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 a stinence and moral virtues in order serve as e!amples for the religious community. They try to remain pure in ody and spirit so that suffering will not plague them. "hile the traditions of these corresponding religions differ, the aim, the intent ehind it is the same# these religious individuals aim to live in the celestial or metaphysical realms where pain and suffering come to a halt. $n everyday life humanity is %ust as o sessed with pain and suffering as any religious figure. People immerse themselves in worldly pleasures through massages, physical pampering, e!quisite food, and the overall denial of war and political strife. &owever the realities of grief in the world, oth on the individual level and on the grand scale of humanity, are undenia le. 'eath and violence permeate into every individual(s life# the e!tent of suffering is endless. Consequently, suffering comes in many different shapes and forms, and has varying effects. )any religions and philosophies have tried to %ustify or e!plain the nature of suffering * whole schools of thought are dedicated to the cessation of it. They want to e!plain the who, what, when, where, and why of suffering, ut we as humans haven(t come up with that answer. "e seek these answers everywhere in our lives, most prominently in our +iterature. "e use literature as a crutch to e!plain human nature or what we perceive to e human nature. )any 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. $n Tim ,( rien -The Things They Carried.

"e as human eing use literature as a crutch, as a way to dissect human nature and %ow affected we are y the circumstances that end up shaping our lives. Tor e!ample 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. 'espite the hu erous suffering she endured atthe hands of his masters, he ended up triumphing in the end. &e was eaten. ,n one occasion he de!ti es hat was done to him. &e said that/0'' 12,T3 and 0N0+4536