The Transforming Power of Suffering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Transforming Power of Suffering - Essay Example   At the time that this poem is written, Milton is one of the greatest writers of England, and this horrible condition called blindness is about to end his career, thus rendering him useless, much like the talent in the Bible which the third man buries and eventually becomes the reason for God to punish him (Matt. 25:26-30, The New International Version). For the poet, it seems that being blind is being useless, and being useless is tantamount to preparing oneself to get punished. This is the true cause of Milton’s suffering as he is writing this poem. ... H. Lawrence’s â€Å"The Blind Man.† In the story, Maurice secretly struggles with his blindness by keeping himself busy with daily chores on the farm: â€Å"He milked the cows, carried in the pails [and] attended to the pigs and horses† (Lawrence). These are actually a few things that a normal blind man can never get himself to do. Nevertheless, Maurice seems to be pushing himself to do these tasks. Why? The reason is one that he reveals to Bertie toward the end of the story: â€Å"What I am afraid of†¦is that [my wife Isabel will] find me a dead weight [and that] I feel it isn’t fair she’s saddled with me† (Lawrence). Maurice, therefore, just like the poet Milton, feels the same kind of suffering particularly because of their fear of being useless. Nevertheless, what Jernigan states – that â€Å"the blind tend to see [themselves] as others see [them]† (4) – is somehow true as most blind people tend to suffer only un til they realize that suffering brings them the gifts of humility, compassion, and hope. The virtue of humility is evident in the following lines of Milton’s â€Å"On His Blindness†: â€Å"†¦though my soul more bent/ To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest He returning chide† (Milton 4-6). In these lines of the poem, the poet himself admits that although he is ready to serve God, he has no choice but to humbly admit his â€Å"true account† – his actual circumstances or the fact that he is blind and that he cannot do anything about it. Indeed, humility is all about mustering enough courage to admit the true state of things and at the same time admitting one’s helplessness in the face of it.