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Embers Essay

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Embers: An Analysis of Friendship

There are over six billion people on Earth today. Each of those people has countless relationships, which extend further into an immense network of relations among thousands of individuals. These relations can be romantic, professional, unconditional, mutual, or the strongest of all, friendship. Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more beings. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, and affection and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis. Friends will welcome each other's company and exhibit loyalty towards each other, often to the point of altruism. …show more content…

If I leave a tip at an evening party, my father gives up cigars for a week. This is how it has been for twenty two years. Somewhere in Poland we had a farmstead. I’ve never seen it. It was the source of everything; the uniform, tuition, money for theatre tickets, entry fees for exams, and duel fee” (Embers 45). Konrad could have been jealous and envy Henrik’s financial status, but he still held to his friendship. Sometimes people make friends with others who have something they lack. This could be evident that Konrad is only friends with Henrik because he has wealth, while Henrik could be friends with Konrad because of his understanding of Music. Relationships could be built on a foundation of needs to fill in missing parts of one’s life, even if it is below the surface and unnoticed by the couple.

While materialism could be the backbone to Henrik and Konrad’s friendship, there are other instances in the story that hint to the accusation of there being more to this bond than attraction. One reason for Henrik’s attachment to Konrad could be influenced by his obligative views on friendship. Henrik, as “the General”, views friendship as a duty as opposed to a relationship. “Sometimes camaraderie and fellowship look like friendship; common interests can bring about relationships akin to friendship, and in an attempt to escape loneliness, people are only too happy to involve themselves in confidences that they will later

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