Every Tuesday night, my three best friends and I get
together at one of our houses to watch the TV show, Pretty Little Liars. On
nights when the show is on, Twitter is being blown up to the max. Everyone is
talking about the suspense going on in the show, and trying to predict what
will happen next. This show, is a perfect example of the literary devise,
revenge. (If you find this show topic interesting you can check out this site
and watch clips and maybe even start watching the show. http://beta.abcfamily.go.com/shows/pretty-little-liars
)
When
I think of revenge, a few things pop into my head. These things include,
Pretty Little Liars, bullying, and siblings. In Pretty
Little Liars, there is a group of 5 girls who are all best friends and one of
the girls got murdered during the first episode. The other four friends are on
a hunt to find the killers, or killer, and get revenge on them. This show is
full of suspense and different revenge plots from multiple characters.
Bullying
is another example I think of when I think of revenge. When someone is
considered a bully, they most likely are unhappy with themselves and they try
to get back at the feelings they have felt all their life by attacking someone
else. In other cases, some one who gets bullied could get revenge on their
bully. One powerful example of this is Columbine. For those of you who don’t
know what Columbine is, you can look at this link. http://history1900s.about.com/od/famouscrimesscandals/a/columbine.htm
However, a quick synopsis of it is two boys were bullied and come into school
and shot the school body to get their revenge.
The
last big example of revenge I can think of is siblings. I bet all of you with
siblings out there have had a little sibling fight. Nothing to the extreme of
death but maybe your brother flicked you. So what did you do? You most likely
flicked them back a little harder or called your mom in to get your brother in
trouble. You plotted in those quick milliseconds a revenge to get him back what
he did. At least once in your life you have most likely gotten revenge on some
one. I have, when my best friend smacks my leg just messing around ill hit her
back, but harder when she least expects it.
Revenge
can be innocent flicking or it could be deathly. In Hamlet, a play written by
Shakespeare, Hamlet’s father is killed by his uncle so Hamlet seeks revenge on
his uncle by going to kill him off, too. Now, mind you, that is a harsh revenge
but it is just one example of the brutality that revenge can cause.
Now,
next time you think about flicking your sibling back or doing anything that
could be considered revenge, think twice. Try to talk it out more than freak
out and hurt them back. Be the bigger person. Revenge is not always the best
way to go even if some characters in books (like Hamlet) think it is.
I was obsessed with Pretty Little Liars when the show first came out, and then the producer started steering away from the book, so I became annoyed and stopped watching. I kind of wish I hadn't, though, because I've heard how intense it's gotten since I stopped. I love that you said "Revenge can be innocent flicking or it could be deathly." It's true. But that statement also makes me wonder.. At what point does it become too much? How do you know how much revenge someone deserves? It doesn't really seem fair to me that that answer is left to the person that was hurt.
ReplyDeleteGreat hook Claire! I have never seen the show but you had me wanting to read more with your initial ideas. I also loved how you pointed out that bullies' actions are usually revenge for having a not-so-great life, which cause those actions to be avenged, in a cycle! It was also a great idea when you caught and engaged the reader by pointing out that we as humans take small revengeful actions on a regular basis... very clever! Great Hamlet tie-in as well! GREAT JOB! (Way to tie your conclusion back to your intro!)
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow watcher of Pretty Little Liars, I completely understand what you say when you talk about the show being all about revenge. Revenge is what makes that show function. Also, as a little sister, I was the master of revenge as a kid. My go-to move as to tattle on my brother for everything. If he didn't play a board game with me, I went straight to my mom to complain. There are all kinds of different revenge and I think you did a really good job of giving a range of examples from deadly in Hamlet, to childish fun with your family.
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