Descriptive essay on the emotion, Revenge.

Soups Up

Envision a black cauldron simmering over an open flame. Our recipe calls for a diverse group of ingredients for delivery of an awesome product. Unequal measures of hurt, anger, anxiety, pain, betrayal, bitterness, hate, love, loneliness, pride, greed or jealousy can be stirred into the pot. The steam rises as the ingredients begin a rapid boil. Threatening to overflow the sides of the cauldron, we realize soup is up! Revenge is ready to be served.

From the beginning of time, man has had an appetite to inflict punishment on perceived personal injuries, insults or betrayals. In Biblical times, Jewish law was given with authority to extricate an "eye for an eye, tooth for tooth" as punishment for crimes. This quote from Exodus 21:24, became a popular rhetorical comeback for those seeking justification and recompense. Seeking equality with revengeful acts was deemed justice.

Victims often blur the lines between revenge and justice. Often spoken conjoined, these forms of retribution are unrelated to each other. Revenge differs in that it is an emotional act, simmered and stewed upon. It is thought out, often carefully planned, and executed to inflict the most suffering on the victim, with immediate gratification sought by the perpetrator. Destruction of one's personal property or libeling of one's reputation are favorite forms of retribution. A betrayed spouse often feels justified to evoke revengeful acts upon their significant other, applying whatever means necessary to bring about the desired promise of euphoria revenge is thought to bring.

Administration of consequences for unlawful acts with impartiality is justice. In the United States laws have been put in place to render an impartial judgment through the judicial system, providing just consequences for infractions of the law. Emotional justice is much harder to achieve and gratification harder to embrace. Time and forgiveness are the best tools to remedy emotional pain. It takes strength of character, self-esteem, and patience to allow justice to be served.

Revenge is a powerful emotion often all consuming for the victim. It occupies every corner of the mind and every inch of the body. Heart rate and blood pressure increases as one rides the roller coaster of the mind, the tapes of taking revenge playing over and over and over. Sleeplessness begins to play a part in the melodrama as the mind finds it hard to shut down. A generalized feeling of sickness invades the body affecting one's ability to perform daily functions, often affecting the ability to think clearly and rationally. Many acts of revenge are executed by those who have become physically drained and emotionally unstable due to their unquenchable hunger for revenge.

In the Star Trek movie, "The Wrath of Khan", Ricardo Montelbaum's character is consumed with seeking revenge on Captain Kirk. His whole being is on fire with desire to have his revenge for the death of his wife. In trying to secure it, his ship is left a hollow shell, his friends are killed, and he forfeits his life. Before he dies he cites an old Klingon proverb which states, "Revenge is best served cold". With a clear mind and cold heart he finds a way to destroy his ship believing he will also destroy the ship of Captain Kirk. He dies content thinking he has served up revenge. He did not. Even though revenge is an emotionally based act, many are capable of serving it up with a coldness of character belying their true nature.

A bitter soup is revenge. It sours the heart, soul, and well being of an individual enmeshed in its web. For those of faith, revenge is best left to be dished out by a higher power. The rest of the world might find some comfort in the old saying, "what goes around, comes around". This old adage is often found to be a good stabilizer of life's ability to even the score, and serve up the bowl of revenge with cosmic justice.