Analysis of Happiness between two essays
In The “So Called Iced-Cream” by Daniel Barwick and “How Not to Get Into College: The Preoccupation with Preparation” by Alfie Kohn both demonstrate that life is meaningless without having passion for the things you do and things you wish to achieve in life. First of all, from Barwick’s essay Monty Burns has everything in gross excess yet cannot bring joy into his life. For instance, the narrator writes, “How could it be that Mr. Bums is unhappy? He has his own Xanadu, a nuclear power plant that he runs with his iron fist, a chauffeur driven Rolls-Royce, control over the local Republican Party… He was even reunited with his precarious teddy bear, Bobo. What, then, might the problem be? (Barwick, 3) Despite
…show more content…
living a luxurious life, a life everyone dreams of will bring a peace of mind, yet Mr.
Burns still cannot find happiness. Ultimately, highlighting the importance love for something dear to one can have, which for many people becomes their reason for existence; in Mr. Burns’ case, he already possesses everything in the world which is the sole reason he has no desire to protect and cherish something. Secondly, in Alfie Kohn’s essay, students deserted their social lives and interests in fear of what is to come. For example, students began associating themselves with clubs “because they thought membership would look impressive”; with college in mind “[their] even forgetting-what they enjoyed doing” in order “to squeeze out another few points on the G.P.A or the SAT” (Kohn, 7). Concerned and depressed students begin to believe that the only way to achieve greatness in life is to give up and sacrifice things you love for the better future, but are not able to realize that the cycle will only repeat once they get to university and later in life. Therefore, outlining why it is better to be satisfied with something that brings pleasure into your life instead of being miserable for the rest of your life. Thirdly, in Barwick’s essay, Mr. Burns only views things has pathways leading to other things in life,
which causes him to live a dissatisfied life. For instance, during a bowling game between friends “winning a worthless bowling trophy is much more important to him than the sweet, albeit momentary, pleasure of a group of jocular friends [brings to one] and in the end “everything turns out to bore him” (Barwick, 4). Despite having friends by his side Mr. Burns chooses winning the trophy instead of valuable friendship and eventually Burns’ reason to not enjoy with friends ultimately brings him grief. Finally, the fact that students in Kohn’s essay see grades as being life itself is shocking. For example, when Alfie Kohn himself tries to caution parents and teachers about “what is threating to take over their [teens] lives”, a “well-dressed boy of about 16” says, “‘You’re telling us not to just get in the race for the traditional rewards’, ‘but then what else is there?’” (Kohn, 10)
Haidt hypothesizes that happiness comes from between and is a mixture of the two sources. In order to be truly happy you must find the right relationship between yourself and your local environment and yourself and the world at whole. We must become what Haidt quotes Durkheim idea of homo duplex where humans exist on both an individual plane and a societal one which determines the emotional reactions. I’m not entirely sure on how it functions on this campus but in my hometown of Brockton MA everyone is so individualistic that no is happy. This creates a very hostile environment and causes many other problems. The information in this chapter would help prevent such an environment from sprouting on campus, because the only way to achieve true happiness and avoid such a fate is through developing relationships on both
The father of a character named Will, is seemingly facing a midlife crisis; wishing to regain the years lost in order to fill the hole that life had dug into his soul: “Add up all the rivers never swum in, cakes never eaten, and by the time you get my age, Will, it’s a lot to miss out on...”(Bradbury 136). As a result, his philosophies of being are inherently influenced by such a mindset. In one portion of the book, his son asked him straightaway what was hindering his happiness; the father then described what happines...
Shiffman believes that the drop in interest in the humanities results in the inability of students to have clear bearings amid life’s uncertainties. He believes that only by studying the humanities will students be able to introspect and recognize that endless achievement may not add up to a meaningful life (Shiffman 5). However, Shiffman fails to realize that this form of reflection need not be done solely by those majoring in the humanities. It can be done by all who try, their fields of study are no limitation. In fact, it may be this same reflection that leads to an individual’s decision to prioritize practicality. Not all those who choose the practical path are doing it for themselves. Many may do it for their families, as a safe and stable means of supporting their loved ones. Others may take this opportunity to give back to their community through the ways they are most skilled. Instead of pursuing a single interest in a certain field, they choose to follow their various callings. Doing solely what an individual loves is a self-centered view of the world. While it is important to chase happiness, it is also important to reflect on what one is doing to spread happiness to the rest of the world. One must find something that they are good at, and put that into the world. They should contribute to others and help the world be better, in addition to following their passions. An individual’s acts of service may just become one of their many passions.
In “In Pursuit of Happiness” by Mark Kingwell, Kingwell really questions the reader about is it better to pursue happiness if it’s risking to never truly find it or just by simply letting happiness come to them naturally. He really tries to figure out the question himself by reading insights or stories from other philosophers and authors with similar interests only to come to find out that there seems to be an underlying theme that relates to a lot of “self-help” happiness. Kingwill also writes about the nature of happiness and the idea of “better living” simply saying that it seems that rich or poor it seems that no one can ever truly win in the”mug’s game”. But yet, he still question what might really be the true definition of happiness and
The struggle between happiness and society shows a society where true happiness has been forfeited to form a perfect order.
All in all, Chris McCandless is a contradictory idealist. He was motivated by his charity but so cruel to his parents and friends. He redefined the implication of life, but ended his life in a lonely bus because of starvation, which he was always fighting against. Nevertheless, Chris and the readers all understand that “happiness only real when shared.” (129; chap.18) Maybe it’s paramount to the people who are now alive.
Everyone wants to fill the void within themselves, and most humans try to accomplish this by finding jobs they enjoy, but it seems that most of them ultimately fail. When you are younger you look to your parents to show you the way, but as you approach adulthood you start to feel more of a sense of rebellion toward them instead of the admiration you once had. The writer makes the poem universal by saying he didn’t want to end up like his father, something most children in north america could relate to. It’s also easily linked to our society in north america because of the way our schooling system is set up, in a way that you must commit to what you’re going to do for the rest of your life when you’re still too young to vote, and our system being this way makes it easy to end up regretting what you choose. Humans in modern society are expected to make many commitments for a range of things- relationships or sports teams, even major life decisions, and it’s obvious that our natural need for commitment is prevalent in our everyday life. Consequently, this need for making commitments can end up leaving people making poor decisions or at least taking a route you’ll end up wanting to renounce in the
As shown in Alfie Kohn’s How not to get into college; the preoccupation with preparation, and in Heron Jones’s Somnambulist, society is pursuing extrinsic motivators and extrinsic happiness, although many feel as though extrinsic motivators are important and essential to be happy, intrinsic motivators are what will truly make one happy for a prolonged period of time. In society’s pursuit of extrinsic rewards, society is losing sight of intrinsic happiness and thus, feeling unfulfilled and lacking intrinsic
It is then, when Gatsby emerged from F. Scott Fitzgerald. A true character of 1920’s America, the parties, the young-money, the helplessly in love, the pursuit of happiness. Darrin McMahon’s “In Pursuit of Unhappiness” explores the topic of seeking felicity and encountering barriers that we would not preoccupy ourselves with if we existed in an otherwise empathetic society. “Secular culture since the 17th century made "happiness," in the form of pleasure or good feeling, not only morally acceptable but commendable in and of itself.” (para. 4). As this quote exemplifies, there is a cultural notion of happiness being expected to be our default state of being. Due to this ingrown conception, we are riddled with the demand of forcing our path to contentment, as Gatsby, a character dumbfounded by a love he thought unmatched with a young debutante,
The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.
Austen intends to show how human happiness is found by living in accordance with human
Disney shows and shows similar to such have taught us from a young age the concept of “happily ever after". This is a fairy-tale of absolute happiness. It is a state of feeling good all the time. In fairy tales, this feeling is usually found in fulfilling marriages, royal castles, singing birds and laughing children. In real life sometimes finding that happiness isn’t as easy as a fairy tale makes it look like. Research suggests that if you focus too much on trying to feel good all the time, you’ll actually undermine your ability to ever feel good because no amount of feeling good will be satisfying to you, that is when you become a perfectionist. If feeling good all the time were the only requirement for happiness, then a person who uses cocaine every day would be extremely happy receiving the same euphoria or natural happiness. Natural happiness is what we get when we get what we wanted, and synthetic happiness is what we make when we
In the essay, “How Not to Get Into College: The Preoccupation with Preparation”, Kohn argues that achieving distinction in school is not equivalent to lifetime happiness. As a student, I believe we are only motivated in an extrinsic fashion in relation to school and grades, thus sacrificing for something later in life. However, to create a balance in our lives, I believe students must seek intrinsic motivation as well in order live a much healthier and fulfilled life.
If you think that winning the lottery will leave you feeling content for the rest of your life, think again. Acording to American Psychological Assocation, the researchers had observed people and came to a conclusion that family and friends can provide true happiness. In observations they found that while wealth improves quality of life and 'life satisfaction', it has only a small impact on day-to-day mood. Support of family and friends and working at a fulfilling job were also far more important than income, the researchers found. This survey is agreeable because without the support of your loved ones you would be like a lost cat in the streets. The people surrounded by you are the ones who you can turn to when you are in a time of need. The quote “Riches are for spending.” by Francis Bacon. This quote is saying that money is only used to spend and you can not attain true happiness. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway never took advantage of Jay Gatsby one of the nicest people he had ever came across even though he had money. Nick always ha...
...ome very valid points. I think he wrote it to help the reader out. He wanted to open the reader's eyes to these issues so they wouldn't be searching for happiness in the wrong places. But, is there a "right" place to look for happiness? This is never clearly answered in the essay but we are left with some helpful insight.