Ike M. Siangco Jr.
Professor Brown
English 1B
1 May 2021
Problems and Consequences
In life, we all have problems. Some little, some big, but at the end we try to preserve.
However, those who cannot handle it will eventually do things that may seem illogical, thus
facing consequences that should not have been there in the first place. Articles and books such as
“Suffering, Guilt—and Divine Injustice? The Nature and Forms of Evil in Their Bearing on the
Problem of Theodicy”, “Guilt, Suffering, and Responsibility”, “Guilt and Suffering”, and
“Collective victimhood and acknowledgement of outgroup suffering across history: Majority and
minority perspectives” shows how our issues can negatively affect our lives. Great books like
“Medea”, “Oedipus the King”, “Macbeth”, and “Tracks” are prime examples of what would
happen if you feel guilty about your actions. In order for us to deal with problems, we should
always think about the consequences, be positive, and truthful.
As stated in the introduction, not being able to handle a terrible situation could make us
do something we may regret. For example, in the book “Medea” by Euripides shows how a
person will do the impossible after falling victim from her lover. In the story, the main character
Medea is betrayed by her cheating partner Jason to which the reader can sympathize and root for
her. However, instead of moving on and thinking about ways to live life again, she chooses to
kill ex partner’s new wife, children, and father. To her own words, “He shall never see alive his
sons. From his bride, he shall never breed a son” (Euripides 42). It went from a person we felt
bad for to someone we despise due to her actions. This is an example of how not being able to
think about the consequences and being positive could do to a person. It can be assumed that her
evil actions were only due to her feeling betrayal and she was actually a decent human prior to it.
In the article “Suffering, Guilt—and Divine Injustice? The Nature and Forms of Evil in Their
Bearing on the Problem of Theodicy” by Heiko Schulz, it states that ”Moreover, experiencing
evil is not possible without either pain or suffering, whereas both the former and the latter are
possible without experiencing evil” (11). This means that a person would possibly not feel the
need to do any bad or evil action if they did not suffer any pain or suffering. Though Medea’s
feelings are justified and understandable, her actions afterward cause her to become a more
terrible person compared to Jason. Learning this story reminds us to always be mindful of the
people around you.
Just because a person may seem nice, it does not mean they are especially if facts are
pointed out. In the story of “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, the titled character tries to find the
people responsible for the death of the King of Thebes, Laios. The beginning of the story made
it seem like Oedipus was a great, humble guy because he wanted justice for Laios death, but also
wanted to rebuild the city. However, he began to uncover the truth of his past such as learning
that he was supposed to kill his father and marry his mother. This showed a darker side to
Oedipus as he became more rude and arrogant. One instance of bad attitude was when he stated,
“You’re a dead man if I asked you again” (Sophocles 162). Despite being told that it was not his
real parents, it turns out that in fact it was his parents and that he killed his father and married his
mother. This shows how a truth can negatively affect a person such as showing their true colors.
In the article “Guilt, Suffering, and Responsibility” by Sharon Todd, she explains that “Here,
then, there is no sense of remorse present, nor is there a centring of the ego’s privilege and lack
of suffering” (600). This quote perfectly describes Oedipus’ shift of tone in his character because
he went from a savior to an egomaniac person who would do anything to get what he wanted.
Though, it can be argued that he already had a huge ego.
It is a common ground that most likely you will feel very guilty when you commit any
bad actions whether it was accidental or not. In the story of “Macbeth” by William Shakespere, it
tells a story about a general named Macbeth wanting to become the King of Scotland. He then
kills King Duncan and becomes the King. However, overtime he feels guilty and murders more
people to which he becomes a tyrant ruler. This is an example of how consequences of your
actions can eat you up. One example of guilt was in Act 3, Scene 4 when Macbeth states “Thy
bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold. Thou hast no speculation in those eyes” (Shakespeare
115). This shows his guilt over ordering the murder Banquo and his own son. He then begins to
lose sight of reality. However, it is hard to sympathize with Macbeth knew that murder was
wrong, but decided to do it for his own gain. Like the rest of us, committing bad actions will
probably hurt us in the end mentally, physically, and whether or not if we get caught. For
example, the article “Guilt and Suffering” by Herb Morris states that our “Guilt requires
suffering because of what is past and that to suffer oneself or to make another suffer, because
what is past, is to impose suffering for its own sake, and this is irrational” (600). This means that
because we know what we did was wrong, we feel suffering from our guilt. For Macbeth, he
thought that if he committed murder and became King, he probably will not worry about
consequences because he has all the power.
Like Oedpius and Macbeth, not accepting the truth and its consequences will hurt
eventually. In the novel “Tracks” by Lousie Erdrich uses two first person narratives from the
characters Nanapush and Pauline. Nanapush is a jovial tribal leader, whose tribe is in fear of
losing their land from the government. Due to the fact that he is a great speaker, he was able to
negotiate the government in order to keep their land. However, he does it while telling
contradictory and even lies when telling stories. It was later proven by Nanapush himself, when
he stated “I saved myself by starting a story…. I fainted, lost breath, so that I could hardly keep
moving my lips. But I did continue and recovered. I got well by talking. Death could not get a
word in edgewise, grew discouraged, and traveled on” (Erdrich Ch.3). This meant that he
probably made up a story as desperation to keep the land. History shows that many tribes had
their land taken away from governments without thinking so it is understandable from
Nanapush’s perspective. However, it made it seem to use more of a victimhood. In the article
“Collective victimhood and acknowledgement of outgroup suffering across history: Majority and
minority perspectives” by Eva G.T. Green, Emilio Paolo Visintin, etc writes about how different
representations of ingroup victimhood and acknowledgement of outgroup suffering relate to
present intergroup activities (1). The authors were able to do this by doing many interviews later
finding out the difference of meaning between the two groups. One important quote they stated
was “Conflicts between groups typically have long standing consequences on intergroup
attitudes” (Green 1). This quote means that the consequences different groups have against each
other is that of what they tend to think about what they are as a person and will have a committed
answer to it no matter if it is correct or not. For example, we all have different political beliefs
and most of the time we will respect that. However, there are many negative stereotypes to it and
some people will use it against those who disagree with their opinion even if the stereotypes are
exaggerated. I think that Nanapush did want to break stereotypes so the government may think
that the tribe has negative stereotypes that many push. However, I disagree with him using
victimhood because he is lying. In my opinion, I rather be truthful and honest because that is
what I’m proud of than lie for the sake of impressing someone that does not respect you as an
equal human.
In conclusion, having problems in life is natural because at the end of the day, we are
human beings. The problems do not disappear quickly so we must confront them the right way.
Learning the consequences of your actions is an important step because it teaches the good and
bad solutions. Trying to find a positive is a good start because it can motivate you to find a
solution to your problem. Lastly, accepting the truth may hurt because it is probably what you
did not want, but it is an important step to positivity. Do not let your problems get you. Be the
best person you can be!!!!
References
Erdrich, Louise. Tracks. HarperPerennial, 2017.
Euripides, and Sheila Murnaghan. Medea. W. W. Norton & Company, 2021.
Green, Eva G.T., et al. “Collective Victimhood and Acknowledgement of Outgroup Suffering
across History: Majority and Minority Perspectives.” European Journal of Social
, vol. 47, no. 2, 2017, pp. 228–240., doi:10.1002/ejsp.2237.
Morris, Herbert. “Guilt and Suffering.” Philosophy East and West, vol. 21, no. 4, 1971, p. 419.,
doi:10.2307/1398170.
Schulz, Heiko. “Suffering, Guilt—and Divine Injustice? The Nature and Forms of Evil in Their
Bearing on the Problem of Theodicy.” Toronto Journal of Theology, vol. 36, no. 2, 2020,
pp. 194–213., doi:10.3138/tjt-2020-0102.
Shakespeare, William, and Dorothea Tieck. Macbeth. Nikol Verlag, 2019.
Sophocles, and David Kovacs. Oedipus the King. Oxford University Press, 2020.
Todd, Sharon. “Guilt, Suffering and Responsibility.” Journal of Philosophy of Education, vol.
35, no. 4, 2001, pp. 597–614., doi:10.1111/1467-9752.00247.
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