Yourlastname 1 Student Name Professor Name Subject 20 September 2012 The Problem of Consequences and Forgiveness What consequences

can actions and events have? Each event or situation usually remains in the peoples memory in the form of images which are associated with definite personal considerations, feelings and emotions. The most painful recollections are often associated with the feeling of shame, and different people find various ways to overcome such a kind of suffering. Eric Fair discusses the problem of inevitability of such hurting emotions and feelings caused by performing some actions which can be considered as controversial because of the impossibility to assess their ethical nature from only one perspective. Eric Fair is a former contract interrogator in Iraq, and his vision of the issue was presented in the essay Consequence which was based on the autobiographical facts. The essay was published in Harpers Magazine in July, 2012. The author concentrates on the idea that although it is impossible to avoid the consequences of the certain actions because of their irreversible character, there should be a chance for being forgiven. Eric Fair presents his thoughts with references to the chronological representation of the usual everyday activities which make the fundament of his life after coming back from Iraq, and in spite of the fact the authors main intention is to stop thinking about his previous actions, everything reminds him about them. Having begun his study at the seminary, Fair states, I study Greek in order to read the New Testament more effectively. It reminds me of the Army. I studied Arabic in order to interrogate Arabs more effectively (Fair 11). The authors painful

Yourlastname 2 recollections are emphasized with a lot of negative reactions to his activity come from the readers of his articles and posts. Thus, Fairs tone and mood can be discussed as rather pessimistic, and the fact is accentuated by the word choice and by the presentation of the fragments from the readers messages where the idea of killing oneself dominates. The concentration of the authors thoughts only on the consequences of his actions is depicted with the help of sentences with a simple structure and parallel constructions and with the help of repetition of definite notions such as torture, Abu Ghraib, and the process of pretending. Thus, using simple parallel constructions, the author represents the variety of the emotions and thoughts which occupy his mind: I talk about the hard site at Abu Ghraib, and I talk about the interrogation facility in Fallujah. I talk about what I did, what I saw, what I knew, and what I heard. I ride the train back to Princeton. I start drinking more. Sarah takes notice. I tell her to go to hell (Fair 12). To overcome all the negative effects of the peoples reactions to his activity, Eric Fair has to pretend, and this behavioral pattern begins to determine his actions. The author emphasizes, I find more blogs. I pretend that those dont bother me either and then, I keep pretending not to be bothered. Then I drink, and moreover, I pretend I will make a good Presbyterian pastor someday (Fair 11-12). However, the most hurting aspect of this behavior is connected with the situation in the family, and Fair pays attention to the fact that we both pretend our marriage isnt suffering (Fair 11). The author uses parallel constructions and repetitions in order to accentuate the most significant points in the conflict between his personality and society, and between the authors inner perception of himself as a person in the past and in the present.

Yourlastname 3 Following Eric Fairs reflections on his everyday activities and thoughts, the readers have the opportunity to observe the changes in the authors personal perception of his story with references to the surroundings and certain events, thus, Fair finds possible solutions to his inner conflict in telling the story, basing on the idea of forgiveness. Fairs essay has the strong opening which draws the readers attention with presenting the controversial points, the development based on the chronological recollections of the events and a powerful conclusion which can be perceived as the authors awakening. Searching for forgiveness in its correlation with the personal actions consequences, the author returns to his recollections many times because every detail of the world reminds him the aspects of the story of his life. Nevertheless, Eric Fair agrees that there must be consequences Forgiveness requires consequence (Fair 13). The chances for forgiveness exist, and it is possible for the author to adopt the situations consequences because now the situation is different, and some ask about torture, others about seminary (Fair 13). It is Eric Fairs way to find the balance which is depicted with the help of references to his controversial and painful experience. The problem of the effects inevitability is discussed in Eric Fairs Consequence from the perspective of a person who suffers from the results of his actions in spite of his persuasion and vision of the definite situation. The peculiarities of the personal feelings and thoughts are depicted with the help of accentuating the mans everyday activities which are realized at the background of certain recollections. One of the main methods to overcome these hurting effects and to stop pretending and recollecting all the details is to find forgiveness as the way to the inner balance.

Yourlastname 4 Work Cited Fair, Eric. Consequence. Harpers Magazine Jul. 2012: 11-14. Print.