FREE ESSAY ON CHANGING TIMES VERSUS CHANGING PEOPLE

CHANGING TIMES VERSUS CHANGING PEOPLE

Changing Times versus Changing People It has been said that while times change, people do
not. From my past experiences, and from things that I have learned throughout the years,
I have to agree with the previous statement. I feel that the morality of a person almost
always rules when it comes to making serious and important decisions. Different time
periods can alter ones thinking in certain situations to an extent. For example, in The
Sea and Poison, Nobu Ueda had moved to Manchuria with her new husband. While she was
living there, she noticed that her neighbors occasionally hit their maids. While Nobu
would not usually hit her maid, soon enough she started to do so. Her morality was
influenced in a way by the norms and stigmas of her surroundings and time. However,
different people react differently in different situations. Everyone had free will and
the freedom to make their own conscience decisions. When Suguro and Toda were asked if
they wanted to take part in the vivisection's, both had agreed at first. After taking
time to think about what they were actually going to take part in, they started to feel
awkward. Suguro for instance was definitely having second thoughts about his decision
then later regrets his decision. On his walk to the hospital the day the vivisections
were to take place, he contemplated on going back to his boarding room. This is his
conscience reminding him of his moral standards. All day before the vivisections, there
was nothing for Suguro to do. Suguro and Toda seemed to avoid each other and did not let
a word pass between them. When it came time for the "experiment" on the prisoner, Suguro
was not able to follow through on his duties involved in the vivisection. Suguro's
morality triumphed besides the fact that "everyone else was doing it." Toda however was
able to take part in the vivisection but was somewhat uneasy about the whole experience.
The fact that he helped take someone else's life did not seem to phase him that much.
Throughout the book Toda seemed to be more apathetic to such things than Suguro. Toda has
no moral strength. That is just the type of person he is. The Old Man felt the
vivisection would make a contribution to science. However, after the vivisection takes
place, we see the Old Man peering into the operating theater looking troubled. The Old
Man feels he was trained to save lives, not take them. In the end all are troubled and
destroyed by the vivisection, especially Suguro, but no one reveals their feelings. In
conclusion, the decision in general all depends on the particular person. I personally
feel that in the case of the vivisection if the right person were asked, they would have
declined. Suguro was not able to participate in the vivisection because of his own
personal feelings, however, others were able to. If I was asked to participate in the
vivisection I would definitely decline the offer, however I am sure there would be others
that are distorted enough to do so.