Tattoos On The Heart Analysis

In the allegory of the cave, Plato’s main goal is to illustrate his view of knowledge. A group of prisoners have been chained in a cave their whole lives and all they have ever been exposed to were shadows on the wall and voices of people walking by. The prisoners in the cave represent humans who only pay attention to the physical aspects of the world (sight and sound). Once one of them escapes and sees the blinding light, all he wants is to retreat back to the cave and return to his prior way of living. This shows that Plato believes enlightenment and education are painful, but the pain is necessary for enlightenment and it is worth it. Once he finally gets past the pain and is able to view the truth of the world, he feels pity for the

The Homeric epic often foretells of a long perilous journey filled with warfare and trials of the human condition that coincides with the spiritual journey that each human being has to take. How are The Aeneid and The Confessions similar in that they both depict warfare and a long spiritual journey? In The Aeneid, Aeneas’ journey is filled with many trials and temptations both physical as well as spiritual. Aeneas is seen as a model of piety, but he is living in a sinful relationship with his mistress Dido, the queen of Carthage. In The Confessions, St. Augustine tells of his spiritual journey from his adolescence when he had no interest in virtue or Christianity

The novel Unbroken is set in Torrance, California in the summer of 1929. Louis Zamperini is a twelve-year-old delinquent who is struggling to find his way as an Italian immigrant in a small town. The theme of redemption and forgiveness are shown throughout the book and in each area of Louie’s life. Every aspect of Louie’s life shows how he redeems himself and how the ultimate act of forgiveness is the most powerful resource for redemption.

The Running Man, a novel by Michael Gerard Bauer, portrays the adolescent experience as a time when an adolescent opens his eyes to the bigger picture of the world. The novel achieves this through an unlikely, unusual yet firm relationship between two people, a grim discovery about a maniacal individual that haunts his community, and personal misery that needs to be dealt with.

Religion has been a controversial topic for people with conflicting beliefs regarding a spiritual figure. Some authors today tend to stay away from the topic of religion fearing criticism from readers who disagree with their religious beliefs. Victor Villaseñor’s book, Rain of Gold is a non-fictional book that looks at the progression of the lives of Lupe and Juan who originated in Mexico. The book begins with Villaseñor describing the harsh condition in Mexico during a war that forced Lupe and Juan’s family to a journey to the United States. However, the journey was no simple task for the families. Even though Lupe and Juan come from different families, the similarities they had during their journey to the United States made

The Cross and the Lynching tree is a recent work from James H. Cone. Currently a Systematic Theology professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York, he is renowned as a founder of black liberation theology. In this book, he reflects on the most brutal chapter of white racism in the 20th century America where 5,000 innocent blacks were lynched to death by white mobs. And he tells us how blacks were able to survive the unspeakable reality of violence and torture with faith and hope in Christ. As a witness for blacks who were voiceless and ignored, he speaks out against the white church for saying little about slavery and racial justice. His passion for social justice comes from growing up in Arkansas in the Jim Crow era. The memories of his father and lynch mobs never left him. Black church comforted him, but made him wonder. “If the white churches are Christian, how come they segregate us? And if God is God, why is He letting us suffer?” (1) The lifelong quest for answers to these questions shaped his theology

“The person I have become, who sits writing in this chair at this desk, has been forged by enormous struggle and unexpected blessings, despite the dehumanizing environment of a prison intended to destroy me” (5). Jimmy Santiago Baca managed to survive through life’s obstacles, becoming a better person in the end, a person he wouldn’t have been if he hadn 't fought for it. His life started off with a drunken father who would beat them, and soon after a mother who abandoned them. Him and his siblings grew up with their grandparents, hoping for their parents to return for them, until they were sent to an orphanage and eventually gave up hope. Overtime all the family had grown apart, only rarely did his siblings speak to him. Drugs, fights, and

Your circumstances or experiences can impact your beliefs and principles for the rest of your life. In the memoir, Night by Elie Wiesel, Eliezer Wiesel documents his experience as German forces take over their small town of Sighet. The entire Jewish population is sent to concentration camps. In a camp called Auschwitz, Eliezer is separated from his mother and younger sister, but he remains with his father, Shlomo. As Eliezer struggles to survive against severe malnutrition and the cruelty of the camp, he also develops a conflict within himself revolving around his faith. In the memoir, Night, Eliezer Wiesel, a young man’s, faith in god diminishes at times of hardship, as demonstrated throughout his experience of the Holocaust.

A famous businessman Mark Hopkins once said "Religion without morality is a superstition and a curse, and morality without religion is impossible." Mark Hopkins suggests that without God and set goals, morals are not possible and cannot be achieved without a religious background. Therefore, both works lack God and morality, leaving the people involved to have no purpose in life. Throughout the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, unlawful and unjustly actions are taken by the corrupt government. People such as Harrison and George are being abused by the government in the name of equality. They cannot do what they want and express themselves, they must abide to the strict governmental laws. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby,

Neglect happens when a child does not get the love or protection he or she needs. Child neglect is just as serious of abuse and is more common than expected. In the memoir, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn the narrator demonstrates a lost connection between the father and son. The narrator displays how Jonathan was absent from his sons life causing him to react in an absurd way. Flynn conveys both parties in the novel ultimately is lost and leading to Jonathan being guilty in abandoning the relationship with Flynn.

Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, whether that be in a God or gods (Dictionary). It has the ability to bring people together as well as the power to tear them apart. This is shown through the writing of Corrie Ten Boom in The Hiding Place, and Armando Valladares in Against all Hope. Both tell the stories of lives lived as political prisoners that were treated inhumanly by their oppressors. The Hiding Place takes place in Holland during World War 2, and later in the book, Germany. It tells the story of Corrie Ten Boom 's life, focusing on the time she spent in captivity as a 50 year old woman. Time spent because she organized the headquarters of the Underground and because she harboured Jewish people in need. Against All Hope takes place in Cuba during Fidel Castro’s regime. Armando Valladares spent 20 years imprisoned in Cuban jails, 20 years of beatings, starvation and other inhumane treatments while the rest of the world looked on and did nothing. Both books were powerful pieces showing the peace and light that comes with religion.

In Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” she uses writing skills such as symbolism and imagery to get across her different themes to the reader’s with plenty of room for self-interpretation. Though O’Connor’s work could be defined as cynical, she does an excellent job of writing in the third person with her uncomplicated structure of sentences leaving plenty of room for her character 's thoughts, feelings, and actions to get across the realism of our world.

Another person said it’s because homeless people stay here at night. Why do they stay here at night? Boyle asks. Another parishioner responds that stay at the church because it is what Jesus would have done. So Boyle asks finally: what does the church smell like now? And people begin saying that it smells like a commitment and roses, and everyone begins to cheer and laugh together. Boyle claims that compassion is not about feeling another’s pain, but rather it is about bringing another person towards yourself. (74) .  And Thus Father Boyle shows another assertion about how humor is a great centralization of keep your head up through struggles and disappointment.  Boyle reminisces of a time he held Mass for youths in Los Angeles Youth Authority center, helped by Larry, Juan, and Jerome. Boyle is informed that Juan will sing a solo piece after communion, and Boyle is excited as he has never experienced that before. When Juan begins to sing, it is utterly terrible. A second Mass is held, and Juan Seems to sing even worse. Afterwards, Jerome tells Juan that “it takes… courage to get up and sing...when yo ass can’t(138). Boyle expected to break up a fight, but instead they all began to laugh together. Father G has

In Cesar Vallejo’s poem, “Los Heraldos de Negros”, in English called “The Black Heralds”, themes of God, children, love, and tragic consciousness emerge. My aim here is to examine another important source of his meaning, which is how the speaker sees God’s role in his encounters with life’s struggles. In the poem, a hateful God replaces a merciful God. The nature of this hateful God poses as a savior but instead of being helpful, or being resurrected to save humankind, he poses as a false or fake entity, which confuses and frustrates the speaker. Vallejo depicts God as hateful instead of merciful, because the speaker challenges and questions God’s methods. Vallejo continues by displaying an acute message, painful frustration at being unable to determine why life is so hard. This would interpret that not only difficulties of life can take a toll physically, but mentally as well and lead you to question why our lord and savior continues to be blind or to assist with our derailments in life.

Landes, George M. “The Kerygma of the Book of Jonah: The Contextual Interpretation of the