Convictions

an essay response to the novel The Power and the Glory

Convictions, our beliefs, are what define how we live our lives. People with stronger beliefs are quite often stronger than people with weak ones. Our convictions are what keep us going, they make us who we are. They help us make choices, whether it may be the right or the wrong one. In the novel The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene shows that when we go against or give up our convictions, life can take a turn for the worst.

After the government forced all priests to either take a wife or be killed, the priest named Padre José did as he was told and married a woman who he did not truly love; his only reason for marrying her was to save his own life. "An old man who married was grotesque enough, but an old priest. . . . He stood outside himself and wondered whether he was even fit for hell." (29) Padre José was a man who gave up his convictions to live. He gave up his priestly beliefs for what: the rest of his life with a woman who he barely liked? "There was no respect anywhere left for him in his home, in the town, in the whole abandoned star." (30) He perhaps even regretted it, because after leaving the priesthood he had lost the respect of everyone. No one stopped him on the streets anymore, no one came to him for confessions, he became just an ordinary man--which for him was possibly a fate even worse than death.

The lieutenant is the main individual in charge of capturing the whiskey priest, and he takes his job very seriously pursuing the priest mercilessly. Although he is shown to have convictions, his convictions are for the wrong things. He believes that the church is shady and dishonest, and will do anything to bring it down. Throughout his search for the priest, he takes hostages from villages and kills them. He truly thinks that everything he does is for the greater good, and that he is helping people. His mind is so set on capturing the priest, that he doesn't realize nor care about the people that he is hurting and killing along the way. Graham Greene uses the lieutenant to display what happens to people whose convictions aren't pure and good.

The mestizo in the novel The Power and the Glory lives his life like an animal, seeming perfectly content about it with no remorse. He is called "Judas" (99), referring to Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, who later betrays Jesus. The mestizo, like Judas, betrays the whiskey priest when the two meet. He tells the priest that he will help him, but instead turns him in to the government, where the priest meets his death. When the priest and the mestizo crossed paths in the jail, the mestizo's true animal nature is revealed. He stands next to a pile of vomit, as if it's something ordinary, and something that is common for him. The priest, disgusted and horrified by the mestizo, can only hope that he will soon be away from the animal-like man.

The whiskey priest: like Padre José, is forced to chose between a life on the run or giving up the life of priesthood to live, but chooses exactly opposite of him. When the whiskey priests gives up his priestly convictions, his life becomes horrible. He is constantly running from the government, who will kill him if they find him. The people of the towns are afraid to help him, because if they do they could face being tortured by authorities. Basically, the priest is the reverse of what he is expected to be. His name "whiskey priest" comes from his insane drinking habit, which is illegal as well. He also has a daughter, which goes completely against the rules of a priest. "He knew he was in the grip of the unforgiveable sin, despair." (49) It seems as though the priest is always leading the others he is around to sin, when he should be leading them away from it and helping to repent themselves. Eventually, the priest gets what he deserves, and is killed by the lieutenant after he is turned in by the mestizo.

Convictions--our beliefs, what guide us throughout our lives. They tell what type of person you are, good or evil. In the novel The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene shows that life can take a turn for the worst when we go against, give up, or lack convictions.

Searching for Truth

an essay response to the novel Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

People's outlooks on life are always different. If you had three people who witnessed the exact same situation, and asked them to tell what they believe had happened, you would have three variations of the same story. All people want the truth, and these variations in stories make it hard to find. In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, everyone is searching for the truth despite the obstacles of other's dissimilar ideas.

Early on in the novel, Pi Patel explores several different religions. Being born a Hindu, Pi's family does not accept his new curiosities. Pi looks for the truth through his many religions, but the people around him confuse him with their idea that a person can only practice one religion. "Piscine's piety is admirable. In these troubled times it's good to see a boy so keen on God. We all agree on that. But he can't be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim. It's impossible. He must choose." (69) Regardless of other's opinions, he remains committed to the three religions. Like many others in the world, Pi believes that you don't have to believe just one thing. There are vast possibilities of what could be true, so why not discover them all?

Eventually, Pi makes it to land after months of being at sea. Two men from the Japanese government come to the young boy to interview him about his journey after the Tsimtsum had sunk. Pi first tells them his story of being in the lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, meeting another blind man in the middle of the ocean, and the carnivorous island. The men, only searching for the truth, don't believe Pi's odd story. Pi doesn't understand why they won't accept his story, seeing as they weren't there, how could they judge what had happened? "Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?" (297)

"I know what you want. You want a story that won't surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won't make you see higher or further or differently. You want a flat story. An immobile story. You want dry, yeastless factuality." (302) Pi ultimately gives up on convincing the two men to believe his first story, so he tells them "the truth," a more realistic one. His second story stated that four had survived and made it to the lifeboat-- Pi, Pi's mother, the cook, and the sailor. The cook ends up killing both the sailor and Pi's mother, leaving only Pi and himself. The two men seemed content with this story, but they both noticed similarities between the two. "Both the zebra and the Taiwanese sailor broke a leg, did you notice that? And the hyena bit off the zebra's leg just as the cook cut off the sailor's… So the Taiwanese sailor is the zebra, his mother is the orang-utan, the cook is…the hyena--which means he's the tiger" (311) Neither of the men think about the similarities for long, though, because all they wanted was the more believable truth.

Someone's perception of one thing can be completely different from another's on the exact same thing, and because of that truth is often hard to come by in this world we live in. Pi, along with many people in the book, are seeking it non-stop. Despite the obstacles of other's dissimilar ideas, everyone is searching for the truth in the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

Great Expectations Essay

In the novel Great Expectations, it’s never quite understood how Miss Havisham became the thoughtless, selfish woman she is portrayed as. Many believe that the man who left her at the altar on their wedding day was the cause of her change. While it’s obvious that Miss Havisham was in pain, Dickens shows that there are many possible reasons that caused her overall cruel and harsh behavior.

Some would say that Miss Havisham had been foolish falling in love with a man lower in society than her. She put her trust in him only to have him con her out of her money and stand her up at the altar, leaving her only with heartbreak. Miss Havisham soon found out the horrible truth, that Compeyson had never really loved her, he had only loved her money. Even worse, she learned that he and her brother were in league with each other and had come up with the scheme of stealing her money. Miss Havisham’s love of her pain, that she had become so accustomed to, could possibly be the root of her nasty behavior. The thought of moving on and pushing past her pain may have been impossible for Miss Havisham to do. If she moved on, what would she do? Her life had been dedicated to making others hurt, just the way she had. “’I’ll tell you,’ said she, in the same hurried passionate whisper, ‘what real love is. It is blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the whole world, giving up your whole heart and soul to the smitter—as I did!’” (p.240)

Miss Havisham was a woman who loved her self image, and a woman with plenty of pride. She hid her hurt from most of the world, making them believe that she was a confident woman, when underneath she was broken and only wanted to be loved. Her confidence was merely a mask, a mask that if taken off would have horrible consequences. It is also possible that Miss Havisham was so deeply in love with her ex-fiancé, Compeyson, that she became extremely bitter when he did not love her back. So bitter, in fact, that she would take out her anger and her misery on everyone around her. Her personality and behavior changed the people she interacted with, because of her own selfish ways.

Dickens shows that love, good or bad, is not to be underestimated. Miss Havisham’s loss effected many people, even the people who had brought the loss upon her. Love can change even the best of people into the worst, just as it did to Miss Havisham. It does not change everyone for the worst, but only the people that chose to not move on and to hold onto their pain forever.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Essay

Veteran—by definition, a veteran is an experienced person who has been through many battles; someone who has given long service. To many people, veterans may be a grandfather, their uncle, their older brother, or a family friend; a person who has fought for our country to keep us safe. We should not have only one or two holidays honoring these heroes, but instead have every day as a day to celebrate and honor veterans for all of the service they have done for the United States.

Did you know that many people you know may be veterans? They’re everywhere—you’re teacher, your next door neighbor, someone you see often . At one point in time, they left their families and their loved ones to go halfway across the world to serve our country, leaving all that they knew to go make the United States a better and safer place. Having only one day to honor them seems unfair, when they should be celebrated all of the time. Why shouldn’t we honor veterans every single day? They risk their lives for us every day, and we should celebrate that always. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a big ordeal, but we should at the very least show them that we appreciate all of their hard work. They deserve the respect and support, no matter what the time, we should always honor our military heroes.

Many people have different opinions on this subject. Some believe veterans should only be honored on veterans day, others say all the time. No matter the opinion, everyone knows that veterans should be honored. Instead of having only one or two holidays honoring our heroes, we should have every day as a day to celebrate and honor all of the service veterans have done for the United States.

Good Earth Summative

Change—it happens to all of us, whether we like it or not. Some avoid it, others embrace it. Humans are ever-changing, occasionally for the worst. In the novel, The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck displays how we as humans tend to become the thing we fear being like the most, when given the opportunity.

The Wang Lung in the beginning of the novel differs very much from the Wang Lung towards the end. His money is like a treasure to him, and he spends it carefully and wisely. Wang Lung is a clever man, and makes sure that he gets the most out of his money. He starts out as a young farmer, kind to all, but changes drastically throughout the novel. Although Wang is poor at first, he does not think about luxuries like a rich man does. He is content with his lifestyle, until his first trip to the House of Hwang.

Thoughts of the House of Hwang had always intimidated Wang Lung. They were rich, powerful people living their carefree lives, indulging themselves with whatever they pleased -- exotic foods, extravagant clothing, enormous homes. As Wang makes his first trip to the House of Hwang to retrieve his new wife, he becomes nervous about appearing before such important people. “He turned his steps with great shyness toward the House of Hwang. Once at the gate of the house he was seized with terror (p.11)

Once at home with his new wife, O-lan, Wang Lung’s life already seems to be improving. He treats her well, better than most men would have. Wang appreciates her, and the work she does around the farm. He liked having a woman like O-lan, he liked the fact that she was his. “Wang Lung felt in him a great pride that this woman was his and did not fear to appear before him but would not before other men. (p. 23) Soon enough, O-lan gets pregnant with their first child, a baby boy.

Wang takes the first step to becoming like the lords at the House of Hwang when he starts giving into the luxuries of rich people. He and O-lan travel to the House of Hwang to show the Old Mistress and the other slaves their newborn son. Wang Lung waited for O-lan, and when she finally came out with the baby she tells him that the lords aren’t doing well money-wise that year. “I believe, if one should ask me, that they are feeling a pinch this year in that house… the Ancient Mistress wore the same coat this year as last. I have never seen this happen before. And the slaves had no new coats” (p. 50) Wang decides to purchase some of the Hwang’s land, seeing as his farm had made good money. “Is not my money as good to spend as other man’s? And money I do not lack in these days. I have had good fortune.” (p.175)

Soon, Wang Lung’s family and the people in the city suffer through a terrible famine. He and his family go to the south in attempt to survive. In the south, the poor people orchestrate a raid of a rich family’s home. Wang Lung participates, and finds an old lord in one of the courts. The lord is frightened by Wang, and thinking he will kill him otherwise, he gives him all of his gold. “’Out of my sight, lest I kill you for a fat worm!’ This Wang Lung cried, although he was a man so soft hearted that he could not kill an ox.” (p.140) Wang himself knew he wouldn’t hurt the man, but he took the money anyway, for he and his family to go back to their home in the north.

Wang Lung soon returns back home with their new riches. He first buys 300 more acres of the Hwang’s land, taking most of what they had left. Wang also hires Ching to work on his land, and allows him to stay in their front house. Ching begins building more courts for the house on Wang Lung’s orders. “Come out of the fields from this day on, for I need a scholar in the family to read the contracts and to write my name so that I shall not be ashamed in the town.” (p. 164) Wang converts even more so like the House of Hwang lords when he sends his two eldest sons off to school, for his benefit of course.

One day at the teashop, Wang discovers pictures of beautiful women for sale. He sees one he likes, named Lotus, and visits her every night. Before long, he decides to buy her for himself, also paying for her servant, not caring how much it cost. “The woman who is keeper for the master of the tea house will do it for a hundred pieces of silver on her palm at one time, and the girl will come for jade earrings and a ring of jade and a ring of gold and two suits of satin clothes and two suits of silk clothes and a dozen pairs of shoes and two silken quilts for her bed. (p. 197) Buying Lotus, the beautiful woman in the picture, begins the horrible treat of O-lan by Wang Lung.

O-lan began her life with Wang Lung treated as a wife. As Wang transforms into the old lords more and more, his treatment of O-lan becomes more how he would treat a slave. He calls her ugly to her face, takes her pearls for Lotus, and treats her like dirt in general. Wang Lung feels no remorse for his actions until his young daughter comes to him, crying about her bound feet. “My mother said I was not to weep aloud because you are too kind and weak for pain and you might say to leave me as I am, and then my husband would not love me even as you do not love her.” (p. 252) His treatment of women was exactly like the lords, and helped Wang to become just like them.

Most human beings try to abstain from changing as much as they possibly can. In the novel, The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck displays how we as humans, when given the opportunity, tend to become the things we fear being like the most.