Themes of Forgiveness in Literature

Themes of mercy in LiteratureThemes Of blessing In NovelsForgiveness. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is an action or a process of forgiving or being forgiven. On the other hand, Brkenhielm (1993) said that the difficulty of defining mildness is because it is very much like love, it is ambiguous. Also, that in that respect is no single concept that can define what it is. But there ar m all authors who tried to define forgiveness in many ways, both of these ways are in psychological perspective and in theological perspective, respectively. One of the many authors is Canale (1990), according to him, forgiveness is a therapeutic agent in psychotherapy and that it is a cognitive restructuring that complements the emotional aspects of dealing with pain and resentment in therapy.Forgiveness cannot be described or defined using just now unitary concept. In this paper, I will discuss four of the most popular books in relation to forgiveness. These books attack differen t aspects of forgiveness. It is very interesting to hunch that one simple word can present multiples and multitudes of different applications.In this paper, the following books will be discussed brieflyAuthor Robert En proper and Joanna NorthTitle Forgiveness A rash choice for a Peaceful Heart (1992)Author Robin CasarjianTitle The Handbook of forgiveness (2005)Author Everett L. Worthington jr.Title The helianthus On the Possibilities and Limits of ForgivenessAuthor Simon WiensenthalExploring Forgiveness by Robert Enright and Joanna North (1998)This book is a compilation of 12 great, touching short stories that will teach any person how to deal with one of lifes toughest issues. This will help you face real and deep problems with acceptance and confidence in a positive way.To start with, Chapter 2 of this book tackles about a mother who forgave her daughters murderer. The title of the article is the power and reality of forgiveness. It is a very sad but inspiring story. If you c ome to conjecture of it, how can a mother forgive her daughters murderer? It is very unusual but it is the right thing to do. This was just the beginning of it. The mother didnt instantly leave alone what has happened to her daughter. It took her lots and lots of strength to face her daughters murderer and tell him that she doesnt want him to be killed. Instead, she appealed for a lifetime imprisonment without bail. It was hard for her, but she realized that it was the right thing to do. After the tragic event, the mother became a part of a team that motivates people who suffered the same pain that she did. Today, she probably enjoys her life with her conscience drop dead helping other people cope up with the same slur as she did. This is what is meant by power and reality of forgiveness.Another point stressed in the book is that of Joanna North, on her article named, The Ideal of Forgiveness A Philosophers Exploration. It is a clear, thorough explanation on what forgiveness is , what it is not, and other aspects of forgiveness such as its multiperspectival nature. North (1998) said that forgiveness is more than just acceptance of the person who have been wronged. Forgiveness is multiperspective in nature, in the sense that it takes into account the point of observe of the wrongdoer the process of being forgiven, the process of acceptance of forgiveness of the wrongdoer from the injured party. This acceptance of forgiveness is commonly known as self-forgiveness of the wrongdoer. When these two concepts have been joined together, process of forgiveness and self-forgiveness of the wrongdoer, then, we will have a bigger understanding on what forgiveness is really all about.Forgiveness A Bold choice for a Peaceful Heart by Robin Casarjian (1992)In this book, Casarjian (1992) stresses that forgiveness frees us from fear, which is an underlying feeling behind resentment. Furthermore, it focused on a broad range of topics, from why to choose forgiveness, forgive ness for your family, forgiveness for yourself, and lastly, forgiveness for the world. Also, Casarjian (1992) said that forgiveness equals peace. Forgiveness, regardless of the situation or problem, gives the peace that we really want and yearn.According to Casarjian, forgiveness is the means of the heart to mend itself and make it whole again. It gives us the freedom to love, sincere love. When we experience forgiveness, or we accepted forgiveness from others, we are transformed, giving us a fresh start. Furthermore, it tells about how our physical health may improve if we practice forgiveness.It goes beyond understanding others, to how they cope up with the situation. Forgiveness must not be dependent on somebody elses readiness or willingness to forgive. It explains that each person has his or her own way of letting go of their pain and anger. Let them be. Respecting them is another aspect of forgiveness. Not letting your self-forgiveness be dependent on the other persons feeling s or emotions.The Handbook for forgiveness by Everett L. Worthington Jr. (2005)In this book, Worthington (2005) describes that forgiveness isnt just a science, it is also an art. This discussion can be found in chapter 1 of the book. In this discussion, I will be focusing on the perplexitys answered by Worthington in chapter 1.One question is How does forgiveness affect the participants in the forgiveness process?. According to Worthington, forgiveness involves a wrongdoer, a victim, and sometimes a third party, for instance, a small range of the society. For the wrongdoer, some might actually be able to forgive themselves easily, some may not. But, one thing is for sure, for a transgressor that is forgiven, response is a must both intraphysically and interpersonally. This implies that the experiences of the perpetrator are interlocked with the experiences of the victim. For the victim on the other hand, forgiveness is dependent on the genius and experiences of the victim. Some p eople might forgive easily, some may not. This accounts to a number of personal characteristics. Also, forgiveness can also involve people some you relatives, neighbours, etc. This is why crimes affect society. In most tribes, wrongdoings can disrupt the harmony of it. That is why forgiveness is a crucial subject. Worthington summarized that forgiveness is a multifactorial summary of intrapersonal process, interpersonal process, and interpersonal process within societal and political context.Another interesting concept presented in the text is the benefits of forgiveness. Like what Casarjian (2005) mentioned in his book, forgiveness has a lot of benefits physical, mental, relational, and spiritual health. The explanation is a trivial one. According to Ludwig et al. (2001), Unforgiveness is stressful and makes people drown in their controvert thoughts. This results in different negative consequences, be it physically, mentally, relationships, or spiritual health. Also, a survey i n 2001 associates fewer poor health conditions in elderly people with forgiveness. Moreover, forgiveness lessens the anger, pain, and other negative feelings that a person experiences.Another interesting concept discussed in the book was correlation of primate conflicts with human forgiveness. This was a study about the satisfaction deportment of Chimpanzees and Macaques. The observed responses to conflict was kissing and the so-called hold-bottom ritual. Kissing in Chimpanzees was a sign of reconciliation between two former opponents. The conclusion of this study was that it was unavailing to prove that the former opponents have forgiven each other the positive side was that the behavioural correlate levels of anxiety reduced or lowered after the reconciliation between the former opponents.The Sunflower On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiensenthal (1998)This is a very intriguing book that aroused the minds of many thinkers and writers. It is about a parsi mony camp prisoner who was subjected to an unexpected situation wherein a dying SS (German militia) man asked for his forgiveness after having participated in the Jews genocide. His response was to walk away. Nothing. He questioned if his response to the situation was right or wrong. He confronted the reader that if the reader was in his place, what would the reader do.Wiensenthal wanted to pose a question to the reader, that in the case wherein the author already exposed his tragic situation. Wiensenthal wanted the reader to put their fit on his and question his mind, What would I do?. This is a question that not only tickles the minds of the reader. This question poses a more serious predicament to consider his/her personal moral and ethical beliefs. These moral and ethical beliefs influence our actions greatly towards negative situations like crimes, justice, compassion, and several(prenominal) responsibility.Further reading of the book contains the responses of 53 different men and women about the question posed by Wiensenthal. The respondents came from different backgrounds. Their responses acted as pillars for the readers to be able to devise on their own perspectives. His work I believe was to wake up the readers, to stand up, to think, to survive and face the obligation it entails. As what he have said, survival of the fittest is a privilege which entails obligations. I am forever asking myself what I can do for those who have not survived. -Wiensenthal (1989), p. 351.