Below is an essay I recently wrote. Tell me what you think. I will have a follow-up blog up shortly concerning the main point:
~Paper~
In possibly every story, there is a lesson
to be learned. While these lessons may
not be as clearly stated as the morals concluding Aesop’s Fables, there is normally
some piece of information to be used as food for thought. Certain themes are meant to give immediate
awareness to issues and let history allow the work to often fade. However, other themes are timeless. These create an understanding which comes off
the page and affects the reader. It is
the beauty of exceptional literature.
One of the most important themes in literature is that of
self-confidence. Oftentimes, man has
difficult in believing that he can make a difference in the world, proving that
this is a particularly important theme in any literary medium. Indeed, the theme of self-confidence and
courage can be seen not just through books, but also in poetry, essays, short
stories, plays, and songs. It becomes an
essential part of the story when it can produce change, whether that change is
on a personal level or for the whole of society. The importance of being individual, unique,
and fighting against the pull of society with confidence is supported through
literature and a variety of other mediums.
The band, Weezer, has a song called “I Want
To Be Something.” The chorus of the song
is below:
I
want to be something
Before I die
I feel it burning me inside
I want to be something
I don't know why
I want to know that at least I tried (Weezer 1)
Weezer’s lyrics suggest
that men almost yearn to do something, anything, to prove their
self-worth. The broader point of the
song, though, is that whatever this something is, it will make a difference in
the person. The song does not specify
how large the impact must be, indeed, the size does not matter so long as it
makes some kind of difference. The
question is learning what impact is right and how to go about it.
Some authors tend to believe that the
first step to having self-confidence and making an impact is simply to begin to
try and achieve it. Indeed, there is a
certain point when all the theory in the world cannot replace action. In his speech, “The American Scholar,” Ralph
Waldo Emerson stated that, “Action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is
essential. Without it he is not yet
man. Without it thought can never ripen
into truth (Emerson 90).” Emerson makes
a great point; although many men wish that action was an equation, ready to be
solved without unexpected limits, living life requires action. It takes courage, though, to stand up and
make a point to be heard and be seen. Life
can sometimes be brutal in bringing people to this realization. They begin to give up on themselves and
settle for less than their best. Dr.
David Foster put it this way in the prologue to his book, Accept No Mediocre
Life, “From the hospital to the home to the halls of higher learning, we’ve
been labeled so long, we feel libeled and stifled. Too many splendid, gifted men and women have
accepted mediocre as their lot in life (Foster xi).” There is no reason to feel mediocre, yet it
is difficult to believe sometimes that man could be anything but average. The fight, then, must go to those who say
success cannot be achieved and impacts cannot be made by a single
individual. In his separate essay, “Self
Reliance,” Emerson also states, “Trust thyself; every heart vibrates to that
iron string (Emerson 151).” This imagery
creates an understanding with the reader that self-confidence is not only
essential, but it is also good, even sensational, to the soul. With self-confidence, a person can feel
satisfied by his own accomplishments.
An important point to mention is to never
lose faith in oneself. As stated quite
well in the comedy TV show, “Seinfeld,” “A George divided against itself,
cannot stand (Seinfeld 1)!” Although
this was intended for humorous purposes, there is much truth in it. If a man defeats himself before ever trying
to make a change or fight against an unjust system, then he cannot begin to hope
that he can achieve his goal. However,
dedication to the task and self-confidence in one’s own ability, despite the
harsh words of others will always bring good results. An allegory to demonstrate this lesson is
Ernest Hemingway’s book, The Old Man and the Sea. The story concerns itself with the struggles
of a poor fisherman who, though having a rich history of catching phenomenal
fish, had not been able to catch a monster fish for a long time. The book documents this man’s journey as he
attempts to catch a massive fish on his own.
Though he succeeds in pulling such a fish in, sharks in the water eat
all the flesh off of it, leaving only the head and skeleton of the
creature. When he returns to port,
everyone initially believes that he had, once again, come back from the sea empty-handed. However, people eventually begin to crowd
around the large carcass, a symbol to credit that the old man did not give up
and could, indeed, still catch the biggest fish (Hemingway 122-123). Nothing is impossible when one puts his mind
to it. This is not only true for
personal goals, but also in trying to create an ideal for society.
Some of the greatest minds in writing on
the matter of self-confidence and bravery have also been heavily involved in
social activism. For instance, perhaps
the most profound piece of writing on the matter of the individual’s power to
enact social change is Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Civil Disobedience.” Not only did Thoreau manage to empower men
and women to take a stand and demonstrate their importance, but his work has
continued to do so, even in the present day.
Thoreau makes a definite statement and asks a question to his readers,
“Unjust laws exist: shall we be content
to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have
succeeded or shall we transgress them at once (Thoreau 272)?” Later on in his essay, Thoreau makes a
connection with a heavily controversial event at the time; the abolition of
slavery. He states:
I know this well, that if one
thousand, if one hundred, if ten men whom I could name, -- if ten honest men
only, -- ay, if one man, in this State of Massachusetts, ceasing to hold
slaves, were actually to withdraw from this copartnership, and be locked up in
the county jail therefor, it would be the abolition of slavery in America. For it matters not how small the beginning
may seem to be: What is once well done
is done forever. (Thoreau 274)
Thoreau’s powerful
diction had a massive impact on lots of people because they felt a desire to
have passion and compassion. They could
understand that change has to begin somewhere, so why not start small and make
a stand? One man who was influenced by
Thoreau’s writing was Martin Luther King Jr.
King’s writing was involved with how to make a positive influence
through civil disobedience. While he
kept his arms open to try and spread love, not hate, King was still firmly
grounded in his place as a social activist.
Although wishing for issues to disappear, he realized that this was
somewhat impossible. In “Letter from a
Birmingham Jail,” King writes an explanation of his movement to preachers who actively
opposed his efforts. One of the most
memorable lines in his essay talks about the “timing” of these movements:
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily
given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct
action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not
suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. (King Jr. 1)
King was comfortable in
advocating for civil rights because they fell in line with what he believed
and, having experienced it himself, had an understanding for the injustice at
hand. It is true that experience can
lead to courage. The House on Mango
Street, by Sandra Cisneros is an example of this. Cisneros’ book explores two related themes. The more general one is the innocence of
children who grow up as members of disadvantaged society. The more specific theme deals with the ways
in which a child is able to cope with these issues. The chapters of the book are very short,
sometimes only the length of a couple paragraphs. There is one chapter which stands out named
“Four Skinny Trees.” In this chapter,
the author makes an analogy between the predicament of the little girl and
protagonist of the story to some thin trees that the protagonist sees. The chapter begins:
They are the only ones who
understand me. I am the only one who
understands them. Four skinny trees with
skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine.
Four who do not belong here but are here. Four raggedy excuses planted by the city.
(Cisneros 74)
The analogy explains
the feelings of the main character living in her unprivileged world with little
hope for survival. This is a sad
realization for any child to have, but she understands the trees’ pain and
plight. She connects to the trees
because they have a common enemy; the city that wants to beat them down and to
eat them up. While the protagonist’s
attitude seems negative at first, this is just the harshness of reality seeping
through. However, there is a great deal
of positive reinforcement given by these tiny little trees to the main
character. At the end of the chapter,
she makes the observations, “Four who grew despite concrete. Four who reach and do not forget to
reach. Four whose only reason is to be
and be (Cisneros 75).”
The protagonist of Cisneros’ novel shows a
character trait hidden within everyone.
This trait is described by Kurt Vonnegut in his short story, “Report on
the Barnhouse Effect.” Vonnegut explains
the phenomenon of the brain. He tells
the reader that the Barnhouse Effect is named after Professor Barnhouse who
discovered, “dynamophychism, or force of the mind (Vonnegut 173).” The beauty of Vonnegut’s work, though, is
that he pokes fun at the idea that only a select few are actually gifted enough
to be able to harness “the force of the mind.”
In fact, Vonnegut describes Professor Barnhouse, “The man who disarms
the world is single, shorter than the average American male, stout, and averse
to exercise (Vonnegut 174).” By making
this statement, Vonnegut is sending a clear message to anyone who reads the
story; that the world is within anyone’s grasp.
It is simply up to the reader to dedicate himself to that cause, and if
he does, he can achieve anything he wants.
In this quest for self-confidence, one
must also be honest with himself.
Benjamin Franklin is quoted in saying, “Honesty is the best policy
(Franklin 1).” Similarly, one must not
make the mistake of thinking that it is truthful to not state an opinion. Although this can and should be done with
tact, it is better to be forward with a subject, any subject, instead of
remaining quiet. Mark Twain wrote on
this matter in his satirical essay, “On the Decay of the Art of Lying.” At one point, he makes mention, “Among other
common lies, we have the silent lie – the deception which one conveys by simply
keeping still and concealing the truth (Twain 1).” Twain makes it clear that a person who keeps
silent does not tell the truth. This is
a novel way of approaching the matter because it very much defines lying as “the
concealing of truth.” If one is silent,
then his lie will damage his ability to be honest with himself or believe in
himself. Comparatively, Thoreau says in
his book, Walden, that, “The volatile truth of our words should
continually betray the inadequacy of the residual statement (Thoreau 254).” This colors and builds off of Twain’s work
because it states that speaking out, indeed, speaking at all is “truth.” Therefore, one should never be afraid to take
a side and be heard.
Perhaps one of the best works to
demonstrate this idea of speaking up in the name of truth and goodness is
Sophocles’ play, “Antigone,” the final installment of the Oedipus trilogy. In the story, Antigone is a woman whose
brother was killed in a battle. Her
brother had led a revolt against the kingdom, though, so his body was despised
by the king. The king made a law that no
one would give this man a proper burial for his treasonous actions. Instead, he ought to rot and be eaten by wild
animals. Antigone saw this as an
injustice, for she loved her brother, so she disobeyed the law. She is caught and speaks with the king as he
asks why she knowingly disobeyed his creed.
Her response acknowledges a power above the king:
I dared. It was not God’s proclamation. That final Justice that rules the world below
makes no such laws.
Your edict, King, was strong, but
all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of
God. They are not merely now: they were, and shall be, operative for ever,
beyond man utterly. (Sophocles 208)
Antigone challenges the
king on whether or not it is his right to make such a law and, if it is not his
right, then the law ought to be broken.
This took a great deal of courage to stand up to the man who had the
authority to have her murdered; however, she said what she believed and nothing
less. The truth of her words inspired a
new revolution because she had confidence that what she was doing was right and
proper by God.
In conclusion, the timeless theme of
self-confidence and courage is illustrated through an assortment of literary
types to provide examples of why it is important to be unique, to speak out,
and to be heard. Through literature, the
soul can be explained in generalities.
In explaining complex themes like courage and self confidence, books can
examine the topic from different viewpoints.
In the examination of any subject, though, certain parts of the idea will
remain constant. Looking at this through
the context of self-confidence and being individual, what matters in life is
being heard and making a difference, however great or small. By doing so, men can separate themselves from
their contemporaries and be transcended.
They will no longer be bound by a lack of faith in their own abilities
or haunted by the shadow of a silent lie.
Varun Nayar wrote a poem called “The Young.” The final lines say this:
You
will burn out,
and
we, will burn into you,
because
we are younger than our
inhibitions.
We can live for as long as we like.
(Nayar 54)
Should
this not be the goal? If one person can
change the world, should he not try? It
is time for all to stand up, stand out, and be heard. It is time to burn into others and produce a
necessary and positive impact.
