Buddhist monks live lives of isolation to end suffering. They fast to end cravings for food to allow their minds freedom from the grip of it. They live frugally to develop a detachment from the physical world. They seek to quell desires and cravings, which are seen as the root of suffering. Similarly Catholic Priests and Nuns follow ascetic lives. They practice abstinence and moral virtues in order serve as examples for the religious community. They try to remain pure in body and spirit so that suffering will not plague them. While the traditions of these corresponding religions differ, the aim, the intent behind it is the same; these religious individuals aim to live in the celestial or metaphysical realms where pain and suffering come to a halt.         In everyday life humanity is just as obsessed with pain and suffering as any religious figure. People immerse themselves in worldly pleasures through massages, physical pampering, exquisite food, and the overall denial of war and political strife. However the realities of grief in the world, both on the individual level and on the grand scale of humanity, are undeniable. Death and violence permeate into every individual’s life; the extent of suffering is endless. Consequently, suffering comes in many different shapes and forms, and has varying effects.         Many religions and philosophies have tried to justify or explain the nature of suffering – whole schools of thought are dedicated to the cessation of it. They want to explain the who, what, when, where, and why of suffering, but we as humans haven’t come up with that answer. We seek these answers everywhere in our lives, most prominently in our Literature. We use literature as a crutch to explain human nature or what we perceive to be human nature. Many different authors have a different stance on what is suffering, what it means to each of us, and what said suffering in our lives changes us and shapes who we are.

In Tim O’brien “The Things They Carried”

We as human being use literature as a crutch, as a way to dissect human nature and jow affected we are by the circumstances that end up shaping our lives. Tor example in the narration of fredrick douglass we learn that frederick douglass used what he learned as a slave to help himself and hos fellow slaves later on in his life. Despite the hu erous sufferingbshe endured atthe hands of his masters, he ended up triumphing in the end. He was beaten. On one occasion he dextibes hat was done to him. He said that(ADD QUOTE and ANALYZE)