Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Question for December 7: Rasselas, Pages 2698-2717
Chapters 16-22 follow Rasselas as he observes people in various places and stations. The pattern in each chapter is the same: Rasselas thinks that he has at last found someone who has made "the choice of life," a way of living that leads to perfect happiness, but by the end of each chapter he is disappointed. Choose any one of these chapters for your comment. What sort of lifestyle has been chosen that seems to lead to happiness? Why has happiness not been attained? Can you find any modern parallels to the events of your chosen chapter. (For this comment, since people may choose different chapters, it is not necessary to respond to previous posts.)
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Rasselas is in search of happiness. Resselas and Imlac escape Happy Valley. Chapters sixteen through twenty tells of Rasselas’ journey to find true happiness. On this journey Rasselas observes lifestyles of diverse people in many different places. As stated in the above introduction, throughout these chapters Rasselas thinks that he has found someone who has made “the choice of life,” but ends up disappointed. In chapter seventeen, Rasselas looks to men the same age as him for understanding of the “choice of life.” “Youth,” cried he, “is the time of gladness: I will join myself to the young men, whose only business is to gratify their desires, and whose time is all spent in a succession of enjoyments” (Chapter 17, p.2703). He joins this group of young men because they seem to be very happy. These young men were devoted to pleasure, and they saw this as a way of life. Rasselas soon realizes that the young men are not examples of true happiness. He realizes that the young men are wasting their lives in empty, bodily pleasures. “Their mirth was without images, their laughter without motives; their pleasures were gross and sensual, in which the mind had no part” (Chapter 17, p.2703). Rasselas did not obtain the happiness when observing these young men. He concluded that the lifestyle that these young men live “will make life short and miserable.” There are indeed some modern parallels to the events of this chapter. For instance, like the young men in chapter seventeen of Rasselas, some of today’s youth think that it is better to live a luxurious lifestyles than to have wisdom and knowledge.
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ReplyDeletePrince Rasselas has been in stuck inside Happy Valley only to be unhappy. He has never seen the world outside of the Valley and thinks the grass is greener on the other side. After planning an escape, and finally going through with it, he thinks he finally found someone that is happy with their “choice of life” in every situation he gets to. On his third day, he is at the hermit’s cell. The hermit has chosen a lifestyle of solitude for fifteen years. He used to be and army man at a high military rank and eventually decided to live the rest of his life in peace because he’d already seen “the world full of snares, discord, and misery” (p. 2707). Happiness does not seemed to be obtained because the hermit has no comfort of people around him. Once he took shelter of the enemy, it seems like he never looked back or found the courage to face the world again. He sailed and lost the pleasure of something new and peaceful and went back to watch plants and minerals. “I have lost so much, and have gained so little.” (p. 2707) Because the hermit closed himself off to life, I think that led to him being bored of peace and quiet. I do not really know (or may not understand) how this can contain parallels to modern society. Although, maybe it could be that even today, people are always unhappy with being by themselves. People find the need to be ‘popular’ and ‘social’ that they don’t think they would be happy any other way.
In chapters 16 – 22 Samuel Johnson tells the story of Rasselas observing people in various places and situations in search of a lifestyle that will provide him with true happiness. Out of all these chapters I feel that that chapter 21 is the most interesting. This chapter tells about the story of the Hermit. The thing that makes this the most interesting to me is that this is supposed to be the final stop. On their journey to find the hermit they stop to examine the lives of rural shepherds and a man living in political exile, both of which do not provide them with the answer, but it does not matter because this hermit will hold the answer. They eventually find the hermit and when he tells his story to the travelers, they find that he was just about to quit his life of solitude because it no longer made him happy. He then shares he was “delighted with the sudden change of the noise and hurry of war, to the stillness of repose.” (pg 2707) But eventually the “pleasures of novelty” went away. So he attained happiness for a while but he soon got bored with this happiness. Though this story I was able to realize that happiness cannot be sustained by one thing or lifestyle, because as humans no matter how much we get, or have, we will eventually get bored with it. Therefore happiness is only sustainable through change, and one needs unpleasantness to find happiness.
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In chapter eighteen, Rasselas goes out and finds a seemingly wise public speaker. Rasselas thinks that this man can teach everything that there is to know, “I have found a man who can teach all that is necessary to be known” (Chapter 18 p 2704). Rasselas thinks of this man as being wise and even wants to make the speaker his guide so he can “learn his doctrines, and imitate his life”. Imlac warns Rasselas to slow down, because, “the teachers of morality discourse like angels, but they live like men” (2704). Rasselas ignores the forewarning and seeks the wise speaker anyway. When he finally comes in contact with the speaker, he is in mourning for his daughter. This shocks Rasselas. Rasselas asks the speaker, “Have you then forgot the precepts which you so powerfully enforced? Has wisdom no strength to arm the heart against calamity?” (2705). The mourner doesn’t understand the point Rasselas is trying to make, in return he asks, “Of what comfort can truth and reason afford me?” (2705). The mourner disregards all of his lessons and teachings because his heart yearns for his daughter and no truth or reason can bring her back. Rasselas then gives up and leaves very disappointed.
ReplyDeleteThere is one particular example of the situation of someone having a venerable position, and then letting you down by not living up to your expectations. In today’s society, policemen are looked up to and hold very powerful and influential positions. At times, police take advantage of their positions and their power and do things that upset the communities that they are supposed to protect. Police are supposed to be the people that you turn to when things go wrong or a crime has been committed. In some cased the police officers are the criminals. When do the committing of crimes, there is an eruption in society and trust for the police force is lowered.
In chapter 21, Rasselas and the princess visit an old hermit who lives in the caves outside of the city. He is a kind and wise man who often rents out rooms to travelers. Rasselas is interested in the wisdom and peace that comprises living a life of seclusion. The hermit describes his isolation as a wonderful peace which has been effectively "removed of all apparent evil." His motives however were "impelled by resentment, (rather) than led by devotion, into solitude." He spent his youth as a great warrior and rose to power as a great military leader. The bloodshed of his younger days spurned him to leave the life of a warrior, and retreat to the mountains where he could find himself. Over the course of his isolation; however, the novelty of being alone wore off and boredom and depression set in. "The life of a solitary man will be certainly miserable, but not certainly devout," says the hermit who his weary of his days spent alone with no one to share his happiness. In conclusion, happiness cannot be found through isolation. Though you may find paradise, it will not bring you happiness if you have no one to share it with. Human beings are naturally social animals who need love and interaction to survive just as they need food and water. I find a modern parallel to when I go home for christmas or summer break. I love to be a couch potato, but it is time with friends and family that makes me truly happy.
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