Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Is Revenge the Answer?

Victor Ruiz Diaz
Dr. Ellis
EN 101.16
03 October 2013

Is Revenge the Answer?

                In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, the poems “Liberty” by Thomas Lynch, and “Suburban” by John Ciardi, and the event hosted by Reverend Linnane focuses on the themes of revenge and the quest for freedom. For instance, “The Cask of Amontillado” we see how someone uses revenge as a way to find freedom in his soul; meanwhile in “Liberty” the poem describes how a man tires to step out of the same routine, he wants to do something different so that he would free himself from the others. In Ciardi’s poem we can see how a man is avoiding to fall into the temptation of revenge by appeasing the relationship with his neighbor so that they could have a peacefully and free relationship. Also in the event that Father Linnane hosted we also realize how freedom is important for each of us as human beings.

                Edgar Allan Poe story demonstrates how Montresor wants to take revenge against Fortunato, a man who had brought great pain in Montresor’s life. The narrator of this poem wants to find peace with himself by using revenge as a way to bring peace and freedom to his soul after the great pain that Fortunato gave him. In contrast with what Father Linnane said during his speech “People should find peace with themselves first, and forgive the others how harmed you”. I think that the message is clear, that revenge should not be the way to find freedom for you. The use of words would bring you a much prolific self-peace.

                Thomas Lynch’s poem describes how a man tries to find peace and freedom by doing things in a different way than the rest of the people at least in his community does. He uses the example of going out at night and piing in the garden instead of using the great and beautiful bathroom. He tries to step out of the luxuries styles by doing the things he used to do as a child in Ireland. As Reverent Linnane said “We should never forget from where we are coming” I believe that father Linnane and Lynch’s message is that we should never forget our roots, and that we should not permit luxury eliminate our old fashion way of doing things.

                Finally John Ciardi’s poem teach us the not always revenge bring us peace and freedom, because in the poem we see how a neighbor receives a phone call from another that accuses his dog of something that his dog certainly would have not being able to do. But even though the man goes to affront the responsibility of the actions the woman describes in order to maintain a certain level of trust and peace between the two neighbors. This poem reflects exactly on what Father Linnane said about the role of Jesuits in the community. “As Jesuits we need to see both sides of an event that occurred before we start to draw any conclusions on it; it will always be better if we try not to act with the first impulse that comes to us before we think about what consequences might bring”. I think that the message that Ciardi wanted us to learn is that instead of complaining for a very small thing, we should just do it and finish it quick.

                All this readings and the lectured provided by Reverend Linnane provide me with some types of revenges and ways to seek or conquest freedom and peace with myself. It depend on the certain occasions to use revenge as a way to find freedom, I do not think revenge would be the answer and that killing would bring you peace, instead it would make it worst. A certain type of revenge might be rebellion on which the authors of the two poems showed us how the found peace and freedom by doing something different than others surrounding them might do.  I think that we should use revenge in a different aspect, the one that is not exactly its definition.

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