The human genome has twenty-three pairs of chromosomes, genes of each intricately woven into the fabric of our beings. Their amino acid constituents are programmed to function and because they determine particular characteristics of organisms, they control who we are. Are we thus compelled by these fragile bodies to fulfill what's written inside of them—our biological inheritance—more than what we want in life? If so, humanity would be the world's homogeneous mixture, but if we look around, no two people are the same. The reason why rests in an age-long phenomenon: choice. The epitome of this pseudo-blessing defines the human condition, which encompasses both positive and negative aspects of our existence. God made us to live for ourselves therefore we process the ability to think and process. His gift of choice let Adam name each living creature, and made him “free to eat from any tree in the garden [of Eden]” (Genesis, 2:16). However, though God gave us the potential to do good, the choice He gave us lets us choose equally between good and evil thereby rendering the human both of these things.
[...] Where there is good, there is bad, so those who are so keen on achieving the highest level of good possible find themselves unable to deal with their own problems. Take for example Lee, the wise voice of reason throughout the novel. He is the domestic servant in Adam Trask's house and is surprisingly erudite for a man of his status. He takes on the burdens of everyone in the household and toward the end, when he finds that he has given so much to help ameliorate the lives of others, he himself has no one to turn to. [...]
[...] Wisdom comes with age and experience, therefore by Adam and Eve's impetuous decision to go against the word of God in attempt to gain something, it can be seen that they were not patient enough to wait for the wisdom that would come in due time. They wanted something good, but took a shortcut in obtaining it. Often times, it is much easier to give in to sin because its rewards are immediate and seem to outweigh its consequences for the moment being. [...]
[...] It is thus through these qualities Cathy could make something good out of her otherwise decrepit and sordid lifestyle. Here, the outcome and consequence of her subsequent actions may or may not be of good intention, but it is her potential to do something good for her family as well as herself at that time that shows such a chance is given to even the most unscrupulous of characters. Meanwhile, one of the novel's protagonists, Adam Trask, is an idealistic man who finds Cathy at his mercy. [...]
[...] What makes Aron an extreme disciple of God is his “triumph over sins he never committed” (451). He feels the obligation to go through all these rituals and lessons to purify himself when he was innocent from the beginning. However, his severe piety causes him to become so absorbed in the Church and goodness that he is rendered incapable of coping with real life. His innocence is crippling in the way that he is unable to accept the cruelties of society. [...]
[...] This obligation he feels can be attributed to his strong faith in God therefore the sense of well- being as well as his intense fragility outside the world of religion. It is Aron's naïveté that causes him to choose to be a part of the ministry, which in turn makes him so capable of good, he can't bring himself to accept the cruelties of the world. Completely opposite characters like Aron and Cathy are connected not only by the genetic material they share, but the potential for good exists in both extremes: the innocent and the damned. [...]
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