The nature of evil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The nature of evil - Essay Example Both Isadora and my creditors, I should add, who entered into a conspiracy, a trap, a scheme so cunning that my only choices were prison or marriage, which for a man of my temperament, worse than imprisonment—especially if you knew Isadora.†(1) One evil influence leads to the other. Evil sets off a chain-reaction. Rutherford Calhoun candidly admits, â€Å"But arriving in the city, checking the saloons and Negro bars, I found nothing. So I stole—it came as second nature to me.†(2-3) It goes to substantiate that no one is born with evil tendencies. One inherits them due to the circumstances one is compelled to encounter. When a man or woman is neglected and when obstructions are created by the society in the efforts for reformation and rehabilitation, one turns cynical. Helping one to build a new identity is an arduous process that has both economic and spiritual perspectives. Reeling out moral lessons and spiritual revelations will not help an individual fro m the downward march to destruction. Calhoun is exposed to religious disciplines. He admits, â€Å"My Master, Reverend Peleg Chandler†¦..he endlessly preached Old Testament virtues to me†¦.the evils of nominalism†¦.†(3) But the desired change in the personality of Calhoun is not forthcoming as the impact of the evil influences is strong and nobility fails to beat it. Both nobility (good) and evil forces are inherent in a man; they are the pairs of opposites and to strike the proper balance is the issue related to life. No one is permanently good or permanently bad. The process of becoming, to a great extent, depends on how one is raised and later on lives life. The childhood creates the structure for the adulthood and for the entire course of life. In case of Calhoun, the childhood is bad and he has to undergo bitter experiences of deceit from all ends and at that stage of life he has no one to hold on. So, hatred for the society is welling up from deep within and he has no choices to challenge them. Hatred is ugly and dark and it goes hand in hand with all sorts of evil. Bitter experiences in life one after another, go to solidify the state of evil in the heart of Calhoun. But no one is inherently evil. Evil is just the coating, and often the coating is thick. On a number of occasions, evil deeds are a mechanism of self-defense. When faced with danger, human beings mostly exhibit a â€Å"fight or flight,† response. Try to escape or defend aggressively. Calhoun precisely does the same. The ship in which he is employed according to Calhoun is â€Å"a process of life.†(36) The ship is the metaphor for the various stages and experiences of life. He faces the twin dangers, one from the woman and the other from his creditors, for which he has no immediate solutions, he avails the option of escape from the evil forces that are pursuing him. Unquestionably the slavery in the 19th century American society was an evil practice of the worst order and it owed responsibility for the creation of a combustible generation of blacks. Its impact has not been eradicated even with the present generation. The author does not think that evil is inherent in man, woman or evil originates in greed, misunderstanding/competition in segregation. Evil is integrated and it sets off a chain reaction through all these segments of society/factors. They are all interrelated and no factor

Zulu African Tribe views on death and afterlife Term Paper

Zulu African Tribe views on death and afterlife - Term Paper Example It is believed that in the 16th century the Zulu migrated and settled in the south of the African continent. This paper is to examine the practices, customs, belief and views of the Zulu, a tribe found in South Africa regarding death and the afterlife. The Zulu tribe views on death and the afterlife The Zulu belief in gods, for instance, Inkosi Yezulu means ‘Chief of the Sky’. This is a male god of the sky and is considered as the maker of all humans (Magesa, 187). However, despite him being the maker of everything, he is associated with lightening, thunder and rain clouds. This male god has a twin god called mother earth (Krige 46). The Zulu as well believe people who die go to the twin god. The Zulu also identify their ancestral spirits by names like amalozi, amathonga and amakhosi. This ancestral spirits are souls of the recently dead people and are normally considered effective contacts between the Zulu and their gods and therefore responsible for positive, construct ive and creative results among the Zulu. At the same time these ancestral spirits can also work for the ill of the tribe (Krige, 47). For this reason the Zulu hold these ancestors in high esteem so as to bring good will to the region. Umsamo is a particular place identified in the Zulu hut of Zulu chiefs’ jurisdiction where religious action is done.... Besides, their bodies are quietly unceremoniously buried. Ceremonies and rituals associated with death and the afterlife Immediately after death, one is considered to be in an "in-between" region which is some kind of limbo. The Zulu believe that the dead person stays in this ‘in-between’ situation for a period that could be between one month and a year. However, being in this limbo position is necessitated by three things. One of the reasons for this is that after a person’s death, the village’s chief herbalist will be devoted with finding out the cause of the departed’s death. These search periods will last for about one month, besides; if the person was not married he would be in limbo for that period of time until the cause of his demise is traced. In the event that he was married, the widow would mourn for a period of twelve months since the death occurred. A ritual is carried out which involves taking of medicine and praying to prior to beseech ing the current Chief to perform what is known as Ukubuyisa Idlozi. This is normally done as an initiation to "bring home the ancestor"(Lawson 32). They believe that this act makes it possible for the recently deceased person to join his ancestors in the Umsamo. Once the deceased person has been brought to the Umsamo, his position in this place will determine where he goes after here. In the event that a chief dies, the Zulu believe that his spirit will remain within the living world so as to oversee the happenings his homestead even in death. Except for Chiefs, it is believed that all those who die go to the underworld, which is located deep inside mother earth (Tempels 38). Ethical responsibilities and obligations to achieve the afterlife When a family member dies, the remaining family