Selflessness In Russell Banks's 'The Sweet Hereafter'

Above both of these, though, every member of the human race is bounded by themselves: the clarity of conscious and subconscious minds, the freedom of thought, and the state of being unencumbered by guilt. For the sake of simplicity, we will call the aforementioned topics “institutions.” The Institution of Nature, the Institution of Society, and the Institution of Self. Now to answer the question, the good life for the men of these stories is one where the institution of self is taken into consideration by the character, and on top of that it is one where the institution of self is lived in accordance to. One must “know thy self,” and live by that knowledge.

“What are selfish people but ones who use the weakness of others for their own pleasure?” This is a question posed by an anonymous “philosopher” more than likely desperate for validation, driving them to ask such a ridiculous and simple question that we all know the answer to. But, despite this, the question intrigued me. The question, no matter how naïve and boring it is, does make you think, Well, what are they? And, in my little and oh so insignificant opinion, they are so much more. A selfish person is not only a parasite that feed on other people’s weaknesses, but they do indeed feed on the weaknesses of themselves as well, sucking out their A self-parasite, perhaps? A selfisite? Nevertheless, they are like this because their selfish deeds not only negatively affect the people around them, but themselves as well. This is demonstrated greatly in two stories, “The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell, and “The Necklace,” by Guy de Maupassant. Inn “The Most Dangerous Game,” the protagonist, and hunter named Rainsford who is on his way to Rio, fell off the side of his yacht and got stranded on an island. As it turns out, the island is inhabited by General Zaroff, a fellow hunter. A hunter, that hunts humans. “The Necklace,” is a story about a woman dissatisfied by the life and class she has been given. After borrowing a necklace from a rich friend, she loses the jewelry and must pay for a new one. These stories prove that acts of selfishness lead to the suffering of

The author, using the narrator as a medium, conveys how dependent women have misplaced values through the narrator’s dislike of her situation as, well as her desire of material items and attention. The narrator, a woman who is dependent on her husband, describes her thoughts on her new environment in Colorado. Wharton writes, “She hated it there from the first. Nobody knew her or cared for her; there was no one to wonder at the good math she made, or to envy the new dress and the visiting cards which were still a surprise to her” (Wharton 416). This moment in the text is significant as the author provides us insight into the narrator's thoughts, highlighting how the narrator feels this sense of “hate” towards her current situation. It’s also revealed how the narrator’s dislike derives from her lack of attention and approval which she had previously

Love has been known to change people for the better. In the book “Pride and Prejudice”, Jane Austen uses various characters to demonstrate the selflessness of love despite the many obstacles that come with love. Love’s selflessness can come in many forms, such as helping others with nothing expected in return and setting aside one's personal beliefs to benefit another person. However, these altruistic moments come with many obstacles as well, like unrequited love and having to swallow one’s pride.

At one point in a person’s life, one usually finds a companion so strong they would do anything for them. At least, there is a common misconception that one can give their all to somebody they care for, simply because they care. The downside is, the relationship turns for the worse. When the giver gives, the taker becomes greedy, and often times, the giver sticks around even when they are being clearly exploited. Being taken advantage of and naivety come together hand in hand. Therefore, in Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, the Tree is naive and being taken advantage of because she puts the Boy’s happiness and well-being ENTIRELY above her own, ultimately leading to her self destruction. The Boy also habitually returns to reap the benefits of the Tree

Through the knowledge gained from this book, the reader will grasp the moral being presented and where it came from. This allows authors to convey a deeper significance of their work without having to directly display those thoughts through

Yiyun Li’s A Thousand Years of Good Prayers has a recurring theme among its protagonists. Several characters have not met certain emotional needs which leaves them searching for ways to meet these needs wherever possible. Oftentimes, characters enter a one-sided relationship and give themselves completely to a person with nothing in return because it fulfills whatever needs the character has. These relationships are most evident in “Extra” and “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.”

Almost everyone, at some point in their life, has faced a situation in which they have had to choose between two things that they truly want. This common ordeal is met by the main characters in The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver and The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry during their pursuits of happiness. The fact that the characters must surrender something important to them in order to achieve happiness, shows that you can not have everything you want, therefore suggesting that sacrifice is necessary for happiness.

People thrive when they have someone to praise their progress but the lack of an admiring parental presence causes one to do unnatural things to find acceptance and love regardless of the sacrifices. The beginning of the novel presents several interwoven stories that share a similar pattern of neglected children changing their personalities in order to be acknowledged. Often one must surrender to their circumstances and accept appreciation wherever they can find it. Victor's mother, Caroline, had to “procure plain work; she plaited straw; and by various means contrived to earn a pittance scarcely sufficient to support” her life because her father

These two women could have changed their situations if they did not let their greed consume them. In Loisel’s case, she could have had a happier marriage if she would have just accepted the unconditional love that he showed her. In the end, those material items would fade away, but her husband’s love would have been there forever. In the mother’s case, she could have used her lack of money to fuel her ambition to have more. Instead of always complaining on how she needed more money, she could have plotted a way to generate more income. These two women could have been role models to women by being strong and independent, but instead are the complete opposite. Instead of relying on her husband to get what she wanted, Loisel could have found

Sacrificing one’s life or personal values plays a huge role in the film The House of the Spirits and the short story “The Gift of the Magi.” Praising things that don’t matter in life such as materialistic things is much less important, and what matters the most is risking everything you got to be truly happy in the end. The film and the short story illustrate how every action depending on whether the intention is good or bad, can teach an individual a lesson that can be learned for a lifetime; in order to effectively understand this concept, The House of the Spirits by Billie August and “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry are strategically analyzed from a literally view at such themes as marriage, romance, and sentimental value.

The neighborhood is relatively poor, thus many individuals fantasize about obtaining money to acquire prestige, yet some become blinded, often threatening their own sense of self. Both Elena and Lila view wealth as a contributing factor to not only gain luxury items but to also receive power and access to a range of wider choices. However, both girls are grounded in reality, whereas Lila’s older brother, Rino, has become obsessed, denouncing his boundaries and his sense of self. Rino has become fixated on obtaining new wealth through the expansion of his father’s shop. However, Rino struggles to gain respect because his father refuses to go against the customs of the generations during and before his time. As a result, Rino becomes impatient,

Every society has certain values and generally accepted ways of living that are considered normal. These principles are what keep societies organized and orderly. Conforming to these principles, however, is not necessarily the road to happiness for every individual. The main character, Shane, in In God’s Hands, Sonny, in Sonny’s Blues, and the speaker in The Road Not Taken, all choose not to live by what is considered normal, or popular, and are able to find happiness by living as individuals.

A selfless act of putting others, or others needs before one’s self is a sacrifice. It is because that person deems another individual necessities more important than their own. Mrs. Popov from the short literature story “The Bear, A Joke in One Act,” written by Anton Chekhov in the nineteenth century, demonstrates the true love, and faithfulness a woman holds for her disloyal and deceased husband. Nora, a character in the writing of “A Dollhouse (Et Dukkehjem),” written by Henrik Ibsen in 1879, validates the harsh choices a woman must choose to put her husband’s ego in front of her own. Furthermore, both of these women make evident that sacrifices can be problematic for not only their selves, but for the others that are involved. By sacrificing something of great importance can lead to even greater rewards.

As individuals grow and find a sense of personal character, mistakes and feelings of regret prove inevitable. Therefore, one of the most important aspects of life proves to find solutions to overcome such grievances and find a sense of personal restitution through redemption, which allows individuals to eventually find a sense of personal purpose. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s psychologically based novel, The Scarlet Letter, he emphasizes the importance of finding salvation and further reveals how individuals must discover personal means of contentment in order to affirm the impact that guilt can have on individuals.