Analyzing Forgiveness by June Callwood

1 Analysing Forgiveness by June Callwood Name of the Student Course Title Date Analysing Forgive ne ss by June Callwood Essay Outline M ap The Summary of “Forgive ne ss Story” “Forgive ness Story ” written by June Callwood emphasizes on differe nt types of forgive ne ss. The central argument that she makes in the essay is the fact that forgive ness is a very important and essential human trait which should be explored. It is on human beings to 2 inculca te or understand what forgive ness i s for their personal benefit regardless of how they see the concept. In fact, she effective ly delves deeper in the concept of forgive ness and charts out the differe nt types of forgive ness that human being s can explore . This includes aspects like futility of offering apologies, as well as it explores ideas around the importance of forgive ne ss on mental wellbeing and she also talks about various ways through which one person can be forgive n (Callwood, para,4 ). In this process Callwood very effective ly explains this concept through different kinds of examples. She also run through the territory of hatred , bigotry and extremism which has made forgiving diffic ult. In such a heated situatio n she suggests that the ideal is to accept what is coming their way as well as address the insult and reflect on it , which can prevent the wrath, then to finally progress towards the act of either forgiving or forgetting (Callwood, para,7) . However, she reaches to a point in the essay where she very strongly suggests her claim s about the strength of forgive ness that people should imbibe . Because it renders peace and helps people to move forward in their life and deal with their trauma more e ffective ly (Callwood, para 12 ). Another strength of the essay lies in the fact that while Callwood does not give any personal anecdote about the context of forgive ne ss yet in order to explain herself, she provides many important examples as well as expert opinions and evidences. Primary rhe torical mode s use d in the e ssay One of the most important or dominant rhetorical modes that is used in this essay i s persuasion. This is so because the central agenda of the author is to ensure that the readers agree to her claims. Thus, persuasion is the most important mode through which she can get the readers to agree to what she has to say. She does this effective ly by presenting the essay in a pattern that explores the cause as well as the effect that forgive ness brings in. For instance, she does mentio n that granting or inculc ating the art of forgive ness is a very intricate and diffic ult approach “The reward of givi ng up scalding thoughts of reprisal is 3 peace of mind . It is worth a candle ” (Callwood para,18). I t is her final statement in the essay and in order to reach to this she builds a cause -and -effect pattern in the entire essay. Through examples she states the fact that initia l insults lead to a person developing wrath which has a crippling effect (Callwood, para,10) . The other alternative she explains is the fact that when people think over the moments of insult that affected their dignity, the art of forgive ne ss plays a pivotal role in helping the find peace (Callwood, para,12) . Thus, through this in order to persuade people she offers them two alternatives and provides ample evidences to help the readers chose between the two options. This way it helps her mak e her arguments more feasible . Thus, through the art of persuas ion which she uses in this work , she is also able to establish her thesis. Se condary rhe torical mode s use d in the e ssay There are other rhetorical modes which are used in the essay as well. One of them is pathos through which she tries to evoke a sense of pity amongst her audience. She is able to do so by providing a series of anecdotes, through which she explains how peopl e in reality have been able to forgive the ones who are unforgivab le (Callwood, para,6) . In this pursuit she uses emotiona lly charged narratives which include s people confronting and finally forgiving the murder er of their loved ones. “The choices are to e nter a state of forgive ne ss, which is a triump h of generosity, or just to put the matter in a box, cover it with a lid, place a brick on the lid, and move on ” (Callwood, para, 12). Along with this she also uses the references of experts in order to inform the readers about the in-depth research she has done in order to reinstate her initia l claims which is the central argument of the essay. Thus, in order to create a sense of pity, she further uses examples of how religio ns are instrume nta l in promoting for giving and so does therapists and researchers (Callwood, para,9) . The other important form of rhetorical mode that she uses in this essay is ethos through which she 4 establishes her emotions to the subject. In order to convey this, she narrat es the example of a boy beaten by his father ruthlessly for being gay and how a woman’s mother expressed disgust at her biracial child. In both the instances they could not forgive their parents. However, this is followed by the author narrating how forgive ness helps in the wellbeing of a person’s state of mind. “It satisfies the requireme nts of their humanity that they gradually ease away from the primitive thoughts of revenge that once obsessed them ” (Callwood, para, 14). Pre writing ide as from the e ssay With this the o ne idea from the essay that is used for the prewriting step is the very idea that the art of forgiving is a human conditio n and that it is less divine. In order to develop on this idea, the free writing technique is used. While religio n might have annexed the concept that forgiving is to be divine, it is time that it is countered and the human aspect related to forgive ness is established. Probably, the stressing on the divinity aspect of forgive ness has deterred people away from it. This is because it migh t have put additiona l stress on the ones who have been wronged and harmed. This fear of dealing with trauma as well as with the heavy act of forgiving and facing the ones wh o caused the harm must be very tough. Hence, if the approach around forgive ness is changed it might help people to change the stance around it as well. However, focusing on forgive ness as a human behaviour which people have been practicing unconscio usly could be more a successful approach. Probably this is the reality that people do end up forgiving others. This can be further established through history as well considering the kind of wars that the world has seen. The constant struggle for power between communities yet people have emerged victorious in many occasions, promoting peace an d civility and this has only been possible through forgive ness. Forgiveness is not 5 divine but it is an intrinsic nature of human beings through which civiliza tio ns are progressing. 6 REFERENCE Callwood, J. (2019, October 16). Forgiveness Story . The Walr us. Retrieved May 31, 2022, from https://the wa lrus.ca/forgive ness -sto ry/