No Rest for the Wicked

The story of Erysichthon gave me a very bitter sweet feeling. For one thing, I was glad Erysichthon was punished for his evilness. I have always felt there has to be some kind of punishment for people who are evil. Somehow, evil people always seem to get away with their schemes with impunity, so I was glad at least this time cruelty was punished. I felt like the spirit of the tree which said, "My pangs of death are eased by one thing-That you will never get away with this." (pg. 34, act?, scene ?). The problem is I felt really sorry for him when he was attacked by hunger. I can say for experience that there is no worse feeling than hunger or thirst (my mother has a hidden fear that we may become fat-thanks to my grandfather's absurd comments-so she decided we should eat very little. Even today she will do the impossible to stop us from eating a little more than necessary). That terrible fate he was punished with was so terrible I wouldn't wish it to the dirtiest scum that has ever wandered the face of the earth. I think any death is worse than starvation, and certainly reaching the point of eating yourself must be terrible. For me, there couldn't have been a worse punishment for Erysichthon. I still wonder why he sold his mother. I'm sure there were plenty other things he could have sold and gained a lot more money than selling an old weak woman, especially because she was the one who took care of you and raised you for as longs as you can remember. That was very stupid indeed.