Happiness is a reprise from the many trials and turmoil of life, and so it is natural that we should actively seek it. Ironically though, in our naïve belief that we can somehow augment the amount of happiness in our world, we are actually making our world more depressing to live in. Both John F. Schumaker, in The Happiness Conspiracy, and Ray Bradbury, in Fahrenheit 451, argue that our myopic pursuit of happiness is actually counterproductive. The two authors attempt to persuade the reader that happiness is, and should be, an almost-serendipitous byproduct of a truly fulfilling life, and therefore should not be an explicit objective. In his essay, Schumaker discusses how our lives have devolved to being merely means to an end. We do not find school or work, per se, satisfying, but rather, as necessary steps in order to be able ultimately, create an artificial sense of happiness. For the last several decades, consumerism, with the ephemeral yet satisfying feeling of joy associated with material wealth, has been on the rise, and our society has developed a voracious appetite for “ ‘how-to’ happiness books, articles, TV and radio programmes…happiness institutes, camps, clubs, cruises, workshops, and retreats.” However, as Schumaker points out, our attempt to create a bubble of supposed euphoria for ourselves has not only failed miserably, but it has also had the opposite effect. Despite the deregulation and increased variety of sex, “we make love less often and enjoy it less”; though we live far beyond our needs, we never have enough. Indeed, it appears the law of diminishing returns is in full effect when it comes to happiness. A family in Nigeria, the happiest country in the world, may live on a day-to-day basis, and so simple ... ... middle of paper ... ...ulous, and yet increasingly, people are trying to artificially prolong and create that fleeting feeling, failing to recognize that it is its evanescence that makes it so invigorating. Both Schumaker and Bradbury attempt to convince of this, arguing that it is truly the journey and not final destination that matters. We must live by the principle of jumping off a cliff and building our wings on the way down, as Bradbury often says, for if we fail to do so, then we are reduced to little more than pigs blindly gorging ourselves at a trough, on nothingness. Both writers urge us to reject the predilection prevalent in our society to seek phony happiness and entreat us to live lives that are not one-dimensional and stilted but rather multi-faceted and diverse, positing that only in such a life will we be able to experience, among a spectrum of other emotions, happiness.
In contrast to Aristotle, Roko Belic’s documentary “Happy” provides a fresh perspective that takes place far more recently. The film sets out to similar goals of Aristotle in defining the nature of happiness and exploring what makes different people happy in general. Unlike Aristotle, however, the film’s main argument refers to makes people happier. In this case, the film argues that merely “doing what you love” is what leads to happiness (Belic). The argument itself appears oddly self-serving, considering that message is what underlines the foundation of happiness, yet there is a subliminal message that a simpler lifestyle is what leads to what the film is trying to convince you of. The message itself is obviously addressed to Americans, considering
Oliver Burkeman, author of The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking and column writer for The Guardian, explores the human need to seek for happiness and its connection to the Museum of Failures in his article Happiness is a Glass Half Empty. Burkeman’s purpose to writing this essay is to give readers a new view on how to seek happiness – embrace negativity and expect the worst. Burkeman’s use of a friendly, almost informal tone to help relate to his readers is a brilliant attempt to catch his reader’s attention and hold it, therefore enabling the delivery of logic seem almost effortless.
Set in a dystopic future where books are burned instead of read, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury has a tone of defiance and enlightenment throughout, which is also seen in the painting Joan of Arc 's Death at the Stake by Hermann Anton Stilke. They deal with society and challenging beliefs, as well as being true to what they know is right.
What is happiness? In fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, happiness is a virtual family, watching endless amounts of tv on a huge plasma display and working out. Ray Bradbury depicts a dystopian future America, where the government is corrupt, socializing is strange and reading books are against the law. Ray Bradbury Illustrates his story through many symbols and uses of literary devices to show a warped sense of reality, destruction to social life and society throughout the book. Something we can almost relate to now. This shows how people value more and more of technology for entertainment at the price of their ability to develop through reading causing isolation.
In The Twilight Zone’s “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” and Aldous Huxley's “Brave New World” it is apparent that happiness comes from stability and the ability to get what one wants with little effort, however, the price for this happiness is a loss of individuality and strong emotions, making ignorance truly bliss.
People push being happy on society as a total must in life; sadness is not an option. However, the research that has conducted to the study of happiness speaks otherwise. In this essay Sharon Begley's article "Happiness: Enough Already" critiques and analyzes societies need to be happy and the motivational affects it has on life. Begley believes that individuals do not always have to be happy, and being sad is okay and even good for us. She brings in the research of other professionals to build her claim that extreme constant happiness is not good for people. I strongly agree that we need to experience sadness to build motivation in life and character all around.
In the essay Why Happiness, Why Now? Sara Ahmed talks about how one’s goal in life is to find happiness. Ahmed begins her essay with skepticism and her disbeliefs in happiness. She shows her interest in how happiness is linked to a person’s life choices. Ahmed also tries to dig deeper, and instead of asking an unanswerable question, “what is Happiness?” she asks questions about the role of happiness in one’s life.
Although we might think we’d have it all, if and when we have it all, Henry David Thoreau and Herman Hesse’s readings show how we don’t have anything until we have next to nothing. A test of perceived happiness versus real happiness was done to the main characters in both readings. The naturally complacent way through life for these two was obviously one that was chosen for them but rich (either by society or by parents). Instead of taking the wealthier and “more fulfilling” ways of life plus short term benefits, they chose to question what they were given and yet somehow stay appreciative. Through doing so, they benefited with skills from endeavors that you, or me the “civilized” could have never accomplished – even with modern technology.
"Are you happy?" "What is true happiness to you?" Bet you didn't know how to answer these questions. That being that these are questions not many of us actually put thought into. While reading the book "Fahrenheit 451," your mind will ponder the thought of happiness. The author Ray Bradbury really focuses the book on this idea of happiness he's created. The societies happiness is portrayed in an idea of living with a sitcom family, and dreams of adding on various walls sized televisions. People in this society do not have their own thoughts or do not express emotion. True happiness comes from acceptance of the situation and living life so you matter, make a difference and change the world somehow.
In “Richard Cory” by Edwin Robinson, people thought of Richard Cory as a happy person who had everything he could have ever asked for, when in reality he struggles with his happiness. Comparatively, in “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, Montag starts to lose his happiness more and more as the truth is revealed to him. Both of these literature works revolve around the theme of happiness and how it can be perceived by the society.
In the book, The How of Happiness, author and researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky sets her book apart from other self-awareness books by being the first to utilize empirical studies. She uses data gained through scientific method to provide support for her hypothesis. This hypothesis consists mainly of the idea that we have the ability to overcome genetic predisposition and circumstantial barriers to happiness by how we think and what we do. She emphasizes that being happier benefits ourselves, our family and our community. “The How of Happiness is science, and the happiness-increasing strategies that [she] and other social psychologists have developed are its key supporting players” (3).
Happiness is what every human seeks; its human nature. Happiness, however one defines it as, can come at a price. Societies all around the world view happiness differently, but in a futuristic novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, happiness is supposedly an inevitable feeling gained at the cost of freedom. This novel explores a “World State” in which the majority of the society feels no strong emotion, complies with their assigned caste, and behave almost identically to the next person (Huxley, 220). John Savage, who is brought from an uncivilized world to civilization, realizes that this World State does not fit his emotional needs and becomes exiled to a lighthouse area in London with bare living conditions (240-244). After a short period, John commits suicide, a sign of his still inevitable unhappiness (259). Since escaping from this society where his own happiness was impossible was not the answer, the question still remains, how is one to be happy in a society that does not support one’s views and ideas of happiness?
From the moment of birth, to the moment of death, humans are flooded with emotions both good and bad. Individuals are continuously seeking fulfillment, some failing to find it while others succeed. Many seek adoration; love, accomplishment and greatness. In literature, authors take the readers on journeys that allow imagination, granting the possibility for the reader to grasp inner desires and decide what is truly important in life. Literature allows readers to dive into a different world where happiness and fulfillment is plentiful and eternal, also described as a utopia, while other pieces of literature direct the reader into a world of dissatisfaction which is a dystopia. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is in 26th century England. With the help of advanced technology and drugs, happiness fills the lives of the people living at that time period. But, the people are missing out on one of the most important feelings of life. That is sorrow or unhappiness. The society in Brave New World is very different from modern-day society; many aspects of life are removed such as family, monogamy, and religion. The citizens of Brave New World live in false happiness with all the necessities of life provided for them but have the lack of an inferred deeper satisfaction. In Brave New World happiness is the lack of unhappiness because the inhabitants can never truly know what happiness is without experiencing true unhappiness. The lifestyle in Brave New World is built on the notion that happiness is the only thing necessary in one’s life. This novel suggest that the reader should seek things besides happiness because the citizens in the World State live bleak and monotonous lives which show the faults in this so-called ‘perfect’ society. In thi...
Bowman, James. "The Pursuit of Happiness." The American Spectator. N.p., Sept. 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Throughout history, philosophers and scientists of various kinds have been trying to define happiness, identify its causes and the obstacles to reaching it. According to Jon Gertner, psychologist Gilbert and economist Loewenstein have succeeded in pointing out several reasons why people are unhappy (pp: 444-6). It is important to note that according to Gilbert, it is not that people cannot g...