The Relationship Between Love and Forgiveness

Love and forgiveness are intertwined throughout the novel, Great Expectations , by Charles Dickens; those who can’t forgive are unable to love, while those who do forgive go on to lead the happiest lives. This is displayed by two of the most vital characters in the novel, Joe and Miss Havisham; together they show the opposite sides of this tremendous factor in life. Forgiveness plays a big part in our lives; one must learn to forgive those who have brought the bad into their life and to love those who have brought the good.

Without forgiveness, love cannot take place; without love, life will tumble downward until it hits the lowest point: death. Miss Havisham displays this minute part of the theme by showing the downfall of life formed by the unwillingness in her to forgive. “ ‘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!’ ”(pg. 240) She felt as if forgiveness is a sign of weakness; this ended up leaving her to a restless life, one that included the loss of happiness, friends and family – a classic part of a tragic novel.

There may be many people in the world who take the place of Ms. Havisham – those who just bring your hopes down when you talk to them – but there will always be that one little nightlight that outshines all the darkness, a humble person with passel fidelity, like Joe. Always working, taking pride in what he did, Joe seemed to be cheerful no matter what problem that life threw him. Even when his very best friend, Pip, left him, he still found a part of his heart to forgive him. “Exactly what he had been in my eyes then, he was in my eyes still; just as simply faithful, just as simply right.”(pg. 472) No matter what Pip did, Joe was always there to reassure him, to forgive him and to love him.

No matter where you go in the world, there will always be people who forgive and those who don’t; one must always remember the greatest expectation of life, love, and that it cannot be accomplished without forgiveness. With this knowledge, people will be able to live their lives to the fullist -- something Miss Havisham never had the chance to experience. Those who do will be able to love under no circumstances, those who don’t will be unhappy with their choices for the rest of their lives.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Essay

Our military heroes sacrifice so much of their lives that we cannot even take into account how much love they have for this country and its people. For this reason, we, the people of the United States of America, have created many a holiday to honor them, their thoughts and their actions while they were serving this country. These heroes have given up months, years, even at times their lives to protect us; this cannot be repaid or thanked for in a few holidays. We must also honor them every day, inside our hearts.

For a long time we have known that honoring our veterans is something necessary for us to do. Originating on November 11, 1918, Armistice Day was created to honor veterans who gave up their lives for this free country. That day in November was known as the end of The War to End All Wars, so there was some rejoicing to be done, resulting in the making of a holiday. On June 1, 1954, it was changed to Veteran’s Day; with this revision, people were now able to honor all veterans of war. Making this important alteration was only a small piece of the puzzle to recognizing our veterans more often.

Even though those holidays are an essential part to honoring the military heroes of America, we must remember how much these amazing role models sacrifice for us each and every day. A few days a year doesn’t cut it with the amount of love these people pour into protecting our country; we must remember them every day. Keeping them in our hearts and prayers is the least we can do to repay them for what they have done for us. Without them, we would be nowhere near where we are today; since that is true, it is only fitting that we honor these important figures in our lives every single hour of every single day of every single year.

Good Earth Summative Essay

Good Earth Summative Essay
Cold and warm, large and small, good and bad, these all have paradoxical influences on people and their lives. Never is there just the good or just the evil, but always a good mix of both. Choosing is completely up to us, but we must be aware of how much affect it will have on us. Choices – displayed all over in the novel, The Good Earth , by Pearl Buck – become intertwined with paradox; choosing the wrong one will result in the changing of personal morals, everyday life and the future.
Wang Lung started out as an innocent, inexperienced farmer who had low expectations. Making good choices and decisions helped in the creating of a carefree, problem free, and stress free life. Not only did he now have a wife and children, but the crops were doing great and he had enough money to live comfortably. “At a time like this there was visiting, because each farmer felt that for once Heaven was doing the work in the fields and their crops were being watered without their backs broken for it.”(pg. 43) For a man with good morals, life is perfect right now; this statement describes Wang Lung since he has not made any destructive decisions in his life.
Although making good decisions helped him in the beginning, deciding with evil intentions instead of good – even if it starts out as only once – will eventually ruin his life. Arriving at the city after a drought, Wang Lung consistently thinks about surviving. Begging and many different customs down south are new to him; some he had never even heard of. This once innocent farmer became more and more experienced – learning unthinkable things from whispering gossip in the city – as his trip went on. “When the rich are too rich there are ways, and when the poor are too poor there are ways.”(pg. 119) This quote – stated by a man Wang Lung had met in the South – influenced him to make an evil decision – stealing from a rich man. Making this action leads Wang down a new path, one in which he must leave his old self behind.
Accumulating more and more money every day, his new lifestyle changed his ethics and morals from good to bad. He is no longer satisfied with one woman, so he goes against everything he once believed in and brings home Lotus – a person who brings much evil to the household. “One morning O-lan burst into tears and wept aloud, as he had never seen her weep before, even when they starved, or at any other time.”(pg 19) Not only showing he is breaking her down to a point of tears, the quote also symbolizes that he is slowly killing her with his evil intentions. Wang Lung teaches good morals and ethics, even though he, himself, does not practice them. He is now becoming something he once hoped he would never be – an evil man, with no sense of care for others whatsoever.
Even though he had made bad decisions, there were still good influences trying to draw him back to the good side of paradox. One of these is his second son, an honorable and honest man who takes after Wang Lung’s old self – the one that was left in the city. When there is good there also must be evil, this is where the eldest son comes in. He represents the evil part of paradox, conning Wang Lung into moving into the House of Hwang and wasting all of his money. Both of the sons were strong influences on Wang Lung, but once again he doesn’t have enough strength to overcome the evil and moves into the House of Hwang. “There was nothing left to trouble him in his life, and he could be at peace. But there was no peace.”(pg. 335) After making wrong decisions – no matter how hard he tries – he cannot be at peace.
After making many wrong decisions, one may think that all hope is lost for Wang Lung and his life, but that is wrong. Once he finally takes time to look for the good influences in his life, he realizes that moving back into his old home is all he can do. Overcoming the evil in his life left him able to be at peace. “And he was content, holding it thus, and he thought of it fitfully and of his good coffin that was there; and the kind earth waited without haste until he came to it.”(pg. 359) Deciding to go back to the earth was finally a good choice, which in return made him pleased and happy.
In the end, because of all the bad decisions he had made in his life, the sons came to sell the land, the one thing he was able to hold on to through all the turmoil. This had been coming ever since the trip to the city. He had already changed his future with one small – but definitely not insignificant – decision. Pearl Buck is trying to teach us a lesson from that message; people must strive to listen to the good side of paradox, rather than the bad like Wang Lung did.