Altruism And Philanthropy

In today’s world, one can find many instances of selfishness, whether it be corruption, killing, or even breaking a heart. However, like a diamond in the rough, someone who is truly selfless is hard to come by. One example of a selfless writer is C.S. Lewis, author of Till We Have Faces. Lewis wrote some of his novels in a way to not only educate the world that selflessness will always win but also the fact that selfishness will always lose. One of Lewis’s notable works -- “Till We Have Faces” -- clearly demonstrates how selfishness loses but selflessness wins.

In today’s society, anybody can be considered a hero. A hero is a selfless person who is admired for their courageous achievements. A mother, celebrity, or even a mailman can be a hero to someone. In Beowulf, the epic poem translated by Burton Raffel, Beowulf is recognized as a hero who craves too much glory. In today’s world, Beowulf is viewed as an irrelevant hero since he displays poor qualities of arrogance and selfishness.

“Pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (Hurst 2). This is how James Hurst describes pride in his heart-wrenching short story, “The Scarlet Ibis.” What speaks to me most about this quote is its profound truth. For the majority of people, pride is either a positive or negative thing, but what Hurst and I seem to agree about is the fact that pride can be both. It is an undeniable symptom of the human condition, a tool that can either create or destroy, and is responsible for the best and worst parts of history.

In The Scarlet Letter the narrator says, “Be true! Be true! If you will not show the world your worst, at least show some quality that suggests to others the worst in you!” (Hawthorne, 224) This quote accurately sums up the dilemma that the characters in The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne face.

Brother now sees the horrible effect pride has had changed his life. In this story Brother has learned that pride has covered his love. He has also learned that Doodle has loved him and if they would have loved each other equally that maybe Doodle could have died differently. This story is a life lesson. Pride affects everybody and it is important to remember that their is a cruel streak in

Equality suffers greatly from his cause. Equality’s cause is to be able to create an invention that will appease the council of scholars, and further the knowledge of the society. He also wants to use this as forgiveness for his sins. However despite Equality’s best intentions, he is persecuted for his individuality. “A street sweeper!

He is a true romantic hero, no matter what was in his way he kept pushing. He achieved his love with the one and only Roxane, with his exquisite poetry. In Act III Scene VII Cyrano states “My heart always timidly hides itself behind my mind. I set out to bring down stars from the sky, then, for fear of ridicule, I stop and pick little flowers of eloquence.” The quote clearly states his love for Roxane, and it also shows his insecurity and doubts about what will happen if he does express his true

Pathos is the primary literary device used throughout the story that actually had readers sympathize the merciless murderers. Pathos as in a general statement. What Capote does that is so brilliant and differs from other style of books, is he offers multiple point of views. They all differ. It varies as well.

A tragic hero is a character in a literary work whose hamartia, or tragic flaw, causes their downfall. They usually hold a high status in the society they reside in, and their peers love them. They are the cause of their downfall, but there is always a lesson behind it. A tragic appears in the dramatic play, “Fences”, by August Wilson. The protagonist, Troy Maxson, defines this role.

The Misfortune of a Tragic Hero Many literary works incorporate the concept of a character that makes an error of judgment or attains a fatal flaw that leads to their collapse. This creates a vision for a tragic hero who portrays significant and intemperate actions and ideas. Not only does a tragic hero reveal their behavior and thoughts, they exhibit how virtuous they are, a significant flaw they reveal and their reversal of fortune. Their heroic characteristics merit them with the approval and compassion from the audience, but their imperfections eventually drive them to their ruin.

(Add a one sentence summary of Lily’s speech and insert here.) The poem that is read in The Outsiders, called “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, by Robert Frost, supports the claim that one should be content with what one has because greatness never stays for long, and causes more sorrow than happiness. The poem states that, “Nature’s first green is gold; Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour” (Frost 1-4).

Greed is shown as destructive in both books, but Cannery Row proposes that perhaps greed is not innate and can be overcome “It has always seemed strange to me... The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.” (Cannery, Pg.

Humans for the longest time have been characterized as creatures of fault and error. We have the potential to be cruel, selfish, and greedy. Some say we are anything but angelic and should be regarded as a step above beasts, but those like Hamlet and Chamberlain would disagree. In William Shakespeare 's famous play Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2, Hamlet describes humans as "a piece of work." He further exclaims, "how noble in reason!