Revenge: Learned or Instinctive?
Revenge has been a common theme in society since, perhaps, the dawn of time. We often hear people say, "Don't get mad, get even." And indeed, it has been ingrained into us that we must get retribution when someone does something wrong to us. In many ways, revenge is often a means of control; it gives us control over someone, when someone hurts us in some way. Some might say that revenge is an innate quality in humans, most likely because of the fact that it gives us some sense of control over a particular situation. It is often easier to exact revenge on someone than to discuss a wrongdoing peacefully or to let it go. There are numerous examples of this in history. Take the judicial system of many countries around the world, for example. If someone kills a member of your family or your friend, you may wish the killer to be dead, or at the very least, endure a great deal of pain and suffering to pay for his crime. We expect these criminals to either be put in jail, or sometimes, even killed for what they have done. We demand retribution from people who commit crimes, especially those of this nature. And indeed, the law, in many places, agrees with this and the use of capital punishment is commonplace. Many people woul
If a person steals your favourite watch or your most treasured pen, your natural instinct is, of course, to find the person and demand it be returned immediately. If the person fails to return it, you would most likely want that person to suffer, even in some miniscule way, for what he or she has done. Some people may resort to violence; sometimes, even people in high positions may decide to get revenge as well. For example, if a student takes a teacher's pen and does not return it, the teacher might decide to give that student a bad mark on an assignment. The sad truth about a large percentage of the population is that we want people to suffer when they commit some sort of transgression against us. Indeed, it doesn't matter how small or large the crime is - whether it's stealing a pen or killing a loved one - our natural instinct is to have the transgressor pay. It is instinctually designed into us due to our emotional nature, and it is usually much easier than having to deal with the issue or to discuss it calmly and peacefully. Revenge gives us an almost twisted and perversed sense of control; it gives us control over the person who has committed such terrible acts against us. And who can deny the age-old (yet cliched) phrase: "Revenge is sweet"?<
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Approximate Word count = 854
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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