Happiness found in literature
Happiness found in literatureHAPPINESS FOUND IN LITERATURE
We all have goals in our lives, things we strive for and desire to achieve. But why do we set these goals? The reason we set goals for ourselves and the reason we are constantly trying to make life better is simply to achieve happiness. Happiness is something we all want in our lives and it is something all people need. At times happiness is not such an easy thing to obtain, we find ourselves depressed and unhappy with life. What is it that will bring us out of the "dumps" and back in the swing of things? There is not one true answer to these questions in fact there is probably more than one answer. Whatever the answer may or may not be it is only found within ourselves. Throughout literature many writers have tried to define what happiness is in stories and poems. Through the experiences the authors talk about in their writings, we gain a sense of how happiness may be achieved.
Success is one goal all people strive for to make them happy. Along with success come wealth, power and maybe even fame. But does money and power truly make a person happy? In the poem "Richard Corey" the author Edwin Arlington Robinson writes how money and wealth does not bring true happiness The poem describes how admired and impressive Richard Corey was to the people. Everyone stared at him when he came to town wishing they could be in his place. But Robinson goes on to show that money alone can not bring happiness. "And Richard Corey, one calm summer night, / Went home and put a bullet through his head (lines 15-16). Richard Corey's suicide is a significant lesson to tell us that money can not fill the void of loneliness in life.
Emily Dickinson compares happiness to the life of a little stone in her poem "How Happy Is The Little Stone"
How happy is the little stone
That rambles in the road alone,
And doesn't care about careers,
And exigencies never fears; (lines 1-4)
. It appears that Dickinson is conveying the message that happiness is not reachable, unless you can live the life of a stone. Life is full of worries and fears that we encounter everyday, but happiness is still obtainable. Dickinson is also saying that happiness is found in simplicity and if we can achieve simplicity in life, along will come happiness.
Voltaire's Candide a black comedy written sometime around 1759 is a prime example of a writer's opinion on happiness. Candide is actually another word for optimism, which describes the character perfectly. Candide believes in a universal order he was taught by his mentor Pangloss who said "…that things cannot be otherwise than they are, for since everything is made to serve and end, everything necessarily serves the best end (Voltaire 522)." Voltaire attacks this optimistic theory throughout the novel. For example...
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