What We Plant We Eat Forgiveness Quotes

When someone wrongs another person, the person wronged has three choices. They can either seek revenge, ignore the incident, or forgive. For some people seeking revenge can act as a form of justice, as one may feel the person who wronged them deserves some form of punishment for their actions. For others, the incident might not be worth the effort of seeking revenge or trying to forgive; instead, they choose to just forget or ignore they were wronged. The final option is to choose to forgive and release the feelings of hate and hurt one has against the person who wronged them. Justice goes hand in hand with forgiveness as both revolve around one releasing the feelings of hate and reconciling with the person who has wronged them, despite how

In other words, one can still gain justice without revenge or violence but instead, through forgiveness. In “What We Plant, We Will Eat”, the younger brother does not actively work to get revenge or justice against his brother. Instead, he chooses the less violent or belligerent route and did not argue when his brother kicked him off of the farm. He chooses to take care of a farm and move on, then eventually “by saving and scraping, [he] managed to make enough money to build a small house and make a profit” (Schlosser 5). Ultimately, the brother was able to get justice but arguably only because he chose to forgive his older brother and did not seek out revenge. Though the younger brother chose to peacefully forgive instead of seeking vengeance, he was still able to have justice despite the methods for gaining justice and forgiveness being very different. Justice is the concept of letting go of grudges and no longer holding the wrongdoer accountable for their crimes, no matter how peacefully or violently this is achieved. Forgiveness parallels this as it “is a conscious decision to offer generosity and mercy that a person’s actions do not deserve” (PBS 10). Justice and forgiveness can both be obtained, however, it very often usually relies on one gaining forgiveness first before justice. This is reflected in Hamlet as Hamlet first gets forgiveness from Laertes and then later is able to get justice for his father’s death. After killing the king, it is agreed “[the king] was justly served” and deserved to die for his crimes (Shakespeare 5.2.359). Hamlet is able to get his justice, but only after having first made amends and reconciled with Laertes. Despite forgiveness being more passive, it did help Hamlet get his revenge in the end. Justice and forgiveness can still go hand in hand despite forgiveness being more peaceful than