Meaning Of Life In Pleasantville

Throughout life, many of our journeys leave us feeling despondent and unwanted. It is when we travel with another human soul that we are not left feeling so austere. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie are two wandering souls, both very different in stature and appearance, yet very alike in spirit. It is in this relationship that the true foundation of companionship is expressed.

The “good life” is one of stability and the failure to be affected by forces and circumstances beyond the control of the individual. This has been clearly stated beginning with Socrates, stating how each life should be lived with self-purpose: no outside influences. The artificial “goods” represent that of wealth, status, and political power, whereas what an individual should cherish is their own personal beliefs and convictions. All items that society has taught a person to hold and respect create more damage and disruption than they benefit as they can easily be taken from oneself. A fortune can be lost, the President will run out of terms, but the moral holding of each person is something that cannot be lost or stripped by a force outside

When the father finally goes back to the camp, he remembers fond memories of the lake. He calls the lake “this holy spot--the coves and streams, the hills that the sun set behind, the camps and the paths behind the camps.” He calls it a “holy spot” because this is a special childhood

Everett and Meredith, too, are caught up in “expressions of struggle.” Incompatible goals manifest themselves in the fact that they both want the same things – she wants the comfort, camaraderie, and adventure with someone who loves her, and he wants the comfort, camaraderie, and adventure with someone who loves him. They thought they had that in their current lifestyle, however, they discover it was all very shallow with no love

What is the meaning of life? According to Chris McCandless living free and not conforming to the natural way of life is the meaning to life, as shown in the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Similar to Chris McCandless, Ralph Emerson believes that following your dreams and making your own trail is the meaning of life according to his short story “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Emerson. The purpose of man's existence is to avoid conformity and following one's own instincts and ideas.

Tim Winton’s funny and sprawling saga, Cloudstreet is an Australian classic novel which shows a tightly structured narrative that charts twenty years of cohabitation of two contrasting working class families, the Pickles and the Lambs, thrown together in misfortune to live under one roof in No.1 Cloudstreet. Winton paints a nostalgic picture of Australia’s post-war past, evokes a time and place that no longer exists. Winton’s characters are a “restless mob” who individually are finding one’s place in the world or in society and each are searching for the meaning of life. We learn about Fish’s and Rose’s characters through a flexible, shifting narrative (cyclical) structure and omniscient point-of-view that gives us access to their thoughts and feelings.

There are more than three billion people living on Earth; however, not everyone adores each other. On the other hand, if people met Bill and Bud, two main characters from The Tender Bar, they would find them charming. J.R. Moehringer wrote an emotional autobiography about himself and his devastating life, in The Tender Bar, J.R. walked into a bookstore in an unhabituated mall, and met Bill and Bud, who changes his life forever. Many youth, teens, and adults would find Bill and Bud likeable, because the pair of them are smart, optimist, and loving.

Lennie and George end up employed on a ranch and begin to realize that every man is for himself and that nobody is truly happy. They come to know a character referenced throughout the entire book as “Curley’s wife”. Being the sole female on the ranch, she is often referred to in derogatory terms because of her flirtatious personality (Steinbeck 28). She approaches the other men and “stirs up trouble” (77) which in the end leads to Lennie’s death. Being the wife of an arrogant and egocentric man, Curley’s wife tries to cure her loneliness by finding solace in other men. Knowing her future is bleak, Curley’s wife risks the dangers of the other men’s lives by trying to find someone like her. She lures Lennie into her world, telling him about how lonely she is and the future she could’ve had as an actress (86). Her solitary life drives her to put Lennie in danger and ultimately end her and his life. Curley’s wife and another one of the ranch hands talk about how “maybe people are just afraid of each other” (35). The fear of missing out (FOMO) drives people to make irrational decisions when feeling lonely which happened to both Daisy and Curley’s wife..

They set up the surprise party at Doc's house, but Doc is late getting home and by the time he gets there, his house is trashed and everyone is passed out drunk. There seems to be a bad feeling haunting the town for a while after the party. As time goes on, Doc, Lee and Mack begin to spend more time together. They encounter many obstacles throughout the rest of the novel. First the whole town comes down with a terrible influenza, then they have to deal with heart ache when they find their friend, dead in the ocean. After things begin to return to normal, Mack and Lee decide to throw another party for their dear friend Doc. This time Doc attends his party and has a wonderful time. He is very happy to have friends like Lee, Mack and the boys to show that he is appreciated. Doc then begins to clean his house while he thinks back on all his memories in the beautiful town known as Cannery Row. Steinbeck develops the characters and their personalities in a unique way, turning a small ordinary town into a magical paradise.

In contrast, many features of White's sacred lake have not wavered. The lake itself still possesses the same holy tranquility. The people he finds at the lake are upon this reunion were fundamentally still the same. White refers to the "cultist," the "comedian," and the "same country girls" when he speaks about the people he sees at the lake during his return. Each seems to be the same as they had been some forty years ago. Of course, the people he sees on his most recent trip are not actually the same ones that he remembers from when he was a boy, but in essence, they are, for no matter how much time passes, there will always be someone pulling the same comedic stunts, someone who bathes in the lake rather than in their shower, and there will always be country girls

In 1983 Aharon Appelfeld published a work of fiction titled Tzili that closely resembled his own personal Holocaust experiences. This work of fiction revolves around a maturing teen who is alone and on the run during the Holocaust. In Tzili, Appelfeld brings to life his characters, which include Tzili, Katrina, Mark, and Linda. Throughout this literary analysis Appelfelds’ memoir Story of a Life will be used to access the parallels that exist between Appelfeld’s own personal experience and his fictional work Tzili.

I have no one near me, gentle yet courageous, possessed of a cultivated as well as of a capacious mind, whose tastes are my own, to approve or amend my plans” (5). Walton’s wish is for a perfect friend almost a mirror image of himself. I wonder how, when, or where Walton will meet this person. In his 4th letter he says that they found a stranded European floating on a piece of ice with dogs but only one alive. The man turned out to be what Walton considered, “the friend he is looking for.” Walton notes that the mans gloominess and speech makes his affection grow for him day by day. This shows that gloominess and sadness is present within Walton’s feelings as well. He is very attracted to the man’s personality and calls him the friend he is looking for, but that friend must embody the tastes and amends of his own. I wonder if Walton has had a very depressing trauma in his life. It seems that Walton seeks for happiness and positivity from humans perhaps contrary to what has happened in his own

Many different works of literature show us the best and worst parts of all of us, not as individuals but as a collective “people”. Many of these show the relationships we have with each other, and how they define us. This is evident in the short story “What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?” written by Etgar Keret, the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, and the poem “Without Title” by Diane Glancy. All of the works express what our relationships with other people could become.

Steinbeck uses feelings of happiness, obligation, and love to establish the theme of friendship is

Life as we know it could vanish within seconds. The next day is not promised to anyone that walks on this earth. As we live our everyday lives peacefully, we tend not to think what our mission or purpose in life is. Instead, we think what we must do for that to be a “successful” person. Despite this way of thinking, just think for a second. What makes life meaningful? What is life anyway? These questions dive right into the heart of the philosophical, psychological, and the biological aspects of life and what the true meaning of life is. This is a very arguable topic due to every person’s different perspective on life and what it means to them. In summary, I personally think that life is simply what you make of it and each person’s accomplishments has its own merit