Meaningful Meaninglessness Society constantly seeks for a deeper meaning to human life by placing value on trivial things and holding dogma to a high standard. In Albert Camus’s novel The Stranger, the protagonist does not participate in society’s aforementioned morals; they consider him an unintelligent outcast. Meursault, the protagonist, faces a handful of circumstances throughout the book in which any “normal” person would express emotion, but in which he held back: his mother’s death and funeral; his mistress’s proposal; an offered promotion; a pimp’s promiscuity; an adoring, yet abusive dog owner; a murder that he committed; and, finally, his own death sentence. At the time that he least needed to do so, Meursault displays feelings of anger, remorse, and even happiness. Even though the fictional judicial system of France and current readers view Meursault as completely absurd, Camus illustrates the innocence in Meursault’s existentialist lifestyle and, because of this, its meaning as well.
The actions of both Baba and Amir are destructive but ultimately, the reader sees the good in Amir whereas Baba fails to atone. Thus Baba’s deeds are shown by Hosseini to be more detrimental to those around him than that of his illegitimate son. Kite runner highlights how Baba’s choices are not only damaging towards the people around him, but to Afghanistan as a whole. Baba presents himself as a “black and white” man as he lives the moral code that “there is only one sin….theft”. At the start, Baba is viewed by the community as a patriarch, however as the novel unfolds, the reader sees the many flaws in his character and the hypocrisy of his philosophy through his interactions with others.
In Corinthians, St. Paul said, "We ought to live our life's by faith and not by sight." However what if our sight becomes stronger than our faith and what faith you though you had, perishes by the reality in front of you. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Young Goodman Brown", the principles and morals of the main character are put in doubt when a series of events cause him to question his real faith. Further on, his Christian values become an object of ridicule and his only nature becomes sin itself. However faith was an important part of his life and his childhood principles were the reason behind his good deeds.
“The highest spiritual quality, the noblest property of mind a man can have, is this of loyalty… a man with no loyalty in him, with no sense of reverence or devotion due to something outside and above his poor daily life, with its pains and pleasures, profits and losses, is as evil a case as a man can be,” (Algernon Charles Swinburne). As this quote explains, loyalty is one of the most important virtues, and it is also a virtue that Thomas Becket possesses. But because of his loyalty, Thomas Beckett also has a problem. He is loyal to two conflicting powers, the church, and the crown. He is a close friend of Henry the second and is also very loyal to his title of Archbishop, which leads to many other problems.
Her actions are extremely selfish, when Misfit is shooting, she only begs him to not spare a specific person, like her or her family, but instead tests the Misfit’s moral code to not kill a lady. Misfit: A criminal, the Misfit has lived a life of crime. He blames others for his actions, thus deriving his name from it. He listens to the Grandmother’s word, and it seems if he has previously really thought deeply and questioned his one life. His moral code and beliefs are not wrong, but extremely elementary.
"(376) The grandmother is talking about how the misfit is a good person, yet she knows nothing about the man except the fact he is a criminal and a murderer. The Misfit’s morals are completely different from the grandmothers. The Misfit will always stand by what he believes regardless of the situation. The Misfit believes that the outcome of anything is what he creates. When the Misfit says "Yes'm," smiling slightly as if he were pleased in spite of himself to be known, "but it would have been better for all of you, lady, if you hadn't of reckernized me."
[love] I’m one of those people who see through to nothing.”....”We are all damned,” she said, “but some of us have taken off our blindfolds and see that there’s nothing to see. It’s kind of a salvation (200).”” Hulga is an atheist and doesn’t believe in God, yet in some way she believes tha everyone is damned but the people who can see that everyone is damned and who have excepted, like she, that that in some was is ‘salvation’. Why do you think Hulga decides to seduce Manly? Manley portrays himself as this super sweet, nice, talkative, “good country people.” He is a good Christian who wants to sell bibles and spread the word of God. Then,
Although “Good Country People” and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” have the same author they are very similar in many elements in the fact that they have a similar theme, setting and point of view. Both of the stories have a theme of repenting protagonists in response to the wrongful deeds committed by the antagonists who do not believe in anything. The theme in “Good Country People” is revealed when Joy-Hulga becomes completely
Because of the monster's cruel act of causing death, Victor faces inevitable conviction. Justine confesses she is the murderer of Victor's brother, William, when she was placed on trial. However, she is innocent and claims she is the murderer hoping to gain salvation. Not only does Justine blame herself, Victor knows she has nothing to do with the case and he feels horrible. “Anguish and despair had penetrated into the core of my heart; I bore a hell within me, which nothing could extinguish.” (Shelley 75) However, Victor cannot explain the truth because he is afraid people will think he is crazy.
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” In O’Connor’s short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” there are a couple of themes that can be pointed out. The gist of the story is how the actions of a grandmother get her and her family killed. From the events in the story I garnered that violence cause’s change. Violence is never a good thing, but in this story it serves a purpose, in terms of the grandmother. It gets her to see how hateful her prejudice is towards others; not until her family is killed is she able to make a connection with someone else and accept GOD’s grace.