Stance on Revenge

717 Words2 Pages

“If you live in a society where the rule of law is weak, revenge provides a way to keep order. But revenge comes at a price. Instead of helping you move on with your life, it can leave you dwelling on the situation and remaining unhappy, psychologists' research finds. Considering revenge is a very human response to feeling slighted…,” (Price). Revenge is a natural human response that we think will help us; however, many times it ends up hurting us. Based on my findings, revenge is viewed as acceptable, but experts say it can also be detrimental to those seeking retribution.
All of the critic reviews commended director Martin Scorsese for his excellent movie Cape Fear. Revenge was mentioned in the reviews, but never expounded upon the subject in terms of whether it was acceptable or not. An assumption can be made that since the movie was praised, and no comment was given to the subject of revenge, it is an acceptable part of human nature. If it was not viewed as acceptable, then the movie would not have been so highly praised, and surely some comment would have been made about it. Desson Howe of the Washington Post says the movie is a basic revenge story, but goes no further to explain whether revenge is right or wrong. This critic does mention, however, that Cape Fear is a morality play. “The movie's awash with themes: Truth and deceit, good and evil, salvation and damnation, treachery and fidelity, freedom and imprisonment. There are moral twists everywhere,” (Howe). This may mean that the revengeful plot has a moral discrepancy. But was the revenge of Mr. Cady on the right side or the wrong side? Cady probably feels justified in getting back at his defending lawyer Bowden. “Bowden did not defend Cady to the best of his ability....

... middle of paper ...

...what he did and feeling unhappy.

Works Cited

"Cape Fear." TV Guide. TV Guide, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. cape-fear/review/128228>. Dubus, Andre. "Killings." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. By Michael
Meyer. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford, 1997. 61-73. Print.
Gowers, Duncan. "Not Scorcese's Best, but Pretty Good!" IMDb. IMDb.com, 12 Sept. 2000. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. .
Howe, Desson. "Cape Fear." Washingtonpost.com. Washington Post, 15 Nov. 1991. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. .
Price, Michael. "Revenge and the People Who Seek It." Http://www.apa.org. American Psychological Association, 2009. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. .

Open Document