The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Essay Example

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Essay Example The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Paper The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Paper Essay Topic: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner Barry J. Owens Jr. October 9, 2008 Eng. 262-Paper 1 Dr. Liesl Ward The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Have you ever made a decision that you eventually regretted? We make decisons on a daily basis. The decisions that we make have consequences. Some of the consequences are good and some are bad. We should be very careful when making decisions, because there are some decisions that you cannot easily change. In Mr. Coleridge’s’ poem, â€Å"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner†, we find an elderly man who has made the wrong decision. In the Christian aspect, a bad decision is a sin. It is hard for me not to believe that Mr. Coleridge develops this poem from a Christian aspect. The theme of the story reminds me of the salvation of a personwho has become a Christian. The poem also reminds me of the story of Adam and Eve. I find it interesting that the mariner told this story to a person that was going to a wedding, When Christians witness to others most of the time the listeners do not want to listen. The ancient mariner commits the sin, realizes that he has sinned, faces punishment for his sin, is redeemed from his sin, and is required to share his testimony with others. The ancientmariner makes the wrong decision when he decides to kill the albatross. He did not have any need to kill the albatross. He did not have anything else to do. He didn’t even think about what would happen if he killed the albatross. He just did it. Most of the time when we make decisions we do not weigh the consequences. The mariner realizes that he has â€Å"done a hellish thing† (2. 91). He does realize his wrongdoing until after it is done. Most Christians do not think about their wrong decisions while they are in the act. It does not dawn on them until after it is done and most of the time, by then it is too late. Themariner probably wanted to impress the other men that were on the ship. The albatross reminds me of Jesus Christ. He died because mankind sins. The albatross died to change the heart and mindset of the Ancient Mariner. We are not told exactly why the mariner killed the albatross or what were his intentions, but we do know that the albatross is dead. The ancient mariner also realizes that the albatross had brought good things and was meant to bring joy. He learns a lesson from his sin. The lesson that he learns is that God created all things equal, whether it is a human, or an animal. He also learns that every creature has its own niche. Nature punishesthe mariner by not giving him a â€Å"drop of water to drink†. (122) The crewmen’s mouths were so dry that they did not have any saliva to swallow. Nature punishes them by not providing them with any winds and the ship barely moved. Nature also punished the crewman by creating an uncomfortable environment. The mariner was not only punished by nature, but he is punished by the crewmen on the ship. They were upset with him for killing the albatross and claimed that it was his fault that they were in this horrible situation. The crewmen gives themariner gave the mariner â€Å"evil looks†. (139) The crewmen also punished him by putting the dead albatross on his neck. The crewmen do not take any blame for telling him that it was alright to kill the albatross. The crewmen, however, did face punishment. The crewman all passed away. The mariner wasthe only one that remained alive and this was perhaps the biggest punishment. I believe that the only way that the mariner could truly repent was for the crewman to die. The ancient mariner proves to mankind that when you are sincere and when you pray to God he will forgive you immediately. The average person does not forgive you that quickly. After he is finally was able to spend some time with God he was able to lift the burden. The â€Å"albatross fell off â€Å"(290). The albatross symbolizes the sin and when he repented the sin was removed. The Christian belief is that when you accept Jesus into your life and ask him to forgive you, sin is removed. When Jesus lifts your burdens, he will bear them for you. The ancient mariner finally realizes that he should respect all living creatures. He realizes that God has given us dominion over the animals and we should respect them. At times, we believe that if we hurt an animal that we have not sinned, but God looks at all of his creatures the same. We should make sure that we are taking good care of God’s creatures, because he gave us dominion over them. God is the best creator, because he loves â€Å"all things both great and small† (615). There are many times in life we take advantage of the animals that God has placed on Earth. We should appreciate the animals. The mariner did not appreciate the albatross until after it was dead, but it is a part of God’s will so that he can tell others the consequences of sins. I believe that God sometimes has to punish us to make us see ourselves. If God would have let the mariner easily get away with killing the albatross, he would have never developed a respect for animals. He probably would have just sin again. After God forgives our sin and saves us, we are required to become recruiters for him. We must tell others of his goodness. The mariner was happy to share his testimony with others. The big companies use the celebrities to share their testimony of how well they enjoy the product. In God’s eyes, everyone is a celebrity and we all have the responsibility of sharing our testimony with others. Our testimonies are not the same, but we all can relate, because sin is sin. The mariner is grateful that God chooses him to share his experience and can’t help but share it. Themariner is grateful that he has accepted God and wants to make sure that everyone gets a chance to accept God. There are people who believe that experience is the best teacher; however at times I believe that wisdom is the best teacher. If I can listen to someone that has been down the same road before I would rather take their advice than to go through the horrible punishment of sin. The wedding guest left â€Å"a sadder and wiser man†. (624). He is probably saddened by the story when the punishment of sin is told. The wedding guest will leave wiser, because now he knows that he doesn’t have to face sin and its punishments, he can just talk to God and ask for forgiveness.