Selfish

Selfish

Throughout the year so far in World Literature we read many stories. The stories had many different themes and cultures. Being selfish means to lack consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure. All the stories involved the characters being selfish one way or another. Although all the stories were dramatically different, I have come to the conclusion that they all can be associated with the word selfish.

There were a few stories in the Myth and Folklore Unit. In the story Cinderella, she had evil stepsisters that tried to sabotage her life. They basically destroyed her life and forced her to do everything in the house so they can live their lives like princesses. The one stepsister says to her, "Lend my clothes to such a dirty Cinderwench as you are! I should be such a fool." That is considered selfish because they are calling her dirty and only want what they have for themselves. All throughout the story, the evil stepsisters show many signs of being selfish towards poor Cinderella.

Ancient Mesopotamia was another type of literature we read about. Noah and the Flood was a relevant example of selfishness. God says in the story, "For the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth". The quote shows that God is aware of all men's selfish ways. God told Noah to build an ark for him and his family in preparation for a catastrophic flood that would destroy every living thing on earth. After they entered the ark, rain fell on the earth for a period of forty days and nights. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days, and every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out. God punishes all humanity for their selfish ways by flooding the world, not caring about what happens.

In African Literature, Things Fall Apart there was one main selfish character. Okonkwo was a very selfish man when it came to accepting other people's ideas; he only believed his own should be true. Obierika states, "It is an abomination for a man to take his own life"(Achebe). It shows that Okonkwo was a selfish man and goes against abomination. In the end, it came down to Okonkwo taking his life.