Perfection is an unattainable characteristic. Many things might look golden and perfect on the outside while on the inside it could be crumbling and rotting. A big idea that many characters struggle with is perfection. Many characters in the novel Ordinary people by Judith Guest Strive for perfection in one way or another. One character that significantly struggles with the necessity of perfection throughout the novel is Beth. Throughout the beginning of the story it is easy to see Beth's obsession with the perfect appearance of her family. However things aren't always as they appear. At the end of the novel the reader witnesses the destruction of the perfect family. Beth goes out of her way to make sure that her family's image is perfect …show more content…
And I thought your blurting it out like that was in the worst possible taste.” “I'm sorry.” “Not to mention a violation of privacy.” “Whose privacy?” He asks. “Whose privacy did I violate?” She does not answer.” (Page#) She doesn't want anybody to know that her family is not perfect, so she gets upset when Cal mentions Con’s doctor. She does not care about how it might help her son recover, all she cares about is how it affects the appearance of her family. If she put half the effort to the internal well being of her family as she did to the outer appearance of it, then the inevitable separation of her family could have been avoided. At the end of the novel Beth decides to give up on the recovery of her family and leaves. Many are shocked when they hear this due to the perfect family front that she has created. Ray exclaims in shock “ I can't believe it, Cal. I mean christ, that's a fairy-tail marriage. Nancy's been holding you two up as a goddamn example for years! “(Page #) No One outside of the family ever knew that there were still problems with them. Beth managed to create a false cloak to put over her family's internal problems so that the outer appearance could stay perfect. Although her family appeared perfect to many people the truth was that they were slowly falling apart. Her pursuit of an external perfect appearance had a big factor of the separation of the
Laura Deeb’s An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi’i Lebanon seeks to rectify post-9/11 notions of political Islam as anti-modern and incongruous with Western formulations of secular modernity. Specifically, Deeb is writing in opposition to a Weberian characterization of modern secular Western societies as the development of bureaucracies through social rationalization and disenchantment. Within this Weberian framework Deeb asserts that Shia communities are in-part modern because of the development of beuorocratic institutions to govern and regulate religious practice. However, Deeb makes a stronger argument oriented towards dislodging the assumptions "that Islamism is static and monolithic, and that
“Hail to The Goodness and to the Supreme Compassionate Director, most true, most powerful, most benevolent...We exist to please him” (Levitin 3). To most, this statement seems like one set by a cruel dictator. However, in The Goodness Gene, a 253 page scientific-fiction novel, author Sonia Levitin creates a world where this creed is the basic “motto” of the world. The setting is located 300 years into the future, where a man by the name of Hayli (who is referred to by the world as the Supreme Compassionate Director), has taken control of the world to make it a perfect environment. Hayli’s son, Will, is the main character who, after a trip outside of his isolated community, realizes that the world his “father” created was not really as perfect as it seemed, while also discovering why he was created. The title, The Goodness Gene, really symbolizes the clash of man and its society in the book.
Perfection? Can any one person be perfect? Benjamin Franklin believed that he could accomplish this task. Benjamin Franklin was known for being a cognizant and diligent perfectionist. During his lifetime, many people were concerned with correcting themselves of any fault that they may have had. Benjamin Franklin did have an interesting way to proclaim how he, could show everyone how to be perfect. He believes that he can make himself perfect. Even though his ways of being perfect are not the same as everyone else's ideas, he still tries to show them he can be perfect. In his essay "Arriving at Perfection" Benjamin Franklin tries to tell everyone how he will be perfect and how he is going to actually accomplish this task.
Michael Sandel is a distinguished political philosopher and a professor at Harvard University. Sandel is best known for his best known for his critique of John Rawls's A Theory of Justice. While he is an acclaimed professor if government, he has also delved deeply into the ethics of biotechnology. At Harvard, Sandel has taught a course called "Ethics, Biotechnology, and the Future of Human Nature" and from 2002 to 2005 he served on the President’s Council on Bioethics (Harvard University Department of Government, 2013). In 2007, Sandel published his book, The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering, in which he explains unethical implications biotechnology has and may have in the near future regarding genetic engineering.
...g the perfect life should seem unrealistic to anyone evaluating the goal from an objective perspective; however the circumstances of the characters in the presented literary works exaggerate the expectations of everyday society. Each work focuses on portraying a flaw inherent in human nature from a different angle and ultimately, the characters’ quests for perfection demonstrate that the flaws permeating human nature are inescapable, prophesying failure for all those who seek to embody perfection.
Society longs for a perfect model to show how humanity should be. Throughout history, perfection has been looked for in gods and other-worldly beings, yet never in humans. Perhaps this is because perfection is subjective and unattainable. Each person can have their own idea of what makes someone perfect, which can make the most ideal person, imperfect. One simple flaw can be seen as imperfect. Despite that, with the advancement of technology and media, people try to become perfect through surgeries and other, more damaging, processes. In “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a scientist believes that the removal of his wife’s birthmark can make her perfect, or rather, his idea of perfect. Hawthorne uses symbolism, foreshadowing, and dark romantic ideals to say that while attempting to be perfect, you can be hurting yourself or others.
Sandel, Michael J. "The Case Against Perfection." Atlantic Monthly. April 2004: 50+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 May. 2014.
She was willing to let go of her pride and commitment to only be with each other in a marriage so her family could live in peace. For example, Casey says, “It ain’t right, me going up there. You’re my wife” (Offutt 143). Casey didn’t want to be with anyone else, besides his wife. Although Beth told Casey to do this for their family, she didn't throw the incident in his face for being with another woman nor become angry and spiteful.
Perfect: adj. ˈpər-fikt 1. Entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings, is the first definition you find on dictionary.com for the word (perfect). Is this actually possible to attain? Has anyone actually ever been perfect? Or is it all in the eye of the beholder? These questions are asked by almost every girl, as we dream to one day reach the unattainable. This is especially true at the tender age of fifteen, where nothing seems to be going right with our bodies and everything is changing in us. This poem stresses the fact that as everyone realizes how unrealistic this dream is, the knowledge makes no difference to the wish. Marisa de los Santos comments on this in her poem “Perfect Dress”. The use of verbose imagery, metaphors, and the simplistic approach are very effective in portraying the awkward adolescent stage of a young woman and the unrealistic dream of being perfect.
In a world dominated by religion it was thought that the only place where perfection existed was within God. In some cases, for instance the ontological argument, it was the proof to his existence. But in a modern world the concept of perfection has been distorted and comes with an abundance of seemingly negative consequences, ultimately putting into question whether or not perfection is even possible. In Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake the concept of perfection is constantly challenged in a world run by corporations who are trying to package human perfection and profit from it. The desire and attempt towards attaining perfection brings moral instability and corruption. Even though perfection seems as if it is the ultimate and most excellent way to live, it is always accompanied with negative results making true perfection unattainable. As previously mentioned, the society that is most present in the novel is run by large corporations that attempt to provide a perfect life for the people within the Compounds. The corporations are riddled with immoral actions that are projected onto the lives of the people they are trying to provide for. Jimmy, on the other hand, lacks this desire for perfection and is pleased with his mediocrity; this level of being content with himself allows him to feel and exercise more valuable traits like empathy. Finally, through the novel Crake is slowly trying to grasp at, or create perfection and he is slowly losing his moral grounding. What seems to be a positive goal for man to have is actually the opposite, causing men to lose what makes them most different from animals, leaving them cruel and ruthless.
In the book Ordinary people by Judith Guest it shows how the book advocates for the therapist by Dr. Berger helping Conrad and his dad, Dr. Berger is there for him at all times, and Dr. Berger stays calm at all times.
Perfection is what many people attempt to achieve in there lives, yet none do. It is the ideal result to the hard work and toil each person does, in order to become greater than they are now. Within literature, characters may seem perfect but upon closer inspection, are deeply flawed. This is the case in the three pieces of literature; Oedipus the King, My Last Duchess, and Death of a Salesman. All three of these prove that fact that “Perfection is like a dream. When people finally see the flaws, they wake up and the dream ends.”
First, Perfection created either good or bad reviews from readers. These people showed what they thought about the book through their reviews by what they commented first these comments “Perfection is just what the cover calls for. Perfect ( Elvisgrl84, So)”. Even though the same author still felt something about one character “will say that Trevor did rub me the wrong way in the beginning because he was an atrocious a**hole, I warmed up to him by the end (Elvisgrl84, So)”. The next comments show someone that did not really enjoy the novel “No, my real problem with the book was the unintentional size-est message that permeated the story. These problems are on top of the poor editing, content and copy, in the book. D (Jane, REVIEW)”. Continuing, there were comments like these
What is flawless? In the mortal world, perfection is simply an unobtainable idea that is constantly yearned for. Society has an ever-changing notion of what perfection should look like. Considering that society, as a mass of people and opinions, does not possess a physical essence, it can sneakily force these ideas into people 's subconscious. The person who is victimized by these unearthly standards is not at fault. For example, in the short story The Birth Mark, Georgiana lived her childhood and part of her adult life oblivious to the idea that a natural mark on her face did not 'belong ' and was a detriment to her beauty; that is, until Aylmer appeared. This opinion, which he believed as fact, was forcefully sprung upon her by her newlywed
...ience true perfection. Since an ideal can never hold up to a reality, nothing can be truly perfect.