Happiness is a very elusive and subjective thing. In general, the intentions behind our actions can lead to happiness, or they may not. Authors usually write about the intentions of character’s actions, so then the effect that the actions have on their happiness can easily be linked to their intentions. Many books over many genres have been written about one of the primary questions of happiness: do good intentions lead to happiness? In some novels, purely good intentions and bad intentions can lead to distress and unhappiness. In others, happiness is brought upon by good intent. In the novels The Awakening by Kate Chopin, 1984 by George Orwell, Atonement by Ian McEwan, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, the intent of the main character’s …show more content…
The selfish usually are not happy in comparison to the shy. Unhappiness stems from selfish desires, as most selfish people try to do good to make themselves look better; as Roy Masters, chairman of the Foundation of Human Understanding, puts it, “Realize it or not, doing the right things for all the wrong reasons is always self-serving, destructive and the deadly complication of your buried hatreds” (1). This is a very common archetype in media, whether literature or otherwise, as the character that does good only does it in front of their peers, so everyone may see how good they are. An example of a character who tries to do good things for selfish intentions is Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. Edna is married in Victorian Louisiana in a traditional marriage. At first, Edna willingly submits to her husband, but later she begins to seek independence, and one day she, “[...] wondered if her …show more content…
The best of good intentions and things done from habit do not necessarily lead to happiness. People throughout history have always bought things with the intention of making themselves happy, only to regret it later. The British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore explains this by saying that, “... brands that make people happy at the point of usage — rather than at the point of purchase — are more likely to be anticipated by consumers to be bought again” (Schofield 1). The customers who buy the brand to make them happy at the point of purchase have a good intent, they just want to make themselves happy. Even though these consumers have a good intent, they tend to be less satisfied than those with the intent of instant gratification. Though this intention is good it does not lead to long term happiness. The intentions behind things other than shopping also may be good and not yield good results. In Ian McEwan’s Atonement, Briony has good intentions toward Cecilia and Robbie when apologizing to them but she notes, “It sounded so foolish and inadequate, as though she had knocked over a favorite houseplant, or forgotten a birthday” (McEwan 329). Briony’s apology to Robbie and Cecilia was very heartfelt and had good intentions but it did not bring Briony peace or happiness. This apology never actually happened in Briony’s life, she wrote about it in her book, she wanted to show that a regular apology would have never
In Virtue Ethics, the author Richard Taylor goes into detail when explaining the basis of happiness involving pleasures. Taylor felt that most people were not interested in finding out what happiness truly is because they already possess an idea of what it entails. People appear unwilling to examine their own misconception of happiness, so they often look to pleasures as a form of happiness. Happiness and pleasures may seem similar because people often relate them, but they are ultimately different. Happiness is complicated because of all that it takes to reach its end.
As human beings we are naturally wired to seek happiness wherever we can find it. When we don’t, we may enter a stage of anger, anxiety, or distress. That’s why it is our personal goal to look for happiness and preserve it once we acquire it. Many have explored ways to find what triggers this feeling of “happiness” and what we can do to keep it; nonetheless, the evidence found is hardly sufficient to make a public statement on how to find happiness. For this reason, most of the time we speculate what might provoke this feeling of contentment. “Happiness is a glass half empty,” an essay written by Oliver Burkeman, highlights the importance of happiness and discloses how we can find delight through unorthodox methods. The prime objective of this piece of writing is to inform the audience about the effect of happiness on their lives and how their usual attempts of becoming happier can sabotage achieving this feeling. Furthermore, he wants to promote the benefits of pessimism and describe how it can help us in the long run. The author utilizes pronouns, logos, and pathos in order to prove his point and draw the audience into his essay, in an attempt of making them reconsider the way they live their lives and adopt this new pessimistic way that would greatly boost their level of happiness.
"My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff" (81)" These words, uttered by Catherine, in the novel Wuthering Heights are for me the starting point in my investigation into the themes of love and obsession in the novel. Catherine has just told her housekeeper that she has made up her mind to marry Edgar Linton, although she is well aware that her love for him is bound to change as time passes. That she is obsessed by her love for Heathcliff she confirms in the above quotation and by saying that she will never, ever be separated from him. Why does she not marry him then? Well, she has
People travel through life with what seems like a single goal: to be happy. This may seem like a selfish way to live, however this lone objective is the motivation behind nearly all actions. Even seemingly selfless deeds make people feel better about themselves. That warm feeling experienced while doing charitable acts can be described as happiness. But what is authentic happiness? There is an endless possibility of answers to this question, and man seems to be always searching for the solution. Although one may reach his or her goals, there is always still something one strives for in order to be happy. In the book Stumbling on Happiness, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert takes the reader through
Heathcliff cried vehemently, "I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!" Emily Brontë distorts many common elements in Wuthering Heights to enhance the quality of her book. One of the distortions is Heathcliff's undying love for Catherine Earnshaw. Also, Brontë perverts the vindictive hatred that fills and runs Heathcliff's life after he loses Catherine. Finally, she prolongs death, making it even more distressing and insufferable.
In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte uses the setting of the English Moors, a setting she is familiar with, to place two manors, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. The first symbolizes man's dark side while the latter symbolizes an artificial utopia. This 19th century setting allows the reader to see the destructive nature of love when one loves the wrong person.
What makes people truly happy? Is it money? Or is it something more modest like knowledge? There’s no right answer to this question, even if it may feel like there’s one definitive choice. Both Bradbury, in his novel Fahrenheit 451, and Krakauer, in Into the Wild, depict different states of happiness in both major and minor characters. Most importantly, Montag, in 451, and McCandless, in Wild, both search for their own positions on happiness since the definition they were handed does not resonate within them. Some may argue that they should accept the lives they were handed, instead of searching for themselves. Either way, it can be decided that some forms of happiness that are pumped through subtle subliminal messaging can be taken with
As human beings we are naturally wired to seek happiness wherever we can find it. When we don’t, we may enter a stage of anger, anxiety, or distress. That’s why it is our personal goal to look for happiness and preserve it once we acquire it. Many have explored ways to find what triggers this feeling of “happiness” and what we can do to keep it; nonetheless, the evidence found is hardly sufficient to make a public statement on how to find happiness. For this reason, most of the time we speculate what might provoke this feeling of contentment. “Happiness is a glass half empty,” an essay written by Oliver Burkeman, highlights the importance of happiness and discloses how we can find delight through unorthodox methods. The prime objective of this piece of writing is to inform the audience about the effect of happiness on their lives and how their usual attempts of becoming happier can sabotage achieving this feeling. Furthermore, he wants to promote the benefits of pessimism and describe how it can help us in the long run. The author utilizes pronouns, logos, and pathos in order to prove his point and draw the audience into his essay, in an attempt of making them reconsider the way they live their lives and adopt this new pessimistic way that would greatly boost their level of happiness.
An individual’s Pursuit of Happiness can be achieved in many ways. Throughout the year we have read a good amount of literature that contains either characters pursuing happiness or the authors themselves showing their own ways of pursuing their dreams. There are always ups and downs, but the end result is people will follow what they believe will make them happy. Whether it is Gatsby following Daisy, becoming rich for her and following her to New York, or it is George trying to find a better life for him and Lennie, the end goal is the same. Even in The Crucible, John Proctor is searching for happiness when he tries to save his family from being accused of witchcraft, even if it ultimately fails. All of these pieces of literature are similar
When trying to persuade someone, there are many ways one can approach the task, and appealing to the audience's intellect as well as their emotions are two very good ones. Indeed, in Emily Bronte's 19th century novel Wuthering Heights, the protagonist, Catherine Earnshaw Linton shows her ability to customize persuasive appeals according to her intended audience. At times, she can display impressive emotion. She usually employs this tactic for Nelly, her housemaid. During one explosive scene, however, she uses the same in her interaction with Edgar, her intended husband. Each person has an opinion of Catherine's emotionally persuasive style. And, Edgar and Nelly react quite differently to her changing modes.
For most of us, achieving some state of Happiness is a core objective. Indeed, in a great many of the philosophical musings on the very purpose of our lives here on Earth will tend to focus on the importance of achieving happiness, of sharing happiness and of bringing happiness to others. It is therefore reasonable to propose the knee-jerk response that happiness is the end in and of itself. However, as Kant asserts, this is an incomplete understanding of our supposed purpose here. As the 18th Century German philosopher asserts, happiness lived without the principle of good will, can have the capacity to be a rather unsavory force. According to Kant, in fact, this concept of good will is a core determinant as to whether the characteristics by which we can be defined may be considered virtues or vices. Kant argues that this truth "holds with gifts of fortune; power, riches, honor, even health, and that complete well-being and contentment with one's condition which is called happiness make for pride and often hereby even arrogance, unless there is a good will to correct their influence on the mind and herewith also to rectify the whole principle of action and make it universally comfortable to its end." (Kant, p. 7) This principle underlies the initial rejection of the assumption that Happiness, however formulated, is the
Often in literature, the fictional written word mimics or mirrors the non-fictional actions of the time. These reflections may be social, historical, biographical, or a combination of these. Through setting, characters, and story line, an author can recreate in linear form on paper some of the abstract concepts and ideas from the world s/he is living in. In the case of Emily Bronte, her novel Wuthering Heights very closely mirrors her own life and the lives of her family members. Bronte's own life emerges on the pages of this novel through the setting, characters, and story line of Wuthering Heights.
“The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish,” said Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island. Any person can write a book, but to be able to write what you mean and affect your readers is very difficult. A writer simply can’t just drop dialogue into a character’s mouth without having any context of the dialogue. If an author has his or her character saying “I’m broke,” what does this really mean without any context? To Oprah Winfrey, being broke may mean she can’t buy a Silk Jet, a winery, or a country. To a middle- class American, being broke may mean they can’t buy a new pair of shoes that week, buy a new car, or get their hair
Suffice to say happiness is a reaction, so basically one becomes happy after they have done or received something. There is the odd occasion of a person who is happy for no reason. Like morality though, the person’s personality, upbringing, and thinking all have an effect on what will make them happy. A simple example of this: Bob and Mary and brought up in two different homes, environments, with different family values. Now as teenagers Mary finds it a drag to look for and have a job, where as Bob gets satisfaction out of working because it is apart of his upbringing.
Heathcliff had the motivation to take control of both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, but his intentions of taking control of these two areas has a deeper meaning. He may appear to have desire of taking control over these areas because he seeks revenge, specifically seeking revenge for Hindley’s treatment towards him and Edgar’s marriage with Catherine. However, his motivation for inheriting these two areas extends to more than just revenge. Heathcliff misses Catherine, so he might be motivated to take control over these areas because he wanted to embrace what’s left of Catherine. Catherine grew up in Wuthering Heights, so Heathcliff might wanted to claim this area because it is where he and Catherine grew up. He might have had interest