Why Is Revenge Important In The Great Gatsby

Although a century later the founding fathers of the United States of America would claim that their new nation valued individual freedoms above all else, some of the earliest European settlers in America built a society structured around zealous religion-based conformity. The Puritans (or as they were otherwise known, the “Children of the Reformation”) sought to escape British religious institutions in the Anglican church that they believed came between men and their relationships with their God. They arrived in Massachusetts in the early 17th century to establish a theocratic oligarchy in which all members were devoted to the Christian Bible as their sole religious authority. The word of the Bible served as legislation in Massachusetts colonies. They believed in predestination and the idea that natural disasters and other unfortunate events were signs of God’s displeasure. These beliefs cultivated a collective fear of an authoritarian God who would grow angry and punish anyone who broke away from their society. Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, in which innocent Puritans are tried and killed for the crime of witchcraft, denounces the dangers of conformity in Salem’s Puritan society. In Salem, individuality is worthy of a death sentence. The characters who remain true to their individual values are brutally punished while the characters act according to the beliefs of their fellow townspeople survive. In his play The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses figures of speech, logical

The Great Gatsby starts in around the time nineteen twenty with the narrator named Nick Carraway. He finds out a lot of information about Jay Gatsby after the first party he went to. As a reader, you find out that one of the themes form the Great Gatsby that I thought was very interesting was betrayed. Betrayal was a tremendous theme in the Great Gatsby. Betrayal is a tremendous theme in The Great Gatsby because of family, marriage, and time. F.Scott Fitzgerald puts betrayal in the book so much that a lot of the book is about Tom and Daisy and how Gatsby loves Daisy so much. Gatsby even betrayed his own family for Daisy and his love for Daisy.

The word revenge is heard all over the news today. The news shows how people are trying to get revenge such as terrorist groups or individuals harming each other. However, even though the use of the word is frequent, not everyone has a clear understanding of what revenge clearly means. Revenge is defined as someone taking action to harm someone who has done something wrong to that certain person. Bryce Nelson the author of Revenge: Sweet, Universal and Self-Destructive: [Home Edition] stated: “As the victim contemplates revenge, he hopes desperately to overcome his feelings of impotence and to regain his former sense of self-worth” (Nelson 1). This article demonstrated how revenge was human nature by showing an example of someone getting revenge. The examples are demonstrated in definitions, characteristics, stories, and real-life events.

Revenge is a form of retaliation when one has done something unjust towards another person, the victim would do some form of action to inflict misery or pain to the person who committed the crime towards the victim. Revenge is something that is actually looked down by majority of society stating with the usual phrase “two wrongs do not make a right” opposite to the phrase “two wrongs make a right”. Retaliation in this regard is however a common topic of discussion in multiple essays and short stories. [1] In Brady Udall’s short story “He becomes deeply and famously drunk”, the main character spares his father’s killer because the killer was not worth punishment consequently the killer was old and frail, having many misdemeanors that affected

As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The old law of ‘an eye for an eye’ leaves everybody blind.” By this, King is implying that revenge does not solve any issues, but instead affects multiple people who are involved in a conflict. Revenge is defined as the act of harming someone for any aggression towards another. “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,” written by William Shakespeare, gives an excellent example that the thirst for vengeance can ruin everyone who is connected. Some examples of the play are Romeo and Tybalt, whose actions caused them to meet an unfaithful end. Their actions, which were guided by hatred, not only affected them, but both of their families. Romeo and Tybalt’s actions show that revenge itself can lead to great losses,

Revenge is the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt them. People have been getting revenge on others for thousands of years. People usually get revenge to regain power because when someone wrongs them they feel like power has been taken from them. Sometimes people like to go outside of the law to get revenge. This is because they feel like the law is not enough to give the person who wronged them the right amount of punishment for what they have done. “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath, “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, and “Cask of the Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe all show the things they or their characters would do to get revenge on the person that wronged them and the different ways they did it.

Arthur Miller’s, “The Crucible”, takes place during 1692 when freedom of religion was emerging and various views about religion was expressed that were not directly in line with Christianity. In this play, Christianity religion divided in sects of Puritans, Atheist, and Witch Craft. “The people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combine of state and religious power whose function was to keep the community together, and to prevent any kind of disunity that might open it to destruction by material or ideological enemies” (Miller, pg. 6). In this Salem village, the people were practiced Puritans. Villagers believed that the practice or belief in witchcraft was a crime punishable by hanging. They believed that witchcraft was a “compact” (agreement) with the Devil or Lucifer to do harm to the people. Anyone believed to be in compact with the devil would be subject to death by hanging. The plot and conflict of this play is focused on a witch-hunt of townspeople who are believed to have practiced witch craft and a trial ensues to determine their fate. During the progression of this play, we discover that three characters feed the hysteria that surrounds the Salem Witch

In Salem, Massachusetts 1692, as portrayed in The Crucible, the importance of God is tested to the point where delirium and hysteria are brought on easily by any suspicious activity that seems sinnful. Being a theocratic society, Danforth claims to judge based on the guidance of God to determine whether crimes committed go against the holy word. Witchcraft is indeed thought to be the devil’s work, so his actions for trying to rid the town of the devil have good intentions, but the extent to which he does it are not in the name of God at all. The word of God says that condemning innocent people is still considered murder even if they are thought to be guilty of something. The people in Salem are so concerned with trying to appear godly on the outside that they forget to reflect it on the inside.

The worst part of a betrayal is that it usually comes from a friend rather than an enemy. In Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, Milkman goes on an adventure to find the roots of his family history. While on his quest, Milkman learns and experiences betrayal from his long time friend, Guitar, who misunderstands Milkman’s objective. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby undergoes a series of betrayals from Daisy throughout his life. Gatsby’s love for Daisy blinds him from her acts of betrayal, which eventually leads Gatsby to his death. In Song of Solomon, the relationship between Milkman and Guitar deteriorates due to Guitar’s excessive desire for money and revenge. This is paralleled in The Great Gatsby where Daisy use Gatsby’s love and wealth to seek revenge on Tom.

They believed witches had the capability to injure others. They believed that witchcraft was being in an agreement with the devil and in return they would be granted specific powers to perform evil deeds. Therefore, witchcraft was thought to be a sin. It repudiated God’s superiority, and it was an offense since witches could summon the Devil in his/her form to carry out evil deeds against people. Some thought that there were other reasons for the witch trials such as clashes with government, family and finances.

The society in Salem was a theocracy, a government based on religious beliefs. Therefore any sin would be seen as an offence against the public as well as against God. Sins, especially in Salem would most likely have been hidden away from public view, and this would also explain the way Miller wrote The Crucible. Everyone seemed to know, or want to know everyone else’s business. In both McCarthyism and the Salem witch trials, there was a huge amount of pressure to reveal the secret sins of friends and neighbours. People, therefore began to take advantage of this, and began using the opportunity to take out personal grudges, for example

The Effects of Revenge The pursuit of vengeance regardless of all consequences and collateral damage is a fundamental aspect of the human condition. In both literature and reality great acts of violence are the products of retribution. Subsequently, this theme of avenging a wrong is central to both Hamlet and The Count of Monte Christo. Revenge is unpredictable and often causes unforeseen pain, making generally it undesirable.

In today's society, the media often portrays revenge as an acceptable option. This is not outright stated, but rather implied. Characters often seem to think that revenge is the only way to get closure from a bad experience, and when this is acted on, negative consequences are not shown. Rarely is the fact that vengeance is hypocritical and wrong brought up. People need to wake up and realize that revenge is always hypocritical and illogical. As Christ said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

The death penalty has been present, in one way or another, for virtually as long as human civilization has existed. The reasons why are apparent; it is intrinsically logical to human beings that a person who takes the life of another should also be killed. This philosophy is exemplified in the famous Biblical passage, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." However, in light of recent research into ethics, criminology and the justice system, the time has come for us to re-examine our ageless paradigm of revenge.

During biblical times crime not only affected society, but it was believed to have also been directed towards God himself. The Bible is the oldest book to reference with many directives to living life peacefully and without revenge. As retribution is considered a form of punishment, if not the first, the Bible itself explains that the punishment should not exceed the crime. Matthew 5:38 states, “You have heard that it has been said, eye for eye and tooth for tooth”. This passage is meant as a way to explain that the punishment should fit the crime. As a member of society, the offender was punished equally as brutal as the crime