Pursuit Of Happyness Compare And Contrast Essay

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” As you know these words come from the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, perhaps one of the greatest documents ever written. However, I do have a little problem with the last four words sentence, “the pursuit of Happiness” because I believe it actually sends an easily misinterpreted message.

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.

At one level, even though the movie is titled The Pursuit of Happyness (deliberately spelt wrong), it is pretty depressing. Yes, the movie is supposed to focus on the struggles of the main protagonist as he chases what seems like a chimerical dream. However, every time you think that things are going to get better, they only get even worse for Chris. As Chris and his son move from one slump to another, you begin to

Robert Waldinger´s purpose is to share the lessons he has learned on what makes a happier and more fulfilling lifestyle. Most people believe that the key to a more gratifying life could only come from materialistic items and fame. However, Waldinger attempts to refute this claim by sharing the results that he has gathered from conducting a 75 year old study on happiness.

Mahatma Gandhi one defined happiness as “when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Barring any better definition of happiness from either positive psychologists, self-help gurus, or any other academic source, I tend to think this is a great summation of the definition of happiness. Gandhi doesn’t say anything about how these things make you feel, rather looks at it from a point of view of harmony between thoughts, expressions, and actions. Since one single accepted definition of happiness doesn’t seem to exist, and happiness is different for everyone, this begs the question; how can you increase your own personal level of happiness?

Happy. Hardworking. Generous. Chris Gardner faces these emotions through achieving his goals which shows through perseverance, we can be happy. Through perseverance, Chris wants to achieve his goals so it shows we can be happy. In the movie, Pursuit of Happyness, the main character Chris Gardner achieves his goals through his job, son and home which shows through perseverance, we can be happy.

In order to be happy, people must have a purpose in life. This theme is demonstrated through both symbolism and mood in the passages “Andy Lovell” by T.S. Arthur and “The Song of the Old Mother” by William Butler Yeats. Through these literary devices, the authors show that by not following your passion, you will eventually become miserable. Because of their powerful words, the reader gets a firm grasp on the importance of objectives in life.

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

Happiness: a Human Disease -- An Examination of the Allegorical Theme of Existentialism in the Happy Man

The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.

The Pursuit of Happyness is a factual film based on Chris Gardner's near one-year struggle with homelessness, fatherhood, divorce and a desire to achieve to fend for his son Christopher Junior. It is a story highlighting a man's ambition to achieve his goals and find a way of caring for his son. Set in San Francisco, the film starts with Gardner investing his life savings in Bone-Density scanners, a white elephant project which financially breaks the family; his wife separates from him leaving him with the custody of their son Christopher. Additional problems set in ranging from Gardner's eviction from his house, garnishment of his bank account as well as his credit cards. In line with this, he is forced to live in the streets but his meeting with Jay, the manager at Dean Witter places him on the path to success; his new-found

However, being a father as a single parent like Chris gives him the enthusiasm to do his best and replace his wife's role to have a better life with his son. Yet, this decreases the happiness that Gardner possesses. According to Scott Coltrane, a sociologist at the University of California, points out that "Father's style of parenting has changed too. Fathers are beginning to look more like mothers" (qtd. in Cullen and Grossman). Before Linda leaves the family, she works double shifts to make more money to afford the living expenses and to help her husband. So Chris is the one who takes more care of their son than the mother, Linda. Gardner seems to be happier being close to his son. There are many scenes in the movie that show how Gardner and Christopher are happy of being together. Nonetheless, there is only one scene that Christopher not even misses his mother; instead he asks "did mom leave because of me?" (The Pursuit of Happyness). This indicates that Gardner does a great job of being a single parent that makes his son, not remembering his mother.

For our Economics subject, we watched The Pursuit of Happyness, a movie based on Chris Gardner, a salesman who was not making that much money and eventually experiences homelessness with his five-year old son. He faces problems when his wife is unwilling to accept his goal to become a stockbroker and leaves him. However, he perseveres even under all this stress.

The world seems to be a dark and unforgiving place, but happiness is hidden within. It is found in a beautiful view, an uplifting song, or a compliment from a friend. According to the Ted Talk video, The Habits of Happiness, Matthieu Ricard claims that everyone “has a deep, profound desire for well-being or happiness”(Ricard 2:39). Ricard uses the three techniques of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to captivate and move his audience. With the use of metaphors, personal experiences, and even graphs Matthieu explained to his audience the full force and perception of the bendable word that is happiness. This Ted Talk dove into philosophical meaning on just how to achieve well-being, without having everything in the world.

When an individual encounters failure, there is a feeling of defeat that they experience, although that feeling can ultimately push someone down the right path which eventually results in success. Most people can say that they had to fail at one point throughout their life before they reached their peak of success. The Pursuit of Happyness, directed by Gabrielle Muccino, is a film that displays how failure plays a significant role in an individual’s life as they are striving towards success. The protagonist in the film, Chris Gardner, demonstrates how one can overcome adversity and failure, and use it as a stepping-stone on the path towards their determined success. Chris experiences initial failure that starts him on the proper path towards success, he faces failure along his journey towards his goal that forces him to work even harder and giving him a better chance at success, and he finally attains all of the success he had been working extremely hard for due to all of the failure he endured along the way. The Pursuit of Happyness illustrates how failure can