COMC Writing I

Chapter I: Whom would you visit first upon returning to your hometown?  Why? Whom would you visit second?

             If I was returning to my hometown, I would first go see my parents right away.  The reason is obviously because they are my family and the people I love most after God. Although we drive each other crazy, after being away from them for a long period of time, the feeling of loneliness shows up. Also, they have a house and I’m sure after travelling back, I would be hungry and tired. To enjoy a home cooked meal after being away for a while is wonderful, and to sleep in a place where you grew up is comforting.

            The people I would probably visit after my parents would be my friends. Like family, I would certainly miss seeing them and would love to hang out with them after such a long time. I remember during this past summer after the Botball competition in California, I did visit my friends. Although I had only about five hours of sleep, I felt so energized that I went out driving to Mililani and Wahiawa to say hi to some people. Somehow I ended up at Mililani Town Center, wandering around Walmart and eating cookies.

Chapter VI: Should Dantes have obeyed his captain’s orders (imprudence) or disobeyed a request from a dying man (Dumas 35)?

            I think that Dantes should have obeyed his captain’s orders, which he did. The captain was his authority, and God commands us to obey our authority, unless it was for wicked purposes. Dantes was simply ordered to see a man and deliver some items to him, there is nothing wrong with this. I think that accepting this task was okay since he knew the captain and respected him. However, accepting the second task was foolish since he did not know the man. He should have found out what was going on beforehand.

Chapter VII: Do you think it was Mercedes on the shore? Why or why not?

            I don’t think that Mercedes was the lady on the shore. I believe that because of the current situation, Dantes’ mind was imagining her on the shore. The stress of him being arrested and accused of treason put his mind in a state of shock. However, after meeting with Villefort, he became more relaxed. Furthermore, when he was taken out of the prison, he thought he was being release. Of course the one of the first people you would want to see when you are released would be the woman you love, especially after being arrested on your engagement party.

            Another reason I believe that Mercedes was not on the shore was because she would have no reason to be on the shore waiting for Dantes. If she was waiting for him, she would be waiting in her home or at his father’s home. Also, in chapter 8, she goes to see Villefort to find out what has happened to Dantes since she has not heard anything about him. So during the time that Dantes was being transported to the state prison, she would have probably be on the road to see Villefort.

The Screwtape Letters Trailer

Screwtape Analysis (Final Draft)

Screwtape says, “We can drag our patients along by continual tempting, because we design them only for the table” (Lewis 40). Screwtape strongly supports the idea of using temptations of worldly desires and sexual lust to draw the patient away from God. However, tempting the patient is a challenge since God is constantly getting in their way and protecting the patient from the waves of temptations.
A major time when temptation is used to draw a person away from God is during the trough periods. Screwtape clearly states, "…the Trough periods of the human undulation provide excellent opportunity for all sensual temptations..." (Lewis 43) During this time, a human is feeling emptiness and depression from a loss or anything that has not gone according to plan. To fill this emptiness, the devil provides sexual temptations along with other temptations to draw the person away. The devil is very cunning in the ways he provides these temptations and when to target a weakened person. A Christian should especially be aware of this time. The devil is constantly targeting Christians and uses lust many times. An example of an actual time was Samson and Delilah. In Judges 16:6, “…Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength [lieth], and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee,” Delilah tempted Samson to find his weakness. She does this four times and he eventually fell into sin. Temptations are dangerous for many because it causes great loss and affects many people.
In chapter 28, Screwtape talks about how the Enemy has protected the patient from many different temptations. However, he states, “But, if only he can be kept alive, you have time itself for your ally” (Lewis 154-155). Screwtape encourages Wormwood to continue to bring up temptations to the patient in hopes that as time goes by, he would grow weaker and fall. He suggests using prosperity to tempt the patient to turn away because “Prosperity knits a man to the World” (Lewis 155). With prosperity, the patient would gain respect, new friends, and importance in the world. With all this, the patient would be reluctant to die and lose sight of God and eternal life after death.
The Screwtape Letters shows that during difficult times, the temptations to sin is high. The devil is constantly working to ensure that a person especially Christians would fall to the many temptations. Once someone falls into temptation, it is difficult to get out of it. It’s a never-ending cycle of sinful desires that continually grow throughout time. This is the main motive of the devil in order to take down whoever that has fallen into temptation. Screwtape closes his final letter to Wormwood with, “All that sustains me is the conviction that our Realism, our rejection (in the face of all temptations) of all silly nonsense and claptrap, must win in the end” (Lewis 175).



Works Cited
Lewis, C. S. The Screwtape Letters. New York: Harper Collins, 2001. Print.

Screwtape Conclusion

Screwtape XXII-XXV

Ch. 22


Ch.23


Ch. 24


Ch. 25

Screwtape XIII-XVII

Ch. XIII: “Let him do anything but act” (67). Screwtape encourages his nephew to not let his Patient do any actions to fuel his faith and repentance. As long as there is no action, he would only feel the joy of his new faith and eventually this feeling would die away. Actions in the faith is what helps a Christian grow in Christ, and without them, Christians become distant from God and it loses meaning.

Ch. XIV: “Pride at his own humility” (69). Screwtape points out that Wormwood’s Patient is becoming humble. He encourages Wormwood to take advantage of the Patient’s humility to turn him against his faith. Screwtape suggests using the power of pride. The patient would see that he is being humble and be proud of his good works. However, he would eventually see his pride in his works and try to correct this. When he tries to correct his pride of his humility, add pride in him for his efforts. Screwtape is suggesting a constant cycle of pride to pull the Patient away from God. This is using the aphorism of “pride goes before a fall.” However, Screwtape warns that the Patient could see through the tricks and turn his back on Wormwood.

Ch. XV:  “Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead” (76). Screwtape believes that the future is the greatest point of time to use against a person. The past has already been lived and looking back on it could open new thoughts and a desire for answers. The present is where we live now and like the past, new thoughts and desires could emerge. However, we can’t tell what would happen in the future. The devils could fill the mind with fear of an unpleasant and dark future. The anxiety of not knowing the future causes one to focus on himself more in the present and making it difficult for him to see God in his life.

Ch. XVI: “…the search for a ‘suitable’ church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil” (81-82). A churches purpose is to worship God and to teach about His ways. With this, Screwtape fears that the Patient would go closer to God. However, Screwtape encourages his nephew to send the Patient off for church hunting. The two nearest churches have different forms of worship and teachings. While visiting different churches, Screwtape hopes for the Patient to become a critic and show signs of hatred toward the many different teachings.

Ch. XVII:  “… ‘All-I-want’ state of mind” (88). Screwtape tells his nephew about his Patient’s mother and her desires for properly made food. Another devil has influenced the woman to have her belly control her life. Every food has to be properly made to her liking. However, this is impossible, because there is always disappointment in the world. This disappointment causes distance between people and thus isolating the person due to their greed.