When I hear the word “legacy,” I often feel intimidated because I instinctively compare myself with those who have accomplished something significant. In fact, I get the impression that I am disadvantaged, or strictly speaking, useless, compared to those who are leaders. I feel that my fate prevents me from meeting new opportunities, which ultimately impedes me from making great accomplishments. However, after reading “Home of the Free” by Wendell Berry, I am forced to riffle through my life span and smile at the great accomplishments that I, as a “disadvantaged” kid, have taken pride in. Berry’s thesis can be summarized by a quote from the famous existentialist Friedrich Nietzsche, who wrote, “If you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then believe; if you wish to be a devotee of truth, then inquire.” Nietzsche establishes the notion that, in life, we should not avoid “the necessary work of human life” and only seek pleasure and peace. This notion, which is what comprises Berry’s concept of “satisfaction,” makes me ponder everything in life that can make existence prove worthwhile.
According to Berry, the only way to achieve spiritual satisfaction is by accepting our responsibilities and not abusing nature for pleasure and freedom. Berry opposes the advertisements that prompt us to avoid the things we “hate” to do and compel us to rely on technology for temporary fantasy or relief. Instead, he reinforces the concept of effort and physical labor. His satire on the earth space capsule and the condominium housing development advertisements reveal the unappealing sale of a “permanent holiday.” He firmly believes that this merchandise in freedom and pleasure would ruin the meaning of life and the concept of satisfaction....
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...tion can be achieved from many perspectives, but the best one is achieved only through our own experiences. For Berry, it was hauling manure and enjoying the “natural consequences of working outdoors” that made him a happy worker. While for me, it was learning to fix and maintain a bike myself that left a thrilling legacy in which I am still proud of today.
Although hiswork in hauling and spreading manure is entirely different from my work in fixing bicycles, Berry and I were still able to achieve the satisfaction that we sought for because we each have developed our own distinct definition of satisfaction. Nevertheless, by not strictly seeking for convenience and comfort, Berry and I were able to turn hassles into opportunities that establish our own legacy and inspire our future desires. As for me, thanks to the dirty bike work, I now want to become an engineer.
Journalist Charles Lane learned about the Colfax Massacre case while he was on The Washington Post case. In his book “The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, The Supreme Court, and The Betrayal of Reconstruction”, Lane spotlights the Colfax Massacre of 1873 and the result of that event. Lane gives an insightful and detailed analysis of the conditions in Louisiana during this time of reconstruction, both politically and socially. He describes the death of over 60 blacks as a result of the horrific attack that took place at the Colfax court house. Lane recounts the Federal and the Supreme Court trials and the aftermath of the criminals’ not guilty verdict.
The poem, “My Great-Grandfather’s Slaves” by Wendell Berry, illustrates the guilt felt for the sins of a man’s ancestors. The poem details the horror for the speaker’s ancestors involvement in slavery and transitions from sympathy for the slaves to feeling enslaved by his guilt. Berry uses anaphora, motif, and irony, to express the speaker’s guilt and provide a powerful atmosphere to the poem.
In the argument “Let Prisoners Take College Courses,” by John J. Lennon he argues that when incarcerated, if the college programs are not made readily available for more than the select few inmates, they will see more returns than they would otherwise. To support his thesis Lennon uses a variety of researched facts. For example: “In Sing Sing, for example, one forward-thinking educational program, launched in 1998, has a recidivism rate of less than 2 percent”(Lennon, 1). This shows that Lennon did some research on the subject. In addition to the factual evidence presented in the argument, Lennon uses two different human experiences. One experience was of himself. He spoke of what put him in jail and how being able to take college courses helped him discover who he was and feel remorse for his bad decisions of his past.
The Heroes Journey, identified by American scholar Joseph Campbell, is a pattern of narrative that describes the typical adventure of the main hero, whether that be a fiction or nonfiction hero. The first step is the Call to Adventure, where something shakes up the hero’s current situation and the hero starts experiencing change. Consequently, this theory is also applied to the fictional hero Odysseus in The Odyssey and the real-life hero Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist. In The Odyssey, Odysseus embarks on a 10-year voyage from Troy to Ithaca and encounters many monsters along the way including a gigantic Cyclops. Martin Luther King Jr. was a minister and a black-rights activist born on January 15, 1929, who led the civil rights movement during the 50s and 60s which included events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington. Both in fiction, such as The Odyssey, and real-life heroes such as Martin Luther King Jr. endure aspects of the Heroes Journey.
One man never gets to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes from doing things by or for himself. All will have been done collectively for him, thus something fundamental is missing from his life. This can be likened to the pride Equality 7-2521 feels after hunting and preparing his own food in the forest (Rand, 1946, p. 63). He finds happiness in doing things for himself. This idea can be found in many instances, such as while he is studying in the tunnel (Rand, 1946, p. 30). The invention he makes there becomes so important to him that he is willing to be beaten and later leave everything behind in order to protect it, and such is a testament to his desire for independence and strides toward acting on his own
“His life was not confining and the delight he took in this observation could not be explained.” (Cheever 216) He had a perfect family, high social status and very few problems in his life, or so he thought. His life is so wonderful that anything objectionable is repressed. Not until he takes the “journey” into realization, where he learns through others that his life has fallen apart.
A prime example of how beings are desperate to flourish is the actions of John Hammond. “We spared no expense!” ~John Hammond. This is a very strong example of Hammonds values. He is more concerned about the extravagance of the park and wanting to see his dream come true, rather than the functionality and safety of his establishment. This relates to people in everyday life in way that people will take the ro...
undertones of man's journey through life expressing the inability to take life's pleasures to the
“I swear – by my life and my love of it – that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine” (Rand 979). The last lines of John Galt’s speech in Atlas Shrugged declare the fundamental principle of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. Her ideology plays an integral role in her literary pieces, functioning as the motor driving the actions, goals, and beliefs of the protagonists. From the first strains of Objectivism established during her childhood in Russia, Ayn Rand would develop and cultivate her ideas further in each novel, culminating in her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged. We the Living, The Fountainhead, and Anthem share the theme of Atlas Shrugged, and The Fountainhead and Anthem would join the masterpiece as staples of the Objectivist and Libertarian ideologies (Smith 384). Nothing could pose a greater contrast when presented in juxtaposition with Rand’s doctrine than the Communism of her childhood. Ayn Rand’s experiences living in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic led her to create Objectivism; through her fictional works, she showcases her philosophy which is centered on the struggle of the individual versus the collective by emphasizing different aspects in each of her novels.
While going on a journey to be successful there are many up and downs that can create a stronger person or knock a person down. When a person keeps on fighting over and over without giving up he or she are described to be ambitious like Jane Golden who was mentioned in Purpose by Angela Duckworth. Continuing to go further and further a person will run into others who are in need of help, and the right thing to do is be caring like Louie Zamperini who is viewed as a hero in today’s world and in Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Once reaching a stage in life that is comfortable a person will soon discovered happiness. Principal Ms.Short is starting find happiness at Solon High School. Because success is an accomplishment that is very complex through a long period, it is a mixture of
In the section “Celebrations of the Self”, the pieces focus on gaining wisdom, living harmoniously with nature, and relying on what the individual believes to be right. Self reliance is encouraged by being able to “Trust t...
According to Wolf, all meaningful lives have both a subjective and an objective aspect to them. These basics can make lives important only together. The general idea is that a person’s projects and activities in the end make his or her life meaningful,
There exists one word that may just be the king of all misused words–the word that, more than any other, is used with complete disregard for and disinterest in its meaning. No, this is not a reference to literally, nor ‘legit,’ however deserving those words are of defense—this word is Quality. Some of the misuse lies in the basic distinction between quality and Quality with a capital ‘Q’, which can be cleared up quite succinctly. Little ‘q’ quality is attached to an object. It is the value of the object from a sum total of the value of the work that was put into it and of its composition. Quality is the interaction which creates meaning and leads to individual self-actualization. Factories have quality control, where products can have poor quality or high quality. A factory controlling Quality on the other hand is an absurd concept—Quality having no grounding in an object, instead being the connection between beings and experience which provides for wholeness in life. But what draws the line between whether a given experience was one of Quality or one that is hollow and meaningless? Nevil Shute’s On the Beach illustrates the difference between experiencing the immutable Quality defined by Robert Pirsig in his work, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and living a hollow existence, elaborating on the necessity of caring and self-awareness to live a life of dignity, self-actualization, and peace of mind—in other words, to attain Quality.
What will be our legacy when we die? What do we want people to remember us by? Everyone has a different perception and interpretation on how to answer these questions. No answer will be the same because we are all different. All our beliefs and our way of thinking is unique, and there will be no wrong or right answer. The purpose of this synopsis is to outline the reading and provide my personal viewpoints on what “Legacy” is.
Week 2’s information brought the topic of Epicurus and the notion that pleasure is the ultimate goal and should be accomplished in order to achieve the good life. It was interesting to note that since Epicurus was a consequentalist, he condemned the indulgent life for reasons of self-interest and was critical of political and public life which he described as a prison house. For example by having the necessary food and drink, we already feel fulfilled and happy. Although I do agree that individuals should feel free to experience life to the fullest and to do things for ourselves, I do however think that through experiences we are able to experience a good life. By acting selfless we can help others and contribute to society, with the same feeling. Tim O Keefe’s reading was also interesting to read as he was very critical of Epicurus’ philosophy and saw it as unethical. He made a valid point when explaining that if the belief of a mental pleasure is greater than physical pleasures and a lack of pain, that in itself is a kind of pleasure. I disagree even more due to the Cyrenaics view that not all mental pleasure depend on bodily ones. for example individuals can experience happiness and joy in conversations and ambitions