The Golden Rule In The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

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Stories have been used to teach lessons to the readers. The lessons in the story centered around were about morals and would forewarn the dangers if a person acted in a destructive manner. The Golden Rule is a well-known moral with an idea is that a person should treat others the way they wish to be treated. The Golden Rule can be portrayed to correlate with religious views. The Golden Rule is the moral to the story in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Coleridge because of the actions that occurred from events involving the Albatross. The Albatross for the crew is first viewed as a companion. The ice and bad weather causes an unforeseen stop on the voyage. The arrival of the Albatross gives company and entertainment to the crew. The bird …show more content…

Therefore the Ancient Mariner believed that the Albatross must die and, “with my cross-bow I shot the Albatross” (81-82). The death of the bird was how the Ancient Mariner treated the higher powers in a wrong way. One of the spirits was said to have, “loved the bird that loved the man who shot him with his bow”(404-405). This death lead to the retaliation of vengeance. The vengeance was starvation and dehydrations. The punishment included that the men were, “as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean”(117-118). The men were forced to face these harsh conditions until the time of their deaths. The Ancient Mariner was allowed to live and see the idea that his actions caused all the crew because of the one shot from the bow. The Ancient Mariner was forced to see how his actions have caused others to act. The ancient mariner chose to relate the sin of, “the Albatross about my neck was hung”(141-142) with the cross for Jesus. Christianity views the cross as a selfless act when the ancient mariners act was selfish. This narcissistic view can be seen as why he was harshly punished in his religious beliefs. The death of the Albatross showed the retaliation that would be taught in this story to correlate with

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