The Art of Coexisting Peacefully

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To survive peacefully in society we must behave in a socially acceptable way. In other words, there is an art to coexisting peacefully and it has a definition that changes from person to person. Every person has a different view of coexisting because each society has different norms and rules we need to follow. This leads to different views of society. We learn how to coexist through observing others, usually from our guardians and society.
The play God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza shows two opposite views on the subject of coexistence. Veronique is a civilized, hyper aware, righteous liberal who believes everyone should be more concerned for people who are in need. Veronique spends the whole play trying her best to act amiable toward Alain and his wife even though she is angry at the duo believing them to be bad parents. Alain is the father of Ferdinand; the boy who hit Veronique’s son Bruno in the face with a stick and knocks out two of his teeth. Alain is a realistic, uncivilized man who could not care less about the situation or either of the two boys. Alain spends most of the play on his cell phone with work calls and not caring about talking about the problem at hand. The two characters show two complete opposite opinions on society. While Veronique believes Alain’s son should be more culpable for his actions of hitting Veronique’s son with a stick and ‘disfiguring’ his face, Alain believes his son is not at fault since his son is just a kid. When Alain compares the two cultures of Western civilization and Africa by stating the fact that Ferdinand hitting Bruno in the face with a stick is not as bad as kids in Africa fighting with guns and killing each other. Veronique shuts the idea down saying they are nothing...

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...rsonalities that lie between the two. People might coexist together peacefully for a while, but it depends on individuals to keep the balance together. It is up to societies views on civilized behavior and the individual’s environment they grew up in, to keep them coexisting peacefully together.

Works Cited

“Are Good Manners a Thing of the Past?.” Psychologies, 24 July 2012. Web.

Castelloe, Molly. “On the Origins of Morality.” Psychology Today, 26 September 2013. Web.

Kaufman, Carolyn. “Why Bad Guys Think They’re Good Guys.” Psychology Today, 12 August 2012. Web.

Maisto, Albert A., and Charles G. Morris. Psychology: The Pearson Custom Library (Kingsborough Community College Psychology 11). Massachusetts: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011. Print.

Reza, Yasmina. God of Carnage. Trans. Christopher Hampton. London: Faber and Faber, 2008. Print.

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