Analysis Of The Book ' Ordinary Grace, By William Kent Krueger, And Destiny Of The Republic

As a soldier stationed in the Philippines, Nathan ran away from the fray when he was wounded by piece of shrapnel. While in hiding, his unit would meet their death in the infamous Bataan Death March. Nathan is the only one to in his unit to survive. This is root of his guilt and the influence of his actions, for the rest of the story. Nathan, forever guilty of his cowardice, is permanently scarred. “Hounded by what happened in a Philippine Jungle and the ghosts of a thousand men who didn’t escape it, his steadfast disdain for cowardice turned to obsession” (Kingsolver,96) Nathan even receives the Purple Heart for “surviving” the war, the medal isn't for heroism or bravery, its for being wounded. It’s a medal of failure, that further provokes Nathan’s shame. After the war is when Nathan began his strict devotion Christianity, what the reader witnesses throughout the story. This is what leads him to Kilanga, willingly putting his family in danger to spread the name of the lord, in hope of redemption. Nathan’s guilt at having escaped the Bataan death march has twisted his belief in God, he sees God as one who punishes and rewards strictly on the basis of merit. He lives trying to earn his, by pushing the teaching of Christianity to the Congolese. Nathan masks his cowardice using a sort of “divine right”. He uses god to justify every decision he makes, disregarding anyone elses opinion. “father needs permission only from the Saviour"

Nathan Drum is the type of person everybody should strive to be, and although he stumbles, he gets back up again soon after. Nathan reacts to Ariel’s death the calmest of the family members. Yet we hear him ask, “Why Ariel? Why not me? The sins are mine. Why Punish her? Or Ruth?” (191). Even when faced with the death of a loved one, he does not question his faith. He may ask why God did something as bad as taking his only daughter instead of himself, the one that committed the crimes of war, but will not denounce God. Nathan’s faith that everything is going to be alright in the end is incredible to me. The Sunday after Ariel’s death shows just how incredible God’s power is. Now even though Nathan did not give a sermon at every church, it took a lot of guts and immense trust for him to preach in one of these churches. After having the darkest moment in his life, he comes out and gives one of the best sermons I have ever seen.

In the Kite Runner, Rahim Khan emphasizes the importance of God forgiving people and how people should forgive each other too.

“Forgiveness, assert Fincham and his colleagues, can help restore more benevolent and cooperative goals to relationships” Everett L. Worthington, Jr.(2004). New Science of Forgiveness.

As human beings we are often reluctant to let go of our anger and unwilling to forgive others. This becomes especially true in the case of loved ones or family members. The poem, “How Do We Forgive Our Fathers?,” written by Dick Lourie, addresses the different dilemmas associated with a child forgiving his/her father. In his six-stanza poem, the poet discusses how a child should forgive their father for traumatic events imposed on the child. This includes reasons for forgiveness, appropriate time to forgive, and whether or not to even forgive at all. Detailed through the different stanzas, the poem suggests that until one learns how to appropriately forgive another for wrongful behavior, they will never be able to let go of resentment and

The reason why Nathan and Leah have this conflict is because of Nathan’s narrow-mindedness and lack of self awareness. The main purpose of The Poisonwood Bible is to show how different people deal with guilt. Nathan however has no guilt, and this is the source of many conflicts with Leah. Nathan has no self-awareness. When he does something he never thinks of his family, he only thinks

He believes the women should stay in the home, take care of the children, and maintain a traditional wife and motherly life. When someone in his family makes a mistake, he is the one that disciplines them for he believes it is his role as the father and head of the family. Nathan makes his beliefs clear and sticks to them always, “My father wears his faith like the bronze breastplate of God’s foot soldiers” (Kingsolver 68). He has even repressed his wife to having more of the traditional women lifestyle that he pictures, “our mother’s [faith] is more like a good cloth coat with a secondhand fit.” Nathan most likely gets this behavioral belief from 1 Timothy 2:12, for it reads, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man she must be

Thematic Statement: Forgiving someone for their mistake can make yourself free of anger and bitterness.

Throughout the novel, Nathan exhibits cruelty towards his family and the villagers. Cruelty is a direct antonym of Love. Looking back to the Bible, Paul states in a letter to the: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love ( New International Version, 1 Corinthians 13:13).” While Nathan may be spreading faith and hope, because of his cruelty, he is certainly not showing love, which according to scripture is the most important. Instead of loving his wife Orleanna, Nathan rebukes her many times for no reason and even acts out in physical cruelty by roughly batting Orleanna away as she tried to nurse his wounds. Nathan’s actions are again hypocritical and go directly against the Bible says. Paul, in another letter, writes “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25). Ultimately Nathan is not able to convince any of the villagers to be baptized because he has not showed love and therefore not God to them. John, another apostle, states to a church that is struggling with false prophets: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love”(1 John 4:8). One may conclude from these verses that even though Nathan Price may have some knowledge of the Bible, he truly does not know God,

With this in mind, it is odd that Leah concedes a fault in her father due to the garden. While she tries to justify all of his other actions, she realizes that “father has already bent his will to Africa by remaking his garden in mounds, the way they do here,” (78). This is the first instance where Leah realizes her father’s mortality and unawareness, that eventually manifests into her rejection of her father. It shows how Leah isn’t subject to an endless devotion towards her father who represented god. Instead she actively seeks out righteousness and justice, demonstrated by how she recognizes that bending to the will of the Africa is the right way to do things in the Congo, while Nathan tries to disregard this significance by viewing the situation as something that should be endured for god. He claimed that god “ doesn’t deliver us out of our hardships but through them.” (78). Nathan doesn’t see conforming to the Congo as practical and the right way to grow crops, he takes this situation as something he must tolerate while in the Congo. This not only shows how the two characters respond to change, it also demonstrates how Nathan believes he is tolerating the hardship of god, instead of being shaped by the Congo, which is another instance of his

Even before the reader is aware of the reality of his war experience, it is clear that Nathan has an underlying motivation to save the Congolese. Upon their arrival, Nathan quickly abandons all attempts to console and provide for his family in order to go and attempt to save the natives. Even when advised by the Underdowns to leave the Congo due to an inevitable war for independence, Nathan refuses to abandon what he feels is his calling, even if it means putting his family at risk in order to be viewed as bold in the eyes of the Lord. His fear of being viewed by God as a coward drives him to give up all attempts to make life any better for his family or even to save their lives. Although many would view following the Lord’s calling as an act of obedience, Nathan’s abandonment of his family is clearly the overarching choice that he is making. Because of the choices he makes, his intentions may be interpreted as both humble and

The novels Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, authored by Matthew Quick and November 9, authored by Colleen Hoover, share similar themes and ideas despite their very different styles. Forgiveness is one common theme presented in the texts, shown through similar techniques of foregrounding through flashbacks, as well as other contrasting techniques. The theme of betrayal is shown through anecdote and emotive language in the novels. The importance of relationships is illustrated by Quick and Hoover, as each protagonist experiences an empty, isolated life. Quick and Hoover explore these issues in contrasting ways.*

Asking for forgiveness and forgiving to many is the hardest thing to do but we must remember in the book of Matthew (18:21-22) Peter said to the Lord: “Lord if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” In this paper, the chosen case study will give the reader a better understanding of what forgiveness is to Jesus. Forgiveness is a big part of the Bible and if Jesus forgives us of our sins we too must learn to be as forgiving as him.

During the course one’s life, one will encounter situations in which one strongly feels a particular way despite a lack of evidence. Often, the strength of such convictions will lead one to act rashly, projecting one’s views onto others due to one’s emotional state. This rashness can lead to one making decisions that will harm both oneself and those around one. The rifts that are created as a result of such difficulties can lead to tension and differences between individuals for years to come. More often than not, one must find a way to be forgiven for what one has done, as only then can one obtain peace with others and oneself. In Ian McEwan’s Atonement, Briony Tallis’s struggle on her path to understanding and correcting an injustice demonstrates the manner in which one can be forgiven, showing that in order to achieve forgiveness one must take the path to righting one’s wrongdoings and admitting the truth of one’s situation.

The following is a poem I wrote as a writing exercise from the book, Writing The Natural Way, loaned to me by my friend and writing partner, Avril. This poem was originally written for a specific person, but as I read it over several times, I came to realize that it's applicable to pretty much everyone in my life. I recognized that the intended subject of my poem was not the only person I needed to release from my unrealistic expectations. The writing of it was like holding a mirror up to all the things I've been learning about forgiveness and The Four Agreements, particularly number 2: Don't take anything personally.