Why Do People Seek Revenge: Pain And Anger

Name: Professor’s Name: Course: Date: Why do People Seek Revenge Introduction Revenge could be catastrophic to both the person seeking to commit it and the offender whose actions inflicted and elicited the emotions of pain, anger, or humiliation to the former. It is due to this reason that the existing authorities in the form of governments, religious groups, and cultural traditions provide guidelines on why and when a person should seek revenge or not. The government’s purposes itself in averting the effects of seeking or committing an act of vengeance to uphold its position as the protector of individual rights by delivering justice to any wrongs committed. Religious and cultural stipulations also offer a wide range of stipulations as to when one should seek or desist from revenge through the application of moral dynamics that appeal to the spirituality, faith and or belief to a person’s religion and their culture. Nevertheless, the guidance given by the guardians of morality within the society lacks in addressing the issues of collectivism, as they often tend to be lenient to particular members of the society and unfair to others. Women, for instance, are often underrepresented by these guidelines and thus giving rise to fatal acts of vengeance from the afflicted parties in the form of violence or other acts of targeted reprisals to restore one’s pride. In seeking to find out the underlying reasons provoke the human need for revenge, Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter provides a roadmap into an individual’s emotional transition from the point of submission to the existing status quo to the point of defiance characterized by a fatal act of revenge. Lamb to the Slaughter provides a platform upon which the concept of revenge and reasons as to why people seek vengeance can be objectively analyzed. Inequality or unfair treatment for others often breeds discord, discontent, and intolerance among members or people living in a given social setting. The social, political, and cultural realms of life carry with them some code of conduct which is perceivably guided on the principle of collectiveness under the premise of respect for individual rights and freedoms. Infringement of any kind to these fundamental aspects of human life are a source of conflict which always come as a way of seeking retribution or simply to right the wrongs done to an individual or a particular set of people. Whether someone has been wronged or is entirely dependent on the social constructs guiding people’s interaction in the society. In an ideal situation and where the society’s safeguards for tolerance among its members are followed, models for retribution form part of the concepts guiding its integration (Gale, 2016). In essence, a civilized social system is designed to accommodate for a level-based interaction and integration of people while also serving as the moderator or the balancing act for any wrongdoing committed towards a person or a group of individuals. However, the society lacks in its systems a mechanism to prevent emotional provocations or even measure the extent of their damage to an individual whose emotions come under intentional attack from others. The emotional being of a person can be a dangerous tool if they lack the ability to control their reactions or rationality in the event of emotional turmoil resulting from the abuse of their emotional intellect. It is for this reason that authorities around the world, religious groups, and cultural traditions try to give guidelines to their diverse constituents on how to conduct themselves or rather respond to emotions such as anger, humiliation, pain, or injury inflicted on them by other members of the community. The act of evening scores from such afflictions from other people is what is commonly referred to revenge, retribution, or vengeance. Summary Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter is one of the most renowned works in short stories that embrace the theme of revenge or vengeance through the lens of an emotionally and psychologically abused person. Revenge or committing an act of vengeance requires a plan, it is the actualization of a premeditated agenda resulting from a concealed desire for compensation over the humiliation, injury, and anger. Lamb to the Slaughter takes an unorthodox approach in portraying the theme of revenge (Gale, 2016). Unlike the common plotlines for vengeance, the short story lacks in the premeditation sector as it is the instant reaction of the story’s main character that reveals to the reader the thematic representation of revenge in the narrative. The instant reaction to the feeling of anger generated from prolonged bouts of humiliation and rejection fuel the main character’s response to her husband’s confession to having an extramarital affair. It is a short story seeking to underline some of the reasons as to why people seek revenge through the appreciation of other themes serving as the primary reasons or agents of pain, anger, and humiliation towards the main character. The various themes highlighted by Roald Dahl in the short story are a build-up to the resolution of the narrative’s conflict which doubles up as the theme of revenge. Lamb to the Slaughter builds on the themes of love, betrayal, and rejection, to effectively portray the theme of revenge (Gale, 2016). A summary analysis of some of the themes portrayed in the story and their correlation to revenge enables one to understand the reasons as to why a person seeks revenge. Lamb to the Slaughter is a story about a dedicated and submissive woman married to an officer of the law who gradually grows detached from the marriage. Patrick and Mary Maloney lead an unhappy marriage life thanks to the former’s extramarital affairs and total disregard for his wife’s submission, devotion, and commitment to the marriage. Mary Maloney is expectant and holds on to the marriage irrespective of the husband’s detachment in the hope that the future holds good tidings for the family. She dutifully waits on her husband every night as he comes home from work at the local police station and she is always attending to his needs as a caregiver for her home (Gale, 2016). The noble gestures are never reciprocated by the selfish individual in Sam Maloney as it turns out on one fateful night. One night as the police officer arrives home to his wife, he seems unsettled about something and his observant wife pours him a strong drink to calm his nerves and on the hope that the husband would open up to her on the stressful nature of the day’s work as she so innocently and naively thought of his wary expression. Patrick Maloney shamelessly admits his resolve to dissolve the marriage to an attentive wife who gets lost in her husband’s words as she is hit with the reality of her marriage coming to an end (Dahl, 1995). The husband’s detachment to Mary is abhorring as he shows no remorse for wanting to terminate the marriage to a woman that is carrying his unborn child or the well-being of the child that his wife has carried in her womb all that time and amidst emotional and psychological torture. He goes on ahead to belittle their marriage by asking Mary not to cause a fuss over the marriage dissolution as it would look bad for the officer at the police station. He has no concern whatsoever for the emotional injuries, pain and humiliation he inflicts upon his pregnant wife who has committed no crime but loving her husband unconditionally. Nevertheless, she showcases her strength in the midst of a crisis as she offers to go to the kitchen and prepare supper for both of them even after the outright rejection for her affectionate love to her husband. It is while still at the kitchen that her anger erupts and she cannot take any more of her husband’s condescending attitude as in response to his outburst against her cooking him dinner she ends up hitting him with a frozen leg of a lamb from the deep freezer. The shocking revelations of her husband seem to have clouded her judgment as she seems not have control over her actions. On hitting her husband on the head with the frozen leg of a lamb she comes back to her senses after he makes a big thud on falling to the floor (Dahl, 2). The repercussions of her actions begin to flash through her mind seeming at first to be content with the eventuality of going to prison for murdering her ungrateful husband. However, the love and affection she has for her unborn child taps into her survival instincts and she embarks on planning her way out of prison by evading in form of suspicion or accusations. Mary Maloney gathers her herself up and goes to the grocery to do some shopping for dinner perceivably meant for her husband whom she calls out by name to her favorite grocer, Sam. She effectively dramatizes the unfolding events on her return home and takes to her role of a housewife who has just lost her husband as she leaves her late husband’s colleague to go in circles investigating Patrick’s murder. She candidly offers the murder weapon to the officers as a thanksgiving meal for the ‘good’ work they are doing in trying to solve the murder of her beloved husband. She evades jail time and makes fun of her late husband’s profession by taking in the attention the officers direct to her, the concern and care shown to her as compensation for their unavailability during her marriage to Patrick. The correlation between the outlined events and the theme of revenge can be clearly elaborated by highlighting the themes portrayed as the story unfolds. First and foremost it is important to understand that the concept of revenge builds on the principle element of reciprocity which demands the duality of various aspects involving the interaction and integration of human beings (Gale, 2016). It is natural for people to expect a positive reaction from their acts of affection and love to others with whom they have an emotional connection. Roald Dahl seems to share the understanding that the principle of duality or lack thereof can serve as a catalyzing agent for vengeance. The author uses his imagination to create the principle of duality by creating an introductory scene showcasing the pairing of objects such as lamps, drinking glasses, and chairs. Marriage is supposed to the union of two people, a pair of two people sharing a lasting commitment to one another irrespective of the challenges they face. However, Patrick’s marriage to Mary is a one-sided affair with the latter offering her total commitment to the marriage while the former abuses her submissive nature and affection. Mary offers herself to dutifully attending to her husband’s emotional and physical needs as she assumes the role of the caregiver in the home but receives none of the same affection from her husband. The police officer fails to reciprocate the unconditional love that the wife offers and instead becomes disrespectful to her. Mary goes further to reward the husband’s mistreatment and despicable conduct with her affectionate heart by offering to prepare him dinner but fails to elicit any form of tenderness from the mean husband. The emotions piling up within the wife as a result of the husband’s lack of reciprocating the love acts as a strong reason for a person to seek compensation for their wasted emotional commitment as revealed by Mary’s actions as the story unfolds. The author also uses other stylistic devices in writing the story to highlight some of the underlying reasons as to why people seek revenge. The extensive use of imagery, symbolism, and metaphor creates a vivid picture of factors leading to an individual committing unprecedented acts of vengeance (Gale, 2016). Mary is a housewife whose presence and role in the marriage is limited to her domestic chores to which she submits without any complaints. The author’s use of imagery is depicted by Mary’s sewing which represents her feminine role in the marriage. The fact that she is pregnant is a metaphoric confirmation of her domesticity which she embraces with the hope and intention of appeasing her unloving husband. She is objectified throughout the story and only finds her resolve to liberate herself by committing a crime of passion that puts an end to her husband’s life. The domesticity of Mary is further enhanced by her routine welcoming of her husband with a hug and a kiss before preparing for him a drink. She develops the habit of preparing a stronger drink for her husband as she drinks a much weaker one. Despite the evident detachment or non-commitment to the marriage by her husband, Mrs Maloney serves her domestic role to the highest satisfaction of any husband. She has taken to the imbalanced nature of the marriage and content to her domesticity as observed when she prepares the drinks. The patriarchal nature of her husband’s position in the family and the unfair treatment she experiences from the marriage is portrayed through the description of the drinks as being strong for the husband and weak for the submissive wife. The domesticity of Mary also unveils the principle of reciprocity which fails to materialize due to the husband’s inability to positively respond to the remarkable acts of affection, tenderness and care from the housewife. The husband’s lack of affection or rather his inability to respond positively to the wife’s submissiveness and love is what pushes her to the edge. He continuously pushes Mary away by rejecting her caring acts and affection. She is unable to hold herself back on the fateful night as the emotion of anger take control making her to unconsciously commit murder. The murder is committed under the influence of shock and is not a premeditated act of vengeance as they so commonly occur in life and other literature narratives. Mary’s reaction to her husband’s revelation to having an affair and wanting out of the marriage comes as a shock which is only relieved when it accomplishes its balancing act. The reaction forced out of her by the shocking news is one of anger that takes over her ability to rationalize actions before committing them. It can be argued that the shock experienced demanded a balancing act that would relieve the body of the pain, anger, humiliation, and betrayal that she felt at the moment. The fact that she held herself together up to the kitchen is also highly commendable from a woman who had undergone so much emotional psychological torture from her imbalanced marriage and yet resisting to yield from her innate or emotional desire to seek compensation for the same. It after she commits the murder that she gets a sense of liberation that comes as a relief from the oppressive marriage to which she was a staunch devotee. It is also after reality hits her on the possible repercussions for her action that the audience is introduced to her premeditation to conceal the murder of her husband and understand the extent of the damage or injury inflict...