Revenge is best served cold or so says the well-known expression. This idea of revenge that they seek is usually to restore a balance and take an “eye for an eye” as the bible says. Revenge, if by chance everyone were in Plato’s perfect utopia, would be in a perfect form, where justice and revenge would be one, and the coined phrase an “eye for an eye” would be taken literally. By taking an eye for and eye, and punishing those who did wrong equally as they did wrong, there is justice. However, this revenge sometimes goes to far and is consequently not justice. This notion of Revenge and justice is often in literature, one of the better-known being the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, written by Alexandre Dumas. However, literature is not the only time that revenge and justice is discussed in. Works and Rules and real-life events that took place like the Bible, Hammurabi’s code, Twelve Tables, and others each have something different about the topic. More religious texts seem to forbid violence, while laws, such as the Hammurabi’s code, recommend revenge, but equal revenge. By judging from literature, it can be concluded that most authors have different opinions on the matter at hand, and revenge is sometimes justice, but usually not, and tends to lead to violence that was not intended.
Revenge can sometimes take the form of justice. According to Hammurabi’s code, or Document B, each crime shall receive and equal punishment. Document B clearly says, “If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.” What justice can be clearer taking what was taken? Plato’s true utopia idea of Revenge would be an equal punishment inflicted upon the original sinner. This concept is also present in the Count of Monte Cristo. After D...
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... always justice, and there is usually more emotion involved in the revenge and thus the revenge hurts more than the original crime hurt.
As seen through the documents and The Count of Monte Cristo, revenge is most often not the same as justice, but can take form in the idea of justice through the coined phrase “an eye for an eye.” Dumas’ excellent writing portrays the Count’s dealings with revenge, love, justice, and providence. He deals with each particular situation differently. Plato’s perfect and ideal revenge cannot be reached except through equal and fair punishment, as our idea of revenge and justice are just a shadow of the utopian revenge and justice. Revenge will most often never be the same as justice, as human nature and emotion get in the way of absolute justice.
Works Cited
Alexandre Dumas, the bible, Hammurabi's code, Francis Bacon, Twelve Tables
“I wish to be Province myself, for I feel that the most beautiful, noblest, sublime thing in the world is to recompense and punish” (Dumas 213). In the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, there are many examples of vengeance from the main character, Edmond Dantes. Dantes started out as a young sailor with an encouraging career, a beautiful fiancee, and a loving father. However, those who were envious of his promising young life came together to take Dantes apart, as Dantes was wrongfully convicted and thrown in prison. What he learned about the men who wronged him ignited a fire in his heart to get his revenge on those three people, known as Fernand, Danglars, Villefort. Edmond Dantes started out as a young man with great ambitions
While revenge may feel sweet at times, in most cases it is destructive to yourself and those around you. The article “Revenge:Will You Feel Better?” makes one contemplate this, and draws the question “is revenge really worth it?” Well, in the article, Karyn Hall suggests that “Revenge can be a strong urge, but you may not feel better if you act on it.” In fact, in a study performed by Kevin Carlsmith showed that “...the students that got revenge reported feeling worse than those who didn't…” With this, one may see that revenge is pointless, and in most cases leaves you feeling worse than the people you performed it
In modern times, phrases such as “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,” are commonly used. Also, the mere word revenge holds negative connotations as it is seen as immature and unnecessary. The theme of revenge uses archetypes to develop ideas without having to reiterate their meaning. According to the creator of the term, Carl Jung, “archetypes are defined as being a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.” (Dictionary) The Count of Monte Cristo, one of the novels that pioneer this theme, tells the story of a man’s quest for revenge on those who betrayed him. This man spends 14 years of his life imprisoned because of his betrayers, but he manages to escape to avenge his suffering. In the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas uses the archetypes of the byronic hero, the betrayer and the old sage to demonstrate that one’s suffering doesn’t give them the right to seek revenge on those who have failed them.
Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged. In the Odyssey, by Homer, vengeance and justice go hand in hand in rationalizing one's actions. Poseidon covers his need for vengeance on Odysseus by stating justice must be served for his son, Polyphemus, whom Odysseus blinds. Odysseus also has a need for personal vengeance on the suitors for taking over his home; however, Odysseus justifies his actions by requiring justice for his home and wife instead of for himself. Justice in the ancient Greek system covers the desire for personal vengeance.
...lical viewpoint, Dumas’ viewpoint and my viewpoint all seem to parallel. All the perspectives on this matter seem to point to the fact that taking vengeance on your enemies is a bad thing. The Lord wants us to leave the vengeance to him, Dumas is also is against vengeance as seen from his contextual points, and lastly I am against taking vengeance as well. Revenge is a can be extremely destructive and it is dangerous to carry out. When the Count wants to avenge his enemies for all the wrong things they had done to him, he can’t do it without accidentally harming his friends as well. His friends had become friends with his enemies and now attempting to carry out vengeance on his enemies would be quite the difficult job. Thus in the end you should not take avenge your enemies for whatever they have done to you. Myself, the Bible and Dumas all agree on this point.
The action of inflicting harm on someone for a wrong suffered at their hands is known as revenge. Revenge is a natural human instinct and it can be displayed in many different ways. People want to get back at others who have wronged them, this either happens quickly or it becomes a long process. In the epic poem Beowulf, revenge is taken when Grendel and Grendel’s mother attack the Herot and when Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother and the dragon; this is also prevalent in today’s society when opposing gang members kill each other, when people are oppressed by their government, and when a country or group retaliates to attacks.
Norms of Revenge. 4. Blackwell Publisher, 1990. 862. eBook. . Bar-elli, G. and Heyd, D. (1986), Can revenge be just or otherwise justified?.
Throughout history, revenge, or vengeance, has been altered by several cultures and even the American culture. This is shown throughout many ancient greek epics. Throughout these two epics, what is just revenge and what the action of revenge is are much different than what Revenge is seen through today’s society. Revenge is the main theme in The Iliad, with Achilles’ revenge on Agamemnon and Hector, and in The Odyssey, with Poseidon’s revenge on Odysseus and Odysseus’s revenge on the Suitors, and these epics define how revenge was seen in the ancient Greek world.
Revenge is such an enormous part of a being human. It is something that no matter how much you try to avoid part of you will persistently lust for it. When you are hurt in any way your natural instinct will always tell you to make the one who hurt you feel just as bad if not worse as how you felt. It is such a natural and powerful feeling, that when revenge is incorporated into a story it makes it so much stronger. Revenge will make you see so many more sides of characters and make them seem much more complex. Revenge can give fictional characters a more human quality. That is why so many writers use it as their theme.
There is a phrase, “There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness”. In today’s society, we have adopted certain morals to help us strive to be the best people we can be. These guidelines have traveled down through the centuries, but just as everything else in existence, there was a time before these morals existed; a time when these morals did not apply. An example is Greek times. Reading Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, I noticed a common theme among the many stories portrayed in the book; no forgiveness, just revenge.
The realm of revenge often warps the mental state of characters, leading them to enact vengeance regardless of the repercussions which may permeate their world. In Shakespeare’s renowned play “Hamlet,” the main character, Prince Hamlet, is conflicted between his quest to adhere to his private passion, in regards to his eagerness to avenge his father’s death, and his need to avoid neglecting his responsibilities towards his loved ones. Further, the effects of vengeance are illustrated by Medea, the main character in Euripides’ play “Medea,” who allowed her passion for revenge to supersede her duties to her children. Despite the numerous forms of retaliation, this brutalized world is one that ceaselessly dilutes the minds of characters, leaving them ravenous for revenge and oblivious towards any repercussions.
They say vengeance will rupture the heart and haunt a man’s conscience. If there’s any truth to it, then with certainty it can be stated that that the path pf revenge is a truly unethical one.Just as there are two sides to everyone’s story, there are two sides to each person involved…one that that is exposed to the light of day and one that is kept in the dark.Within each human is the capacity for both good and evil.In revenge, as in life, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Thus, the moral high ground that is absolved when one chooses to attack another man for the sake of dashed ego is when a man goes against all he ethically knows and destroys himself in all forms.In the end, the guilty will always fall and therefore the path
The epic poem The Iliad and the poem Beowulf both present the idea of revenge and its effect on an individual’s moral values. Both Achilles and Beowulf go on a journey of seeking revenge, which lets the readers see further into their characteristics before and after seeking revenge. Homer illustrates Achilles as a renowned warrior who goes on to kill Hector to avenge his friend, Patroclus, becoming infamous for his villainous acts. Similarly, Beowulf, also goes on a journey, voluntarily, to save fellow citizens from horrible monsters using brutal measures. Therefore, the desire for revenge causes a character to forget their sense of morality in both The Iliad and Beowulf.
“Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind” Juvenal, Roman poet.
Revenge races down a blind path. It makes one turn to the dark side, where one is blind to other possibilities or reasons that can easily be resolved. In Shakespeare's, “Othello” a liar named Iago deceives Othello and in the end, Othello murders his own wife.