In this lecture, five texts—The Conference of Birds, The Thousand and One Nights, Utopia, Peach Blossom, and spring—are thoroughly discussed. Society is the discussed overarching topic that connects the five texts. The texts' intricate depictions of society's processes and fascinating subject matter make them highly engaging. Notably, community refers to a group of individuals who regularly interact socially or a group of people who share a common social or geographic area. However, people who belong to a certain community have prevailing cultural expectations, and they are typically subject to the same political power. The culture and institutions that make up society are well recognized. Society is known for the culture and institutions that exist within it and the relationships that are developed among its constituent members. Therefore, what a community can achieve, it is usually hard to be got by a single person in his or her own. Like-minded people motivated by the same factors and human values constitute a great society and thus to the larger extent, in the same social and economic order. Societies are known to be dynamic and sometimes can be chaotic when members pursue different goals. The five stories discussed in the paper, provide an elaborate illustration of the nature of society and its dynamism. The theme of survival and subsequent struggles in society are well depicted in the five works in addition to the spirit of leadership and control that exist in most communities.
“The Conference of Birds” also known as “Speech of the Birds,” is a masterpiece product of the poet Farid Ud-Din Attar. The poem is a clear analogy of how individuals in a society relate to each other and their common interest. When people exist together in a particular society, they have a mutual interest in having a leader who can guide them and ensure unity among the community members (Heilpern, 2015). As a result, they come together and find the most amicable way to look for a perfect leader who can lead people into prosperity. Just like the way the birds of the world came together to decide who will be their king, in society, people have various ways of determining who has the audacity, knowledge, and wisdom to lead them. Notably, the fundamental purpose of leadership in any society is to bring happiness to the people through effective leadership that is guided by intelligence and wisdom. Remarkably, as depicted in the poem, there is a price to pay for prosperity and happiness. Out of the many thousands of birds that set on a journey to look for the legendary Simorgh, only thirty of them made to the final destination. The journey was tough and full of many difficulties. In the same way, so as for a society to gain the prosperity it desires, sacrifice is a major factor in ensuring that, each and every person has the spirit of hard work and persistence so as to realize the rewards. The seven valleys crossed by the birds depicts the various things individuals in a society should be ready to persevere so as to get the ultimate price of prosperity. Each valley has different moral lessons that should be emulated by members of society. The valley of the quest has the experience of persevering difficulties and trials so as to achieve the desired goal.
The valley of love has the lesson that, love has nothing to do with reason and therefore, it should not blind people from rational thinking and probably lose focus in the process. The valley of understanding teaches that it endures as compared to knowledge which is temporary. Notably, overcoming weaknesses help an individual to come closer to the predetermined goal. Detachment Valley has the lesson of the society members to entirely give up all the desires for the sake of unity and connection to eternity, multiplicity, and harmony. Finally, the valley of poverty and annihilation has the moral lesson avoiding selfishness in the interests of other society members. At the end of the poem, birds realize that they are the Simorgh that they were dearly searching. People go through so many struggles to look for the actual source of happiness. Later, they find ou that they are the best source of their win happiness. It lies within their power to rely on their intellect and wisdom to decide their leaders who in turn should provide direction. Therefore, the poem is relevant in illustrating values that should be possessed by members of a particular society and their recommended mindset.
“The Thousand and One Nights” is an assembly of South Asian and Middle Eastern folk tales and stories compiled during the golden ages of Islamic. The stories in the collection illustrate the nature of a society and the different experiences a person goes through in particular communities. Dominant aspects of life in a society such as fate and destiny and sexual humor are well illustrated in the stories in the collection. Relationships are a high pillar that holds a particular society together as people tend to relate well with their counterparts. The relationships are of different types including sexual and family relationships. Diverse cultures can be helpful in keeping societies together but once abused; they can lead to committing social evils. In most cases, the spirit of revenge is aroused when a person feels betrayed by his or her sexual partner or a family member. Just like depicted in the story the way the Sasanian King who used to rule in India and China reacted after realizing his own wife’s infidelity, many people end up taking rational decisions to propagate anger and revenge (Mardrus, & Mathers, 2015). The king went ahead to execute all the virgins he slept with until there were no more in his kingdom. When violence and lack of reasoning occupies a person, he or she might end up committing other serious crimes that may end up causing more harm than good. In any society, so as to have a healthy relationship with each other, people should have the aspect of forgiveness and tolerance.
Evil is not repaid by evil, but instead, love comes in handy to remedy the situation. However, amidst of all the injustices that exist in society, a person should master the aspect of survival. The last woman to survive the fate of the king, Scheherazade, the daughter of the vizier, developed a way to survive the ordeal of her husband, the king. She gives him unending tales until the king finds enough reasons to spare her life. In the same way, people in a society should develop skills that can enable them to survive the atrocities that exist in society. Notably, the stories provide an excellent lesson to families in a community. People should learn the interests and likes of their spouses so as to avoid commotion and possible divorces that exist within households in society. After the wife of the king realized the hobby oaf his husband, her life is spared unlike the lives of the former wives of the king. The King did not seek the counsel of the way forward after realizing the infidelity of his wife, and thus he just decided to execute all the virgins he slept with in fear of possible recurrence of the first ordeal. People should seek advice in the event they feel totally disillusioned by life events and in the end, avoid evil doings. Vizier did not confront the king and advise him on the unnecessity of his killing action as people are not the same. In the end, the king’s evil doings ended up affecting personally when her daughter volunteers to wed the king. Therefore, people should not tolerate evil as it will have the potential of reaching to them some day.
“Paradise Lost” is a classic poem that was crafted by the renowned English poet John Milton depicting the creation story. The poem illustrates the beginning of human atrocities after disobedience of the first family. Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden. Satan is depicted as the source of deception after he successively caused conflict between God and human. The poem illustrates the way people in a society relate to each other and the magnitude of influence they can have towards each other (Long, 2015). After Eve had been deceived by Satan, it was easy for her to convince Adam to consume the forbidden fruit which against the laws of God. Disobedience in any society brings about sin. People are not at liberty to do what they wish, but they are guided by various basic rules and regulations. There are actions that an individual in a society cannot just be involved in as they may result in different adverse consequences. Norms and rules, also known as the constitution, forms the fabric in which human actions are built. Therefore, each and every person in the society has the moral duty to observe the rules and regulations so as to ensure a peaceful coexistence with each other. Observing Gods laws is an integral part of the society as it gives guidelines for living a just life. The evil actions in many communities are related to the deception of Satan and the spirit of defiance is regarded as evil. People residing in a society should desist from being tempted by the evil one to do wrong things. The poem provides a clear example who the enemy of good deeds is and the cause of all human suffering in society.
“Utopia,” refers to the book that was written by author Sir Thomas More. The author includes a fictional character, who is engaged in a series of conversation with Raphael Hythloday, and Peter Giles. The conversation that ensues among the three characters depicts a fictional Utopia island where unusual aspects of a societal life are protracted. Hythloday illustrates a Utopian society that is based on communal property, rational thought, excellent productivity, no poverty or rapacious love of gold and real class distinctions. An ideal community with little crime and immoral behavior, full of religious tolerance and little inclination to war is assumed by Hythloday. Notably, such as society is just a utopia since it cannot exist. According to the author, such an ideal society does not exist since people are prone to fighting and most of the activities in the general ideal society do not exist in the real world (Long, 2015). That is the reason as to why Hythloday does not believe in the existence of such an ideal society, and thus he thinks that his description of such a community is absurd. From the poem, it is true that the aspects of a utopian society cannot be practiced in the England, and in fact in many parts of the world. Many communities are chaotic, where there is no sense of equality. Social evil and racial discrimination are witnessed on many of them. Therefore, the dream of a society where people are willing to do things to benefit other first remains a dream that cannot be realized sooner than later.
Finally, “The Peach Blossom Spring,” is a fable that was crafted by Tao Yanming. The story illustrates an ideal society that exists in its own oblivious of the happenings in the rest part of the world. The discovery of such a society by the fisherman depicts the fact that, no perfect society in the world exists amidst political instabilities and national disunity. The fisherman was unable to locate such a society to prove to his people that such a community existed since it did not exist. Many conflicts in the world are experienced due to the differences in the societies (Long, 2015). Many people stereotype members of a particular community, and they end up causing perpetual wars. The fable is a challenge to the members of different communities in the world to assume the spirit of multiculturalism and tolerance to each other so as to boost the theme of peace in the world.
To sum it up, the texts illustrated in the paper are a clear illustration of the dynamics that surround a society and serves as a challenge to the current nature of different communities. Peaceful coexistence with each other despite one’s race, religion, or sexual orientation is paramount so as ensure the existence of a just society. Therefore, the five texts contain important lessons to learn and includes virtues that each and every community should adopt and vices they should desist.
References
Heilpern, J. (2015). Conference of the birds. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.
Long, R. (2015). Multiculturalism. New York: H.W. Wilson.
Mardrus, J., & Mathers, E. (2015). The book of the thousand nights and one night. New York: Assouline Pub.
