Hedonism

American Literature, Lost Generation is "the name applied to the disillusioned intellectuals and aesthetes of the years following the First World War, who rebelled against former ideals and values, but could replace them only by despair or a cynical hedonism" (Hart, 1995, p.390). Gertrude Stein was the critic who gave them that name which later on will be used by Hemingway as a preface to his novel The Sun Also Rises. Most of these writers, who were members of the Lost Generation in the early…

In recent years, society has ingrained the infectious notion of hedonism and temporary gratification without any inhibitions as acceptable in people's mind. In particular, temporary pleasure from adultery has especially, been bestowed into the highest esteem over the years with the superfluous creation of applications, websites, and other innovative products dedicated to accommodating the demographics of those that want to satiate their ravaging desires. With the resources and opportunities…

October 16, 1854, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Sir William Wilde, who worked as an optometrist, a renowned philanthropist and gifted writer, who wrote books on archaeology and folklore. Mothered by poet and journalist, Jane Francesca Elgee who wrote patriotic Irish verses under the name "Speranza". She taught Wilde that he could pretty much do whatever he wanted to and the truth really was not that important when a person really wanted to entertain someone…

The roaring twenties was a time for Americans to feel wealth, happiness, experiment, and for American women it was a decade for power since they were granted access to vote due to the 19th Amendment and flappers, teenage girls and women that were described to listen to jazz and brought a new style of fashion rose due to this liberation of freedom. Literature bloomed during this time and many memorable books like The Great Gatsby were written. F. Scott Fitzgerald used his own knowledge of the…

“Fairy tales since the beginning of recorded time, and perhaps earlier, have been ‘a means to conquer the terrors of mankind through metaphor.’” ― Jack D. Zipes Zipes makes a valid and poignant argument about fairytales and the way that they shape our knowledge of certain ideologies in societies. The idea of taking harsh and unbearable stories and circumstances and making them both relatable and presentable to the youthful mind is astounding, and quite honestly, one of the most important…

On a recent trip to Paris, I observed how different Parisians way of life differ in comparison to Americans. I imagined lifestyles in other parts of the world and desired to learn more. In my research, I learned that culture effects work and leisure due to the viewpoint of time. Time is beyond a physical phenomenon and is exposed to psychological interpretation. Time is construed cognitive functioning; an individual is to develop and organize thinking to sustain the monitoring of time by being…

The wealthy in these areas have adopted the “hedonism associated with the working-class” (Elias Le Grande, 2008). The report from Le Grande also suggests an interesting connection between working-class culture and middle-class consumerism, they make the assertion that there has becoming a working class…

(i) What are the main advantages of utilitarianism? (21 marks) Utilitarianism is a teleological ethical theory that aims to define moral actions as those which satisfy the principle of utility. This states that actions are good insofar as they promote the greatest amount of happiness, and in making moral decisions, one should act in the way which promotes the greatest happiness for the greatest number of individuals. Humans have always considered happiness as a fundamental end goal to strive…

The Great Depression was a time of collective societal awakening and disillusionment from the Roaring Twenties. The years leading up to the Depression was filled with hedonism with no oversight, so its arrival led to national disenchantment, causing everyone to escape the whirlwind of the past decade and plunged themselves into a new era of hardship. Margaret Laurence’s “Horses of the Night” shows the mental deterioration of a boy who wrapped himself in self-made lies to make his despondent past…

made Gray conscious of his fleeting beauty. If Lord Henry had never warned Gray about how his beauty would not last then he never would have wished that his portrait would age but he would not. It is also Lord Henry who introduces Dorian Gray to hedonism, and it is under the ideas of this theory that Gray begins to only seek the pleasures of life. This philosophy leads him to be so shallow that he breaks up with Sybil Vane simply because of her poor performance in a play. Sybil Vane commits…