The parable titled “Before the Law” by Franz Kafka is about a man struggling to get to “the law” because it is guarded by a doorkeeper. The door is left open, but the man sits and waits for permission to pass through begging and cursing at the doorkeeper. The man waits so long for permission, his life eventually fades away from his body. In his final moments of living, the door keeper states, “No one but you could gain admittance through this door since this door was intended only for you. I am now going to shut it” (Kafka). The parable begins by describing a man from the country who seeks to obtain “the law”. The man is easily relatable because there are no significant physical or emotional details about him. The man spends a majority of the parable with the doorkeeper. The doorkeeper is described …show more content…
Each person has unique challenges they must overcome; however, obstacle are not always easy to overcome. For some, it may take a few hours, but for others, like the man, it may take years. “The law” can be seen as the happiness a person achieves after they are successful in overcoming their obstacles. This is seen when the man states “a radiance that streams immortally from the door of the Law” (Kafka). The doorkeeper is the obstacle, and “the law” can only be obtained with his permission. Therefore, happiness is achieved when we overcome our obstacles, and it allows us to move on further in life. However, the man was never able to overcome his obstacle, and he became obsessed with his getting through he forgot about everything else. The man waited, and nothing happened. The man begged for entry and tried to persuade the doorkeeper, and still nothing. The man was not forced to wait near the door, yet he did. Eventually, the man lost everything, all his possession that he valued was given to the doorkeeper, including his life, in attempt to achieve
One cannot be obedient to one’s power without being disobedient to another. In his article, “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem,” Erich Fromm argues people obey authority to feel safe. When one obeys, they become an ambiguous part of a whole, no longer accountable for actions or left on their own. In Ian Parker’s article, “Obedience,” analyzing Milgram's experiment, he claims people obey orders when there is no second option. According to Parker, if someone obeys an order, but there is no alternative, their accountability is lessoned. The two articles can speak to the tomfoolery that takes place in the motion picture, Mean Girls, which highlights a typical high school under the regime of the queen bee, Regina George, with her followers Gretchen Weiners and Karen Smith; the regime is usurped by a new girl, Cady Heron. Under the scope of Parker and Fromm, it can be argued that Gretchen was not disobeying Regina when she realigned with Cady, but actually remaining obedient to the social order of high school.
A hero is considered to be any man noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose;
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
My initial reaction to the words “You’re next book you will be reading is Into Thin Air” was definitely not me jumping up and down in my seat out of joy. I’ll admit I was not looking forward to reading this book at all. I tried putting off reading it for as long as possible, but then realized that I should just try reading the first chapter. After reading the first chapter I was completely hooked and I couldn’t get enough of the book. Jon Krakauer does a phenomenal job at keeping the reader engaged with what is happening throughout the book. You get an astounding story of the struggles that come with climbing Mount Everest and a wonderful background of the mountain and its history.
Rejection. Desperate to help your dying child, you go to the one place you can get help and the doctor says no. All because your life savings just isn't enough. In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the doctor is guilty of malpractice for breaking the Hippocratic oath: not treating Coyotito because he doesn't want to work for little payment. Coyotito is stung by a scorpion and Kino goes to the doctor to get him treated. Kino asks if the doctor will treat Coyotito, and the guard goes to talk to the doctor. The doctor says that he will not treat the baby unless there is payment. Kino gives the guard pearls, and the doctor rejects them. The guard tells Kino that the doctor has a more important patient, lying to avoid work.
The Parable is a story about Rosemary, a young woman who is betrothed to a man named Hernando. Rosemary is supposed to meet Hernando for there up coming wedding but she is faced with a dilemma. In order for her to get to her wedding she has to cross a very deep and wide river that is full of crocodiles. Rosemary is clueless on how she is to get across this river, so she decides to turn to people, she knows, for help. The first person she turns to is Sven for he owns a boat. Sven listens to Rosemary's problem and tells her he will take her across the river if she spends the night with him. Rosemary, surprised and shocked at hearing such an offer, declines and turns to another acquaintance, Lee Pai, for help. Lee Pai tells Rosemary he is sorry but he can't help her. Not knowing what else she can do, Rosemary goes back to Sven for help. She spends the night with him and the next day he takes her across the river. Rosemary and Hernando are then together at last. The evening before their wedding, Rosemary feels the need to tell
In many works of literature a character conquers great obstacles to achieve a worthy goal. Sometimes the obstacles are personal impediment, at other times it consists of the attitude and beliefs of others. In the book The Stranger by Albert Camus, shows the character Meursault who is an emotionless character that let’s other people show their opinions and emotions into him giving him a type of feeling even if Meursault doesn’t care. Meursault contains occasion of his emotional indifference between his friends and social indifference. This essay will be about the character’s struggle contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Humans are sinful by nature, but at what point does the Lord tolerate inconceivable sin? When does He look down and say, “Enough is enough?” Investigating the act of lynching, makes one truly wonder about the evils of mankind. This monstrosity occurred in America, and in the South alone, ferociously ended the lives of nearly 4,000 individuals (Robertson). Although baffling, this disturbing incident is a major part of our history. Our educated ancestors took part in these crimes that plagued our land for many years for the specific reasons of lack of law enforcement, influence of previous generations, and unimaginable fear.
“The Conscience of the Court” written by Zora Neale Hurston explores the life of a courtroom in the late nineteenth century. Laura Lee Kimble is a strong, loyal, and humble African American woman. Laura has a close connection with Mrs. Clairborne, her close friend and employer, and is loyal to their friendship. This friendship and loyalty is so strong that Laura refused to leave Mrs. Clairborne three times even when her husband asked if they could live somewhere with more money. Clement Beasley, the plaintiff, claims that Mrs. Clairborne borrowed money from him to purchase furnishings for her house; however, when the payment for this money was owed Mrs. Clairborne did not pay him back. Mr. Beasley decides to show up at the house to take away all of Mrs. Clairborne’s furnishings that, he claims, the money was supposed to be used for. Laura shares with the court that the furnishings actually are family heirlooms that have been passed down from Mrs. Clairborne’s parents and husband’s family. Mr. Beasley also claims that Laura assaulted him up to try and stop him from gathering Mrs. Clairborne’s furnishings; however, Laura claims that she assaulted him because he was rude and trying to force himself into the house to steal Mrs. Clairborne’s furnishings. The judge of the court struggles with what his conscience is telling him is right even when the facts were against Laura. The judge calls for a note that was signed by Mrs. Clairborne, stating she had borrowed money and for what purpose, to be brought as evidence to the court; however, it is explained that the note was not taken as evidence due to the belief that the note was a waste of evidence. The judge then asks that the note be picked up and brought into the courtroom to be placed...
The book that I read was called The Stranger written by Albert Camus. The book is globally famous and was translated to many different languages and texts. The original was called L’Étranger which was written in French in 1942. The plot of this story involved a man in his late twenties or early thirties. The man's name is Meursault. In the beginning of the novel, Meursault is notified that his mother had passed away in the nursing home that he occupied her to. Meursault’s income could not afford to take care of his mother any longer; therefore, he put her in a nursing home. Meursault took off of work and went to the nursing home where she passed away to pay his respects and attend the funeral ceremonies. When he arrived at the nursing home, the funeral director brought Meursault to his mother’s coffin. The director asked if he wanted to see her and he quickly replied to keep the coffin shut. Meursault sat in the room and nearly went through an entire pack of cigarettes while blankly watching his mother’s coffin. At the actual funeral, Meursault shows no signs of normal emotion which would normally be induced at such an event.
John Green’s wonderful yet tragic best-selling novel The Fault in Our Stars tells a heart-wrenching story of two teenage cancer patients who fall in love. Augustus Waters and Hazel Lancaster live in the ordinary city of Indianapolis, where they both attend a support group for cancer patients. Falling in love at first sight, the two are inseparable until Augustus’s cancer comes out of remission, turning Hazel’s world upside. This is one of the best young-adult fiction novels of the year because it keeps readers on the edge of their seat, uses themes to teach real life lessons, and uses a realistic point of view instead of the cliché happy ending of most books.
Throughout the first three gospels, Jesus uses short stories to illustrate or teach the truth known as parables. A parable is simply an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. In Matthew chapter eight verse ten, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” Jesus replied, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the heaven, but to them it is not given.” There have been many discussions about the meaning of these parables as ministers and religious leaders have continued to spread God’s word. A parable, not so well known is about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Jesus uses this parable to stress the evils of wealth, particularly towards the Pharisees who believed that riches bought righteousness. Patrick Hogan believes this parable is a statement that the very life of wealth is damnable, and that the poor deserve to be raised up. He believes the parable is a harsh condemnation of those who perpetuate a system of wealth and poverty .
In Jack London’s “The Law of Life,” he illustrated his naturalistic belief that instincts are more dominant in the human mind than feelings or emotional attachments. He revealed this through the main character’s experiences and upbringing, his perception of life, and the actions of his family members. Many would disagree with Jack London’s viewpoints, arguing that love and compassion can vanquish survival instinct, even in the face of death. However, unless one is placed in an environment where the continuation of life is not guaranteed, London’s opinions cannot be challenged.
The first parable centers on the rich man who does not recognize the existent of the poor man named Lazarus. The rich man “who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.