Why is it that we act the way we do and can we blame society for the acts that one commits? In the short story of “Tobias Mindernickel”, we will consider if the inhumanity and condemnation towards Tobias, led him to inflict pain on his dog for his own gratification. Tobias Mindernickel is a strange and unhappy individual who lives in a dingy looking building. Even in the comfort of his room, Tobias would sit on his sofa and “stare at the floor” as if he did not have anything else to do. Tobias rarely left the comfort of his home “for when he did a mob of children would gathered around laughing and mocking him”. The way Tobias carried himself out in public made it obvious that he did not have any courage to stand up for himself. Despite the constant humiliation, Tobias “would bow politely and humbly” to everyone passing him by and even after no one was …show more content…
taunting him, he would still “hurry on as if thousands of eyes were on him”. One could only wonder what is wrong with Tobias and if he had to endure such torments as a child. Tobias shows a different side to himself it happened one day as he was leaving his home and the group of children gather around him “taunting and mocking” him, one of the children tripped on another causing him to fall and get hurt. Tobias does not hesitate and rushes to aid the child. As he was taking care of the wound he would say, “Yes, you do look miserable”, “I pity you” it almost seemed like he got some pleasure from seeing the child hurt. He took care of the wound an went about his way but something seemed different about Tobias, he appeared to walk with confidence and was able to fix his gaze on people and on objects something he wasn’t able to do prior to the incident (53). Things seemed to have changed for a while after the incident; the children did not mock or laugh at Tobias.
However, it did not last long as timed pass everything returned to normal. On one of Tobias’s walks, he bought a 4-month puppy and named him “Esau”. As soon as they got home, Tobias began teaching Esau commands. Esau did as told but after a while, he got tired and did not want to comply with Tobias commands. Tobias did not take well to Esau’s disobeys he became angry and sounded more demanding, “You’ve got to come, even if you are tired”, Esau was so tired that he made no efforts to move. Tobias had enough of Esau refusal to listen, so he started beating him with his black stick. Once done beating him, he questioned Esau as if he was human, “may I ask you what you think of your conduct?” Esau just cuddles closer to Tobias and filling pity towards Esau Tobias picks him up and breaks out sobbing “you are my only… my only…” This was not the same Tobias described in the beginning of the story, why would he want to hurt a defenseless creature. Perhaps he is transmitting the cruelty inflicted on him onto
Esau. Now that Tobias had Esau, he hardly left his house; he devoted all his time to Esau, grooming, teaching him commands, and reprimanding him, he would have conversations with him as if he was human. One day a few weeks after Tobias got Esau, Tobias was cutting some pieces of bread for him, full of excitement he jumped up at the bread, and accidently ran into the knife that Tobias was holding. Immediately Tobias ran towards Esau but his expression did not seem to be of concerned but rather of happiness and relief that Esau had gotten hurt. He tended to Esau’s wound and did not leave his sight, “yes, you are suffering my poor friend” he would tell him. Soon completely healed Esau was back to his old ways running around, Tobias would look at him with such anger, and jealousy the next think that happened was inconceivable. Tobias leaped towards Esau cutting him in the chest this time no accident Tobias laid next to him consoling him now sounding just how he did when the child got hurt, “poor brute, you suffer-but I am with you.” This time Tobias did nothing for the poor dog Esau just laid there and died. Again Tobias was all alone he had killed his only friend, why had he committed this cruel crime. Could have things been any different if society had treated Tobias with the dignity he deserved.
Before going to Alaska, Chris McCandless had failed to communicate with his family while on his journey; I believe this was Chris’s biggest mistake. Chris spent time with people in different parts of the nation while hitchhiking, most of them whom figured out that McCandless kept a part of him “hidden”. In chapter three, it was stated that Chris stayed with a man named Wayne Westerberg in South Dakota. Although Westerberg was not seen too often throughout the story, nevertheless he was an important character. Introducing himself as Alex, McCandless was in Westerberg’s company for quite some time: sometimes for a few days, other times for several weeks. Westerberg first realized the truth about Chris when he discovered his tax papers, which stated that “McCandless’s real name was Chris, not Alex.” Wayne further on claims that it was obvious that “something wasn’t right between him and his family” (Krakauer 18). Further in the book, Westerberg concluded with the fact that Chris had not spoken to his family “for all that time, treating them like dirt” (Krakauer 64). Westerberg concluded with the fact that during the time he spent with Chris, McCandless neither mentioned his
In the beginning of Something Wicked This Way Comes the story introduces Jim Nightshade and William Halloway. Jim is an ornery and impatient teenager, desperately wanting to break free from the yolk of childhood to become the adult he has always desired to be and Will wants to stay inside his comfort zone, which involves him staying a child for as long as he is able to. Something Wicked This Way Comes accurately addresses the sometimes difficult transition from adolescence into early adulthood.
Doug Swieteck, from “Okay for Now”, by Gary D. Schmidt, lived a life in anger. At the beginning of the book, he was very hateful of everything. He had spent a long time in anger and disgust, trying to find a way in life. Near the beginning of the book, Joe Pepitone gave Doug his baseball cap and jacket in person, to Doug. But, Doug’s mean older brother took the cap and his dad took his jacket. That added to Doug’s anger even more. But, luckily he turned it around in the middle and end of the book. He ended being a lot happier and was able to control his emotions better.
Facts: Chet is basically Gene's only real competition in school for valedictorian but Chet doesn't really notice it as competition because his love of learning is so sincere. Also, he is amazing as tennis and playing the trumpet, and was even asked by Finny to play at their winter get together when the band can't come.
When Sam Meeker returns home from college in the spring of 1775 and announces that he has decided to enlist in the Rebel army, his parents are appalled, but his younger brother, Tim, is wide-eyed with admiration. When the brothers are outside together doing chores around their family's tavern, Sam confides in Tim his plan to steal their father's gun in order to fight. Tim protests, but he can do nothing to stop Sam. That night, Mr. Meeker and Sam have an argument about the war and Sam runs away from home. The next morning after church, Tim visits Sam in a hut where he is hiding out. He tries to talk Sam out of going to war, but without success. In the hut, Sam's girlfriend Betsy Read asks Tim which side he supports, and Tim has trouble deciding
The new phases of life and social context is predicated through the sum of feats and experiences as crises and adversity are usually the greatest motivator which propel individuals to become better than they were before. J.C. Burke’s ‘The Story of Tom Brennan’ (TSTB) is an example of the transitional process through entering a new, unknown area which acts as a catalyst for beneficial change. Obstructed by turmoil both mentally and physically, the protagonist Tom Brennan relieves his severe life in the town of Coghill achieving new standards in conjunction to Lisa Forrest’s article ‘Testing new waters after leaving the swimming pool’ (TNWALTS) is another type towards transitional change that explores the personal crisis and career changes over
In two of the three books in this series - Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, and Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover - one character that was prominent was Zach Goode. However, Zach is an enigmatic character, whose relationship with Cammie - not to mention Zach himself - changed rapidly. After taking a closer look at Zach’s character, it is quite easy to find some very interesting things.
Christopher Johnson McCandless, a.k.a Alexander Supertramp, “Master of his Own Destiny.” He was an intelligent young man who presented himself as alone but really he was never lonely. However, he believed that life was better lived alone, with nature, so he ventured off throughout western United States before setting off into Alaska’s wild unprepared where he died. Some may say he was naive to go off on such a mission without the proper food and equipment but he was living life the way he wanted to and during his travels he came across three people: Jan Burres, Ronald Franz, and Wayne Westerberg. McCandless befriended these people, it is believed that he made such a strong impression on them that their connection left them with strange feelings after finding out about McCandless’ death.
The poem above speaks volumes about the nature of man’s best friend. Dogs are not inherently bad, but are rather “a product of their environment”. The same principle applies to the world’s most misunderstood breed of dog. When you hear the phrase “pit bull”, what do you think? A savage beast, murdered out of cold blood?
The “Joe Ryker” series by Nelson DeMille are from thriller genre. They focus on a man named Joe Ryker who is a Detective Seargent with the New York Police Department. Ryker is a regular guy who knows his surroundings very well, something that gives him the edge when it comes to tracking down the criminals. He works by himself, unless you count the snub nose .38 police special that he keeps on his ankle, and the .357 Magnum that is on his shoulder.
course of his hegira, most of whom spent only a few days in his company, a week
Human nature is a conglomerate perception which is the dominant liable expressed in the short story of “A Tell-Tale Heart”. Directly related, Edgar Allan Poe displays the ramifications of guilt and how it can consume oneself, as well as disclosing the nature of human defense mechanisms, all the while continuing on with displaying the labyrinth of passion and fears of humans which make a blind appearance throughout the story. A guilty conscience of one’s self is a pertinent facet of human nature that Edgar Allan Poe continually stresses throughout the story. The emotion that causes a person to choose right from wrong, good over bad is guilt, which consequently is one of the most ethically moral and methodically powerful emotion known to human nature. Throughout the story, Edgar Allan Poe displays the narrator to be rather complacent and pompous, however, the narrator establishes what one could define as apprehension and remorse after committing murder of an innocent man. It is to believe that the narrator will never confess but as his heightened senses blur the lines between real and ...
The fact that Frankenstein’s monster kills out of revenge and anger is a form evil but one can understand and to a certain extent sympathise with his inability to reason right from wrong. Many examples of this inability are shown, for example, the creature strangles Frankenstein’s innocent young brother because he cannot under...
The main character of Mr. Brooks is nothing short of a self-made man with a loving family and a productive business. However, not everything is what it seems. Mr. Brooks has a constant urge to kill. Like most real life serial killers, Mr. Brooks has a charming personality on the outside but a twisted brain on the inside. Every single action he took was thoughtfully played out, as if he were acting in a stage play with no chances of failure. Many psychopaths portray a high IQ and intelligence just like Mr. Brooks had. However, Mr. Brooks was not a psychopath. Deep down inside, he still harvested a strong familial love for his wife and daughter, and understood the mental and physical consequences of his actions. Instead, Mr. Brooks is the type of character that cannot be explained with just one theoretic analysis. The story illustrates that Mr. Brooks was a psychotic suffering from schizophrenia and that somehow his urge to kill could be passed down by generations. With this outline the
In Milgram’s article, he discusses the basic principle of obedience and the necessity of such behavior in the structure of society and all social life. For many people, obedience is a deeply engraved behavior pattern, and very well a strong impulse overriding training in ethics, sympathy, and moral conduct (Milgram 579). Milgram set up an experiment at Yale University to see how much pain one would inflict on another simply because of being commanded to do so. Authority won more than not.