...0202 / مجلة ديالى العدد الرابع و االربعون The Bird as a Sacrificial Hero in Oscar Wilde’s “The Nightingale and the Rose” and “The Happy Prince” BY ASST. INST. Shaima’ Fadhil Hassan UNIVERSITY OF KOYA/ COLLEGE OF LANGUAGES/ DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH Heroism and sacrifice are not new concepts; they can be traced back to the early days of human life. These concepts developed throughout history as a result of the development of human thought. In literature, the idea of heroism appears on a large scale. It has been dealt with by different writers in different periods. As far as terminology is concerned, the terms of heroism and sacrifice are interchangeable. The hero must be a sacrificer and the one who sacrifices himself must be a hero, for this reason these two terms (hero and sacrificer) cannot be separated. Thus, both of them go hand in hand in so many works of literature. Heroism and sacrifice are not confined to human beings only. Some writers present their heroes as gods as in mythology, and some of them present animals as in fables. 809 0202 / مجلة ديالى العدد الرابع و االربعون The idea of having an animal as a sacrificial hero is shown in many of Oscar Wilde’s short stories. He developed this theme as a reaction towards his age which lacked, in his view, moral as well as human values. For this reason, he chooses a bird to be his tragic hero. He epitomizes this idea in such short stories like “The Nightingale and the Rose” and “The Happy Prince”....
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...My Definition of Love Love has so many definitions which it makes impossible to define precisely. As a matter of fact, it is one of the most difficult questions to answer. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” That’s one definition of love. The Bible says “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.” (1st Corinthians 13:5-7). In order for me to give you my best definition of love, I would have to use the four types of love given by the ancient Greek philosophers. They are phileo, the love of friendship; storge, the love of family and relatives; eros, the love of affection and obsession; and agape, the unconditional love. Phileo, the love of friendship, is not sexual in nature. Phileo basically covers everything that has to do with a friendly affection of one person to another. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and their community. Phileo love truly describes friendship and the bonds that are strengthened by shared experiences. Most of us have at least someone that we call best friend. The tender affection we have for them is an example of phileo. Storge means family affection between family members. It is extremely important for all human beings, children and adults. It is natural affection...
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...for her beautiful hair(cited in Clugston, 2010). This creates a kind of paradox where both parties wanted to get a special gift for the other, sparing their most precious items to do it. Both presents are now irrelevant, but it shows each have a deep love for each other. The theme, tone, point of view, and characters in this story are all special and work together to make this story. Each facet of the work helps build and support the story from start to end. The point of view in this story starts off as third person limited. In the majority of the story the reader is only let in on Della’s world. The reader follows the path on how she feels over the anguish of not having enough money to buy her husbands present. It then goes on to tell how she got the money and the hardships involved there-in. Toward the end of story, her husband comes home. We still don’t see much into his world even after he shows up. For example, the story doesn’t show how he feels toward Della’s hair. Is he angry that it was cut? The story doesn’t offer enough information to suggest, much less tell. The theme of this paper is sacrificial love and placing value on objects. The sacrificial love is shown by the fact that Della loves her husband so much she is willing to give up her prized possession to give her husband a great...
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...For the first time, I questioned how word of Moses' confrontations with Pharaoh would have been relayed through a nation as large as Egypt. Word of mouth, speculation, and pagan superstitions could have helped or hurt the Hebrews by stirring up a mixture of resentment and fear towards them. Have you ever considered how each plague was a targeted attack the gods of Egypt? I had done so through the eyes of a Christian, but never through an Egyptians perspective. Finally, I've read the biblical accounts numerous times and each time I've skimmed over God's protection of the Israelites from the 5th plague on livestock. By doing so, God (Jehovah-Jireh) provided the sacrificial lambs of Passover. (See also Genesis 22:13-14, Exodus 9 & 12, & 1 Corinthians 5:7.) This book did for me the very thing that endears me to biblical fiction — it sent me searching the scriptures. I'd like to conclude with a few general remarks. Connilyn's approach to the retelling of Exodus is as unique as it is compelling. She was able to elicit genuine concern for Kiya's salvation to the point that I wondered if she would be "ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding." Finally, I recognized and respect the authors acknowledgement that God sees value in every life. Counted With the Stars has the perfect measure of heart and...
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...different destination. In this kind of situation, hatred, unfaithfulness, fighting, anger, suspicion, cheating becomes the order of the day and break-up is the end result. Parental or friends influence. This is very common these days. Many broken homes today are caused by undue influences and interference of parents, friends and relations in the private affairs of the family. When a man or woman allows these third parties to be their advisers and confidants such a home is heading to a break. Lack of genuine sacrificial love - This one of the major reason many couples have fallen apart today. Love they say does not fade. If truly you love your spouse, it will be very difficult to break away from such a person. The truth is that, when one of the spouse had found a new love elsewhere he or she becomes desperate and start looking for any means to breakaway. All you need is to water or renew the love you have for your spouse sooner or later it will grow to become a full tree of love with many...
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...THINK, FEEL AND DO: I ♥ YOU “True love waits”. And to simplify this briefly, there are three steps on how to prepare in engaging ourselves in relationship. First, solve unresolved problems. Forgiveness and acceptance of one’s failure must always stay in our hearts so that we can move on from our past. Let your rejection be your key to be a better person. Second, stop believing in the “right person myth”. Looking for the perfect one for us is never true. We may feel deeply in love to that person but as we grow day by day with him/her we will meet lots of his hidden attitude that we don’t know yet. Lastly, start becoming the right person. Take the effort and discipline to be the person, the person you’re looking for. Instead of thinking of having our ideal partner for the future let us think also the other way around, molding ourselves to be like the person we are looking for. I Corinthian chapter 13 verses 4-5 said “Love is PATIENT, love is KIND. it does not ENVY, it does not boast, it is not PROUD, it is not RUDE, it is not SELF-SEEKING.it is not easily ANGERED, it keeps NO RECORD of WRONGS. It always PROTECTS, always TRUSTS, always HOPES, and always PERSEVERES. LOVE NEVER FAILS...” In other words, love is not an easy act it is “sacrificial”. Therefore, before we enter in a relationship we must know first our priorities and ready ourselves in taking that tract. In addition, we must also discern well on what vocation we will pursuing for the future. We must preserve our whole...
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...In the short story “The Gift of the Magi” penned by O. Henry 1906 written in third-person objective point of view. This stories illustration is about a married couple that makes lavish decisions of sacrificial love to provide Christmas gifts for each other. Della is the main character in the story and shows the love she has most from actions of the heart in the story. The theme is demonstrated by the unselfish loved the couple has for each other. The narrator describes the setting as poor, as stated by Henry, “In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name “Mr. James Dillingham Young” which they used during the time of prosperity now they are considering only the initial “D” since hard times have hit (Clugston, 2010). One could also surmise the conditions of them being poor when reading that Della is counting her change which is only $1.87 not enough to get Jim a gift for Christmas. “For most rich family, one dollar and eighty seven cents might not be an important sum of money. Nevertheless, $ 1.87 would mean a lot to Della because it was "something fine and rare and sterling." She planned to use the little money she owned and bought her husband a Christmas present. $ 1.87 was one ordinary level, but on another level something valuable to Della (Lin, 2010)”. The narrator goes on to describe how Jim used to make $30.00 per...
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...spirit of submission and love. As found in Ephesians 5:22-23, discuss the walk of each mate. (One page/250 words minimum) Groom: I,____, take thee,_____, to my lawful wedded Wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth Bride: I,_____, take thee,_____, to be my lawful wedded Husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth. The above are typical wedding vows from “The book of Common Prayer” (1928) used in England. In America, currently, the traditional vows have been modified considerably. Mostly on the woman’s vow that now has omitted the word “obey” and ends with “till death do us part” leaving God out of the vows and more often than not, out of the marriage. Paul outlines the believing wife’s and husband’s duties as they walk together through this life very clearly. A wife is walk in the Spirit of Submission to her husband acknowledging him as the head of authority in the family. (See I Corinthians 11:2-16; Colossians 3:18-19; I Peter 3:1-2) There are three reasons a wife is to be submissive: • To submit to God’s will: it is a commandment of God and since we love Him, we obey to please...
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...and antinomianism. Situation ethics is mostly teleological apart from its principle of love, because in the end result actions are right or wrong depending on their consequences, and by this it is simply embracing a form of relativism. “If the emotional and spiritual welfare of both parents and children in a particular family can be served by a divorce, then love requires it” – Fletcher. Situation ethics uses principles to illustrate the situation, however Situation Ethics does not direct the action. Fletcher divides these principles into two categories, four working principles (what ethics should enclose) and six fundamental principles (how the ethics is applied). The four working principles are: Pragmatism, relativism, positivism and personalism. Pragmatism: the course of action should work; Relativism: always reject words like ‘never’; Positivism: love is the most important criteria no matter what; and Personalism: people come first, not the law. The six fundamental principles are: love decides what should be done; actions are ‘good’ however only if they bring about agape (love and justice are the same) this applies to everyone. Love is teleological, the consequences matter! Love is not ‘liking’ it’s not an emotion and does not expect anything in return. Every moral situation is different. “Christian ethics is not a scheme or codified conduct. It is a purposive effort to relate love to a world of relativies” – Fletcher, Situation Ethics, 1996. Fletcher developed his...
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...How parents can get their children to love doing chores and not complain Abstract The importance of bringing up children to be responsible, independent, and display social skills is very important. One of the ways to achieve these is by initiating house chores for the children. Giving the children chores gives them a sense of responsibility and accountability. Becoming a parent means entering a whole new realm of caring and responsibility. Earlier phases of life, having taught their lessons of love, are foundational for success in this important endeavor. Yet parenting presents its unique challenges, and parenting in modern times is especially daunting. Children have access to media information--both good and bad--in ways their parents couldn't even dream of. Both parents often work, leaving them little time to devote to their children. What is more, society is just beginning to recover from more than thirty years of questioning its most basic values, leaving parents to wonder which direction is best for their children. An important aspect of parenting is educating children to shoulder responsibility, with the objective of raising them to be productive and sacrificial adults. This requires the judicious use of chores and a little adversity to go with it. Chores and household duties help produce resilient children who will grow up to be responsible, hardworking, and self-reliant adults. When parents ask children to contribute their fair share...
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...The movie we watched to view love was About Time. The biblical definition of love, from 1 John: 4:7-10, is purposeful commitment to sacrificial action for another. The dictionary definition of love, from Meriam Webster, is a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person. My personal definition of love is when you have strong positive feelings towards someone who you care about. Love is when you care about the person and their safety, you respect them, and you want the best for them in life. You can love someone as a friend, family member, or a significant other. In this movie we see the main character, Tim, find out he can go back in time, to a specific part of his life. He goes back for multiple reasons, but the most important reason...
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...to turn the other cheek. The world assumes that evil must be resisted by every means available. We are told to love our enemies and bless those who curse us. The world assumes that friends are to be loved and enemies hated.”(Smith, p.212) If Jesus had not turned the other cheek and sacrificed himself for all of mans’ sins God would not be loving or forgiving of man and there would be no promise of eternal life which would take away life’s true meaning. The Bible clearly states that we are to love our enemies and be merciful and that doing so will yield a great reward for these holy actions. "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."(Luke 6:35-36). Many followers of the Christian faith may not fully understand why Jesus is asking them to love their enemies. Why should we love those who wish to attack us and watch us fail? Jesus wants his followers to love their enemies to glorify God and demonstrate the same love and faith God shows toward us. Jesus wants his people to show their enemies the love and faith of Christ and to bring them the salvation that they need. Gods desire is to have all men find faith in Christ and by loving your enemies you show them Gods love and...
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...and they are love and worship. Christianity is built on love and we are called to give God all that we are. Love Theological Definition: The bible indicates that love is from God. It actually stated that “God is Love” (1John 4:8); therefore his nature is love, and everything he does flows from his love. God’s love is considered to be agape love and its origin is Greek; Agape is said to be selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, and “the highest of the four types of love in the bible” (Zavada). Agape perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and for humankinds; Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this but he that lay his life down for his friend,” (John 15:13). Love is caring in action Biblical Foundation: Love is caring in action, and what we do; it is not base on our feelings. The book of first John says “beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (4:7, 8). From the bible, we know that God’s nature is love; therefore, we have to love one another because he loved us first. He demonstrated His love for us, by sending forth Jesus Christ to dead on the cross for our sins. We need to let His love shine through us for others to see. We need to be like the Good Samaritan man in the bible that helped the stranger on the road. Practical Application: Life is full of choices. It is very difficult to love...
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...The Gift of the Magi Ashlee Stevens ENG125: Introduction to Literature Amy Sloan September 10, 2012 Ashford University The Gift of the Magi The Gift of the Magi was about sacrificial love. The story explained how important it is to be willing to sacrifice for the one that you love. No matter what the circumstance, if a person can unselfishly give of themselves for another, they can experience life in a whole new way. Many people give what is not important to them and makes no difference. I think the term “it’s the thought that counts” has been used to justify just giving anything to a person without actually put your heart and soul into the gift you are giving. O. Henry uses The Gift of the Magi to demonstrate the importance of expressing your love through sacrifice. O. Henry uses setting throughout the whole story to show the reader how little Mr. and Mrs. James Dillingham Young have. In the first paragraph the reader already has a sense of how meager their living conditions are when Della has counted the one dollar and eighty-seven cents three times. He explains the lengths she went through to save that much money, and sixty cents of it was all pennies. He does not immediately describe their way of living all at once. He draws it out through the whole story so the reader never loses the sense of the struggle that Della and James are living in. In the second paragraph he says that she flopped down on the “shabby little couch”. (Clugston...
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...Christian Love—One Step Beyond (Podcast) John H. Hampsch, C.M.F. Just before the Korean War some Communist rebels in a Korean town murdered a young Christian who was a YMCA secretary—an instance of Proverbs 29:10: "Bloodthirsty men seek to kill the upright." At the trial, the father of the slain boy, a minister, asked the judge to spare the life of the young cutthroat leader, and to be permitted to adopt him as his son, to replace the son that was murdered. As a result of this extra measure of forgiving love, the young Communist and all of his living relatives were converted to Christianity. What is the source of such heroic love? The answer is found in the very command to love with the extra measure, in the words "I say to you..." (Matt. 5:44). The secret of love and its glacier-melting warmth can be found only in the person of Jesus. He didn't say, "Without my ideals, you can do nothing," or "Without my precepts, you can do nothing." He said, “Without me you can do nothing." You can't live the Sermon on the Mount unless the Savior of the mount lives in you. "And this is how we know that he lives in us," says John. "We know it by the Spirit he gave us" (1 John 3: 24). Virtue, like a well-cut diamond, is multifaceted. Heroic virtue is any of those facets supercharged with love. "Over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Col. 3:14). That's why it is in the treatment of the virtue of charity or love that Jesus spotlights...
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