Educatioblog

Final essay

There is NO such thing as Mercy or Revenge

When tackling a subject as precarious as mercy and revenge, one must first converse with the various families, that these words house. One must understand these concepts; in short one needs to know the words. The dictionary definition of the word revenge is either an act or a noun. It may be the desire to get even; it may be avenging yourself or someone who has been hurt. Since the word is Re-venge, it may be the act of venging again. To venge could be described as causing harm or any act that causes revenge. All that aside venge is not a real word. Therefore for the word revenge there is no concrete meaning. As hard as it is to define revenge it is equally hard, if not harder to define mercy. The closest way to actually define this English word is in French. The French word for “Thank You,” is “Merci” showing a clear link to what we use as a sign of care and forgiveness. As is clear it is not remotely possible to put a label on these terms.

In our world today people show these concepts, everyday. They show them almost like another emotion. There are instances in all corners of the globe, big or small, where people are performing merciful acts, but are these acts what they are labeled as.  People may think that these acts are merciful but they may be in cold blood.
Take probably the most recognizable symbol of mercy, Mahatma Gandhi. He did things peacefully and saved a whole nation. But what he did, is it merciful? If you observe the act itself, it is actually showing no mercy whatsoever. He was one man who saw the brutal murder of many others; he knew he had an enemy. But just because he didn’t try to mutilate them, is that mercy? Gandhi was a brilliantly intelligent man. His actions for independence attacked the mind not the body. He fought a physiological war.  Being peaceful is not being merciful.
Just the same way there are acts that look like revenge but are actually merciful.  When the US army had captured and hanged Saddam Hussein they were thought to be showing revenge to Iraq. But really they were being very merciful they saved thousands of people. They saved a country from falling apart. Millions of Saddam Hussein’s own he was killing citizens. Is it so bad to kill a dying, man?

Along with the real world the media also shows the concepts at hand. Many movies, TV show, books, comics, plays, most media, have shown these topics. Out there somewhere I am sure, there is a movie called Revenge, or Mercy. The media has the biggest influence out of anything in the world. There are many instances though wrongly and stereotypically portraying mercy and revenge.
Take the one of the most famous death lines, Along with “ooh what does this button do?” and “AAAHHH”, the line “avenge me…ugh” is used generously. But lets analyze a specific movie theme. Here’s the scenario, little daddy’s boy goes hunting with dad. Dad gets shot, bad guy runs away. Daddy’s boy becomes roiled with pain and transforms. He goes to kill the guy, but when he gets there he cannot. One can say that this is revenge for he is going to avenge his father and he is boiling with anger and hatred. Or one can say it is mercy for he did not kill the guy. This leaves a vague view on what it is.
There are many “superheroes” and icons that came about because of the concepts. Batman for instance, his parents died, he wants to now save gotham city from the scum that killed them. Mercy for people, or Revenge against criminals. It cannot be said.  Another instance is the hulk, whenever he gets angry he becomes a superhero. Is it his revenge which makes him such a hero. Is it his hatred against the criminals which is his revenge. If he is filled with all this revenge then he must be bad. Yet he is showing mercy to the people of the city.
In the books we read this year the main characters have to face tests that outline many concepts and some include Mercy and Revenge. OUT of the three books the lord of the flies, the tempest and the diary of Anne frank, the book which shows the most variation in this topic is the tempest, Anne frank is more merciful, and the lord of the flies is filled with revenge.
In the tempest the wizard Prospero is kicked out of his kingdom, by chance the very person who did this is passing his magical isle he got sent to. He puts them through a myriad of mind games and tasks. He strands them hopeless on his isle. One can say that it is merciful that he did not kill them. One may also say that it is revenge because he left them stranded and put them through grueling tasks. He does get back what he wants and gets even with the people who took his kingdom. As was said before this is the basis of revenge, getting even.
Anne frank was very merciful because, she did nothing to fight back, nothing to get even with the Nazis. She went with them along and eventually this led to her getting killed. You can still argue that she did not even have the ability or strength to fight back, or maybe her various comments about the Nazis were a way to vent revenge. The lord of the flies however had no contradictory opinions. Revenge was revenge, mercy was mercy. Everyone was fighting for the conch, jack and Ralph tried to kill each other and the only mercy that was in the form of a young boy was killed. But in the end they were rescued and lived together happily, this can be a form of mercy in a way.

As you can see, these concepts do not exist; they coexist in each other and cancel out. Everything is contradicted by something. You may say “an eye for an eye” but someone may say, “ if it was an eye for an eye then the world would be blind.” Revenge and mercy are the same ting the same broth of ingredients, with different results. So in the end there is no such thing as revenge or mercy. Or as I like to call it mervenge.