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Desire for Vengeance

One of the most typical human characteristics is the desire for vengeance. When we have

been wronged, our initial impulse is to seek retribution. For example, a stranger just cut you off

on the road! How do you respond? You have the option of catching up to get ahead, or you can

forget what happened and continue driving. Some people are wrongfully motivated to make

things "fair." In my opinion, retribution is a technique individuals use to hide their genuine

emotions. Although I was guilty of seeking revenge when I was younger, I've matured to realize

that not everything needs to be "resolved." I think that some situations are handled best with no

course of action.

There is only one antidote available when it comes to revenge: forgiveness. Revenge is

deeply embedded in the human spirit, so seeking forgiveness may be difficult. It can evolve into

something much more significant if not appropriately handled. It takes a certain kind of

individual to rise above our typical instincts and empathize with all types of people. But I've

learned the importance of this not too long ago. During my Junior year, I noticed my friends

disagreeing about sensitive topics, and I got involved, trying to de-escalate the situation.

Surprisingly, all of their anger was then directed at me, even though I was trying to help. They

wanted me to pick a side, whereas I didn't like the argument to continue for a minute longer. I

felt helpless. Then, one of my friends dragged me into the conversation a step further. He told

everyone a lie about something I said, putting me in a position where I needed to defend my

words. During this time, I could choose to fight back, not violently, but by seeking revenge and

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making something up about him. I realized this would only make matters worse, and eventually,

the truth would come out anyway. Looking back at it, I learned that retaliation is never the right

move. It's never going to resolve or de-escalate problems because favorable resolutions require

empathy.

A desire for vengeance is still a legitimate response when faced with pain. However,

focusing on revenge ultimately leads to more damage, including increased stress, hindered brain

function, and a weakened immune system. On the other hand, making amends can improve

physical and emotional well-being, lower blood pressure and improve sleep quality. Forgiveness

doesn't mean letting others get away with wrong-doing, but it does entail resisting retaliation.

You can still forgive others while reporting them to authorities or seeking a legal course of

action.

Revenge didn't always exist. People now see it as a form of "treatment," something they

can use as an escape when confronted. Instead, I think they should focus on extending

forgiveness, another form of escape. Vengeance may be what they're used to, but it's not a proper

way of life. Just suppose a world where people never seek revenge against another person. In that

case, we would learn to forgive others and start managing our emotions. Ultimately, the world

would be safer without vengeance. There would be fewer wars, less corruption, and people

would live more peacefully. When you really think about it, revenge causes inevitable problems

between people and society. When people are deceived, they feel the need to fight back. I think

this stems from people's idea that they are either right or wrong. If they're right about something,

somebody else must be wrong. Once people start to be more forgiving, which is a lot harder than

fighting back, society will cultivate trust and empathy.

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Forgiveness is challenging. Psychologists think that humans are "hard-wired for

revenge." It is one of the few ways for people to repair pain caused by others. Most people are

revengeful in their everyday life, to the point where vengeance is part of our most minor actions.

For example, I've spotted revenge all the way from fast food drive-thrus to five-star restaurants.

When people aren't happy, they want to inflict their emotions onto someone else. I was dining at

a restaurant in Cupertino, and the table next to me was getting ready to leave. I overheard that

they wouldn't tip the waiter because they reasoned that their food should have been prepared

faster. So I wondered: does this have anything to do with the waiter's quality of service? The

short answer is that it doesn't, but people feel better when they get their well-deserved revenge.

That's why one of the greatest motivators for seeking revenge is improving emotions and

personal well-being.

Revenge feels good in the moment, but people report to feel worse as time goes on.

Surprisingly, research shows that 45 minutes later, most people feel worse than they did before

seeking revenge. This goes to show that revenge brings more harm than good. Thinking about

life in the scope of "an eye for an eye" interferes with well-being and happiness. Instead of

focusing on expressing anger and dissent, people should learn to make an effort to repair

relationships and accept apologies. In my opinion, forgiveness is the answer.

Writing topic:

How common do you believe the act of revenge is in everyday life? Write about specific incidents, including any in which you were involved or have witnessed. Write a claim about revenge and connect it to a thematic idea from Hamlet

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Follow industry standard formatting: 12 point, Times New Roman, double spaced, 1 inch margins. Approximately 4 pages, or 1000 words.

Our current draft has 2 1/2 pages done, so we need approximately 1 1/2 more pages of writing.

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Background:

By now you have written 3 personal essays exploring thematic ideas from Hamlet. At this point, you are going to begin to synthesize your experience with evidence from Hamlet in a braided essay. Choose one of the thematic questions that you have written a personal essay on and weave in 2 paragraphs of literary analysis of Hamlet. In essence, you will make a claim about your chosen thematic idea and support it with BOTH your personal experience and textual evidence from the play.

(Download the essay from the assignment, we're building upon the thematic idea of revenge)