As human beings, we have all experienced the notion of being plagued by a single, paralyzing, and perhaps irrational fear. Often seen as a point of weakness and fragility, fear is an integral part of human nature and for the most part, cannot be destroyed, but merely conquered. Touching Bottom follows the female protagonist in her endeavors through her life in relation to her fear. A major variable in her life is swimming and being around water, as the story kicks off with her struggles in learning to swim. She undergoes a traumatizing experience with a leech at summer camp, leaving her paralyzed with a fear of murky water, and leeches specifically, a fear she carries on with her throughout her life. Forward to the protagonist as a married …show more content…
Years later, she still finds herself nervous and uncomfortable in the murky water of lakes, rivers, and any body of water with a reasonable depth. She claims that “That kind of water made my throat open too wide to bring the air into my lungs, made me breathe fast, out of control”, depicting that she has a hard time overcoming the rush of emotions she undergoes in that type of environment. Her reaction in regards to the water, as well as how she describes the feeling she gets, displays that she still holds with her this fear of the unknown, which is embodied in this short story by muddled waters. She describes a variant of a panic attack she receives at the expense of these waters; clearly showcasing the tremendous affect fear has on her and the way she goes about living her life. Therefore, it is evident that the protagonist’s fear of the unknown is pivotal to the storyline.
Within the short story Touching Bottom; the main character makes many realizations about her life. The female protagonist realizes that her husband is not the man she initially thought he was, and that she deserves better. For example, she states “I was swimming and wondering if, in California, it was okay for a married man to lie on the beach watching girls while his second wife entertained his son” (127). Through this quote, it is clear that in that moment, she comes to the realization that this is not the way she should be treated by her husband,
As I held my breath and trying to get to the surface, I felt like I was not going to get up again. Then I felt we were slowing down and I slowly came up from a couple of metres of water and I felt relived as I got up and walked onto the shore. The fear and change is discussed in this short story are connected because the Bitterings are constructed to be very fearful of change that may be happening.
“It is a sin to believe evil of others, but it is seldom a mistake.”
Be it the philosopher, the novelist, or the pondering youth, mankind often scrutinizes its own “nature” – that is, whether humans are innately bad, good, or somewhere in between the spectrum. Mencius and Han Feizi, two Chinese philosophers whose lives were separated by only nine years, ostensibly seem to take completely contradictory stances on human nature. Mencius maintains that humans are all born good, writing that “humans all have hearts that are not unfeeling toward others” and that all people have “sprouts” of goodness that must be cared for and maintained through ritual lest they wither and die, resulting in a person who is no longer good. Han Feizi, on the other hand, argues that humans are innately bad and require a strict system of rewards and punishments in order to mold them into goodness. On the surface, these views seem to be wholly at odds with each other. By considering the sources of this apparent disparity, however, one may determine that the differences in these philosophers’ views of human nature are a direct result of the differences in their end goals. In fact, Mencius’ and Han Feizi’s opinions on the matter can actually coexist without contradiction because the two have completely different standards of what is “good” and what is “bad”.
Icy sweat had split Murphy’s forehead into sections of moisture and flesh. He couldn’t fixate on what was causing him such distress. He only knew that he was afraid of the unknown. He glanced around at his surroundings, but most of his senses had failed him. To say the room was dark would be an understatement. He was surrounded by a void of perpetual darkness that seemed to surround his pale complexion, gnawing away at the faint glow his skin once possessed. Since his sight had failed him, he strained to listen for any hint of activity, but the more he concentrated on the abyss the less noise he could hear. It was as if he had descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench; the pressure from the water impeding his ability to hear, see,
I inhaled the cool, fresh air, and I started running towards the edge of the pool. I took the leap. My feet left the ground, and I plunged into the deep, blue, water of the pool. I sunk down, little by little, unable to get to the surface. I started to panic. I was sinking down, I couldn’t get back to the surface, and fatally running out of air. My brain was frenzied, I was drowning! I couldn’t get to the surface, I didn’t know how! The water’s greedy, wet hands consuming me, dragging me farther down. Dread was in my veins, because I was running out of air. I needed to get back to the surface. But the water just wraps itself around my my toes, up to my ankles, knees, thighs, neck! I have no air. I don't know what to do! The water creeps up my face, forcing itself into my lungs. Why… Why didn’t I listen to them... I think as I sink farther down into the bottomless depths of the pool. My air was gone, and I was sure my life had gone with it.
Water, in many forms, affects every major character in [oh god what’s a synonym for “the two novels”]. Fears of submersion, overpowering tears, visions of deep-sea creatures, and baptismal deaths all seep into the pages of the two novels.
Human beings are part of the animal kingdom, and therefore part of nature. If that is true, then everything they create or destroy is by default "natural". I agree with the statement.
What is human nature? It is very simple. Human nature refers to the patterns of behavior that are typical of our species or our kind. Human undergoes change as all humans grow up they nature seems to change; the environment someone grow up in effects that persons nature. To fully understand human nature Dr. Marvin Harris takes us on trip to time, which makes sense because if we better understand our past and our origin we will better understand our very existence and our nature. We will know more about who we are where we are from and such other questions that puzzle the human mind.
What is human nature? Human Nature is characteristics or feelings shared by all humans. In “The Midas Touch” Midas is an example of human nature being greedy. Also, in the text “Are We Naturally Good or Bad?” shows that humans are naturally good based on an experiment. Lastly, in the video “The Myth of Human Nature” humans have certain needs that should be met. In all of these texts there are amazing examples of human nature and how humans would act in situations related to the topic.
To begin with Adam Smith wrote about the nature of human beings and their relation to the community. In contrast to moral relativism Adam Smith argued that it is in human nature that they are interested in the fortunes of other people. Smith moral philosophy suggest that people are social actors and their satisfaction as individuals depends on other happiness, moreover he claims that people are design in this way by nature.
It is possible to imagine that human nature, the human intellect, emotions and feelings are completely independent of our technologies; that we are essentially ahistorical beings with one constant human nature that has remained the same throughout history or even pre-history? Sometimes evolutionary psychologists—those who belief human nature was fixed on the Pleistocene Savannah—talk this way. I think this is demonstrably wrong. Consider ancient technologies, for example: cooking. When ancient hunter-gatherers discovered that firing their meat would not only make it tastier but could make their food easier to digest, it had a number of knock-on effects. It made parts of an animal carcass that were previously inedible edible, and also made
nature of humanity. It was taught that human beings are born into sin but this did not mean that people were nature evil but it did mean that human beings were born with a natural tendency toward selfishness and sin. Enlightenment thinkers denied this believing the evils in human society were due to ignorance, superstition, and entrenched political and religious authority. They believed they could be overcome with proper education, freedom from superstition, dogmatic religion, and political tyranny. The belief in the inherent goodness of humanity, and the power of reason, and the advances of science led to an optimistic belief in progress. There were arguments that the history of the past showed that the human race was moving to an ultimate perfection. This future would bring equality among nations, equality of freedom and rights among the visuals, and indefinite perfectibility of human nature itself intellectually, morally, and physically. Such progress and understanding, will be continued and be spread by public education so as to elevate the whole race of humanity. Enlightenment thinkers were passionate Advocates of Liberty by which they meant freedom for political and religious authorities. The original idea had been that religious unity was essential to Unity of people and a country. Enlightenment notions of political liberty derive largely from 17th century English thinker John Locke who maintained that governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of the
Amalia took a deep breath. And opened her eyes. I'm here again. A gentle, wind began to flit through her hair. It slowly morphed to water. How peculiar. Then it was wind. Then water. The gaps between the water sped up until there was no air. She was drowning. She tried to breath, but water was the only thing there. She clawed at the water around her, trying to swim, trying to get out, trying to breathe. Her vision blurred, her heart felt like lead in her chest, her fingers went numb. She needed to breathe. She brushed a wrinkled finger against a soft fur. She tried to grab it, but all that was left of the once delicate fur was sharp needles. They scratched her hand, causing blood to blossom through the water, staining the deep cobalt a crimson violet. Help me, she tried to scream. But the glacial water had numbed her voice, and all that escaped her mouth were the last bubbles of air. They floated gracefully to the surface, but Amalia was gone before they could touch the misty morning air.
The will, in its simplest form, is the ability for one to control one’s own actions. Through the will, the morality of the action is entirely decided by the doer. Augustine professes the will simply permits the doer to do evil. In Socrates’ assertion, free will is contingent on self-control because without it, one can find oneself enslaved to a material thing or desire. Based on reading and prior knowledge, it can be deduced that the only thing that can truly keep one from vice is free will.
finding Out what happened to them. This is made possible by combining the 3 subfields