St Augustine

As a boy Augustine showed signs of rebellion from what was commonly expected of a young boy his age. “It was not of my own inclination that I did well, for I learnt nothing unless compelled.” (Augustine 14) Augustine says that the people, who he refers to as “they,” or in other words his elders, were there to push him along. To achieve the objective “they” had set forth for Augustine, to satisfy the appetite for wealth and glory. Augustine writes, “I had no love for reading books and hated being forced to study them.”(14) Augustine had an attitude like that of many young students in modern times, as he is not really into doing the school work assigned unless it is of interest to him. He is in turn forced to complete what is assigned just like modern students are. Augustine speaks of a story in which he reads of a great love story where the girl, Dido, kills her self in the name of love. This makes Augustine sad as he cries for the dying love of Dido, but now he thinks back and writes, “What is more pitiable then a wretch without pity for himself who weeps over the death of Dido dying for love, but not weeping over himself dying for his lack of love for you, my god…”(15) The note at the bottom of page 15 says this is reminiscent of Alexander the great who left a tragedy in a theatre because he did not wish to weep at fiction when he was unmoved by his own exploits. This is a very interesting situation as it shows Augustine had very much compassion for God that he kept bottled up even as a boy.

On TV today reality is king. It seems like there is a new reality show premise coming out everyday. Whether it is a show where a bunch of people fight to win the heart of one person of the opposite sex or where a bunch of people fight just to survive, it seems there is something for everyone. There is one show that comes to mind that Augustine could have related to. Fear Factor is an adventure reality show where normal everyday people are to do stunts in order to win a grand prize. The contestants, usually 6 to start with, go through a series of stunts and after each one who ever has the worst time, or