To Be Determined - Essay Example

Understanding Humanity through the Writings of Dekker, Middleton and Johnson Introduction Humanitarian literature are artistic works that are produced as a mean of expression for the people of their own opinion and prevalent concept regarding a certain aspect of human beings that is generally applicable to all individuals. It has been generally viewed that this form of literary expression is greatly influenced and affected by the prevalent condition and social concepts during the time it is created and since human civilization is constantly developing, most of the ideas presented in the literary pieces of the past is generally inapplicable at the present. In this concept, the literature written by Dante Alighieri entitled “Divine Comedy” is a humanitarian literary work in nature mainly because it expresses that writer’s opinion regarding after-life and spirituality concepts. This prominent literary work is considered to be a fictional expression of the writer regarding the fallacies and inadequacies of the prominent social and religious structure during his time. Because of this reason, the story itself becomes explicitly influenced and affected by external factors in the creative realm of the author thus making its ideas commonly applicable during those times. But from the time of its creation, society has already undergo many changes and influential development thus regarding most of the concepts highlighted in the said literature to be inapplicable and contradictory in its very intrinsic nature. Divine Comedy and the Concept of Sin Divine Comedy is mainly a fictional of illusionary expression of the author’s imaginative journey through the realms of hell, purgatory and heaven. In his travels to hell, he have explicitly illustrated its literal nature and narrative the common social icons he have encountered in the said place. Thus journey however is contextual regarded to be the expression of the author’s personal concept regarding the idea of sinful acts and its capital punishment. To clearly discuss the author’s concept regarding sin and the actions that are considered to be wicked, it is better that the people who are considered sinners at those times be identified according to how the author perceive them in terms of the degree of seriousness of their offensive nature as related through the different levels or circles in hell. First in the list is the unbaptized pagans which are also regarded to be sinners at the author’s times regardless of their life morals and their actions. Second are the lustful people in terms of sexuality without or with neglectful restrain of themselves and their desires. Third are the gluttons which are the people with insatiable desire for personal gains which is mainly expressed to be the ones with thirst for information for their own political agendas. Fourth are the people which are very materialistic who constantly deviate from the moral ways for the purpose of acquiring material goods. Fifth are the lazy people without any regard for personal motivation and helping other people. Following them are the people who are generally proclaimed to be heretics and witches by the dominant religious institution during the said times. They are followed by the people who are violent in nature, those who committed suicide, blasphemers and slanderers, and sodomites. In this region, usurers are also considered to be sinners with the same level as the people previously stated. Next are the people who are fraudulent with their actions and those who committed grave offenses who are guilty and acted out with deliberate intention in spite of their personal knowledge of the implications of their acts. These sinners are followed by the people regarded as traitors to their family, to their guests, and to their lords and master. All of the people stated and seen by Dante in his journey through the circles of hell are all considered sinners by the dominant social and religious institutions of their times. However, as stated earlier, social and cultural opinions regarding humanitarian concepts do changes and develop with the passing of time. Most of the people who are considered to be sinners during Dante’s times are viewed differently at the present by the contemporary society. The most common contradiction is that perception regarding unbaptized pagans who are generally considered as sinners by the religious institution of the church namely the Roman Catholic religion. At the present, these unbaptized pagans are not being judged morally basing from their religious status but through evaluating their personal morals and actions. Another is the concept of naming the gluttons and lazy to be sinners. The idea o glutton in the said literature include those people who eat and drink to much however at the present, this human nature is not dominantly connotated to be sinners but they are evaluated through the moral implications of their attitudes and their actions. The concept of being lazy is generally also generally expressed in the Dante’s work thus contradicting the opinion of the present society which held people who are lazy to be not sinners. Conclusion But critically analyzing the expression in Dante’s Divine Comedy, readers will actually see that the people who are called sinners during those times are judged according to the personal opinion of the author, the society and that of the dominant religious institution. However, contemporary humanitarian views express that the idea of becoming sinner is dominantly based on the person’s actions and morality and not on what the society or other institutions held guidelines. Thus, it can be viewed that the present perception on the humanitarian concept of sin is more plausible and justifiable on the present because they are mainly based on social moral and ethics and evaluated from the person’s action and not on the criteria stated by the religious institutions based on their own personal opinions. In the writings of authors Ben Johnson [the Alchemist] and Middleton and Dekker [the Roaring Girl] the mentioned matters above are conscientiously considered. The stories actually notes these particular elements that bring about the messages that they are aiming to send to their readers through the written works that they presented to the society. Theoretical Backgrounds of the Reading Based on Psychological Understanding The theory of Self-Discrepancy The theory of self-discrepancy refers to the way a person reacts towards a certain situation, which usually involves his emotions and his behavior towards the occurrence. As for an example, a personal experience by the author shall be cited as a part of this observation. There occurred a circumstance when the author was faced with a time when he was given a chance to prove himself to his parents through a family project which he was supposed to finish, he did all he could to impress his family. However, when his parents saw the result of his hardships, they reacted less than what he has actually expected. Considering this, as a reaction, the feeling of both anger and depression has moved the author to leave house for a while and release his troubles to a friend. In a contextual discussion, it could be said that one way or another, the long battled self-insecurities of the author have been the cause of his reaction towards the situation. Because of the aggravation of the situation, the emotional response of the author towards the occurrence turned out to be more related to a negatively inclined disposition. It has been normal for the author’s parents to react the way they did. However, the author wanted to receive better regard of his work from his parents. In addition, because of this, he has been expecting so much from them. Feeling insecure on his capability of pleasing his parents, he has developed a longing for his parents’ approval, and when it did not happen, the feeling of depression has been the most possible emotion he could resort to and talking to a friend became his best reward to himself. To be able to deal with the feeling and the situation as well, the author tried to comfort himself with the idea that the situation happened not because he was not god enough but because of the fact that his parents normally react the way they did as compared to the past experiences. Fear-Arousing Communications The big-bosses of the different business organizations usually utilize fear-arousing conversations to motivate their employees. According to most of the business experts, this arousal of fear in people moves them to do the necessary things that they are appointed to finish through being fearful and not through the enjoyment of the job. FEAR can be both beneficial and harmful. An unhealthy fear may give rise to digestive troubles, blood-pressure problems and other serious bodily malfunctions. In fact, it can be death dealing. Says the Illustrated Medical and Health Encyclopedia: “In all life there is nothing as destructive to happiness and longevity as fear.” A wholesome fear, on the other hand, can be life preserving, restraining a person from dangerous, foolhardy action. As for example, a negatively dealt-with fear could result to negative effects as well. People who are fearful of their employers usually avoid the shame, injury and heartache that result from excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages. In the United States, alone alcohol abuse is implicated each year in a million serious traffic accidents, one fourth of all the suicides and half of all murders. Many thousands die each year from ailments caused or aggravated by excessive drinking. Alcohol abuse is responsible for shortening the life span of individuals by about twelve years, on the average. As clearly laid in this paragraph, it could be noticed how much impact fear-arousing conversation could have on an individual if the communication has been taken by the receiver in a negative way. On the other hand, positively receiving the communication process could give an individual the necessary points of consideration for self-progress could be attained by the receiver of the message. If the receiver would utilize the criticism of the fear-based order in a more productive manner then the results would be more beneficial for the person himself. Festinger’s Theory of Cognitive Dissonance It is according to Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance that when a person’s behavior is changed, then the emotion and the actions of that person would also change to support the behavioral; adjustments that has been implemented in him. Hence, this would mean that once a person is asked or encouraged to change his ways of behaving in some certain situations, his emotional and physical reaction towards the occurrences is also obvious to change. A person is one as a whole, meaning whatever it is that makes him up, whether physical or emotional is the entire composition of his being. Thus, changing him changes his whole being. Through an observational procedure, this theory could be proven true and applicable to understanding human behavior. As for example, a person is undergoing a behavioral therapy. His reason for undergoing the therapy is his unstable emotional capacity of responding to the different situations that he has to face daily. Hence, in the therapy, he is asked on would he react on certain situations. Later on, he should contrast it to how he should really react to the circumstance. By doing so, the Therapist would understand what has to be changed in his behavior so that his approach to the situations that he face would be more stable that disturbing as it has been before. Ethically, psychological therapists may say that this way of observational procedure may directly affect the person being treated with therapy. However, if it is implemented with a high regard on the individual’s privacy rights, then the said procedure would be much beneficial than insulting to the person. Impression Management Impression management is the way people try to control other’s impression of themselves. Why? This is mainly rooted from the fact that everyone is guilty of having the need of being socially accepted. Aside form this, it is also normal for every individual to have a wanting having a feel-good sense on one’s own being. Hence, to be able to do so, some individuals are influenced to control other’s impression on them. Hence, when they know that others have a fine impression of them then they grow the feeling of being internally, and personally good. Aside from this, they also feel socially accepted since other people regard them in a fine way. In a personal experience, being in a multicultural society has moved the author of this paper to control other’s impression on him. Doing so have given him the chance of getting along well with others regardless of their race and their cultural differences. In the end of dealing with a diverse community, he himself has realized the fact that cultural origins have a lot of effect on one’s impression management of others. Since the people who are present in the society have behaviors rooted from their places of origins, it could be identified that they too have different reactions towards one’s way of controlling their impressions on the said individual. Conclusion With the different written works of Ben Johnson and Middleton and Dekker, it could be observed that human nature’s response to the different situations that they need to deal with in life naturally gives them the reason to react on things the way that they do. Yes, as obvious as it is, the written jobs of the said authors have direct effect on the ways by which the description of human nature before in connection with the psychology of human behavior had been handled by the writers in their works as presented to the reading public. References:  Lake, David J. The Canon of Thomas Middletons Plays. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1975.  Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds. The Popular School: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama. Lincoln, NE, University of Nebraska Press, 1975.  Donaldson, Ian. Jonsons Magic Houses: Essays in Interpretation. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997.  Gurr, Andrew. Play-going in Shakespeares London. 2nd edition; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.  Lake, Peter, with Michael Questier. The Anti-Christs Lewd Hat: Protestants, Papists & Players in Post-Reformation England. Yale University Press, 2002.  Ouellette, Anthony. "The Alchemist and the Emerging Adult Private Playhouse." Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 45 (2005). Read More