What is I must be cruel to be kind?

The expression has become an idiom, something a father may say to a teenager when grounding her to protect her from something – possibly bad influences. “I must be cruel to be kind,” he may say. It means that he is doing her a small injustice with the aim of avoiding an even greater injustice or harm.

Is it possible to be kind being cruel?

“We have shown that people can be ‘cruel to be kind’—that is, they may decide to make someone feel worse if this emotion is beneficial for that other person, even if this does not entail any personal benefit for them,” explains psychological scientist Belén López-Pérez, who conducted the research while at the …

Who said I must be cruel only to be kind?

Polonius deserved what he got, but nonetheless Hamlet repents, and prepares to suffer the consequences: Polonius was punished by Hamlet, and Hamlet will be punished for killing Polonius. But when Hamlet says he “must be cruel only to be kind,” he’s shifting his attention back to his mother.

Is cruel to be kind a paradox?

Another way that the Cruel to be Kind paradox can be demonstrated, especially in post-military life, is when a veteran wants to “protect” others from the veteran themselves, and so acts in an angry or aggressive manner in order to push others away.

What if this cursed hand were thicker?

What if this cursed hand Were thicker than itself with brother’s blood, Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens To wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercy But to confront the visage of offence? And what’s in prayer but this twofold force, To be forestalled ere we come to fall, Or pardon’d being down?

Who says sweets to the sweet in Hamlet?

When Hamlet’s mother, the queen, delivers “Sweets to the sweet,” she’s not bearing a hostess gift or offering candy to her date. The queen’s “sweets” are funeral bouquets scattered in the grave of Ophelia, Hamlet’s former flame.

What does being cruel mean?

Definition of cruel 1 : disposed to inflict pain or suffering : devoid of humane feelings a cruel tyrant has a cruel heart. 2a : causing or conducive to injury, grief, or pain a cruel joke a cruel twist of fate. b : unrelieved by leniency cruel punishment.

Is cruel an emotion?

The Oxford Dictionary defines cruelty as “cruel behaviour or attitudes”. At the same time, cruel is defined as “causing pain or suffering”. The Oxford Dictionary defines emotion as “a strong feeling deriving from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others.”

What is the tragic flaw of Hamlet?

Shakespeare’s tragic hero Hamlet’s fatal flaw is his failure to act immediately to kill Claudius, his uncle and murderer of his father. His tragic flaw is ‘procrastination’. His continuous awareness and doubt delays him in performing the needed.

How do you use cruel kindness in a sentence?

For example: In the early days of assembly lines, human robots did exactly the same small task over and over again for hours on end. In the short story, “The Necklace”, Madame Forriester’s loan of the necklace proved to be a cruel kindness because she never told Madame Loisel it was fake.

What is paradox and examples?

An example of a paradox is “Waking is dreaming”. This type of statement can be described as paradoxical. A compressed paradox comprised of just a few words is called an oxymoron. This term comes from the Greek paradoxa, meaning “incredible, contrary to opinion or expectation.”

Do same villains send to heaven?

A villain kills my father, and I, my father’s only son, send this same villain to heaven. He killed my father when my father was enjoying life, with all his sins in full bloom, before my father could repent for any of them.