Analysis Of The Road To Character By David Brooks

In The Road to Character, David Brooks examines the impact of socially constructed guidelines on how people in the present day perceive and acquire happiness. Elaborating on the “Adam I” and “Adam II” personas that Joseph Soloveitchik describes in “The Lonely Man of Faith,” Brooks claims that people who are like Adam I—competitive and self-interested—believe that happiness comes from external success because this is what they have been taught by modern-day American culture. On the other hand, Brooks claims that people who are more like Adam II—humble and morally inclined—have found that real happiness is given to those who have learned to look for success within themselves. In light of this, Brooks argues that the latter form of joy is irrefutably …show more content…
From the moment they first start attending school, generations of children are educated on “how to achieve career success” as opposed to “how to develop a profound character” (Brooks xi). Consequently, “career success” is now widely accepted as being the equivalent of happiness. Contemporary American culture constructs the definition of a “satisfactory life” and convinces people that they can be happy if they work hard, get ahead in their jobs, and accomplish externally measurable tasks. Brooks, however, is unconvinced. He insists that there is “joy in freely chosen obedience to people, ideas, and commitments greater than oneself,” (Brooks 269) and that because these values cannot exist in a meritocratic social structure, neither can genuine happiness. Therefore, the sense of “joy” that is obtained by living the modern interpretation of the “American Dream” is not true joy at all—it is simply a …show more content…
This type of joy is alluring because it lies in plain sight and is fairly easy to obtain. On the other hand, David Brooks claims that real happiness is internal and that it grows within those who are patient, humble, and who have worked tirelessly to build a strong inner character. However, because this form of joy is ambiguous, difficult to understand, and takes longer to acquire, it is much less attractive to people in today’s fast-paced, career-oriented society. Despite the enormous influence of mainstream social culture, Brooks strongly urges people to be counter-cultural—to see straight through America’s illusion of what constitutes a happy life—and instead seek bliss within themselves. If they do, they will surely be granted the most genuine and everlasting form of happiness in