The Bitterness of Revenge Essay

Imagine that you have lost a close friend due to someone’s careless actions. What would you do? Would you seek revenge or would you let the person justify his actions? In A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens one of the main themes is revenge and it is clear when many character seek revenge towards their peers. Of all of the themes in the novel revenge seems to be by far the most powerful with how it continually expands the drama encompasses the townspeople, and the ultimate outcome of the novel. No one quite understands whether revenge is a noble pursuit or not, for the one who is wronged it makes sense to enact revenge; however, the lengths that those who seek revenge go to may not appear as ethical to other people.

News article, “Revenge and the people who seek it” written by Michael Price explores an in-depth perspective on the concept of revenge and how it effects people. Revenge is used in a variety of different ways. It can be used to, find personal satisfaction, show dominance, or a way of keeping order. People seek revenge for different reasons depending on their culture. However, most of the time people motivated by power tend to be more vengeful. Revenge can often times be confused with catharsis. An experiment conducted by Kevin Carlsmith, a social psychologist, resulted in showing that revenge seems to be sweet and relieving, but in the end it does not solve any problems and you end up feeling worse.

The article “Revenge: will you feel better,” author Karyn Hall (2013) claims that while the temptation of revenge may be convincing, acting upon these urges is not always worth the consequences after. Hall contemplates the idea of revenge being “self destructive” and being harmful to both those giving and receiving revenge. Furthermore the article states People who have been hurt seem to believe that if the other party suffers, then they will feel better and that their emotional pain will lessen. This idea is later touch on towards the end of the article when author explains the idea of the “understanding hypothesis”, which is when the offender knows the connection between the original insult and the retaliation. In contrast, the author also

On the surface, both characters appear to be polar opposites of each other. Pip is referred to as Young Pip by Orlick who refers to himself as Old Orlick, even though according to Pip, "he was about five-and-twenty, but he usually spoke of himself as an ancient person" (106). The work ethic of the two blacksmith apprentices vary immensely, with Pip basically being a diligent worker as opposed to Orlick’s lazy habits who is described by Pip as "always slouching" (105). Orlick hates his job and is a generally mean and dispirited individual.

Do you think revenge is always misguided, or is it justified in some cases? In some cases I feel that revenge can be justified, but is usually caused by misguided care from the past. Although there are many instances where revenge is misguided, it can also be justified in some cases. The right or wrong opinion is always blind sides someone else’s side of the story which can sometime make it impossible to tell if the actions of revenge were justified or if they were a result of being misguided.

In this day and age the term “murder” is coined as a word used in everyday language, albeit fifty years ago in the [rural] heartland of America, that word evoked emotion out of the entire town’s population. Prior to writing In Cold Blood, Truman Capote had written several pieces that lead him to writing a piece of literature that would infuse fiction and nonfiction, thus In Cold Blood was created, albeit after six years of research (“Truman” 84). "Truman Capote is one of the more fascinating figures on the American literary landscape, being one of the country's few writers to cross the border between celebrity and literary acclaim…He contributed both to fiction and nonfiction literary genres and redefined what it meant to join the

Humanity is a spectrum. There is no one person who is unequivocally bad or good. Every individual is ambiguous, and merely has the strength of their character and the choices they make. In some cases, these choices are influences by external factors that push fundamentally good individuals to commit deplorable acts. One of the most interesting of these factors is the concept of revenge, and the lengths to which humans will go in its pursuit. Throughout A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens is deliberate in his portrayal of the deleterious effect that a desire for revenge can have on even the most unimpeachable of characters, especially in the lives of Dr. Manette, Madam Defarge, and Gaspard.

According to the article, “Revenge: Will You Feel Better”, written by Karyn Hall Ph.D, revenge is one of the deepest instincts we have. Revenge is a form of establishing justice according to researchers and theorists and that a threat of revenge can be a form of protection to prevent people from causing you harm in the future. “People who have been hurt or betrayed seem to believe without any doubt that if the other party suffers, then they will feel better­­their emotional pain will lessen,” states Karyn Hall. A test was made to see if people would would feel happier after exacting revenge. The outcome was that every person who exacted revenge felt less happy than in the beginning. This is because, “When people don't get revenge, they tend

“No matter the reason, revenge causes a cycle that continues and never ends. It poisons the lives of everyone around you, close to you. Seeking revenge becomes all that you desire but comes at a hefty price.” It is as though Aaron Gromis reflected the tragedy of William Shakespeare 's Hamlet, as he uttered these timeless words. In Shakespeare 's longest play, several of the characters become engulfed in the desire to kill their foes for their wrongdoings. Their thirst for revenge provokes them to act in irrational manners and fills their mind, body, and soul like poison. It inhibits them from doing anything else and ultimately consumes them into nothingness with no greater good achieved. Shakespeare uses these characters to highlight

The single most destructive force in this world is revenge. An immense amount of wars, murders, division, and hatred is due to the evil that is revenge. There are many famous forms of literature that discuss revenge. One is “Of Revenge” by Sir Francis Bacon. In this essay Bacon explains the evil of revenge and why it shouldn’t be taken. Also, down-playing revenge, Robert Kennedy gave a speech called “A Eulogy for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” Immediately following the death of Dr. King, Kennedy pleads with the African American community and America to forgive this offense instead of taking revenge for King’s murder. The final piece of media that discusses revenge does it in a different manor. Edgar Allen Poe writes about revenge in a short story called “The Cask of Amontillado.” The plot of this story is that of a man named Montresor desperately seeks revenge upon a colleague and eventually murders him by trapping him in catacombs deep underground. No matter what the circumstances, revenge should never be taken because men become controlled and destroyed by revenge, and revenge creates division among people.

The overall feeling of the poem Revenge by Letitia Elizabeth Landon is the contempt and vengeance of a woman sowing hatred towards a man and how his actions affected her.

Throughout his life, Mrs. Joe and Estella have hurt Pip. Mrs. Joe, Pip’s sister, should be a trusted figure in his life, although she acts as the opposite and inflicts pain on Pip. Similarly, Estella (Pip’s childhood love interest) cruelly rejects Pip’s love for her. Pip, like any other beaten child or heartbroken lover, understandably harbors anger against Mrs. Joe and Estella. However, Dickens created a character that, at a young age, perceived the world with virtuous eyes whom is incapable of carrying out his vengeance. Therefore, Dickens invented Orlick and Drummle so they can, “act out Pip’s revenge, even if he does not consciously direct it” (Moynahan 123). By doing this, Pip can maintain his level of innocence and remain a ‘victim’, since Orlick and Drummle attack Pip’s sister and childhood

Throughout history revenge has been shown as a violent and bloody act, it is likely revenge will survive well into the future, and leave a trail of suffering in its wake. Revenge has always been viewed in many different lights from many different cultures. However, revenge is a reaction to an attack, and an assault is never really a positive. Revenge is not only dangerous to individual’s psyche , it is also detrimental to society and government as a whole, as illustrated in Alexander Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo, and in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Revenge as a theme is cleverly built upon throughout Hamlet; with it being the driving force behind three of the key characters in the play. Revenge is a frighteningly vicious emotion, which causes people to act blindly and without reason. In Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor enacts revenge for reasons unknown. Hamlet in contrast, has all the motive in the world to complete his task; yet he constantly hesitates. The text reveals that the need for revenge creates a stranglehold on the genuine emotions, thoughts, and actions of three characters: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Laertes; son of Polonius, and Fortinbras; Prince of Norway. This hold makes the characters act beyond their standard ethical positions and makes them helpless to

Pip was always being pushed around by grown-ups. He was forced to bring a man food. He was in love with Estella, who was mean to him and made fun of him. Pip was forced to work with Joe and another cruel man named Orlick. His sister, with whom he was living with, was attacked one day, but no one knew who it was. Pip moved to London and met Herbert Pocket and became friends with him. Pip met the man who forced him to bring food one day. The man, named Abel Magwitch, revealed that he was Pip’s secret benefactor. Pip gets a note one day to go to the marshes. He does, and Orlick was there, informing Pip that it was he that had killed Mrs. Joe. When Herbert comes and tries to catch Orlick, he