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Cruelty

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Cruelty

The prophet David from the Bible who spoke of false accusations people make, an angry dragon from Scandinavia whose fury could not be withheld, and a man who knows the brutality of human nature. Though all different situations, they share a common theme, cruelty. Cruelty in gossip, cruelty in temper, and cruelty in nature. Cruelty can be found in all types of literature even as old as the Bible. “Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up risen up against me, and such as breath out cruelty” (Psalms 27:12). This quote is asking God not to let us give into our enemies, and for us to not believe the brutality of people’s false accusations. The prophet David was the one who conveyed this quote. By speaking out about the cruelty of people he is indirectly saying that God is the only person you need to seek approval from. He is also saying that no one else’s words or savageness should matter. Though David’s message is centuries old, it proves that a verse, or phrase can contain the same significance even centuries later. Only decades later cruelty was still evident with World War II and the Nazis, and in modern day situations such as terrorism. Many other works of literature are also proof of this same idea.

One example of a piece of literature that conveys cruelty well is the story of Beowulf. “And the signs of its anger flickered and glowed in the darkness, visible for miles tokens of its hate and its cruelty, spread like a warning to the Geats who had broken its rest” (Beowulf 67).
At this point in Beowulf panic ignites the land because the great dragon has awakened. A mere slave disrupted the dragons slumber by robbing a jeweled cup from the mighty beast. As punishment for this atrocious act that was done to him, the dragon started to reek havoc on all the land sparing no one. Like many who get things taken away or stolen from them become angry, the dragon in this story is no different, except he takes his cruelty to a new level. The dragon not only wants to seek revenge on the Geats but in his anger and ruthlessness wants them all destroyed. By using such a strong word as cruelty to describe the dragons actions the author wants it to be known the depth of the dragons anger. Another form of cruelty is seen in the play Macbeth. Much like in Beowulf, in Macbeth many people must die in order for the main character to be satisfied, and even then he is not. Once Macbeth killed the first person who stood in his way to becoming king, the lies kept coming and so he had to keep on killing. To kill is one of the most brutal acts one can commit and through the literature works of Beowulf and Macbeth you see how anyone can be pushed or persuaded to commit horrid acts such as these. It also shows how little mercy and compassion both the dragon and Macbeth had towards people who made them angry or annoyed. From centuries, to decades, to modern day the act of cruelty or being cruel in nature does not change. It is unfortunately a common word to describe people and painstakingly accurate in most cases. “ For many cruelty is natural. It passes like a trend. You never stop to think about, the messages you send” (Cruelty lines 13-16). The theme throughout this poem is acceptance. It talks about how people do not think about what they do or say before they act. The author stresses that a simple look or nudge as someone who is “different” or “weird” walks past you might mean nothing to you but to that person it might mean so much more. In todays society people act on their feelings or thoughts right away instead of thinking them over. A perfect example of this would be the movie “Mean Girls”. In this movie a group of teenage girls write a book about everyone in there grade and next to each person there is one hurtful comment after another. In the end this book gets out, but none of the girls who wrote it thought it ever would. This is a very similar situation to what people say when they think no one can hear them, or what people say, “behind closed doors”. Every person should remember though that doors can be open, much like peoples lips when a secret is on the corner of them. The common theme of cruelty is evident in all areas, cultures, ethnicities, and times. Weather the situation is a Bible quote from the book of psalms centuries ago, or a war involving the evils of captivity and torture. In preference to a fictional work with a dragon who seeks nothing but death for all, and king who will do anything and everything to gain power and let no one stand in his way of achieving it. Or even a modern poem that simplifies what mean thoughts and actions people commit each day to others. Though all different works, there theme is the same throughout and the word cruelty is the common thread that holds them all together.

Carroll 4
Works Cited
Anonymous. Beowulf. Trans. Burton Raffel. Glencoe Literature; British Literature. Ed. Beverly Ann Chin etal. Columbus; Glencoe, 2002. 67

Box, Joey. “Cruelty”. Sffworld.com. 2002. 14 February. 2013. http://www.sffword.com/authors/b/box_joey/poems/cruelty.html>.

The New American Bible. Psalms: 27 verse 12. World Bible Publishers Inc., 1986.

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