Revenance : The Theme Of Forgiveness Vs. Retribution

Forgiveness helps us feel light and helps us get rid of hard feelings that occupy our mind and heart and eat away our peace of mind. Forgiveness is a way to self-fulfillment. People who can readily forgive others are much more responsible and satisfied inside than those who keep grudges against others and develop feelings of enmity. Those who forgive help create positive energy on this planet. In the article “Forgiveness Towards Others” by Charu B shae states “Our grudges will only affect the relationship with the person and not hurt the other person in any way.”

Forgiveness is not just practiced by saints and not only benefits its recipients but have strong connection with person’s physical, mental and spiritual health. It plays a great role in the health of families, communities and nations. Forgiveness provides common ground for love, acceptance, harmony and true happiness Most spiritual and religious leaders of the world will agree that forgiveness of oneself and others is one way to clear the mind, heart and soul and may result in a feeling of increased peace and happiness.

Forgive today, live in peace tomorrow. Forgiveness; one of the many hardships we encounter throughout life. As Marianne Williamson, an American author, stated, “Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” Forgiveness leads to peace because it lets go of all the negative feelings and allows freedom from disturbance to take place.

Sometimes things are better off forgotten so one does not get too caught up in hatred. When the time comes to forgive someone or even oneself, one might find it very hard. The word forgiveness may have different meanings to some people. For example, some people may refer forgiveness as a way to lose weight off their backs. In Into The Wild, Jon Krakauer highlights the importance of forgiving the mistakes one has made, and the actions people around us make. Life’s experiences are not always easy to forget, nevertheless to move on from those experiences

The well-known play by Shakespeare, Hamlet; is one example of justice and forgiveness. Hamlets uncle, Claudius kills his own brother, Hamlet Sr. He puts poison in his ear while he was dozing. Hamlet finds out and doesn’t tell anyone, everyone think he has gone mad, even his own mother, Gertrude. Claudius marries Gertrude and becomes king. Hamlet continues to make a play about how Claudius killed Hamlet Sr. and Claudius feels uncomfortable and leaves. During the whole play, Hamlet tries to get revenge on Claudius in whatever possible way he can. However, Claudius convinces everybody that Hamlet is lying about what he has been saying about him. At the end of the play, Hamlet and Claudius duel to the death. Claudius gets wounded and Hamlet feels like he has won and that he finally got revenge and justice for his father. So, in that story justice and forgiveness can go hand in hand, it’s all about how you handle the situation.

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

In contrast, I see it in a different way. Vengeance can also lead to peace and relief since you’re not feeling anxious to wrong a person because you already did it. Although, vengeance can make you feel relief after wronging a person, virtue has even more value since you make a decision to let go of revenge and not harm the person who wronged you back. As it can be seen in the argumentative model “ Neither Justice nor Forgetting: Defining Forgiveness” written by William Shakespeare, it elaborates on how Prospero showed mercy towards Caliban, and it “...could be seen as forgiveness” (paragraph 7, pg.497). Additionally, it also states that Prospero was also “moved to mercy by Ariel’s sadness for the shipwreck victims” (paragraph 8, pg.497). This demonstrates how virtue can be more valuable since it causes people sadness towards seeing other people seeking for vengeance after getting wronged. The fact that Ariel saw Prospero wanting to seek for vengeance made him sad and encouraged him to talk to Prospero and convince him to seek for virtue rather than to get

Forgiveness can save relationships, or it can damage them depending on if you use the knowledge you have in a positive or negative light towards a person. In The Glass Castle, forgiveness saved the relationship between Jeannette and her parents. Even though her parents did awful things to her and did not necessarily take care of her, Jeannette still lets her love for them shine through and she forgave them for it. Although Jeannette’s parents imposed many hardships and she endured many difficulties, Jeannette found it in her heart to forgive her parents for what they had done.

“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love (Bryant H. McGill).” The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, is set in Salem, Massachusetts. The play occurs at the time of The Salem Witch Trials, which took place from 1692 until 1693. Nineteen people were sentenced to death for failing to admit to witchcraft, with many more being accused. Two of the main characters in the play accused of witchcraft are John and Elizabeth Proctor. As the play progresses, the reader sees their relationship evolve; from cold in the beginning, to supportive in the middle, to a caring, forgiving relationship in the end.

Forgive and forget - the motto that is ingrained in all of us from childhood, teaching us to be more compassionate and understanding, and ultimately developing us into better people, right? Perhaps not. While forgiveness is undoubtedly an important trait that enables people to overcome conflicts, where do we draw the line? There are no concrete or established rules on what the acceptable number of times to forgive someone or something is, so how can we define what is too much forgiveness? When does forgiveness go from a sign of your maturity, compassion, and strength, to a sign of your subservience and weakness? How can we be forgiving and thoughtful, without jeopardizing our own self-worth? These are all questions that arise in the memoir

Forgiveness is a powerful word, of which has a powerful impact. But what does forgiveness mean? To what does one owe to be forgiven? Forgiveness is a process that oneself must teach to achieve. The book Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza exemplifies forgiveness and gives us as readers a new perspective.

“Forgiveness is not always as easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.” This heart wrenching quote by Marianne Williamson gives substantial insight on the true agony that comes along with forgiveness. As we all travel through the journey of life, we face many obstacles which we must overcome.

Forgiveness and kindness take place when you want to move on from your past. Forgiveness is the first step towards healing. Two people are involved in the process of forgiveness and kindness and they both learn something from it. Showing kindness towards others, inspires them to do the same. When you forgive someone you accept the fact that humans do make mistakes. Forgiveness and kindness are beneficial for both parties and in “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes, Mrs. Jones’ kindness helps Roger to become a humble person.

Throughout the Tempest, the character Prospero takes his decision when he knew that the castaways are there in his power and he can punish them the way he want and the way he can touch the height of brutality. But it was where Prospero takes his decision and takes the hands on the consequences by not meeting the end of his contempt for the sins of castaways. Instead of cutting the life out of the sinners as Prospero was victimized by the castaways he decides to give it a new beginning rather than the brutal and bitter ending he could have given to them. All people have their different reasons for why or why not to forgive somebody but for the most part people choose to forgive because they feel empathy, remorse, and to feel better as a person. At the end of the day holding a grudge and getting revenge may feel good at first but in the long term you are better off forgiving and being free of the chains.

In the King James Version of the Bible, there is a parable told called the Prodigal Son. As this story is told in Luke 15:11-32, we are told of a story where a wealthy man has two sons. One son stays behind and decides to work for his father and inherit a good life beside him. The younger son decides he will ask for money from his father, and leave him behind. As time goes on, this son goes out into the world and shortly after, loses all of his money he had received from his father. Because of this, he is ashamed and takes his time on his way back home. But when he eventually does make it home, he is welcomed with open arms to a loving father who could not be any happier to see his son. Although the father is happy to see