believes in and what he lived
He spends his last few hours of freedom before his death washing all twelve disciples' feet and drying them. Pope Francis Re creating this ritual was intended to send a message to the people whose feet were being washed. In source 2, the people’s feet being washed were inmates of a juvenile prison, who are considered vulnerable people in society. The twelve inmates were of different nationalities and religions. The Pope washed, dried and kissed the inmates feet which is the ultimate act of humility. Jesus originally did this to his disciples. To show that their lives must be one of servitude to others especially those most vulnerable. By the leader of the Catholic church doing this ritual it highlights the present themes of the Catholic church of servitude to others and shows that even the Pope lives a life of servitude to others. In this case, the servitude is for the vulnerable, which the pope is trying to show the values that contemporary Catholicism represents. Besides the washing of the feet Pope Francis also say’s “do not give up on hope, but rather look to God for an answer”. This is meant to show God’s forgiveness and grace by giving them an avenue where they can consolidate themselves through God. This is despite breaking the law and possibly not being of the Catholic faith, Pope Francis actions it shows God’s grace. This act of love
In the silent era of Brockmeier’s city, individuals grew into a lethargic existence, “The drunks in the bars turned amiable and mild. The jails were unusually tranquil...The great roar of the city had stopped, [the birds in cockfights] becoming as useless as pigeons, virtually impossible to provoke to violence” (Brockmeier 53). Indeed, “The silence was beneficial for us” as suggested by modern science, but people began to remember what they lost: “the fire, the vigor, that came with a lack of ease” (Brockmeier 61). To be more concise, this fire and vigor came with the difficulty and the thrill of the chase, “Our lives seemed no less purposeful than they had during the silence, but it was as if that purpose were waiting several corners away from us now, rather than hovering in front of our eyes” (Brockmeier 62). Of course, while Brockmeier is merely describing these traits as a benefit or asset of silence or noise respectively, it could be applied with relevancy to the state of the individual. Meditation is only gaining popularity while “low-noise” becomes a commodity sought after; however, perhaps in the hunt of silence, individuals often neglect to learn the ability to thrive in dissonance. While Brockmeier reminds us of the
No one knows what will happen in his or her life whether it is a trivial family dispute or a civil war. Ishmael Beah and Mariatu Kamara are both child victims of war with extremely different life stories. Both of them are authors who have written about their first-hand experience of the truth of the war in order to voice out to the world to be aware of what is happening. Beah wrote A Long Way Gone while Kamara wrote The Bite of the Mango. However, their autobiographies give different information to their readers because of different points of view. Since the overall story of Ishmael Beah includes many psychological and physical aspects of war, his book is more influential and informative to the world than Kamara’s book.
The critics who perceived this book's central theme to be teen-age angst miss the deep underlying theme of grief and bereavement. Ambrosio asks the question, "Is silence for a writer tantamount to suicide? Why does the wr...
The motif of silence is also used to explore theme of injustice when Wesley, Gail and David are driving home silently from the ranch. The silence foreshadows major role reversal as Gail argues for the law and Wes answers that God will punish Frank. Gale is outraged and upset. She argues “sins – crimes – are not supposed to go unpunished” (p 85). Wes argues that Frank will stop and prosecuting Fra...
By, using “Young Goodman Brown”, and “The Masque of Red Death”, Hawthorne and Poe develop the common theme that denial of societal imperfection leads to isolation from society. Both authors use their short stories to illustrate that one must accept imperfections, as a normality of life. They teach this lesson in order to present to the reader that the avoidance of the problems one faces in life, will not make life easier, one only loses the chance to gain knowledge from overcoming the obstacle. The knowledge an individual gains from overcoming a problem can then be used to the conquering of future obstacles.
As people evolve from children to young adults and finally to maturity, they find that they are constantly faced with difficult decisions. Learning to make the right choice in a difficult situation is one of the hardest lessons to learn. Many people make choices without considering what the results may be. They only look to the future for knowledge instead of considering the knowledge already discovered in the past. In Linda Pastan's "Ethics," the author has painted a picture of the difficulty people have when they refuse to realize that the most difficult choices to make are also the most important. Through Pastan's use of character, symbolism, and descriptive language, the theme of this poem is presented for thought. While choices are made every day without much thought, Pastan has made clear that choices made without the benefit of wisdom are almost always regretted.
In this society, many people live through life having to overcome many obstacles, living a difficult life or not. Life seems uneasy, but in this world, every person must go through hard situations, one way or another. In the short story “Anna,” author Niccolo Ammaniti, exposes the psychological distress Anna experiences because of living in a chaotic world on her own. In the short story, Ammaniti creates vivid scenes through imagery to reflect the conflict that occurred between Anna and the world around her as she begins to feel loneliness as well as feeling out of place.
Gregory Boyle, the author, says, “God is asking you to move toward forgiveness and healing and peace. And everything is going to be fine.” His central message focuses on the sacredness of life and the power of forgiveness. Gregory Boyle conveys the gang member’s accounts in Homeboy Industries. His determination to transform young men and women to their original state is evident. The author urges gang members to pray to God, especially in tough times. He believes men and women are able to combat their problems and return to their original condition. For instance, the gang members fully realize the power of forgiveness after their conversion. Moreover, the author informs people to follow their decisions instead of others. The ability to
In the Basso chapter the author explains the communicative struggles that the Apache face. Silence is something that is revered and
Romero states, “It is the poor who tell us what the world is, and what the church’s service to the world should be.” In Silence, Rodrigues’ and Garrpe’s sheer presence in Japan helped the oppressed Japanese Christians. Both Jesuits recognized the need for their missionary work in Japan to proclaim good news to and for them and to defend them. However, Rodrigues battles with his life as a missionary among great suffering, “But Christ did not die for the good and beautiful...the hard thing is to die for the miserable and corrupt.” If God is there and exists, then their work and missionaries are saving those whom Christ died for. However, if God remains silent then Christians are suffering in a hard life that will only lead to death.
“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” written by Le Guin revolves around the central theme of right and wrong. The people of Omelas are given two choices, they can live in a beautiful city where the only rule is to always feel happy, and to never feel guilty, or to feel guilty and leave the city of Omelas. The crutch on their happiness is the unhappiness and even cruel treatment of a young child named It living in a dark room. Once in their life their life they go down and see whom they call It, some feel sad and fall silent for a short while then go back to being happy living in Omelas. While others take one look at It then turn around and walk straight out of the “beautiful gates” of Omelas (600). Ursula K. Le Guin 's short story "The Ones
As the death toll grew, guilt and sorrow reminded characters of their dark pasts. In the story, “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, Vera Claythorne and Emily Brent were both a big part of the theme. “And Then There Were None” is about 10 characters who are invited to an island by an anonymous person. Each is guilty of being connected to a murder. As each of them begin to be murdered, everyone scrambles to find the murderer. One of the strongest themes is “Guilt will always come back to haunt people”. It is shown through the Conflict, Description, and Inner-Thinking.
In life many obstacles may appear. Whether it be the death of a loved one, or a bad grade on an important test. No matter how tragic or simple they may seem, all people endure hardships. At times, it might feel like there is no hope for life to get better. Danticat proves that there is hope. She poetically provides a looking glass into the lives of struggling Haitians. While expressing how damaged these people are through the stories staged in Haiti, she still creates optimism. Throughout the novel Krik? Krak!, Edwidge Danticat illustrates that beauty and hope can still be found in severe and dire circumstances.
In the stories of Hamlet, Still Alice, and Life of Pi, the protagonists Pi Patel, Alice Howland, and Hamlet each respond to adversity very differently. Helen Keller states, ‘Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved’” (“BrainyQuote”). By this, Keller states that one’s character is developed through life experiences and the coinciding challenges. The obstacles faced in life are what make one’s character thrive and grow. In all three literary works, the protagonists develop differently through their unique responses to obstacles of internal conflict, isolation, and suffering.