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The body as distinct from the soul
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Action and reaction are the very threads that make up the fabric of our universe, conflicting forces that wage war against each other in hopes of gaining the upper hand and overcoming the other. Virtue versus desire, faith versus logic, tradition versus change, light versus darkness, (Republicans versus Democrats,) and good versus evil-all opposing facets of their respective fields that switch off control in a never-ending dance of push and pull.
We witness one of these never-ending dances first hand in C.S. Lewis' novel, The Screwtape Letters, as a high-ranked demon named Screwtape advises his naïve and inexperienced nephew on the best methods to use in corrupting his assigned ?Patient? and preventing the ?Enemy? from gaining the ?Patient? for himself. But though it may come from the evil perspective of an expert demon, the piece is really a reflection of the internal struggle in humans between good and evil, Lord and Satan, on a small, subtle, and discreet level. The conflict portrayed in this novel addresses the everyday sins and mindsets that more often than not lead to the downfall of a seemingly good and righteous person (unlike the focus on absolute evils such as outright dishonesty and murder common in other works on morality). The main character?s struggle plays out this idea that it is the little things a person does that have the biggest impact in his or her life, an idea that can be applied not only to the salvation of our spiritual immortality, but also to the value of our mortal lives as well.
We learn from Screwtape?s many letters of advice to his nephew Wormwood (thirty-one letters to be exact) the many strategies that evil spirits and demons employ in order to secure human spiritual morality. Contrary...
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...dentify our mistakes and learn from them in order for us to reap any benefit from those mistakes, unfortunately for us it is the small mistakes that are the most dangerous and the hardest to identify and correct. Lucky for us, Screwtape didn?t do a very good job of hiding his letters to his nephew because it means less work for us and more trouble for all demon-kind. ?It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one?the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,?
Your affectionate uncle
Screwtape (Lewis 60-61).
Cited Sources
?Lewis, Clive S. The Screwtape Letters. San Francisco: HarperCollins, Inc., 2001.
The Screwtape Letters is one of the most popular works of prominent Christian writer C.S. Lewis. It documents the letters sent from the demon Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood regarding the damnation of an English gentleman living just before and during World War II. This novel is considered by many to be one of the best works by Lewis, but whether it is really worth the hype surrounding it is more subjective. Regardless of if it’s that good, however, it’s still a very interesting read and a fascinating glimpse into 1940s Britain and the moral dilemmas that were faced by good Christian people at the time.
Authors often make use of rhetorical strategies for additional effects, appeals to the reader, relating to an audience, or even for simply drawing attention to a specific section/part of a work. Nonetheless, these Rhetorical Strategies can prove crucial in the unraveling of such a work. The preceding is the case for a work entitled Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury. Within the context of the story, a circus enters a small town and changes its overall atmosphere with never before seen mystical evils. Only two boys, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade, stand in their way. These uncanny occurrences bring out the morality and malevolence of several characters in the story. In Bradbury’s work, there are many discrepancies in the moralities of each character relative to the development of the plot and their overall portrayal in the novel. Bradbury adds many instances in which certain characters have to make a choice between what they wish to do and what they should do. Such decisions accurately portray the conflict as an internal discontinuity between the ultimatums of good and evil. Thus, making the readers question his or her interpretation of each and challenge the societal parameters that encompass them.
nature, and what is true of nature is true of action, if nothing prevents it. Now actions are
When viewing the atrocities of today's world on television, the starving children, the wars, the injustices, one cannot help but think that evil is rampant in this day and age. However, people in society must be aware that evil is not an external force embodied in a society but resides within each person. Man has both good qualities and faults. He must come to control these faults in order to be a good person. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding deals with this same evil which exists in all of his characters. With his mastery of such literary tools as structure, syntax, diction and imagery, The author creates a cheerless, sardonic tone to convey his own views of the nature of man and man’s role within society.
...ealization that he should live as an innocent, free from the evil burden of guilt, allow this novel to be called a morality tale. Not only good, but also evil are linked to the concept of morality. However, acts of good or evil doing depend on the views of the person making the decision. Understanding that each and every person does not have the same viewpoint is a valuable lesson that Mulisch presents in his novel. Another lesson is coming to the realization that there is no need to feel guilty for something that cannot be controlled. These two moral lessons, presented in the novel, suggest that people should live a prosperous life. Even though good and evil are opposing concepts, they are necessary to piece together the puzzle known as the universe.
Peoples’ lives hold the greatest power over their works. From the people around them and their interactions, to the places they grow up in and the perspective of the world it give them; peoples’ lives shape everything they do. There is no more of a perfect example of this then the fiction of Henry James Jr. Henry James Jr.’s withdrawal from society and his relationships with his siblings create the backing force for his settings and plot in his short fiction, Turn of the Screw.
From the intellectual noble man, Roger Chillingworth became the worst sinner and a pawn of the devil when he let obsession, vengeance, jealousy and hatred overpower his morals and intelligence. Chillingworth’s symbolism of evil and sin was strong, powerful and successful as he represented the self-destructive power of vengeance that people let in their lives, as well as the innate evil that results from jealousy and hatred, which can turn the purest man into the worst of sinners.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is usually read as a ghost story in which the central character, the governess, tries to save the souls of two children possessed by evil. However, the short-story can be also analyzed from many different perspectives, as we come upon a number of hints that lead to various understanding of certain scenes. One of the possible interpretations is the psychoanalytical one, in which we interpret the events either from the point of view of the governess or from the perspective of the two children. I will concentrate on the problem of the governess who, restricted by her own problems and moral dilemmas, projects her fears on her pupils and in this way harms the children. What causes her moral corruption and gradual maddening lies deep in her psyche. Both the Victorian upbringing and the social isolation of a poor village tell her to restrict her sexual desires evoked by the romance reading. The result is tragic. The governess becomes mad and the children psychologically destabilized and scared of the adults. The story ends with the governess strangling the boy in a hysteric fit. The Turn of the Screw is a very popular work of literature, with reach history of critical interpretations where not much can be added, therefore my essay is mostly based on The Turn of the Screw. A History of Its Critical Interpretations 1898 1979 by Edward J. Parkinson.
No one can be trusted. In Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, the ambivalent nature of the novella causes suspicion of the sanity of his narrator, the Governess. The characters of the Governess, the children, and the apparitions, as villains and victims, cannot be told apart. Henry James impeccably makes use of ambiguity to create mystery and suspense through the dubiety roles of his main characters and the liability of the narrator.
In the 16th century English morality play “Everyman” who’s author is unknown. Everyman has an encounter with death who reminds him who his maker is and that it is time to make a reckoning of his good and bad deeds. He realizes that salvation lies in his hands, and that it is a personal decision that only he can make. One senses the desperation in the heart of Everyman, having realized that his life was blackened with sin; he strives to change the black he has accumulated in the “book of counts” and change it to a book of white. Everyman feels like he must make atonement for his sin, in order to escape death, for salvation is in the hands of the sinner.
Does natural evil lie perpetually inside of the human spirit,nesting for its chance to jump out? Or is it a cause from an external force? Through well examined depictions of the young boys actions to their situation in the novel, shows a difficult or complex energy of evil that rests in the human soul. "Kill him! Kill him!... Kill that pig! Cut his throat! Kill that pig! Bash him...
At the beginning of his journey, Goodman Brown’s will and pride were both embedded in the belief that he was a pious man. Goodman’s pride in piety evidently fails him, as he discovers that his faith was based on the principles of individuals who had sworn allegiance to the devil. This deplorable truth destroyed his conviction, and in this sense the devil prevailed against Goodman Brown.
There are many different ways to interpret The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James. Many critics over the past century have voiced their opinions about the story. Each critical analysis of the story disagrees with the beliefs expressed in another. Robert B. Heilman is a critic who wrote in the mid-twentieth century. He interprets The Turn of the Screw to be a representation of the conflict between good and evil. Heilman's points are clear and obviously well thought out, but there are flaws in his argument that make his interpretation questionable.
The medieval mind was schematic in nature. From the Great Chain of Being to the orders of angels, medieval thinkers were fond of organizing and classifying the physical and spiritual worlds. One of the schema that has endured in some form to the present day appears in the notion of the Seven Deadly Sins. As Morton Bloomfield observed in 1952, an understanding of the sins might provide a means of understanding the quality and “absolute worth” of the “medieval fabric” (243).
...commit, so that we may fix our mistakes and stop ourselves from repeating them. Dante challenges himself on his journey through hell to face these sins like we do in everyday life. These sins have dire consequences for those who do not learn.