A New Look At An Old Saying
"All for one and one for all", the well known statement said by the famous Three Musketeers, has now acquired a new meaning. For in that seven word phrase many might see the principles of unity, loyalty, and commitment. On the other hand, this strong unity, loyalty and commitment can create enmity among different groups or individuals because being loyal to more than one group arises in itself, disloyalty. We see situations like this one happen in day to day life. We see issues like this occur in literature as well. In fact, in the novel Snow In August, by Peter Hamill, the main character, Michael Devlin, and his friends use the same seven word phrase that the musketeers do in order to show their loyalty towards each other. Because Michael Devlin is loyal to his friends, as well as other peoples, he faces much discomfort for he fears that being loyal to people other than his friends may turn his friends against him.
Tim Berne, at the Vortex, London 27/3/07
One for all, all for one) motto on the dome of the...
Dome of the Federal Palace, with the motto in the ...Like Michael Devlin, I too have faced this idea of divided loyalty, however I have not faced trouble because of it.
I have faced instances where my loyalty has been divided among different people. In second grade, at Bolton Center School, I met Anthony Plenzio, who had stayed back a year and was therefore older than I. Because he was older, everyone in the grade looked up to him, including myself. However I was one of the few lucky ones to become his friend. He and I became very good friends during 2nd and 3rd grade. We were in the same class both years and spent all of our time together playing football and causing far too much trouble. He and I were in different...