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Obligations

Decent Essays

Zachary Zeitzmann Professor Orsini ENC 1102 March 29, 2011 An Obligation Is Not A Choice What defines an obligation? Is it defined as something that one has to do because it is necessary for their living or is it something that one has to do because someone says they have to? I would define an obligation as something that one has to do because it is necessary for their living. What I do not understand is how one person can dodge their obligations. I see people choose to live a life where their obligations are pushed aside as if they were choices. Obligations are not choices, but yet something that needs to be taken care of. In many situations people tend to take care of their obligations because they know that it is a …show more content…

Looking at Phoenix’s actions I can see how she was able to understand the severity of this obligation and the responsibility that was needed to make sure that it was her duty to make sure this obligation was met. I notice how people do not understand that an obligation is not a choice. I see these people choosing to party it up or live an extravagant life, while forgetting to provide a safe, living environment, putting food on their table, or taking care of their loved ones. Providing a safe, living environment allows one to feel safe from harm, putting food on one’s table allows for them to maintain life from death, and taking care of one’s loved ones shows the responsibility needed throughout life. Without these obligations being taken care of, how can one live life fully? Sure, it is fun to go out and party and live an extravagant life, but what comes from that when one pushes their obligations aside? Nothing really comes from pushing obligations aside except instant gratification. A great example of being able to juggle both obligations and partying is shown in Theodore Roethke’s My Papa’s Waltz. The poem explains how a young boy dances the waltz with his father before being sent off to bed. The father comes home with whiskey in his breath so much that could make a small boy dizzy (Roethke 647). Obviously with this statement, it shows that the father must have

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