The word ‘friend’ often carries vague connotations and assumptions that have no real purpose to the meaning of the word that is important here. Within the boundaries of a true friendship, the superiority of one individual over another should never be outward nor should one individual benefit at the other’s expense; also, an individual should not claim ownership over the other within a relationship termed a friendship. A relationship where an individual contains more power over another and asserts this power cannot be defined a friendship regardless of how kind each individual is to the other. Through the account of an unnamed female, Aphra Behn outlines such a relationship within the narrative of Oroonoko and his encounters with other characters as a royal slave. One character in particular, Mr. Trefry, a plantation supervisor, takes a keen liking to Oroonoko and holds him up on a pedestal of excellence for all to see; however, his actions towards Oroonoko suggest that he sees him as a prize possession rather than a man of equal value. Trefry’s unwillingness and eventual failure to free Oroonoko from slavery insinuates that the relationship between the characters is not that of mutual respect and, consequently, cannot be defined as friendship. As Aristotle claims, there is no difference between a good friend and a friend for a “friend is one who will always try… to do what he takes to be good for you” (emphasized), which is a belief that, evidently, is important here (Aristotle Rhetoric I.1.5). In Jonathan Swift’s tale, Gulliver’s Travels, Part 2, Gulliver, again, meets a collective group of individuals who are of unequal size to him, but this time who are larger. Swift takes a satirical and more literal approach to the notion of ...
... middle of paper ...
...dship. Within each relationship, the higher status individual is aware of his or her own actions as beneficial to his or herself. Neither Trefry nor Glumdalclitch puts the notion of what he or she takes to be good for the other individual, Oroonoko or Gulliver, and, as a result, friendship is ruled out and consequences ensue.
Works Cited
Aristotle. On Rhetoric. The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present. 2nd ed. Ed. Trans. Patricia Bizzell & Bruce Herzberg. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2001. Book I, Chapter V. Print.
Behn, Aphra. Oroonoko. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol C. 9th ed. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012. 2313-2358. Print.
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol C. 9th ed. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012. 2492-2633. Print.
Aristotle believed that rhetoric is a skill habit of mind that is, in itself, morally neutral and can be used for good or ill. He believed th...
In life, friendship is something that everybody needs. It allows people to function better and be more successful. Some people think that all friendships are the same and do not differ from the next. However, I believe that each friendship has its own quality that makes it different from all of the other friendships while still retaining all of the characteristics that make the relationship a friendship. Today, this essay will highlight the qualities that are the same in the friendship of Maurice and Laura from An Invisible Thread and the friendship of Lennie and George from Of Mice and Men while also identifying the differences between them as well as illustrating the very attributes that define a friendship.
choose to live, though he had all other goods.” (1155a5) So it is agreed that
Aristotle believes that everyone is in need of some type of friend, he states that “for rich people and those who rule and have power, there seems to be the greatest need for friends.”(page. 144, book VIII) Aristotle believes that we as humans benefit greatly from having friends, no matter who we are or what position we are in wealthy or poor. There are three distinct types of friendship that Aristotle directs his beliefs towards. These three types of friendships include: Utility, pleasure, and Goodness or virtuous friendship. Aristotle believes that friendship is something that is extremely important to have and should be held above many things. Friendship Utility is unlike the friendships of pleasure or goodness because as Aristotle puts it is “for the old” he explains that friendship Utility is a friendship that two people may have where they only communicate with one another for self-benefit or to gain something for one’s self. These two people are not likely to live with each other and at times may not even be nice to th...
Friendship is a bond that brings society together as a whole. The article, “Friendship in an Age of Economics” by Todd May describes six friendships that pertain to life. In the Of Mice and Men excerpt, the reader meets two characters, George and Lennie, and their friendship is shown. Of the six friendships, in “Friendship in an Age of Economics,” the true friendship, developed by Aristotle, is used in Of Mice and Men through George and Lennie’s relationship because of how they act towards each other, and how they take care of one another in many different ways. First, the article introduces the audience to friendships described by Aristotle, and Todd May.
Friendship is not something that has adapted over time. The desire to seek out and surround ourselves with other human beings, our friends, is in our nature. Philosophers such as Aristotle infer that friendship is a kind of virtue, or implies virtue, and is necessary for living. Nobody would ever choose to live without friends, even if we had all the other good things. The relationship between two very different young boys, Bruno and Shmuel’s in the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is an example of the everlasting bond of a perfect friendship based upon the goodness of each other.
Aristotle presents his view of the mutual desire for good in others, or Friendship in his work, The Nicomachean Ethics. He asserts that friendship comes in three types, Virtue Friendship, Use Friendship, and Pleasure Friendship. He distinguishes Virtue Friendship as the perfect friendship, leaving Use Friendship and Pleasure friendship as deficient friendships. C.S. Lewis presents his view of friendship, which is motivated by appreciation love, in his book The Four Loves in a manner seeming to correspond to Aristotle’s concept of Virtue Friendship. Lewis also presents his perception of Companionship, which seems to correspond to Aristotle’s notion of Use and Pleasure Friendships. Lewis presents a more modern and seemingly accurate rehabilitation
Rodino, Richard H. "The Study of Gulliver's Travels, Past and Present." Critical Approaches to Teaching Swift. New York: AMS Press, 1992.
According to Aristotle there are three different types of friendships that exist. Friendship that is based on utility, ones that are based on pleasure, and friendship based on goodness of character. The first two kinds are superficial, so they don’t usually last long. Friendship based on goodness of character is the best kind of friendship, because these friends love one another for who they are and not for what they stand to gain from one another. Friendship exists best between
Aristotle wrote on many subjects in his lifetime but one of the virtues that he examines more extensively is friendship. Aristotle believes that there are three different kinds of friendship: utility, pleasure, and virtuous friendships. He also argues that a real friendship should be highly valued because it is a complete virtue and he believes it to be greater than honor and justice. Aristotle suggests that human’s love of utility and pleasure is the only reason why the first two types of friendships exist. Aristotle also argues that humans only set up these types of relationships for personal gain. But when he speaks of the virtuous friendships, Aristotle states that it is one of the greatest attainments one can achieve.
Aristotle. "The Poetics." The Rhetoric and the Poetics of Aristotle. Ed. Ingram Bywater. New York: McGraw Hill, 1984. 223-66.
Behn, Aphra. “Oroonoko.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. AH Abrams. New York. WW Norton and Company, Inc 2000.
"Gulliver's Travels By Jonathan Swift Book Summary." Book Summary. Cliffnotes, n.d. Web. 01 May 2014.
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels presents a narrator, Lemuel Gulliver, who recounts his various sea voyages to fantastical lands. During each voyage, Gulliver encounters different societies and customs to which Gulliver must adjust to. in order to be accepted into their society The entire novel serves as a commentary on how people everywhere have a tendency to abuse the power given to them.
In Gulliver’s Travel, a novel written by Jonathan Swift, there are many political themes and satirical descriptions of the English government. During Swift’s time, the early 1700s, the Tory government and the Whig government opposed each other. Hoping that they would appoint him to the Church of England, Swift joined the Tories, but he was not appointed to the position by the Queen. When Tory government was in trouble for treason with the French, the Whig government took over, and Swift left politics to publish Gulliver’s Travel to show the disagreements between the two parties and between the Protestant English and the Catholic French, who did not agree on religious values. Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travel also to show his idealized vision for the English society. In the novel, Swift criticizes the government as he narrates the adventures which Gulliver experiences at different islands with foreign and unique groups of people. In a way, Swift creates utopian societies at the Lillitupian Island and the Brobdingnag Island to exhibit the imperfection of government that existed in England. As Gulliver, Swift’s main character, interacts with these societies, he criticizes some of their customs and laws. He notices that these societies are not utopian from his perspective. Although there are many themes throughout Gulliver’s Travels, this paper will focus on part one and two examining the utopian societies Swift creates for Gulliver to experience through his interactions with the Lilliputians and Brobdingnagian people system of government.