Mercy Among the Children

Mercy Among the Children

“Mercy Among the Children” by Davids Richards gives the story of a family that has endured the impacts of poverty and fate before. A young boy Lyle appears as the main character in the book as he gives a recap of his life under the misfortunes that had hit his father and grandfather. Several characters have been developed around the life experience of Lyle. The novel “Mercy Among the Children” gives a two-sided story of life and the presence of two classes in life. The presentation of ideas by Richard considers the two sides of different stories. Also, the characters show different traits as compared to their status in life. The main comparison in the novel “Mercy Among the Children” is that of goodness and evil and power has been used to show how goodness and evil are affected by power. “Mercy Among the Children” involves stories of contrasting characters and themes to create a story that has succeeded in touching realism in human being relationships according to class.

The use of characters with similar traits has been crucial in passing the general message in the “Mercy for the Children”.  The main message that the novel tries to pass across is the existence of some imperfections that a human being cannot escape or avoid in the journey of life (Rotstein, 165). One of the imperfections that the novel puts across is the impact of mercy in bringing inconveniences in life. The use of Sydney and Lyle Henderson has been strategic in building a story that shows the extent of damage that mercy can cause an individual. Sydney and Lyle Henderson are all victims of suffering due to their level of mercy and the desire to remain caring for their close relatives and friends. Sydney Henderson suffers from a lack of mercy among men in his community. The suffering of Sydney occurs because the community is quick to judge him for mistakes that had been committed by his father. Society always shows mercy mostly to individuals who stay by the norms accepted in society. However, Sydney was not the kind to live below his moral standards to please the society. According to the society, Sydney failed for keeping his moral standards high. The failure to leave his moral standards can, however, be viewed as success to Sydney because his children do not suffer the same fate as he suffered due to the failures of his father. The life that Sydney lived presented the general failures that human beings cannot escape. For example, maintaining moral principles is a necessary failure that comes at a cost. The main challenge for people who choose to stay true to their moral standards is the society that appears judgmental. On the other hand, Lyle suffers from being merciful. The suffering that Lyle went through was from the philosophy that he had been taught by his father of staying away from violence. However, the merciless actions of society push Lyle into becoming a violent man and eventually fail in life because he does not leave a legacy for his children. Generally, Sydney is not changed by society’s mercilessness, but Lyle is completely changed.

The contrast between the philosophy of non-violence and the philosophy of revenge and hate always contradict in real life. People are always trapped in between the right philosophy to go by. For example, the real world is composed of actions that instil hurt and pain (Hillis, Susan, Mercy and Saul, 394). The right reaction towards the mistreatments in the society, however, poses a dilemma to victims who are caught in between. Most people always choose the philosophy of revenge and payback because it offers a feeling of satisfaction when people pay for their undoing. However, Christian philosophy requires that people should learn to forgive without considering the weight of the event to be forgiven. Few individuals in the world have, however followed the Christian philosophy. “Mercy of the Children” however portrays characters who decide to follow both of the philosophies and the outcomes for each decision. For example, society pushes Sydney towards choosing the philosophy of revenge and payback. However, Sydney stands by his moral standards and is unmoved by the influence of society. The decision to remain morally upright, however, appears to be beneficial than if he had decided to become revengeful. Sydney leaves a legacy to his generations that violence is not the answer to an unfair life. However, the decision to leave a revengeful life lies in the pressure that life exposes an individual to during the journey of life. Lyle, for example, is brought up believing that violence is not an option in life. Lyle recalls: “I had not fought or thrown a punch at anyone…,” Richard (178). However, the pressure that Lyle is exposed to forces him to become a revengeful individual who does not see the position of non-violence in life. Lyle and his sister had been going through mistreatment until Lyle decided to change and fight for his family. The philosophies of violence and non-violence pose a dilemma to individuals as the struggle to choose the right philosophy in life.

“Mercy Among the Children” gives a different point of view concerning goodness and evil. The decision between good and evil comes as a personal way of reacting to the pressure that life mounts on people. The society is composed of people from different classes. Class always exposes the inferior to the mistreatments of the superior. However, society has a cruel way of treating the victims of suffering according to the philosophy chosen by the individual. For example, Sydney suffers because society believes that he is weak and does not deserve mercy. When Sydney falls in love with Elly, the townspeople turn against Sydney and believe that Sydney does not deserve a wife because he was weak. Elly, however, stays by Sydney’s side and receives deep love although they leave in poverty. Lyle presents the other group of individuals who believe that choosing non-violence only gives one’s enemies a chance to grow strong. However, the novel ends by rewarding the choosers of non-violence.

In sum, “Mercy Among the Children” presents its ideas according to realism and explains the divisions that make up a society. The characters in the novel present the different groups of people in a society according to the choice of the philosophy to stand by. The decision between goodness and evil lies in the ability of an individual to tolerate the pressure that life mounts on an individual. “Mercy Among the Children” gives a different point of view concerning goodness and evil from the various characters in the novel.

Works Cited

Hillis, Susan D., James A. Mercy, and Janet R. Saul. “The enduring impact of violence against             children.” Psychology, Health & Medicine 22.4 (2017): 393-405.

Richards, David Adams. Mercy among the children: a novel. Arcade Publishing, 2001.

Rotstein, Jason. “The Search for Freedom.” Canadian Literature 236 (2018): 163-183.