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the nature of revenge
revenge and its consequences
essays on whether revenge is good or not
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The morality of revenge is often difficult to evaluate, and the struggle to determine whether it is the path to justice or evil subtlety permeates through J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. In the novel, the morality of vengeance does not fall into the clearly set lines between good and evil. This grey area is a hallmark of Tolkien's background, for his religion and academic studies have conflicting stances on revenge. His faith criticizes revenge and promotes forgiveness, yet he was a scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature which portrays revenge as the noble route to justice. Since these two aspects of Tolkien's life greatly influenced his writing, he did not eliminate the existence of vengeance from the minds of his indignant characters. Instead, the …show more content…
If the reason for characters to seeks revenge is out of vice, their plans will go astray and they will not be satisfied from justice. This idea is directly related Thorin, Smaug, and Gollum, who pursued revenge based on greed, pride, and hunger for power. These emotions are sinful because they are about the individual instead of the community. A central theme in Tolkien's works are that people belong to one another and must take care of each other in order for humanity to flourish. By focusing on their own benefit, Thorin and Smaug are deconstructing the fraternity central to virtue and life. Conversely, if revenge is conducted in an altruistic manner, there will be no complications and a sense of satisfaction will be retained. In this category is Beorn, who killed the goblin and Warg for the sake of his ancestors that once lived in the mountains. Beorn's relatives were forced out by the goblins, but he will not give up the fight as he growls “The day will come when they will perish and I shall go back!” (Tolkien 136). Beorn's bitter grudge against the goblin race stems from his respect for his lineage rather than selfish desires, so he is exempt from grim consequences of revenge. By the frequency of egocentric revenge over selfless revenge, Tolkien suggests that vengeance is predominantly driven by sinful
It will be the contention of this paper that much of Tolkien's unique vision was directly shaped by recurring images in the Catholic culture which shaped JRRT, and which are not shared by non-Catholics generally. The expression of these images in Lord of the Rings will then concern us.
Through this, I come to my conclusion that the desire to enact vengeance is just too great for the Characters to overcome, sometimes even so much that they do not bother making peace with their opponents. The desire of revenge is common amongst everyone, what we call a monster and what we call a human. Think this though, if Grendel, his mother, and the dragon (what we would classify as beasts) have a slightly lower, but generally same, ability to keep peace, then what does that say about the others involved in revenge?
...n-beneficial. When one seeks revenge, it rarely leaves the aspirant unharmed. In hopes of acquiring revenge, it is thought that being mature and “turning the other cheek” is the most fulfilling course (Clay, 2013). If revenge must be achieved, “don’t get mad, get even” a valid choice ((user), 2014). To get even, pranks are usually administered. For instance, Felix Clay of the Cracked blogging site advises the readers to secretly give their victims unwanted magazine subscriptions (Clay, 2013). This seems very childish, but I would prefer it over the ancient Greeks’ inclination for murder and war.
In Beowulf a New Telling the author, Robert Nye expresses the theme revenge. Revenge relates to life because people are always getting revenge for the small and big things. Revenge is a prompting element for several characters throughout the novel. The first revenge example is when Grendel first attacks Hall Heorot as revenge to humanity. Mankind has killed his people, and they symbolize everything Grendel despised, including light, good, accomplishment, and joy. (Page 7-8). The second example was when She, Grendel's mother, attacks Heorot because someone there took her son's life, evilness, and pride. She and Unferth both attack the Hall because they murdered Grendel. She was motivated by revenge and mothers rage, and Unferth was motivated
Humans exist between two distinct beliefs, one being that of individualism where the person is only focused on benefiting their self and their tribe, and the other being altruistic where the priority is put on the betterment of the group at the downfall of the individual. In nature, animals only exist in the belief of self betterment but humans have the moral dilemma between self preservation and group preservation. Through new perspectives, this inner conflict can be transformed to become more altruistic or group minded. Whether that be through the journey of saving Middle Earth or the simple journey through high school. This theme is explored in J.R.R Tolkien's novel, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. This novel takes the reader through
Revenge is a fairly strong emotion; it’s wanting to retaliate towards those who wronged you. Revenge is such an uncontrollable way of retaliation that it can result in a destructive outcome or carried out successfully. Although the results may vary, revenge sums up to one thing which is pain of some sort, affecting both parties or just one. Throughout history we see many tales of revenge and redemption. Often revenge does leave the one carrying it out feeling victorious but this can suddenly change as the process of karma generally begins in some tales.
The definition of revenge: “to punish somebody who has harmed you or harmed a friend” (Revenge, web).
Throughout history, revenge, or vengeance, has been altered by several cultures and even the American culture. This is shown throughout many ancient greek epics. Throughout these two epics, what is just revenge and what the action of revenge is are much different than what Revenge is seen through today’s society. Revenge is the main theme in The Iliad, with Achilles’ revenge on Agamemnon and Hector, and in The Odyssey, with Poseidon’s revenge on Odysseus and Odysseus’s revenge on the Suitors, and these epics define how revenge was seen in the ancient Greek world.
Bar-elli, G. and Heyd, D. (1986), Can revenge be just or otherwise justified?. Theoria, 52: 68–86. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-2567.1986.tb00100.x
In the epic poem The Epic of Gilgamesh, revenge is shown mainly through Gilgamesh’s encounter with Ishtar, Goddess of love and war. Gilgamesh,
It is the idea of revenge that sends a cool shiver down the spines of justly men when they begin to question as to why someone would stoop to such a level. But yet it is still more than an idea for revenge has been carried out in various forms along all the eras of history side-by-side of that of novels and tragedies. Even so, revenge is still a dark scheme; an evil plague of the mind per se. It is such a plague that will turn even the greatest persons of the brightest, optimistically capable of minds into lowly, as well as lonely, individuals. Thus, revenge will, and can, only end in despair and agony of the mind. Therefore, provided that all that has been said is true, revenge would appear quite unseemly to the observant onlooker. However, taking an in-depth insight into revenge you can uncover quite a compelling feature, which is best summed up into one word. Pride. Pride is the one clear motivational proprietor needed to push a protagonist into the downward spiral of personal vendetta. Without pride, revenge is no more than a mindless massacre of flesh and bone ending in the obliteration of any hope for reconciliation.
Vengeance is the act of taking revenge for a past wrong. In the Crucible, Thomas Putnam and Abigail Williams both took advantage of circumstances to carry out vengeance against different people.
Revenge is such an enormous part of a being human. It is something that no matter how much you try to avoid part of you will persistently lust for it. When you are hurt in any way your natural instinct will always tell you to make the one who hurt you feel just as bad if not worse as how you felt. It is such a natural and powerful feeling, that when revenge is incorporated into a story it makes it so much stronger. Revenge will make you see so many more sides of characters and make them seem much more complex. Revenge can give fictional characters a more human quality. That is why so many writers use it as their theme.
A fantasy is an imaginary world where all things imaginable can be brought to life. J.R.R Tolkien portrayed fantasy through his use of skilled craftsmanship and a vivid imagination, which was presented in each piece of literature he wrote. In Tolkien's two stories The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings we see the theme of fantasy brought to life through three essential elements, heroism, magic and retribution. Heroism is shown through the character's courage and bravery in situations where conflict arises and this enables them to be seen in a new light. Magic is a form of extraordinary power seemingly through a supernatural force; it is used in a combination of combat and mystical items to aid the companions on their journey. Retribution is paid to the evil forces for the wrongs society had to endure while they were allowed to dominate. This system allows opportunity for physical and mental development in the characters and the aspect of fantasy to come to life.
My personal experience with revenge isn’t much, and it concerns little things. Revenge can simply be when a person draws on your book, and in spite you would draw on their book as well. It might as well occur in a game, for example my friend plays a lot of game online and this game is to simply ‘kill’ other opponents. Once, her character got attacked by another opponent but she was not prepared for the attack and she lost. Because of this, she was angry and wanted to seek revenge. She then got all her other friends to ‘gang’ up and attack the opponent. Since it wasn’t a very fair battle, the opponent lost. This act might seem childish and trivial, but this is the act of revenge.