Sometimes we have to change our view on what’s right and wrong to fulfill our desires. We blatantly see this in Machado de Assis literature work “The Rod of Justice”, when Damiao, a young boy who is on his way to priesthood, selfishly put his self-interest before someone in need of his help, while in Leo Tolstoy’s “Death of Ivan Ilyich”, Ivan demonstrates his self-interest in achieving aristocratic status rather than taking advantage of what truly is meaningful in life. The action’s chosen by the main characters will slowly lead to pain and dissatisfaction.
In the story, “The Rod of Justice”, a young seminary student named Damiao, was desperately trying to escape the seminary because he felt that becoming a priest was not his vocation. He was …show more content…
In the mix of escaping and figuring out who he could run to for help, Sinha Rita, a widow, and sweetheart of Joao Carneiro came to mind. Without a doubt, he raced to Sinha Rita’s home and to his surprise after much pleading she had given in to help him. She agreed to speak to his godfather and try to influence him to have a talk with Damiao’s father regarding Damiao becoming a priest. At Sinha Rita home, Damiao met Lucretia, a slave. Accidently Damiao got Lucretia in trouble and Sinha Rita threatened to beat her. At that moment he promised himself he would protect her if she would not finish her task. Later on that day, Sinha Rita begins to inspect the slaves jobs. Lucretia had not finished the task assigned to her which caused Sinha Rita to become furious. Sinha Rita called out to Damiao to give her the rod to beat the slave he once vowed to protect. Damiao came to the realization that he had “sworn to protect the little girl and it was because of him that she was behind with her work.”(Assis 844) Regardless of his realizations, Damiao decided to hand the rod to Sinha Rita. He mentions the “uneasy sense of guilt” (Assis 844) he felt and how “he