Karma In The Japanese Tales

The reader understands that the man’s risky choice to attack the snake is one to be put more thought into, and the man makes his final choice during the listening of the snake’s death song. After the snake’s death, the man’s decision not to cut off the rattles for a trophy displays his respect and sympathy for the dead creature to the reader. In the end, the reader shares the same feelings about the death of the snake with the narrator because of the use of the first-person point of

Throughout the man’s dilemma, the rattler is always calm and relaxed. When first spotted by the man, the snake’s head was “merely turned … To watch what [the man] would do.” Many snakes would feel threatened just seeing a human; this rattler is only wary, and reacts with dignity. He does nothing to the man, not even rattle, until he is physically threatened. The rattler “[sees] the hoe” in the man’s hand, and yet, still does not feel the need to attack, which helps the reader to sympathize with the snake because he does nothing wrong. Eventually, after the rattler is killed, the snake’s “jaws gape and snap once more,” signifying his defeat and last-ditch effort to fight. The rattler’s final snap reminds the readers that he is a wild animal; he was not born with the self restraint shown in his interactions with the man. To expect the rattler to bite the man in the beginning would not be farfetched, as wild animals are unpredictable. Readers sympathize with the snake’s final moments because he was solely respectful to the man. His respect is much more than could be expected of him, but his life is still taken. How the snake acts throughout the story makes readers feel sorry for him, as well as his

The snake is harmless, minding its own business and is no threat to Margaret but she goes on to attack it because she had been told by Miss Laing that they are dangerous. This is therefore like the anti-German propaganda fed to the British public during the war. There are also biblical links in the relation to the snake as Adam and Eve were tempted by the devil in the form of a snake in Genes. Now Margaret has been tempted to disobeying Miss Laing.

There has been a time at one point in a person’s life where they were given a task they did not want to do. Sometimes it has to be done. The the short story The Rattler, a mane is talking a walk through a desert setting. His walked was suddenly stopped when he saw a dangerous looking snake, at first glance anyway. He was faced with the task of killing the snake. When the task was complete, he was not thrilled. In The Rattler, the author creates the effect of empathy for the man and sympathy for the snake. The techniques used to achieve that are the description of the man, description of the snake, the setting.

The organization found within the passage of “The Rattler” illustrates to the reader how the once calm mood turns into one of hostility. At the beginning of the second paragraph, the reader notices how at first the snake’s body lay “undulant”. This moment shows although the snake is capable of attack, it has no intentions to harm the narrator. The mood seems to remain calm until not the snake, but the man, “dragged him out of it with his back broken.” This action exemplifies the mood only becomes hostile when the man initiates attack. Towards the end, the reader can see regret from the man of the “nasty sight”. Respect can be found for both characters as they are both trying to protect something dear to them – the man his fellow members of

The short story The Rattler is a story based on the theme of man vs. nature. A man becomes conflicted when he encounters a rattle snake while walking in the desert. This very man is put into a position where he needs to determine whether or not he should kill this reptile. The man’s final decision is what helps the reader connect with the characters of the passage. In the short story The Rattler the author uses language and details as tools to help convey the point of view of the man, the actions of the snake and the setting in order to persuade the reader to feel empathy for the man and sympathy for the snake.

Though serpents do connect to the negative, they can also connect to the positive. As snakes grow, ecdysis takes

Commentary #2: snake knows its power but holds back; doesn't want to fight but signals that it will defend itself if necessary.

The third stanza describes the snake as “cool and gleaming as a braided whip” (9-10). Describing the snake as a braided whip demonstrates the intricate woven pattern of the snake’s scales and the poet’s appreciation for nature and its’ beauty. The snake is not a useless piece of rubber, but a beautiful and vibrant part of nature. “He is as beautiful and quiet as a bead brother” (10-11). The snake is quiet, makes no sound, and snuggles into

The snake lacks the equal protection that other animals have to survive , allowing him to be easily hunted and stomped on. This story’s tone is more peaceful and understanding as God distributes more protection abilities towards the snake, so all animals remain equal in power. Here God listens to the each creatures complaint and fixes them without disrupting order in the world, “God looked off towards immensity and thought about de subject for awhile... Well, snake, I dont want yo’ generations all stomped out and I don’t want you killin’ everything else dat moves”. Though the snakes abilities outweighed others , God intervened and set balance again peacefully.

Dante also relates how sins are punishable by the act that was committed. He does this through an allegory by saying things such as, “Their hands were bound behind by coils of serpents...A great snake shot up and bit him where the neck joins with the shoulder.” The snake in this canto depicts a couple things: The guilt that the thieves lived with from either stealing from the wrong person or hurting someone, always running and being bound by fear of being caught and the punishments that come back to get them. The snakes that bind their wrists and feet represent their emotions. While some certainly didn't care about their actions others were tormented by what they had done, be it from stealing from someone that didn't deserve it or being in the position where it was kill or be killed. The sneaky snake that jumps out and grabs the guy can represent the punishment they escaped catching back up with them.

In the biblical book of Genesis, Eve is tempted by a serpent to commit an ungodly act of eating a forbidden fruit. As a result of the snake's temptation, Eve eats the fruit, resulting in the presence of worldwide sin and the downfall of perfection. From this story of Adam and Eve, the figure of the snake has become generally associated with temptation, evil, and cynicism. William Shakespeare employs this symbolic imagery of snakes in Macbeth, to enhance the story of the rise and fall of Macbeth's power. For poetic and playwright purposes, Shakespeare uses serpentine imagery to reveal the malevolence of characters, and portray the threatening position of the throne, all while provoking a heightened emotion of fear and tragedy from the

Another symbol that is seen throughout the story are snakes. Snakes play a major role in the story and reveal information on the nature of Delia's and Sykes' relationship. In a "traditional myth and folklore and in the Bible, the snake represents evil" and are an allusion to the good and evil in the bible and are a symbol of original sin (Champion). Snakes can also indicate the coming

Decker arranged a sting operation to catch this culprit. Caught in this operation, Oluwatosin “dropped the paperwork he had just received” in terror and was taken to the Los Angeles Country Superior Court, where he received an appropriate punishment of “ten years in prison” under charges of identity theft (O’Harrow, Mimoso). Similarly, Dante’s Inferno forces the “naked and terrified” thieves to run from venomous snakes with their “hands behind their backs,” “without a hope of hiding” (Alighieri 251). The thieves who once were concealing themselves are now exposed. Moreover, with Oluwatosin’s numerous stolen identities, his crimes resemble the “chelydri and jaculi, phareans, cenchres, and head-tailed amphisbenes” of Libya (251). Oluwatosin assumed these identities to camouflage himself, much as snakes do in their environment. However, once apprehended, both the thieves of Dante’s fourteenth century Italy and today’s society must endure punishment. As the United States court system sentenced Oluwatosin to ten years in prison, Dante Alighieri arranges a more extreme punishment, where snakes “thrust” between the legs of sinners and form a “knot” in the groin (253). This punishment illustrates the idea of contrapasso, or a fitting punishment. Oluwatosin’s life of crime tied a knot of confinement since his former self could never be restored and his rights were limited in prison. Furthermore, the punishment reveals the

In Japanese literature throughout history, there tends to be an idea of nature that is not nature as it really is, but is a projection of the subjective self. This is portrayed through the concept of Mappō. Mappō in Japanese Buddhism, is the age of the degeneration of the Buddha’s law, when only the teachings remained, the practices were no longer pursued, and enlightenment was a mere word. This is a concept that has substance, especially when combined with mujō, the idea of impermanence. Mujō became an idea because Buddha taught that because all things within our lives and our world are constantly changing, it’s important to remember that nothing is permanent. Kamo no Chōmei’s writing presents a variety of elements related to Mappō, which, through the concept of mujō, shows the impermanence of nature as well as humanity fading into the vastness of nothingness. Through the traditions of simplicity, isolation, and religion, specifically Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra, Hōjōki shows this disastrous fleeting through a calm, poetic, narrative voice. This paper will argue that themes of nature are connected to the idea of the subjective self, through impermanence, and studies how Chōmei’s worldview affects his perspective on nature and the natural world.