Is pessimism simply brutal honesty? Readers of the novel The Cloud Corporation, by Timothy Donnelly, are given a string of poems that seem to insinuate a bleak future for society. The author repeatedly points out the ignorance and backwardness of the human race. What is reality and how has the human race come to shape this reality? Donnelly conveys the impression that humans are their own worst enemy; they are the problem and the solution. The world is turning over a new leaf. This new side of the leaf contains perfectly constructed contour, with improved color, and immaculate resilience to the weather. The world is denaturing as a result of the human touch. The human race is synthetically creating, yet destroying the world. Donnelly mentions
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Humans have created an idea of beauty that is not in the realm of a natural body. Donnelly says it best, “…we disgust and annoy us”, as we for some odd reason stray farther and farther from our roots. A woman is to be considered beautiful when all traits are over voluptuous and exaggerated. Reality television, movies, modeling, and pretty much any form of entertainment take part in this distortion. The distortion of the human body is becoming a common occurrence with breast implants, lip injections, and many forms of plastic surgery. The world is forcing an idea of beauty upon the young and easily influenced minds. This idea holds devastating consequence, as the children are force fed an idea of perfection. If they do not hold this image, they are imperfect. Depression, anxiety, and bullying are all common results of this idea of perfection. Donnelly doesn’t seem to solve the problems that humans are causing, but simply point them out. I believe Donnelly himself is terrified of the society that has rained upon its people a flood of avoidable …show more content…
Money has become the focal point of life, ever since the beginning of human evolution. Donnelly writes in The Rumored Existence of Other People, “… over time, what was divine diminished, and love of wisdom and virtue gave way to love of wealth and luxury, which in the past had seemed merely distractions”(69). Today we parade ourselves in gaudy and overdone luxury in pursuit of our desires. The human mind has placed the physical and graspable over the incomprehensible and equivocal. The concept of currency is one created by humans, in an effort to ease transactions between one another, however; we have come to value this currency over all aspects of life. When children are born, they are taught to become civilized and mature individuals so that they can grow up one day to make lots of money. The idea of money has implanted itself into our genes, taking root in most every action we take. If you look at the big picture, in retrospect complete classes of people are being raised like cattle for work. I believe education is essential to the furthering of our race, however; the way in which we choose to educate ourselves is indicative of commonality and regularity. These whole classes of people are being taught to get an education so that they can get a great job working for somebody else. The education system is killing creativity and breeding workers. Instead of promoting
Humans have created an idea of beauty that is not in the realm of a natural body. Donnelly says it best, “…we disgust and annoy us”, as we for some odd reason stray farther and farther from our roots. A woman is to be considered beautiful when all traits are over voluptuous and exaggerated. Reality television, movies, modeling, and pretty much any form of entertainment take part in this distortion. The distortion of the human body is becoming a common occurrence with breast implants, lip injections, and many forms of plastic surgery. The world is forcing an idea of beauty upon the young and easily influenced minds. This idea holds devastating consequence, as the children are force fed an idea of perfection. If they do not hold this image, they are imperfect. Depression, anxiety, and bullying are all common results of this idea of perfection. Donnelly doesn’t seem to solve the problems that humans are causing, but simply point them out. I believe Donnelly himself is terrified of the society that has rained upon its people a flood of avoidable …show more content…
Money has become the focal point of life, ever since the beginning of human evolution. Donnelly writes in The Rumored Existence of Other People, “… over time, what was divine diminished, and love of wisdom and virtue gave way to love of wealth and luxury, which in the past had seemed merely distractions”(69). Today we parade ourselves in gaudy and overdone luxury in pursuit of our desires. The human mind has placed the physical and graspable over the incomprehensible and equivocal. The concept of currency is one created by humans, in an effort to ease transactions between one another, however; we have come to value this currency over all aspects of life. When children are born, they are taught to become civilized and mature individuals so that they can grow up one day to make lots of money. The idea of money has implanted itself into our genes, taking root in most every action we take. If you look at the big picture, in retrospect complete classes of people are being raised like cattle for work. I believe education is essential to the furthering of our race, however; the way in which we choose to educate ourselves is indicative of commonality and regularity. These whole classes of people are being taught to get an education so that they can get a great job working for somebody else. The education system is killing creativity and breeding workers. Instead of promoting