Revenge and Literature

  Revenge is the need to make another suffer to regain pride or recover from embarrassment. Anybody can be the victim of revenge and anyone can be the person committing the act of revenge. It is shown throughout everyday life in school settings, work settings, and public settings. Kids can spread rumors about other kids as a form of revenge in school. Kids can also bully others to heal their pride and get revenge. Coworkers can sabotage their bosses or other coworkers to get revenge. People can steal or commit more serious acts to get revenge as well. Revenge can change a good person into a monster, it is in human nature. The need for revenge can lead to madness and can ruin a person's life.

   In literature, revenge and the negative side effects of revenge are themes of various novels and plays. For example, Wuthering Heights focuses on Heathcliff, a young man wishing to get revenge on Hindley, who neglected him as a child. He treats Hareton with neglect and keeps him from life experiences and education when Hareton did nothing wrong. He then wishes to get revenge on the Linton family for Edgar stealing Catherine. He becomes obsessed with revenge and craves Catherine's attention. This ultimately drives Catherine away and leads to Heathcliff's illness and death. Another example is in Hamlet. Hamlet, the main character, becomes obsessed with the idea of avenging his father's murder by his uncle. He procrastinates often and pretends to be overtaken by madness. He neglects Ophelia who ends up alone. He also drives himself mad; kills Polonius by accident when he struck a curtain, thinking it was his uncle; and he ended up dying in a sword fight after causing the death of his mother and his supposed friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Revenge can affect others as well as the victim and the committer of revenge.

What Makes a Hero

   What do you think of when you hear the words “hero” and “villain”? Do you think of Thor and Loki? What about Batman and the Joker? Or, do you think about policemen and everyday criminals? Everyone defines what heroes and villains are in their own way. Today, some people view heroes as super humans, like Superman. Superheroes have special abilities that set him or her above society and the hero has a super villain fighting against him/her and the society. They are honored by the cities they defend and they always come out on top. Other people view policemen, firefighters, and soldiers as heroes. These people defend our country, they defend our society, and they are inspiring and real people. These men and women are people that the younger generations can aspire to be. Another form of a hero could be an everyday person on the street, like someone's parent, friend, or celebrity. Many people describe a hero as someone they can look up to. If a person is struggling in school, their tutor could be their hero. If someone overcomes poverty, that person could potentially be someone else's hero. A celebrity who donates money to charity or who simply acts or sings well could be a person's hero. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They all have various character traits and don't need a super power to be honored. 

    In Beowulf, a hero was one who defeated monsters and was brave, honorable, and loyal. To be considered a hero, Beowulf needed to slay not only Grendel and Grendel's mother, but the dragon as well. He was brave and loyal, but he did express hubris and boasted of his greatness. Heroes during this time had tragic flaws. Tragic flaws include hubris, indecisiveness, and narcissism. This flaw usually led to their downfall. For Beowulf, it was hubris. He wanted to fight the dragon on his own and the only warrior to stay by his side was Wiglaf. During Beowulf's time, an honorable death and a large funeral were necessary for heroes and every warrior wanted to die honorably. Beowulf received a large, glorious funeral, for he died honorably and saved the kingdom from the fearsome dragon. 

    Today, we also give our heroes funerals and honor them after their passing. Most soldiers have special funerals. An everyday person has a funeral as well with family and friends honoring the life they led. We, as humans, continue to honor those who have past on when we visit their graves and place flowers down for them. Anyone can be a hero and today's definition is more realistic and tangible. Yes, it is good for people to dream big and enjoy reading about and watching their favorite super heroes, but it is better for a child or adult to look up to a hero in their community. It allows them to have reachable dreams instead of dreaming of super powers. Anyone can be a hero and we should always keep that in the back of our minds. Beowulf is a hero, but so are everyday people.  

The Treatment of Prisoners in Various Settings

 The Power of One, through the eyes of the young protagonist named Peekay, exemplifies the treatment of prisoners at the Barberton prison. When Doc is taken to the prison, Peekay visits him and begins to learn the methods of boxing from a boxing squad at the prison. The prisoners at Barberton are South Africans under the control of white prison guards. They are treated poorly, discriminated against, beaten, and forced to wear tattered clothing. When inspectors come, the prison forces the inmates to wear neat uniforms. As soon as the inspectors leave, the tattered and dirty clothing is forced upon the inmates once again. Borman, a violent warder, murders Geel Piet, a good friend and trainer of Peekay, in the gym of the prison. In a way, this gives Peekay strength and another person in his life to fight for and keep in the back of his mind while boxing. Also in prison, there are groups of people separated by their tribes and views. They do not get along well.  The experiences in the prison makes Peekay stronger and a better person. It is where he shows his intelligence and creativity to bring the prisoners together for outdoor piano concerts on Sunday nights. This is when he becomes known as the "Tadpole Angel" and is a major developmental step in his life. The horrid treatment of prisoners does not just happen in literature though.                                                                     Prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison were sexually and physically abused, tortured, and killed by American soldiers during the war in Iraq. This shocked many Americans, but the hard truth is that prisoner abuse happens across the United States in various prisons. Inmates are beaten with batons, fists, and feet; shot; stunned with electronic devices; doused with chemical sprays; choked; slammed onto concrete floors and into concrete walls; burned; and sexually abused by prison guards. Inmates are emotionally scarred, physically harmed, and some end up dying. Most officers are professional and do their job, but the few that act out and harm inmates are usually overlooked. Even youth in juvenile detention centers are abused. In Arizona, disturbing sexual abuse and violent punishments were reported. The Maryland State Police had to file charges against staff and a youth facility for restraining a juvenile while three others kicked and abused the youth.
 I feel that prison guards commit these acts because they know that they can get away with it because of the position they hold. They feel as if they hold the power over the lives of the inmates and take out their anger on the prisoners. It is disturbing and wrong how anyone can torture, abuse, and harm a person. No matter what the prisoner has done to earn their stay at the prison, it doesn't change the fact that they are a human being and should be treated as such. Their punishment by law was being sent to prison and no prison guard has the authority to take matters into their own hands and harm an inmate who is just trying to make it by in the already stressful and harsh setting. Other inmates also make life on certain prisoners extra difficult. They may take their anger of being caught and punished out on other inmates. Some prisoners refuse to leave their cells in fear of being beaten while others fear returning to their cells if their cellmates are abusive. I understand that prisons are not suppose to have perfect conditions with opportunities for easy life, but prison guards and certain inmates have taken it too far. These horrifying acts need to be put to an end with abusive inmates being moved to restricted areas and abusive guards being fired and charged for their actions.