Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Revenge: an animalistic action
Why do humans continually seek revenge? Is it of our human nature, or does it revert back to our animalistic habits? In class some said that it gives closure to the situation at hand, while someone counter argued that it gives a sense of closure but it does not heal the heart. The one seeking revenge normally does not feel healed, and it does not satisfy the rage felt from the situation, and often times it makes it worse. Some times one feels revenge is a way of justification for the situation, or to those who were impacted by it but what exactly is justification? To this day people are constantly seeking revenge. For example, the legal act of prosecutions. It is a daily occurrence in this country, which parallels to seeking revenge against another. Some say that it is a justified way of revenge but does it really give anyone closure of any situation. It has been seen in movies, a rapist is killed by the victim’s parents via the death penalty. Who are we to truly seek revenge? Does the justification of this legal action bring guilt to the victims’ loved ones? Is it possible to feel that an action is justified when it results in death? I feel that naturally we would say yes, of course it is it is a justified act to call death to someone; or to even imprison them for a number of years. They get what they deserve, an eye for an eye. But who are we to judge what that person deserves? Now possibly, it would be for the better of humanity that the prosecuted would be dead, but at that point I feel that imprisonment would be the best solution. This feeling to better humanity by the imprisonment of another leads us to the quote from blindness “responsibility is the natural consequence to clear vision.” Does our clear vision lead us to animalistic actions?
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Revenge is a difficult act to classify because it is enacted in so many different ways. It can be a spur of the moment reaction to an insult or a pre-meditated murder. It is because of this that I feel that revenge is not animalistic, but very human. An animal learns over time the dangers that it faces in its environment and it prepares and/or retaliates against them. If two of the same animal get into a fight and one dies the family or friends of the dead animal do not seek revenge. Nature doesn’t work that way. Only the strong survive and the animal kingdom seems to understand this. If not we might see hoards of mice bringing down a murderous hawk that had been wrecking havoc upon them for too long. Revenge is a product of dignity, which is a very human emotion. When one feels that another has taken power over him in a negative way he tends to feel that his dignity has been wounded and that now he will be seen as weak. This is where it gets confusing, because at this point it relates back to the animal world. In order to survive in the animal world one must be the fittest. In order for one to survive in the human world one can be the fittest, but must also appear to be the fittest. This is what dignity is. It is the appearance of being the “fittest” in terms of what human society values. When someone aversely affects another it damages his dignity, and revenge is enacted in order to prove himself worthy once again. This perception of strength is not only present humans. It can also be seen in many animals that make loud noises or elicit scents to give the perception of danger as to ward off foes, but this is purely a defense mechanism and is not at all related to an animal’s personal sense of self-worth. If a skunk is attacked despite his smell he will not seek revenge to validate his smelliness because he does not have a personal identity that dignifies the way he is. The skunk is what he is, and he does not have the capacity to wish for anything else.
I hate to use another movie example (as I already mentioned Batman in class) but this whole idea of revenge reminds me a lot of the movie The Prestige. In this movie, the two main characters dedicate their entire lives to try to destroy the career and reputation of the other. The original act was when one man accidently was responsible for the death of the other man's wife. From their each action towards each other was one of hatred and revenge. One man would do something to the other and then that man would return with some other trick or sabotage. Revenge consumed both men entirely. Each time the acted in revenge, no pain was healed, if fact, the wounds were made deeper. I think that the best thing to do in most situations is to accept what was done to you and just trust that the person that hurt you will be punished in the end.
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