Social Science Essay

Blakely Frederick

College English EN 132

Rafael Velez

9/29/09

Social Science Essay:

Revenge: Good or Bad

For those who have read Edgar Allan Poe's "A Cask of Amontillado", we learn of a man by the name of Monstresor, who seeks revenge on a so-called friend named Fortunato, who insulted him early on. The story tells of Monstresor and his personal vendetta against his colleague Fortunato, where he goes as far as to entomb a drunken Fortunato into the family catacombs, in search of Amontillado. By studying this story, I have learned more than just an average tale of one man’s act of vengeance against the other, but I remembered that story’s theme of vengeance is carried on in real human society every day. This story reminded me of how far people will stoop to get back at someone else, whether the situation was serious or not.

The idea of revenge is very common in our society; where everyday someone is inflicting their own punishment onto someone who originally hurt them. Though in some societies around the world, it is believed that the punishment in revenge should be more than the original crime. We have all experienced the craving for revenge from being cut off in traffic by a rude driver and wanting to return the favor, to visualizing of putting a school bully in his place, we have all felt wronged by someone, and quenched for vengeance. The big question is whether revenge is good or essentially bad? Many may think the idea of revenge is wrong, but then again it is justified, because when one person does wrong to another, it eventually comes back on that same person one way or the other. Whether or not the victim returns personal injury or not. It is sometimes hard to identify whether revenge can be a good or bad thing. In my own personal opinion I think revenge is only justified depending on the situation at hand. Trying to depict whether revenge is an act of good moral or not would be an ongoing debate.

For example, a boy is being picked on everyday at school by some bullies. Then one day the bullies take it too far and the boy is fed up, and decides to take matters into his own hands. How would anybody defer whether this situation is considered revenge or just simply acting out? It wouldn’t be easy to answer that question, because there would be several conflicting views on the situation. In the Old Testament of the Bible, Exodus 21:24 includes a doctrine referring to the old saying “an eye for an eye”, which means whatever is done onto one will ultimately be returned in favor.

In many ancient societies, the punishment for murder would be to allow the victim’s family’s to avenge the killing. During those times vendettas or “blood feuds” were cycles inclining violence and retaliation, as it is today in society. People seem to think the getting back at the person who did you wrong is the best solution to justify evil deeds. In ancient Japan, the Samurai class upheld a strict honor to their respective family, clan or masters, through the art of revenge killings. These so-called revenge killings could involve anyone including the families of the offender. Revenge is such a strong, personal emotion that it is portrayed in just about every form of literature and pop culture.

The revenge theme is played heavily in the realm of entertainment industry; in fact movies have always portrayed a fantastic image of the ideals of revenge and its consequences. Unforgettable classic films such as “Carrie”, “Man on Fire”, “Kill Bill vol. 1-2”, “ Mad Max”, “Old Boy” , “ The Crow”, “Spawn”, and many more gave viewers a perfect insight on the actions and deadly repercussions off inflicting revenge on different levels in different situations, in a various social societies. Then again look at events in the real world. Who could forget 9/11, and the War in Iraq that is still going on till this day. Or the brutal massacre at Virginia Tech where a South Korean college student with a long history of mental problems bombarded onto campus, and shot and killed over 32 people before committing suicide. These are just basic examples of how far people will go to enact vengeance, and how a situation can go from bad to worse.

So in conclusion, I say that even though revenge can seem fair, it is not justified. Like Monstresor in Edgar Allen Poe’s story; he may thought what he did to Fortunato was fair but it was not for him to decide. I support my view simply because the truth is, no matter what the problem was or how it started, in the end someone always gets hurt, whether the victim or the perpetrator. Just because someone has done something wrong to someone else, it does not mean that they can take justice into their own hands. We are not God; we do not have the ability to punish others, even though we may think we do. We are simply humans who all have faults and insecurities about ourselves, and tend to flicker our anger at others. We must all remember that in the end, when we die, we must all answer to whatever we have done in our lives. Or have we forgotten that.