Critical Lens Free Essays

According to J. F. Clarke, â€Å"The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience. We will write a custom essay sample on Critical Lens or any similar topic only for you Order Now † In other words, people are only truly brave when they follow their own sense of goodness instead of following others. This idea is clearly evident in the novels A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks and Of Mice and men by John Steinbeck. The quote is exemplified in both novels by the literary element of theme. In A Walk to Remember, Landon Carter befriends unpopular Jamie Sullivan. In Of Mice and Men, George kills his friend Lennie to spare him from a horrific and painful murder. In A Walk to Remember, Jamie Sullivan is an unpopular, religious girl who gets teased constantly for her beliefs. Popular Landon Carter befriends her, and asks her on a date to the homecoming dance at school. His friends tease him for this, but he knows that Jamie is a genuinely good person, and although his friends think differently, he is doing the right thing. The two develop a relationship. Eventually, Jamie confesses that she has an incurable form of leukemia, and is dying. Landon watches her get more ill, but he stays with her as often as he can, and tries to help in any way he can. After Jamie dies, he looks back and realizes that by following his conscience, his life has changed. The theme love conquers all relates to both the quote and the novel. Landon and Jamie’s love for each other changes both of their lives. Throughout Jamie’s illness, Landon learns a lot about himself and life, and his bravery allows him to do that. In Of Mice and Men, George faces a difficult decision. George’s best friend, Lennie, accidentally kills Curley’s wife, and he leaves the ranch. When Curley, the boss of the ranch’s son, discovers the death of his wife, he puts together a mob and sets out to find Lennie and shoot him in his guts. George knows that this will be very painful and agonizing, and he is not sure what to do. He ultimately decides to kill Lennie himself by shooting him in the back of the head. George meets Lennie by the pool of the Salinas River, and tells him his favorite story, the story of the farm. As soon as Lennie is calm, George shoots him. He knows that killing him this way will be instant and without pain. George feels that he is doing the right thing y sparing his friend of pain. The theme of loyalty and sacrifice relates to the quote and novel. George’s loyalty to his friend forces him to sacrifice him. This takes a lot of courage, but by doing this he is sparing his friend of extreme suffering. People are only truly brave when they follow their own sense of goodness. Landon’s bravery allows him to have a great relatio nship and gain knowledge about life. George’s bravery spares his friend of a painful death. Both novels show that the best form of bravery is when a person follows their conscience. How to cite Critical Lens, Papers Critical Lens Free Essays Many times in life, people seek vengeance on one another because they think it’s the right thing, when it’s wrong. However revenge is too tempting there for one cannot retain it. In many situations the person seeking revenge not only hurts themselves but everyone amongst them. We will write a custom essay sample on Critical Lens or any similar topic only for you Order Now Mahatma Gandhi confirms this when he says â€Å"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind†. This means, from revenge you only end up impairing everyone from the resentful wrongs you perform. Some may agree or disagree with this quote. Euripides shows this quote being true in his play Medea. In the play Medea, the main character Medea is extreme on seeking revenge on her ex-husband, Jason. Jason has left her and their two sons Creon and Creusa for the daughter of the Cornith King. Medea is livid with this action from Jason. Since Jason and the Cornith King(Ceron) are frightened by Medea they decide that her and the children are to be banished from the kingdom. This just makes Medea even more furious towards Jason. The nurse characterizes Medea as being in pain and anguish that she is suffering through the terrible time of Jason leaving her. She also says how Medea is so angry with Jason and his betrayal she is treacherous. This is shown to be true when she plans to kill Ceron and Creusa to punish Jason for betraying her. Heartlessly she kills them to seek revenge on him. She thought hurting Jason meant more to her than her children did even though she loved them. Her plan was to seek retribution upon Jason as she did. Her seeking revenge hurt everyone even though she was proud that she had accomplished making Jason hurt, she had and domestic conflict killing her own children whom she loved very much. As Mahatma Gandhi said â€Å"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind†, he showed in any situation of seeking vengeance on someone it will end up hurting everyone. In the play Medea, Euripides illustrates this to be true showing how Medea kills her children and hurts Jason and others who loved them and even her internally. Medea ended up hurting Jason and the people she was sourrounded by, by her fanatical actions. How to cite Critical Lens, Essay examples