Sunday, May 27, 2018
(Originally posted on May 23, 2018)
Once upon an absurd time and place, where such event could possibly occur, there were this father and his four children.
The eldest son, the 7 years old Jack, was very close to his father. His father was too happy and proud of his firstborn. So, his father always treated him well and full of love.
Jack loved his father very much. In Jack's eyes, his father was a loving and caring family man who would never harm his children in any way. Jack was very obedient, not because he was afraid, but because he loved his father.
Things were different for the second son, the 6 years old Mike. He was born in the time of war, so the father was harder on him. He scolded him a lot and sometimes even hit him. However, Mike knew, no matter what, he had no other option but to be as obedient as possible, because his father was the only person who took care of him.
The third son, the 5 years old Artie, was still too young to even acknowledge that they had a father. Their father left before their youngest brother, the 3 years old Peter was born. So, he was too young to even remember him.
However, the mother kept telling the children that one day, their father would be back. And, because the father used to be very powerful and dominant in the house, in order to keep her children in order, the mother often spoke on behalf of the father, promised the children that they'd get rewards and punishments from their father for whatever they did.
After their father left, their mother had to work a lot, and Jack and Mike had to take care of Artie and Peter almost all the time. The mother didn't even have a chance to take care of or even speak to Artie and Peter herself.
Now they happened to live next to a river. Everytime the mother had to leave the house, everytime she told Jack and Mike to take care of their little brothers, Artie and Peter, she also warned them not to play in the river, because they could be drowned and dead. Of course she especially warned the two boys not to let their little brothers play in the river. And as always, she warned those boys about the rewards and punishments from the father, to make sure the boys would do what she told them and wouldn't do what she told them not.
She even left a note on the table. Since none of her boys could read, she made a drawing that showed 4 boys, a river flows, and a death symbol.
When the mother left, Jack and Mike were in charge. Jack and Mike didn't actually care about Artie or Peter. All they really cared about is their own good. The reason why Jack was willing to take care of his younger brothers was just because he wanted to make his father happy when he came back home. And for Mike, the reason was so his father wouldn't beat him. He would do anything to avoid punishments from his father.
It was easier to keep Artie and Peter from the river when they were little. But now that Artie was 5 and Peter was 3, it was getting a lot more challenging for Jack and Mike to do their job.
Jack was starting to let his brothers do whatever they want, because he believed his father wouldn't punish him anyway. He believed his father loved him to much to ever hurt him. He only cared about his father and didn't actually care about his brothers.
Mike, on the other hand, would never forget how scary their father could be when he was angry. So Mike started to threaten his younger brothers with violence. Just like Jack, Mike actually didn't care about his brothers at all. But he was so afraid of his father's punishments.
Meanwhile, Artie had actually been old enough to reason. None of the older siblings knew that Artie had made it to the river once, and almost drowned. Artie was lucky enough, not only he somehow survived, but also that the older brothers never found out about it. But he learnt himself that the river could be dangerous.
So, while Jack lost his interest to keep his brothers away from the river, and Mike was so afraid of father's punishments, Artie kept Peter away from the river because he knew the river was dangerous, and he really cared about Peter. Artie didn't care about what his father would do. He didn't even believe of his existence in the first place.
One day, Jack, Mike, and Artie were finally off guard, and Peter made it to the river. Artie was the first to find out. He shouted, "Guys, Peter went to the river!" as he ran to the river to save Peter.
Mike was furious. He chased his two brothers. "Hey! What are you guys doing!? Father's gonna kill us!"
When Peter was almost drowned, Artie did anything he could to save him. Mike could've helped them, but he was too afraid to go to the river because he always remembered the punishment he'd get from his father. So he just watched. He would never, ever go to the river, no matter what.
But Artie and Peter made it anyway. And the three boys came back home. Artie and Peter was glad to survive from the river. But Mike was still furious.
Mike said, "Jack, we must kill Artie and Peter!"
Jack was calm. "But why?"
Mike took the note their mother left. "Jack, look at this note!"
Still Jack was calm. He said, "Relax, Mike, Father wouldn't punish us. He loves us."
"No Jack, look! Four boys must be us," Mike said. "This must be the river. And this must be death."
"And?"
"It means, anyone who got into the river should be killed! Father wants us to kill them, Jack!"
"No, we should not kill him."
"But if we didn't do it, if we didn't kill our brothers, Father would punish us!"
Artie was confused. "Hey Mike, we survived, why are you still upset?"
"Are you crazy! Father is going to punish us all!" Mike freaked out.
"But who is Father? Does he even exist? Wasn't Mother the one who wrote that note?" Artie asked, and his question made Mike even more furious.
Even the calm Jack was finally furious. "How dare you say that? How dare you doubt the existence of our father!?"
"Whatever she has written is a message from him. He is real and he is going to punish us!" said Mike.
"No he's not going to punish us," said Jack. "But he is real! And he loves us all!"
"So what? We survived the river, it's all that matters! We would not make the same mistake." said Artie.
So the three brothers kept on fighting. While they were busy fighting over what they should do about the 'river incident', they didn't realize that Peter was already making his way back to the river.
Peter made it to the river again. But that time, no one was there to save him. He was drowning while his brothers were busy arguing whether the Father exists or not, or whether he is a lover or a punisher.
What an irony, isn't it? The three older brothers could've just stopped fighting, been glad that they were all fine, and kept an eye on their little brother. But they were having an unnecessary fight instead.
Jack might love his father so much, but he wouldn't do anything to save his brother, because he didn't really care about him. He only cared about his father. In fact, he only cared about himself. As long as he knows his father wouldn't do anything to harm him, he wouldn't care whatever would happen to his brothers.
Mike would do anything to avoid his father's punishment. He was so afraid of his father. So yeah, he would do anything to make sure that his brothers didn't go to the river, not for his brother's sake, but for the sake of avoiding his father's punishment. Yes, it could have worked. The point was not letting the brothers go to the river, right?
But then, when the brothers really did, and was in danger, he wouldn't do anything to help them. Because avoiding his father's prohibition is more important for him than helping his brothers.
And the worse would be when he made a wrong interpretation of his mother's note. He would've done exactly the opposite of what his mother and father would want. Mike would or wouldn't do anything to avoid his father's punishments. And he might do something really bad just because a wrong interpretation told him to.
And Artie, well he was actually the only one who really cared about their youngest brother Peter. But what could he do against the more powerful brothers, who spoke in the name of the powerful father?
Why would anyone leave a bunch of children next to a dangerous river, with only an ambiguous note? That'll be another question.
But actually, couldn't the children just really cared about each other without having to think of rewards and punishments from their father? Or do the lessons of rewards and punishments had made them lose their common senses?
Aloha, A.
(Originally posted on May 23, 2018)
Once upon an absurd time and place, where such event could possibly occur, there were this father and his four children.
The eldest son, the 7 years old Jack, was very close to his father. His father was too happy and proud of his firstborn. So, his father always treated him well and full of love.
Jack loved his father very much. In Jack's eyes, his father was a loving and caring family man who would never harm his children in any way. Jack was very obedient, not because he was afraid, but because he loved his father.
Things were different for the second son, the 6 years old Mike. He was born in the time of war, so the father was harder on him. He scolded him a lot and sometimes even hit him. However, Mike knew, no matter what, he had no other option but to be as obedient as possible, because his father was the only person who took care of him.
The third son, the 5 years old Artie, was still too young to even acknowledge that they had a father. Their father left before their youngest brother, the 3 years old Peter was born. So, he was too young to even remember him.
However, the mother kept telling the children that one day, their father would be back. And, because the father used to be very powerful and dominant in the house, in order to keep her children in order, the mother often spoke on behalf of the father, promised the children that they'd get rewards and punishments from their father for whatever they did.
After their father left, their mother had to work a lot, and Jack and Mike had to take care of Artie and Peter almost all the time. The mother didn't even have a chance to take care of or even speak to Artie and Peter herself.
Now they happened to live next to a river. Everytime the mother had to leave the house, everytime she told Jack and Mike to take care of their little brothers, Artie and Peter, she also warned them not to play in the river, because they could be drowned and dead. Of course she especially warned the two boys not to let their little brothers play in the river. And as always, she warned those boys about the rewards and punishments from the father, to make sure the boys would do what she told them and wouldn't do what she told them not.
She even left a note on the table. Since none of her boys could read, she made a drawing that showed 4 boys, a river flows, and a death symbol.
When the mother left, Jack and Mike were in charge. Jack and Mike didn't actually care about Artie or Peter. All they really cared about is their own good. The reason why Jack was willing to take care of his younger brothers was just because he wanted to make his father happy when he came back home. And for Mike, the reason was so his father wouldn't beat him. He would do anything to avoid punishments from his father.
It was easier to keep Artie and Peter from the river when they were little. But now that Artie was 5 and Peter was 3, it was getting a lot more challenging for Jack and Mike to do their job.
Jack was starting to let his brothers do whatever they want, because he believed his father wouldn't punish him anyway. He believed his father loved him to much to ever hurt him. He only cared about his father and didn't actually care about his brothers.
Mike, on the other hand, would never forget how scary their father could be when he was angry. So Mike started to threaten his younger brothers with violence. Just like Jack, Mike actually didn't care about his brothers at all. But he was so afraid of his father's punishments.
Meanwhile, Artie had actually been old enough to reason. None of the older siblings knew that Artie had made it to the river once, and almost drowned. Artie was lucky enough, not only he somehow survived, but also that the older brothers never found out about it. But he learnt himself that the river could be dangerous.
So, while Jack lost his interest to keep his brothers away from the river, and Mike was so afraid of father's punishments, Artie kept Peter away from the river because he knew the river was dangerous, and he really cared about Peter. Artie didn't care about what his father would do. He didn't even believe of his existence in the first place.
One day, Jack, Mike, and Artie were finally off guard, and Peter made it to the river. Artie was the first to find out. He shouted, "Guys, Peter went to the river!" as he ran to the river to save Peter.
Mike was furious. He chased his two brothers. "Hey! What are you guys doing!? Father's gonna kill us!"
When Peter was almost drowned, Artie did anything he could to save him. Mike could've helped them, but he was too afraid to go to the river because he always remembered the punishment he'd get from his father. So he just watched. He would never, ever go to the river, no matter what.
But Artie and Peter made it anyway. And the three boys came back home. Artie and Peter was glad to survive from the river. But Mike was still furious.
Mike said, "Jack, we must kill Artie and Peter!"
Jack was calm. "But why?"
Mike took the note their mother left. "Jack, look at this note!"
Still Jack was calm. He said, "Relax, Mike, Father wouldn't punish us. He loves us."
"No Jack, look! Four boys must be us," Mike said. "This must be the river. And this must be death."
"And?"
"It means, anyone who got into the river should be killed! Father wants us to kill them, Jack!"
"No, we should not kill him."
"But if we didn't do it, if we didn't kill our brothers, Father would punish us!"
Artie was confused. "Hey Mike, we survived, why are you still upset?"
"Are you crazy! Father is going to punish us all!" Mike freaked out.
"But who is Father? Does he even exist? Wasn't Mother the one who wrote that note?" Artie asked, and his question made Mike even more furious.
Even the calm Jack was finally furious. "How dare you say that? How dare you doubt the existence of our father!?"
"Whatever she has written is a message from him. He is real and he is going to punish us!" said Mike.
"No he's not going to punish us," said Jack. "But he is real! And he loves us all!"
"So what? We survived the river, it's all that matters! We would not make the same mistake." said Artie.
So the three brothers kept on fighting. While they were busy fighting over what they should do about the 'river incident', they didn't realize that Peter was already making his way back to the river.
Peter made it to the river again. But that time, no one was there to save him. He was drowning while his brothers were busy arguing whether the Father exists or not, or whether he is a lover or a punisher.
What an irony, isn't it? The three older brothers could've just stopped fighting, been glad that they were all fine, and kept an eye on their little brother. But they were having an unnecessary fight instead.
Jack might love his father so much, but he wouldn't do anything to save his brother, because he didn't really care about him. He only cared about his father. In fact, he only cared about himself. As long as he knows his father wouldn't do anything to harm him, he wouldn't care whatever would happen to his brothers.
Mike would do anything to avoid his father's punishment. He was so afraid of his father. So yeah, he would do anything to make sure that his brothers didn't go to the river, not for his brother's sake, but for the sake of avoiding his father's punishment. Yes, it could have worked. The point was not letting the brothers go to the river, right?
But then, when the brothers really did, and was in danger, he wouldn't do anything to help them. Because avoiding his father's prohibition is more important for him than helping his brothers.
And the worse would be when he made a wrong interpretation of his mother's note. He would've done exactly the opposite of what his mother and father would want. Mike would or wouldn't do anything to avoid his father's punishments. And he might do something really bad just because a wrong interpretation told him to.
And Artie, well he was actually the only one who really cared about their youngest brother Peter. But what could he do against the more powerful brothers, who spoke in the name of the powerful father?
Why would anyone leave a bunch of children next to a dangerous river, with only an ambiguous note? That'll be another question.
But actually, couldn't the children just really cared about each other without having to think of rewards and punishments from their father? Or do the lessons of rewards and punishments had made them lose their common senses?
Aloha, A.
