Cause And Effect Of Revenge In Titus Andronicus And The Death Wish

Revenge is the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands; the desire to inflict retribution. A few sources have semi-explained the cause and effect of revenge. Titus Andronicus is a play all about revenge, Titus Andronicus the main character in the play, has had revenge on his mind ever since the deaths of his sons that had occurred in the play Titus had been growing tired of the deaths that he had endured and feels as if someone should pay. In an article by Independent, it shows why people commit acts of revenge. In a journal of psychology it explains the actual satisfaction and effects of acting on revenge towards another person. In a movie titled Death Wish directed by Eli Roth, a Doctor has turned to act on revenge after the attack on his family and his city. Within two journals, a movie, and a play on Titus Andronicus, this essay will explain why a person decides to act on revenge and the results of either acting or not acting on revenge. Revenge is a choice and there are many causes and effects of why people act on revenge.

In the play titled Titus Andronicus, the main character Titus Andronicus is a heroic and humble character who just wants to come back from war and live his rest of his life with family. Complications arise throughout the play that greatly affects the mindset of Titus, and his actions are shown through these affects. In the text Titus has shown what had led him to act on revenge and what has happened after he had acted his revenge on the person. Titus had been manipulated throughout the story by multiple characters but the most importantly he was manipulated by Aaron a purely evil person who regrets any good he has ever thought of or even had done. Aaron has had Titus’ sons killed through manipulation. In the play Titus andronicus by Shakespeare, It quotes “Why i have not another tear to shed: Besides this sorrow is an enemy… for these two heads do seem to speak to me”, Titus has grown tired of the deceitful people in his life and does not know how to feel or act anymore, he has a i don't care attitude and doesn't care what happens to him or anyone else anymore. Titus has had the last straw and also acts as if he was acting manic, he had heard the news of his sons heads being chopped off and he started to laugh because his world came crashing down as lavinia his daughter passed and now his last sons have died. He believes that he should act on revenge on Tamora because of what had happened with the mutilation of his daughter. He goes on to act on the revenge and plans to invite Tamora for supper. Titus invites Tamora for supper and she eats the food prepared by Titus to later find out that the food she has eaten contained the remains of her two children, She has eaten her own children. Titus has killed Tamora, which was his payback for his sons and daughter being killed, which leads to a chain of killing to where Saturninus (Tamora's husband) had gone to kill Titus himself.

In a journal by Independent, The journal answers a few questions on why people act on revenge, what causes it and what do people think revenge will help out with. Independent states “A new study has suggested the reason why multiple people undertake acts of revenge is to make them feel normal again after being rejected”. People believe that they will feel better if the person who has made them feel worthless, too feel as worthless as them and they enact all these plans to make a person feel horribly. A feeling of balance is what the person wants to feel after being wronged. A professor named David Chester stated “Aggression is a meaning to an end, that ends being a return to a state of emotional balance and homeostasis” He tries to explain on how its more about what we allow the harm to make us feel or if we choose to move on. Revenge has its own effects and we choose how its outcome will be.

In a journal titled The american psychological association, there was a series of experiments, that Daniel Gilbert, PhD, at Harvard, and Timothy Wilson, PhD, at the University of Virginia, set up a group investment game with students where if everyone cooperated, everyone would benefit equally.But if someone refused to invest their money, that person would unfairly benefit at the group's expense. Carlsmith planted a secret person who would participate in the experiment in each group and had them try to get everyone to invest equally. But when it came time to put money in for investment, the secret person in the experiment decided not to invest. The secret people in the experiments were named the “free riders” and they had earned around $5.59, while the other experimenters earned around $2.51. Then Carlsmith offered some groups a way to get revenge on the free rider. They could either spend some of their own savings to punish the groups free rider financially. 'Virtually everybody was angry over what happened to them,' Carlsmith says, 'and everyone given the opportunity [for revenge] took it.' The people experimented were then given a survey to depict their feelings after the revenge and most had answered they don't know how they feel. The effects of everyone taking on the actions to participate on revenge has proven the average person will have consequences for their actions on revenge. The cause of revenge was the fact that it was unfair for one person to have more power than the other.

In a movie titled Death wish by Eli Roth, The main character is named Dr.Paul Kersey. The movie takes place in Chicago Illinois. Kersey is a Trauma surgeon who sees violence every single day in his emergency room. While at work, Kerseys Wife (Lucy) and daughter (Jordan) were attacked in their home. A birthday watch was stolen during the attack on kerseys home, his wife and daughter were hurt badly, Jordan was put into coma. A gang member is brought into the emergency room and his gun falls off of him, which leads kersey to take the gun to use it himself. This is the first acts of him becoming a vigilante, with a gun on hospital premises he could lose his job. The attack on his family has gotten him to react to situations differently, it has really changed his mind set on where he lives and who he allows in his life. The surgeon who thinks he's trying to get justice has revenge that he wants to act on, He pries answers from many people to get back to the persons who attacked his wife and daughter, police believe that he is wrong for acting on himself after not waiting for police to do it. Kersey’s act on revenge had a great ending for him, He was never incriminated and he served justice for himself and his family.

Revenge is a choice and there are many causes and effects for revenge. Revenge is the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands, the desire to inflict retribution. People choose how revenge will affect them. Revenge can be thought as being an act of justice unless it’s an act of harm hat we want to inflict in another person. Titus Andronicus and the journals and the movie have shown the causes of why people act on revenge and what happens after the revenge has been served.

Works Cited

• Edwards, Vanessa Van. “The Psychology of Revenge.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Dec. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/vanessa-van-edwards/the-psychology-of-revenge_b_7754818.html.
• Price, Michael. “Revenge and the People Who Seek It.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, 2009, www.apa.org/monitor/2009/06/revenge.
• Death Wish. Dir. Eli Roth. Perf. Bruce Willis(Kersey). Spyglass entertainment, 2018