Summary of Alexander Pope's Poem 'An Essay Man'

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.

In “Happiness: Enough Already,” Sharon Begley argues that happiness is overrated and it should not always be a priority in your life.

In Happy by Roko Belic (a 2011 documentary), “All I want is to be happy in life” was a reoccurring statement from the people in the film. A majority of people in today’s world agree with that statement. Everyone wants to be happy, but what truly defines happiness? The Happy documentary presents different things that make certain people happy, and what influences their feelings. The film does not only imply that direct message, but also paints a bigger picture for the audience. The bigger picture being: how ecology is the main factor behind people’s happiness. The director of this film combines real experiences from people around the world along with research from scientists to explain our simple emotion, happiness.

The last sentence of the poem, ““There is still murder in your heart” (14), is a powerful claim that suggests that a routine consisting of prayer, communion, or hymn singing will not dissolve the sin of the heart. However, seeing this claim from a different standpoint, this can also suggest that this dull routine is convenient when it comes to preserving an appearance of purity and grace. There is an image in the middle of the poem, “light swords” (7), that possibly represents sharp members of the congregation trying to deceive the church authorities and God. Their comfort to the routine is remarkable because it does not really make a difference at the end; the only thing that truly matters is the masked life they are trying to keep hidden. Readers may consider the arguments presented in this poem as the truth reaching out to the contemporary church and its followers to improve their relationship with

His opening paragraph describes the universe to be “made up of all things, and one God who pervades all things” or more simply everything is connected together and monitored by god. Everything in the world in our world works together to form a well-functioning society and that’s what he appears to be pertaining to. However, he adds to that by giving key things people must do in order to form a great society. Things like “[l]ov[ing] mankind”, “follow[ing] god”, and “remember[ing] laws rule all”, are a few simple things we must teach one another to create a better atmosphere for people to live in. Whoever goes against these is “fighting against the nature of the world” and harms everyone around them by in a sense not being a team player.

There are certain things that are in the control of the humans, at the same time there are several things, which are not under the human’s control. Thus, to persist a happy life, the humans are required to put an end their desire such that the satisfaction of

Mankind must by this time have acquired positive beliefs as to the effects of some actions on their happiness; and the beliefs which have thus come down are the rules of morality for the multitude, and for the philosopher until he has succeeded in finding better. That philosophers might easily do this, even now, on many subjects; that the received code of ethics is by no means of divine right; and that mankind have still much to learn as to the effects of actions on general happiness, I admit or rather earnestly maintain.

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.

He indicates that in our attempt to gain more knowledge and wisdom that we press beyond the limits, and that some things mankind is not able to know. Pope suggest to the reader to submit to the laws of nature, and do not think or act beyond mankind. He has the concept that there is a divine order and grand scheme of things and to rest in the place that you are in. Pope states:

There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment after successfully achieving a goal or task without encountering failure. Many may say that happiness is success without having to deal with the problem of disappointment. But what if that idea of happiness is the exact opposite of what it really is? What if the true path to contentment is learning how to be a failure? In the article Happiness is a glass half empty, the author establishes the misconception of how happiness is portrayed by society through irony, antithesis, and by using analogies in order to get the reader thinking about the idea of how failure is the main step to reaching success.

Mankind must by this time have acquired positive beliefs as to the effects of some actions on their happiness; and the beliefs which have thus come down are the rules of morality for the multitude, and for the philosopher until he has succeeded in finding better. That philosophers might easily do this, even now, on many subjects; that the received code of ethics is by no means of divine right;

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.

Our internal world governs our happiness, not conditions put upon us from our external environment or conditions we place on ourselves. To put it another way, our search for happiness is the very reason we’re unhappy (McLeod, 2007). Psychology considers happiness an emotion or mental state and a predictor of how well one’s life is going. Some say that happiness is a choice, and therefore a behavior that one chooses. Happiness is a way of interpreting the world, since while it may be difficult to change the world, it is always possible to change the way we look at it (McLeod, 2007).

Happiness… It could be said that there is no one in this whole wide world who does not want to be happy. We live every single day in hope to find happiness, which also known as pursuit of happiness. We strive to bring happiness in our life. Nonetheless, along the journey to find happiness, some people stumble and find themselves unhappy instead. One might question why, but actually we all have different value and understanding to describe happiness. Therefore, we have our own unique approach to pursue happiness and there is no telling to the exact cause of our wrongs and errors in the process. What might have been the cause, which most people hardly notice, is their perception of happiness. There are three most common misconception of happiness that lead to unhappy life.

In the climax of his fearful dream, Crusoe hears a voice threaten him, "Seeing all these things have not brought thee to Repentance, now thou shalt die," and he awakens with a tremendous "Impression" on his mind (65). This is a point of change for the sailor, and he meditates on his life and the unacknowledged influence of God. Pope’s essay speaks to this awareness, for his focus is on the presence of God in nature and humanity. In Section 8 he exclaims, "Vast Chain of Being! which from God began, / Natures ethereal, human, Angel, Man, / Beast, Bird, Fish, Insect!" (237-39). According to Pope, the existence of all things emanates from a God who created all things to be united. This message also speaks to Crusoe, when he first becomes aware of the link between God and himself. As soon as Crusoe becomes open to God, he begins thinking, "Such as we are all made by some secret Power, who form’d the Earth and Sea, the Air and Sky; and who is that? . . . It is God" (68). Robinson Crusoe comes to see God as the creator that Pope has presented him and in this way, Pope’s "An Essay on Man" articulates Crusoe’s development as a person.