Comparing Stone's The Agony And The Ecstasy

There was a wise man who once said, do it with passion or not at all, because anything worth acting upon will ignite a spark within that is so insatiable that one cannot help but burn with the desire to do it. Passion can be defined as desire, and almost necessity, for something, whether it be love, happiness, work, or life in general.
It is in the beginning of Irving Stone’s The Agony and The Ecstasy that we learn what could essentially be Michelangelo’s most defining trait; he is passionate. Some would possibly even say he is too passionate. Even at such a young age, he saw “life is to be enjoyed,” and “life is to work” as one and the same (Stone, 107). He puts this passion into his art, never caring about anything quite as much as when he’ll be able to do his next piece or what other people think of the one he’s already finished. This passion is both essential and detrimental to Michelangelo. On one hand, he will get far in life due to his passion; on the other hand, he rejects life because of it, also. It is seen especially when Michelangelo declines Giovanni’s invitation to join in his hunt, because to Michelangelo “marble has the excitement of the hunt,” and why stop doing what he loves when he can get the same rush of adrenaline from it (145)?
As much as Michelangelo loves all forms of art, his true love is …show more content…
Presented with an opportunity to fit in with his friends at the Duomo, he asks if he can partake in their contest to draw a gnome from memory; the winner has to pay for dinner. Little does he know that this is a trick for him to pay for their meal. Inevitably, he wins. Granacci tells him that “they couldn’t lose,” even if he had known their plan from the start (26). Had he settled to lose the contest to save money, he would have also lost his integral beliefs to save from the ultimate embarrassment that he would feel when telling his father what had