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Research essays on teenage crime
Research essays on teenage crime
Introduction on increasing crime among youth
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Saint Augustine confesses that in his sixteenth year of life he committed the sin of stealing pears. He tells not of being hungry and desperately needing to steal them for satiation, nor of desiring the pears because they were beautiful and tasteful, but confesses that the act of stealing the pears and committing the sin in itself is what was so enticing. Later in life as Augustine reflects on this act he also comments that his reasoning for stealing the pears was the feeling of camaraderie that he and his companions felt after the sin was committed. The motive that Augustine had as a young boy for stealing pears off the tree was that it was an action with malicious intent. He says, “we derived pleasure from the deed simply because it was
forbidden.” He is making the claim that humans by nature relish in the knowledge that they are acting with malice. However, as he reflects back on this act of sin he determines that he stole the pears for another reason: wanting to feel as though he was part of something. Augustine comments on the act and reasons that he would not have committed the sin on his own. What led him to do it was the gang mentality that came along with stealing the pears with others. He says, “I also loved the camaraderie with my fellow thieves.” Augustine realizes as a man that it was not just the fact that the action of stealing the pears was malicious, but also a need for companionship and belonging that led him to commit the crime. Augustine makes two claims about human nature as it relates to acts of poor morality. He claims that it is enticing to humans to do wrong simply because they know it is wrong, and that humans seek companionship and will commit sin to form bonds with others.
Through this theme, the author hoped to denote the importance of religion and sins. Antonio is the perfect delineation of the irrefutable desires of man when he says, “And although I did not feel good about it, I ate the golden carrot. I had never eaten anything sweeter or juicier in my life.” (Anaya, 109). Despite knowing that it is a sin to take something of someone else’s without permission, Antonio, even if reluctant, still chooses to consume the carrot. He, being a religious boy who firmly believes in always performing good deeds, still chooses to indulge in wrongdoing and even ends up enjoying it. Antonio’s perspective on god significantly changes after discussing sins with Florence; “there seemed to be so many pitfalls in the questions we asked…would the knowledge of the answers make me share in the original sin of Adam and Eve?” (113). Similar to the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Antonio consumes a vegetable that was not meant for him. He firmly believes that what happened in the Garden of Eden was a result of the irrevocable habit of man to sin; a habit now being attained to Antonio as well. However, shortly after performing this act which was almost identical to that of Adam and Eve, Antonio starts to question the beliefs
St. Augustine’s Confessions is written through the Christian perspective of religion. Christianity is founded on the idea that there is one God who oversees all actions. Though all actions are observed by a higher power, God instills in us a free will. As Christians we are free to make our own decisions whether right or wrong. In his Biography St Augustine expresses that he feels like a sinner. He struggles with the fact that he is a thrill seeker. He loves to watch blood sports. He watches gladiators fight to the death and commit murder. Not only does he watch, but he enjoys observing these acts. He is also expressing his sins in his biography when he writes about stealing, which is another sin. He steals pears for fun. St Augustine doesn’t even eat the pears he steals, but throws them to the pigs to eat. Through the story St Augustine struggles interna...
Augustine remarks that he sees man as seeking what gives him glory rather than what brings glory to God. When talking about self Augustine shares that he enjoyed studying Latin in school simply because it came easy to him, not because it brought glory to God. As he grew, he was, in the eyes of his society, an upstanding citizen, he did nothing inherently wrong. However, Augustine believes he did considerable wrong; rather than living for and seeking after the Lord, he was living for and seeking after his own desires. These claims exemplify mankind’s tendency to turn its back on its beliefs and the One in whom they
In Confessions, Augustine faces the aspect of disobedience to the problem of sin. Throughout his life, he was a ‘slave to sin’, even when he desperately wants to escape it. In Book VI, Section iv of Confessions, he recounts the time as an adolescent, when he stole pears from the neighbor’s tree with his friends. This passage is used to portray an aspect of Augustine’s homecoming, journey of faith. Also seen in the Odyssey, the crew men 's disobedience hinders Odysseus’ homecoming. Augustine and Homer both use this idea of ‘homecoming’, where Odysseus is being able to go back to his homeland, his family, and his kingdom, and Augustine seeking the truth with the journey of faith.
13-18- Here is when Augustine begins to recall from the earliest parts of his memory how he studied language and learned about the world. And more particularly how it was done sinfully and for vain purposes that distracted him from the pure way of life.
“There must be contrast before there can be comprehension, we can realize good only through the ministry of evil (122 Blow).” Dante’s Inferno and Saint Augustine’s Confessions are both like the Bible, they both have some good advice but they are nothing more than someone’s vision. Augustine is able to give the reader a close experience of his journey through life, just as Dante carries the reader with him through his journey through hell. Both of these works paint a vivid picture of the expeditions of man through his search for a deeper spiritual connection. They make their audience aware of the sin in their lives as well as the others they surround themselves with. Themes common from both of these authors are punishment of sin, and the search of self.
”1 He was already a steady believer in God and was ready to be baptized however he was kept from it and was influenced by the other people as they said “Let him be, let him do as he likes, he is not baptized yet.” Without the proper reinforcement and teaching he progressively strayed away from his beliefs and eventually lost himself in sin. This led to one of the most important incidents in Augustine’s childhood. Augustine spends more time lamenting on the time he had stolen the pears than he does with many of the other sins.... ...
In his Confessions, Saint Augustine warns against the many pleasures of life. "Day after day," he observes, "without ceasing these temptations put us to the test" (245).[1] He argues that a man can become happy only by resisting worldly pleasures. But according to Aristotle, virtue and happiness depend on achieving the "moral mean" in all facets of life. If we accept Aristotle's ideal of a balanced life, we are forced to view Saint Augustine's denial of temptations from a different perspective. His avoidance of worldly pleasures is an excess of self-restraint that keeps him from the moral mean between pleasure and self-restraint. In this view, he is sacrificing balance for excess, and is no different from a drunkard who cannot moderate his desire for alcohol.
...lighted” Augustine’s body (Confessions VIII. 5, p. 148). In this example, regardless of Augustine’s want to will succumbing to God, he found that his habits had rendered him unable to. His will in favor of the lower things held Augustine tighter than his will for God, which caused Augustine to choose the lesser good, which left him “in the midst of that great tumult I had stirred up against my own soul in the chamber of my heart” (Confessions VIII. 7, p.152). His two wills tore at him until he fully abandoned his earthly lust for the spiritual Godly desires; supporting his conclusion that free will in favor of the lesser goods causes evil. Therefore, free will is the ultimate source of evil.
St. Augustine's sordid lifestyle as a young man, revealed in Confessions, serves as a logical explanation for his limited view of the purpose of sexuality in marriage. His life from adolescence to age thirty-one was so united to passionate desire and sensual pleasure, that he later avoided approval of such emotions even within the sanctity of holy union. From the age of sixteen until he was freed of promiscuity fifteen years later, Augustine's life was woven with a growing desire for illicit acts, until that desire finally became necessity and controlled his will. His lust for sex began in the bath houses of Tagaste, where he was idle without schooling and "was tossed about…and boiling over in…fornications" (2.2). Also during that time, young Augustine displayed his preoccupation with sexual experience by fabricating vulgarities simply to impress his peers. In descript...
In Book IX of Milton’s Paradise Lost, Eve makes a very important and revealing speech to the tree of knowledge. In it, she demonstrates the effect that the forbidden fruit has had on her. Eve’s language becomes as shameful as the nakedness that Adam and Eve would later try to cover up with fig leaves. After eating the forbidden apple, Eve’s speech is riddled with blasphemy, self-exaltation, and egocentrism.
Why does St. Augustine seek God? Through his Confessions we come to understand that he struggled a great deal with confusion about his faith, before finally and wholeheartedly accepting God into his life. But we never get a complete or explicit sense of what led Augustine to search for God in the first place. Did he feel a void in his life? Was he experiencing particular problems in other relationships that he thought a relationship with God would solve for him? Or perhaps he sought a sense of security from religion? A closer analysis of the text of St. Augustine’s Confessions will provide some insight into these fundamental questions.
Surprised by Joy by Lewis and Confessions by Augustine are not two works that are often analyzed side by side. A preliminary glance may lead the reader to think that they are very similar works, despite the differences in publishing time, Surprised By Joy was published in 1955, while Confessions was published in 398 AD. This is not entirely false, as both works are autobiographical and written by men greatly influential to the Christian faith. Both Lewis and Augustine use similar structural methods and literary devices to document their journey toward understanding the character of God, however, the assumptions Lewis and Augustine come to are often very different. This paper will specifically analyze Augustine and Lewis’ perception of joy and its relationship to God as seen in Augustine’ section “Happiness (Beatta Vita)” and Lewis’ chapters “Checkmate” and “Beginning” in order to argue that while Augustine and Lewis’ process of understanding joy seem very similar, the implications this understanding had on their individual lives was contradictory.
..., the closer he was really moving toward God. He began to realize that God is all good, so nothing he creates will be of evil. “God does not create evil but it is of the world” (Augustine 230-31). Once he took responsibility for his personal life and spiritual walk, Augustine began to uncover the truths to his life. He reveals one must take responsibility for their actions and confess to develop a stronger connection with God. He then comprehends; God allows bad things to happen in your life to show you that you need him. Evil is not a lesser good, but it is a reflection of ones moral well-being. In order for one’s well being to be saved one must confess their sins to Christ.
Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo., and Henry Chadwick. Confessions. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.