Happiness Is The Meaning Of Life Essay

Good afternoon and welcome to the Annual English Teachers Association Conference.

The great aristotle once said, “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”.

Today we will be discussing The Search for Meaning: Happiness and Existence - A Student’s Perspective.

Happiness is defined as “a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure or joy.” The Dalai Lama once said “happiness is not a luxury but the purpose of our existence.” We, like the Dalai Lama, believe that happiness is the meaning of life.

Happiness is not just an emotion. Happiness is relative and dynamic in nature, meaning it changes over time, and is experienced differently by each individual.

It celebrates individual creation and difference, also highlighting the contrasts of the world. Hopkins uses words that refer to spotted or two toned objects such as “dappled”, “stippled” and “brinded”. This especially emphasises the beauty of difference in the world. God is referenced both at the beginning and end of the poem symbolising God’s presence is always felt, at the beginning and end of time. Hopkins once again accentuates the fact that all these things are created by God and the phrase “Fathers-forth” displays he is the Father figure of everything. The use of rhetorical question in parenthesis “(who knows how?)”, asks us to ponder the power of creation.

Albert Camus’ search for meaning was largely influenced by absurdism. The absurd is defined as “ the disjunction between what we believe and reality makes our life meaningless.” Camus believed that life had no rational meaning or order. This view was particularly evident in his book The Outsider. In Camus eyes, meaning isn’t necessary for fulfilment rather, existence alone satisfies in life and the search for meaning is futile as death is

In Hopkin’s poem Carrion Comfort, a terrible sonnet, Hopkins begins to question God. This poem was written after Hopkins came out of intense depression and misery. He questions God as to why he would put him through this time of suffering. However, throughout the poem, he also undertakes reflection and comes to the belief in the last lines of the poem, that God has put him through this for his own good.

Like Carrion Comfort, part 2 of The Outsider, is about reflection on the actions of Meursault as he is sentenced to death. In chapter 5 particularly, he is reflecting on how his experiences have shaped him and how his loyalty to his beliefs through times of adversity have lead him to feeling acceptance at his own character. Through reflection Meursault feels belonging by realising the world, much like him, has a gentle indifference.

But how do these connect