Happiness is a strange word. For some, to be happy is to lead a life of wealth and comfort with a family and lots of friends. For others, to be happy is to live in a peaceful and successful community. A person that follows the first path is considered an individual that makes finding their own happiness their first priority. A person that follows the second path is considered an individual that believes the society’s prosperity takes priority over an individual’s success in life. Now the big question is, which one is more important-- an individual’s “pursuit of happiness” or a society’s need for peace and prosperity? Considering the growth and development of modern society today as well as the mindset of an individual, an individual’s pursuit
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In a speech, “It Takes a Village,” Hillary Clinton shares her opinions on the importance of an individual’s contribution to society. She centers her argument around children and how she believes that “to raise a happy, healthy, and hopeful child, it takes a family”. In other words, it requires a community’s cooperation and teamwork to keep a child safe and educated. But before a community can help a child, there must be specialized individuals that make up the community. There must be doctors to keep the child healthy and fit, police to protect the child and keep him/her from doing anything dangerous like underage drinking or smoking, teachers to educate the child about the world and to teach them what must be learned to lead a successful life. Most importantly, there must be a parent or a guardian to watch over the child and be a caring mother or father. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne*, Hawthorne portrays Hester’s motherly traits by describing how she is able to take care of herself and Pearl while being isolated by the Puritans. She makes money off of her needlework and strives to help the poor and homeless to seek redemption from her sin, “none so ready was she to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty” (Hawthorne, 144). As a result, society begins to treat her less like a sinner and more like a saint, “she was …show more content…
The Puritan society itself, after seeing Hester’s honest work, changes the meaning of her scarlet token of ignominy, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original signification. They said that it meant “Able” to symbolize Hester’s contributions to society (Hawthorne, 145). Hester, as an individual, had changed society’s view of her and her scarlet letter for the better. Pearl, child of Hester and Dimmesdale, also enjoys better treatment as the Puritans began to recognize “from the indescribable charm of beauty and eccentricity that shone through her little figure” the brilliant quality of her purity, which they had previously regarded as the mischievous traits of a “demon offspring” (Hawthorne, 222). In his essay “Self-Reliance,” Emerson suggests that geniuses like Socrates and Luther were often misunderstood because their studies revealed contradictions to their own claims. But in his perspective, “to be great is to be misunderstood” because it shows that you are unique and follow your own philosophy. In acknowledging their own mistakes, they contributed new information to society for future generations to build upon. If not for these individuals, society would not be the same as it is today with all the advanced technology and theories waiting to be overturned so that society can grow even more with the new knowledge
In a speech, “It Takes a Village,” Hillary Clinton shares her opinions on the importance of an individual’s contribution to society. She centers her argument around children and how she believes that “to raise a happy, healthy, and hopeful child, it takes a family”. In other words, it requires a community’s cooperation and teamwork to keep a child safe and educated. But before a community can help a child, there must be specialized individuals that make up the community. There must be doctors to keep the child healthy and fit, police to protect the child and keep him/her from doing anything dangerous like underage drinking or smoking, teachers to educate the child about the world and to teach them what must be learned to lead a successful life. Most importantly, there must be a parent or a guardian to watch over the child and be a caring mother or father. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne*, Hawthorne portrays Hester’s motherly traits by describing how she is able to take care of herself and Pearl while being isolated by the Puritans. She makes money off of her needlework and strives to help the poor and homeless to seek redemption from her sin, “none so ready was she to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty” (Hawthorne, 144). As a result, society begins to treat her less like a sinner and more like a saint, “she was …show more content…
The Puritan society itself, after seeing Hester’s honest work, changes the meaning of her scarlet token of ignominy, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original signification. They said that it meant “Able” to symbolize Hester’s contributions to society (Hawthorne, 145). Hester, as an individual, had changed society’s view of her and her scarlet letter for the better. Pearl, child of Hester and Dimmesdale, also enjoys better treatment as the Puritans began to recognize “from the indescribable charm of beauty and eccentricity that shone through her little figure” the brilliant quality of her purity, which they had previously regarded as the mischievous traits of a “demon offspring” (Hawthorne, 222). In his essay “Self-Reliance,” Emerson suggests that geniuses like Socrates and Luther were often misunderstood because their studies revealed contradictions to their own claims. But in his perspective, “to be great is to be misunderstood” because it shows that you are unique and follow your own philosophy. In acknowledging their own mistakes, they contributed new information to society for future generations to build upon. If not for these individuals, society would not be the same as it is today with all the advanced technology and theories waiting to be overturned so that society can grow even more with the new knowledge