Human Sufferingness In English Literature

Surprised by Joy by Lewis and Confessions by Augustine are not two works that are often analyzed side by side although they are both autobiographical and written by men greatly influential to the Christian faith. Since Confessions contains many different elements which Augustine explores to better understand the nature of God, this paper will focus on Augustine’s section “Happiness (Beatta Vita)” as compared and contrasted with Lewis’ chapters “Checkmate” and “Beginning”. A preliminary glance of these works may lead the reader to think that they are very similar, despite the differences in publishing time, Surprised By Joy was published in 1955, while Confessions was published in 398 AD. This is not entirely false, as both “Checkmate”, “Beginning” and “Happiness” are all largely focused on the relationship of God and joy and utilize a similar structure. Although Augustine and Lewis’ four-part structure initially appears complimentary because of similar themes, these structures contrast as a result of differing allegories.

Leontien Kouwenhoven suggests in a paper titled “Satan as the Hero of Paradise Lost,” that Milton’s creation of Hell is void of order giving Satan the power and ability to become a strong and prominent leader. Milton uses vivid imagery to conjure up the image of Satan and his second-in-command Beelzebub tied by chains to a fiery lake below earth’s atmosphere also known as Hell. Satan contrite with anger does not show any penance for his rebellion from God but instead disgust for their current condition. In an attempt to alleviate the discomfort he feels for rebelling he decides to gather an army and attack the Lord again. Satan and Beelzebub easily break free from their chains. His chains are so weak that he and Beezebub are able to

“But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.” “In fact,” said Mustapha Mond, “you’re claiming the right to be unhappy.” “All right then,” said the Savage defiantly, “I’m claiming the right to be unhappy,” This significant quote from Brave New World had moved innumerable readers’ heart, so do I. Exaggeration? No. It’s the satire to the false meaning of the universal happiness, and it’s this quote which made me had rethink what do I really want and the way of living I want to choose. Because the deep influence and rumination brought by the book, I would like to say

Younger generations aren’t feeling as empathetic as older generations and this will lead to a dangerous society. Empathy is the ability to understand and share feelings. Teaching empathy at a young age will allow one another to accept and communicate with each other. It is also a necessity skill in life that helps each other to recognize one’s emotions. According to the article, This is How Literary Fiction Teaches us to Be Human by Tom Blunt, he emphasizes empathy can be taught through literary fiction and it is vital that young children feel empathy toward each other.

The purpose of this research paper is to compare the public view of suffering in the Old Testament with the public view of suffering in the modern world. In order to properly achieve this comparison, I will explain the relationship between God and His believers in the Old Testament. More specifically, I will elaborate on the opinion that God is the cause of everything, including suffering and relate it to the first poetic book in the Old Testament, the Book of Job. However, influenced by the changes in science, upbringing, and multiculturalism this commonly held view changes. Therefore, I will explain the meaning of each of these three factors as well as their negative impact on religion. Finally, I will use three television shows as examples

The theme of suffering can come in numerous varieties; under categories both physical and emotional. Suffering is presented as a key concept in ‘Othello’, ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. All three texts explore many aspects of suffering in parts, however the most obvious and concentrated facet leans towards the psychological aspect rather then the physical side. In the three chosen texts many of the characters suffer from some sort of emotional trauma. Psychological suffering and distress is a major topic in all three chosen texts as the authors use this ailment in order to drive the storyline forward,

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World depicts a government’s strict control in a society. It is a world where everything is controlled, observed, and there is no individuality. The world is designed to ensure a life of happiness, but it fails individuality. Furthermore, the people do not go through a normal birth, but they are factory made: they are manufactured in a test tube. Huxley creates a world where individuals have no freedom so there is no happiness. He shows that one’s happiness is given by freedom, at the same time, freedom causes suffering. Yet, suffering is what the world aims to prevent rather it is a world of pure pleasure. However Huxley presents suffering as a natural and inevitable part of what it means to be human, it is then portrayed through Bernard and the Savage (John).

Unfortunately, human nature only lends itself to the assumption of certain abstract concepts such as `natural law', an assumption Milton develops in Paradise Lost. Throughout Paradise Lost, Milton expands upon the teaching that human actions affect human freedom and that this is a consequence of the assumption of the natural law that the Creator owns the created. Moreover, the

A majority of us squander our time fantasizing about a faultless society, a place where sorrow has not meaning but is replaced with harmony, compassion, and riches. Essentially, we want a place where dreams come true. On the contrary, how often do we reflect on the worst? A place where sorrow is the only meaning and harmony, compassion and riches have no existence. Susceptibility, combat and abhorrence- the contemplation of our future. Glimpses of these are shown through demoralizing literature, where the dire stuff is an extrapolation of our world.

Reading the past four pieces of literature have brought new credence to what the wisest king; King Solomon wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes chapter one verse nine; “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. With that understanding, it becomes apparent that human nature, in spite of its so-called enlightenment over the past three hundred years has changed very little. If human nature has not changed in that amount of time, can it ever? This line of thinking made me begin to question why some people in the face of ineffable situations do more than survive and why others choose to change philosophies like they do clothes.

People live with inherent problems; the choices they make define their identity. William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” and John Milton’s “Sonnet 19: When I consider how my light is spent” both deal with speakers displeased by their conditions. While “The World…” follows a speaker troubled by his contemporaries’ indifference of nature, “Sonnet 19…” chronicles a speaker’s struggles with his blindness and servitude to God. Through these poems’ similar point of view and structure, the speakers of Wordsworth’s and Milton’s poems create characters with control over their choices. However, they stem from fundamentally different complaints about God in contrast to nature (or the lack thereof), and result in distinctive metaphors.

He begins the story analyzing a man’s first sin, with Adam and eve and the forbidden fruit. “Of a Man’s first disobedience, and the fruit of the forbidden tree, whose mortal taste brought death into the world and all our woe” (Milton). He discusses how both Adam and eve went up against god by deciding to eat the forbidden fruit which caused destruction and conflict in the world. He also explains the fall of the angel Lucifer, who was once a part of heaven but was cast down to earth because of his selfishness

As the novel progresses, the two major themes of love altering one’s soul and misfortune being

The quest for an earthly paradise and the anticipation of a heavenly one is a drive that has always prevailed in humankind 's search for God and redemption from the original sin. The desire for a terrestrial manifestation of paradise, a so called 'lost origin ' is predominantly reflected in writers ' depictions of the fall of man. This can be seen in Milton 's Paradise Lost and Lucy Hutchinson 's Order and Disorder. Both these epic poems at times magnify the sadness and gravity of the loss of a paradisal home in which Adam and Eve as our fore parents dwelt under God 's close guidance and love. The fascination with Eden 's bliss is manifested in Adam and Eve 's admiration, however it also extends to Satan 's various instances of questioning his own actions in the shadow of such beauty. Perhaps crucial to both interpretations of the fall of man is that the knowledge gained from the forbidden fruit is the realization of loss, the sudden true appreciation of the beauty of a paradise that is now lost. On the other hand the promise of redemption is provided through God 's mercy in Death, thus allowing for a hope and anticipation of a heavenly paradise. This portrayal of a merciful God in Paradise Lost and Order and Disorder, grows out of man 's search for redemption and a desire to be united with God in a heavenly paradise. Nostalgia and anticipation of paradise thus manifest through the lamentations of loss and mercy in death

John Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost” tells many stories that include Satan’s expulsion from Heaven, his ultimate success in tempting Adam and Eve, and even the story of God’s Son ultimately punishing everyone. These numerous stories do not just tell the story of the characters but the stories also include the settings where these events took place. Recreating the universe Milton describes in Paradise Lost is not just an adventure but it also tells us the type of world he lived in at the time he lived. While his world was imagined, he still had to use his real world as a source for his imaginings.