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The perspective of generosity
Selflessness and selfishness
Society quotes from to kill a mockingbird
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Recommended: The perspective of generosity
People that are self-centered are always thinking about themselves, and never think about how other people feel. Sometimes it may be good to be selfish;however, it’s never good to be selfish all the time.Being selfless is a very hard thing to find nowadays;however, two examples of generous people are Arthur “Boo” Radley and our parents.
At the end of chapter 28 from the book “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Arthur Radley was having a regular night in his house, until he hears screaming coming from a nearby oak tree. He goes over there and saves Jem and Scout from an attack. As Atticus is going to sleep, he tells Boo Radley “Thank you for my children Arthur”. And that shows that instead of being narrow-minded, he went out and saved Jem and Scout because he is very generous and selfless.
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My parents are another great example of being selfless.
On a cold and rainy day of October in 2013, my mom and I were on our way to shop for Halloween. On our way to the store, we saw this bitter, fragile, and brisk homeless man in front of the store. In the store my mom bought a new sweater and told me ,“Go outside and give that man this sweater.” When i gave him the sweater, my mom walked out and said “may god bless you.” This made me realize how nice and generous our parents are.
In the end many people are selfish, and it is very hard to find people that are generous;however, when you find people that are selfless it feels really
good.
Often in life people prejudge others, but their view changes as they get to know the person. In to kill a mockingbird by Harper lee Jem and Scout prejudge Boo Radley and their father Atticus. Jem and Scout believe their father has absolutely no skill. Throughout the book the kids get to see more of his skills. Boo Radley is considered a monster in Maycomb and Scout and Jem use the town’s judgment as their own. After learning more about Boo and getting to know him they realize he is opposite of what they thought. Because Jem and Scout are influenced by other people’s opinions they are able to learn from their mistakes and develop a new perspective on people.
Even forms of human beings preforming selfless acts derives from ones desire to help others, which in a way makes that person feel importance. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, better known as Mother Teresa, devoted her life to helping those in great need. To many these acts may appear as selfless and gallant acts that are not performed by anyone with any type of ego. Yet when taking a psychological look at why she performed such acts they may appear a somewhat more for herself. Every time anyone does anything, even when for someone else, they are doing it for some type of feeling that they experience. With the holiday season approaching, there will be a specific emphasis on giving unlike any other time of the year. We give yes to show gratitude for someone we love, but also to experience the joy in seeing someone enjoy something they them self-caused. Even while being selfless humans have the unique ability to still be doing something that involves caring for them self. This outlook toward the human condition completely debunks Wolf’s claim that “when caring about yourself you are living as if you are the center of the universe.” When choosing to do anything positive or negative, for others or for yourself, you are still taking your self-interest into consideration, making it
Courage exists in several forms in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. As defined by Atticus Finch, real courage "…when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (149). The novel explores the how this real courage can be shown in different ways through the lives of many characters in Maycomb, particularly, Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus. Their courage is evident through their lifestyle, actions, and beliefs.
An idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art of literature can be referred to as a “Theme”. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly. Theme is an important part of fictional stories. Several themes are presented in the novel to kill a mocking bird. One of the reoccurring themes in to kill a mockingbird is courage.
It is illustrated in the story about how Arthur hides trinkets in a tree for Jem and Scout, “As we came to the live oaks at the Radley Place, I raised my finger to point for the hundreth time to the knot hole where I had found the chewing gum, trying to make Jem believe I had found it there and found myself pointing at another piece of tinfoil” (Lee 34); which shows that, even though Arthur is confined in his house, he still believes that making a friend is worth the risk of leaving his home. Arthur also displays his courage when he folds Jem’s pants after they get caught in the fence because, after his father pulled out his shotgun, there is no doubt that people’s eyes wandered over there every now and then: “When I went back, they were folded across the fence...like they were expectin’ me” (Lee 58). He even puts a blanket around Scout, jeopardizing his life by being so close to, not only a crowd, but Jem and Scout themselves: ‘“Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you”’ (Lee 72). He even saves Jem and Scout’s lives by putting the children’s safety before his own and murdering Bob Ewell: ‘“[Bob’s] dead alright. He’s good and dead. He won’t hurt these children again”’ (Lee 267); which shows that Arthur has compassion for the children and will do whatever it takes to make sure that they are guarded. Arthur Radley is a very courageous man because, even though he is seen as someone who is different, he goes out with the fear of someone seeing him so that he can help two
Other than the fact that he stayed in his house for nearly his whole house, he gives many good examples to follow. Selflessness, bravery, and friendship are only a few qualities that Boo Radley shares that we could learn from. When he gave gifts to Scout and Jem, protected them, and fought his own fears when leaving his house suggests that people have the wrong idea about the man originally named Arthur. Maybe he isn’t a violent monster that everyone claims him to be. On the last page of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout says when telling of a boy who was also misunderstood like Arthur, “An’ they chased him ‘n’ never could catch him’ cause they didn’t know what he looked like, an’ Atticus, when they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things… Atticus, he was real nice…” in which Atticus replies, “Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.” (Lee 376). The author puts this dialogue on the last page of To Kill a Mockingbird for a reason. To send a memorable message to the reader. A message to never judge and to always have sympathy like Boo
"Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" According to Atticus Finch, an honest lawyer in Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. "Real courage" is when you fight for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus fits into this definition of what "real courage" is and demonstrates it several times throughout the novel.
Black and white, right and wrong; do decisions that simple and clear even exist? Does a decision ever mean gaining everything without giving anything up? Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are forced to make difficult, heart wrenching decisions that have no clear right answer. Harper Lee presents many of these important decisions in To Kill A Mockingbird as ethical dilemmas, or situations that require a choice between two difficult alternatives. Both of these alternatives have unpleasant aspects and question morals and ethics. A person is put in an awkward position, with their mind saying contradicting things. These dilemmas are presented in many different ways. The decisions in the beginning of the book are simple and can be solved quite easily, yet they are symbolic of later decisions. Other dilemmas place adult-like decisions in the lap of a child. One dilemma concerned a man burdened with the strict traditions of the South. Then there are the two biggest dilemmas, Atticus' decision to take the case and Heck Tate's choice between truth and the emotional well being of a man. Lee's ingenious storyline is established by these crucial and mentally arduous choices faced by the characters.
The idea that a person can be purely good and altruistic does not exist due to society’s acceptance and embrace of the selfishness and greed of human beings. People these days are some of the most selfish beings to ever exist but they are not ashamed of their actions because of how the world around them welcomes their self-centered nature with open arms. Selfishness comes is many ways, shapes, and forms. Many businesses need to utilize the greed of mankind in order to make money and prosper; “Greed-for lack of a better word-is good. Greed is right. Greed works” (Wall Street). Even politicians use their greed to run campaigns for themselves in order to win the hearts of Americans. As well as fulfill their ultimate selfish goal to be the man
Selflessness is thinking of others lives and safety before what is to come upon yourself. It is hard to achieve because it means putting someone 's life on the line for other people 's.There are so many book characters out there, many are selfless in some way. However, a few stand out in the books Code Orange, Uprising and Of Mice and Men. The following characters all share the drive to save other people 's lives. In Code Orange, the character Mitty Blake is willing to kill himself to save his city from smallpox. George Milton in Of Mice and Men shows he is selfless by taking in a mentally ill man who can 't care for himself. George opens his life Lennie knowing it will change his life by not allowing him to achieve his dreams, because he has
The cruel nature and intentions of people can either hurt or harm individuals or it can bring about resilience and determination. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee revealed that humans often have other motives in life; some are born to be evil in nature, some are naturally innocent and then there are some that are born to protect the innocent. Lee utilized a variety of symbols and themes that correlated with each other and thus had the ability to create questions in the minds of the readers. Are humans calculatedly cruel or is there some moral good in each of us? The impiety of a few can create a movement, imprison the innocent or reveal the sincerity of others.
In the article “ We Are Naturally Selfish”, by George C. Williams, Williams claims that we as humans are naturally selfish. This is especially true in terms of genes, because if our genetics were not selfish then we would not be here. Williams states that people can win this genetics contest by mainly surviving to maturity and then competing successfully for the resources needed for their own reproduction. In all actuality though just because humans are selfish does not mean that we are completely incapable of being selfless. Williams states that it has been seen that individuals can and often do help others in gaining resources and avoiding any losses or damages. The most obvious and common example is parents caring for their offspring. Parents do this to ensure the successful continuation of their genes.
Sharing is caring. This is what little children are taught, what people think around christmas time, and how many people try and apply to life. But what if they stopped sharing, would they stop caring? Selfishness is a cruel concept but inevitable. The point where people do not care who or how they hurt is a difficult line. Is selfishness simply human instinct or maybe the hidden want people have to act evilly. Selfishness begins when one is presented with an issue and desires an outcome in their own favor, the selfishness is how far they are willing to go to possess the outcome. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding the many boys, specifically Jack merridew and Ralph show that their selfishness gerts in the way of how they behave and treat
Human nature dictates that every action, no matter how selfless it appears, is inspired by a selfish reason. Selfishness is a personality trait that every human has. Despite what people may believe, selfishness is a part of us and is the driving force behind decisions we make. According to the Oxford dictionary being selfish is being “concerned with one's own interests or pleasure.” People make decisions based on what they desire. They live as if the effect of their actions is non-important. All that matters is the benefits they will obtain even if they know that the end result can have negative consequences. Selfishness is all around us and without it there would be no motivation for humans to do anything. The extent of these selfish actions varies widely because it includes every action that humans make. They range from the mildly selfish action of doing voluntary work for a charity in order to "help society," but ultimately to give yourself the satisfaction of knowing you have done a good deed, to the extremely selfish action of taking something from someone for personal gain.
...esult, the more directly one sees their personal efforts impact someone else, the more happiness one can gain from the experience of giving. Sometimes generosity requires pushing past a feeling of reluctance because people all instinctively want to keep good things for themselves, but once one is over this feeling, they will feel satisfaction in knowing that they have made a difference in someone else’s life. However, if one lives without generosity but is not selfish, they can still have pleasure from other virtues.