Essay about Sufferings in Life

Essay about Sufferings in Life Throughout the world almost every living person on the planet will witness suffering at least once in a life time. Suffering as we know it is defined as the pain we experience due to an injury, medical malpractice or even disruptions in ones family life and etc. Although we endure suffering, do we constantly suffer? According to the German Philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer who proposed that life is full of suffering and that this suffering is directly caused by the will of the individual. I wish in this short paper to carry this claim further and try to explain why Schopenhauer thinks that life is full of suffering and how he believes that this suffering can be overcome. I will also attempt to show my perspective of why I dont agree to his arguments. Schopenhauer proposed his pessimistic view on an individuals condition in this world by stating that life is filled with suffering, and that this suffering that we experience is directly caused by our will. We know Life tends to want, and because its wants are regularly unfulfilled, it largely exists unfulfilled and in a state of deprivation. By the wanting or expecting something, an individual is setting himself up to sufferÂÂ  until that objective is met. Then, upon fulfillment of the desire, a new aim is set forth, and thus the cycle of suffering begins again. When Schopenhauer says that all life is suffering he means everything that lives and strives, is filled with suffering, he puts it as It is absurd to look upon the enormous amount of pain that abounds everywhere in the world.(Pg 63) Suffering is ultimately caused by the frustration and conflict that arises from competition between individual wills. For Schopenhauer suffering seems to be such a great cause that the world is subjected to, he feels happiness that we experience at times is not actually happiness in life. In fact, if an individual is to measure the joy they experienced in the world it would have to be measured through Schopenhauers ways, as he states; not by its joys and pleasures, but by the extent to which it has been free from suffering (pg 64) He goes even further to say that Suffering is the purifying process through which alone, in most cases, a person is consecrated. Schopenhauer claimed that more intense the willing, the more intense will be the suffering. So, now, the problem here is how to diminish the capability of ones willing such that we may get a relief from suffering? Schopenhauer answer is actually a very simple one, although according to me not, by any means, easy to accomplish. The answer is; being capable of denying what will wants. This practice is called Aestheticism or self-denial and, according to Schopenhauer, is the one adequate solution to the central life problem. Schopenhauer ideology of life filled with suffering is a total contradiction to want to live without wanting to suffer. Of course that contradiction over here again is his metaphysics of Will. The question, really is do we suffer all the time? I would go on to disagree with this argument. Even if we do suffer, between periods of suffering, there is concise happiness as wants are fulfilled. Schopenhauer claims that this pleasure can never be more than liberation from pain, further suggesting that humans only experience happiness through the memory of suffering and pain. This view is opposite to the modern view of suffering and happiness. We dont necessarily experience happiness from suffering as a memory. If for example I have bad memories of being bullied in school, I would not attain pleasure by remembering those memories and therefore I find this argument unsound. Life to some extent has suffering, this fact is unavoidable. However, by realizing this, and by focusing on the positives, human beings can lead reasonably enjoyable lives. Therefore, an individual should do exactly the opposite of what Schopenhauer suggests, and experience each emotion, good or bad, as fully as possible. If we are to consider the roles played by both the ordinary perception and aesthetic state, it seems that it is actually desirable that things are as they are. That is, we need to recognise that our suffering serves a great good and that is the promotion of our own survival. I find Schopenhauer to be mistaken; we do not always suffer, as there are little things that make life joyous. Furthermore, Schopenhauer compares our lives to animals, he states; The lower animals appear to enjoy a happier destiny than men. (pg64) On the same side with Schopenhauer I believe that animals live better lives than us. The fact that animals dont construct memories from their past and replay it, they obviously live better lives than us. Take for example a gold fish; most experiments claim they have a life span of three seconds, comparing that to a human life it can be said that we would suffer by recollecting old memories that brought us pain and suffering. Unlike us humans animals dont bother about the future or the past. They live in the present. So when it comes to animals I would agree that they live better lives than us and thus the argument is sound. Schopenhauer Aesthetic system according to me is a completely feeble. Even if it were possible to forget and give up all of our will, why would we ever do such a thing? I understand that our will at times is totally pointless and at times a lot of desires arise, and we are only capable of fulfilling some or none of them, but this does not mean we should practice aesthetics. The one problem that I see with the aesthetic system is that, Will, is the ultimate cause of our suffering. And we can be freed from our suffering through practising aesthetic. This idea seems to be contradictory, how can we be free of suffering by losing our individualism and perceiving the will objectively when the will is evil in nature? As Schopenhauer puts is. What is believed is that it is essential for us to see the world subjectively and not objectively, using our own experiences in order to survive. It is therefore fair to claim that our will is acting in our best interest. It also allows us to have desires that are needed in order to survive. For instance, it is essential for us to have a will to eat regularly in order to nourish ourselves; if we failed to do this we would die. And therefore I find this argument unsound. It would be fair for me to say that I totally find Schopenhauers ideology of life being filled with suffering invalid. However, I do find his argument on animals living a better life than human to be somewhat valid. The idea of aestheticism for combating suffering according to me is also not valid. I have tried to show that his conception of the will was mistaken on the grounds that he failed to properly appreciate the great good that our will actualises: our survival. Overall I believe that life is good, it has its ups and downs which Schopenhauer failed to realise. However one should live to the fullest and enjoy every single moment in life before we leave this world for good.

I was only 19- Redgum Essay

I was only 19 – Redgum Depressing, sad, sorrowful emotions fulfill the reader’s mind when they read I was only 19 poem. It is a protest song written by Redgum that means the Australian folk. It is a story which describes a physical and spiritual journey of a 19-year-old boy who is forced to face the horror of Vietnam War. The song lyrics are similar to the ballad. The reader may identify several thematic lines which are depicted in the poem: difficulties of Vietnam War, its negative influence on the individual, the meaning of culture. These subjects are shown via mentioning the national towns in Australia â€Å"Nui Dat† and â€Å"Vung Tau.† Other themes refer to the history of the Australian nation, protests against war, feeling of soldiers and veterans. There are various stylistic devices used in Redgum I was only 19 to emphasize on certain words and emotions. Repetitions, colloquialisms, metaphors, rhetorical questions prevail. The repetitions occur in the main phrase which is a title of the song: â€Å"I was only 19.† It is used to reinforce the fact that very young boys had to go to the war. Although he was only 19, he had to fight for his nation and face the brutality and cruelty of war. The words such as â€Å"VB,† â€Å"drinking tinnies,† â€Å"til the morphine came and killed the bloody row† identify the colloquial language. Using such phrases allows the reader feel a tighter relation of the writer to his Australian nation. In addition, there are several rhetorical questions which are used to add philosophical meaning of the poem: â€Å"And can you tell me doctor, why i still can’t get to sleep?† This stylistic device is used to show that soldiers are in depression because no one can answer their questions. A metaphor is another technique which is implemented in the poem I was only 19 Redgum. It is used to describe the feelings of soldiers more explicitly. The spiritual and moral decay of the individual is one of the key themes of the song. The writer is a 19-year-old boy who dreams about good future, spending time with nearest and dearest. It is that period of life when a person falls in love, starts adult life, develops the career, and experiences all the other positive emotions. However, the author and his peers are deprived of such happiness. They are obliged to go to the war, although none of them want to sacrifice their precious life. Because of these thoughts, the protagonist is devastated. He does not understand the sense of living. Moreover, his soul cannot find peace even at night when everyone sleep: â€Å"And night time’s just a jungle dark and a barking M.16?† The time for relaxation for him and other soldiers is just waiting for another fight. Nobody knows when the battle starts, and enemies begin shooting. Religion is another significant theme raised in the song. The author refers to God several times in the story. However, it is important to single out the meaning of religion in the poem. There is a repetitive line used three times: â€Å"God help me.† At the first phrase, he asks the religious creature to save him because he is only 19. It means that the boy understands that such an age is not normal for wars. There is only God who can help him answer the questions because the boy is disappointed with people. Gruesome wars are not good for any age, but people do not understand this. That is why the boy begs for help in God because he symbolizes hope. There is no specific reference to the religion because the God is used in a general meaning. He denotes belief in victory and peace. During the war the significance of friendship and mateship becomes striking. Sometimes the soldiers do not have the desire to live, but they struggle more and more just because of their mates. The writer also refers to this theme, and says: â€Å"You wouldn’t let your mates down ’til they had you dusted off.† Friendship becomes even more meaningful than the duty of a soldier or event personal desire to live. It happens because soldiers are kept under the same circumstances, and nobody will ever understand that better. They even do not have to discuss this. Just being together means more than sharing a tragic postwar story with someone who has not been there. The song finishes with very philosophical lines: â€Å"And the Anzac legends didn’t mention mud and blood and tears. And the stories that my father told me never seemed quite real.† The boy is dispirited because nobody prepared him for such cruelty. He sees deaths, tortures, blood, fighting, aggression, violence. There is no explanation and logical reason for such awful deeds. However, people continue the war because there must be someone who wins and somebody who loses. The young boy understands that the reality which he faces is much worse than he has ever expected. No stories, legends, songs can ever depict the whole horror of what any war brings to the humanity. The song â€Å"I was only 19† is a real treasure for Australian folk literature, although its content is tragic and sad. This poem is full of expressive means and stylistic devices which show the writer’s rich vocabulary and good feeling of stylistics. The reader needs to research some of the words to understand all the nuances of the poem because some of them are colloquial. However, even after the first reading or hearing the song, its emotional message is clear without any extra explanation. This song proves the deleterious influence of any war on individuals and the society. People should analyze such poems and their vital sense to prevent the same mistakes which are depicted in â€Å"I was only 19.†      

Public Relations Student Society Essay

My name is Jessica T. and I am a high school senior. During high school, I have been very focused on academics, and have also been involved with many extracurricular activities. As I prepare for my freshman year at Central Michigan University, my goals are to be an active member of the Honor’s Program, to be selected for the Leadership Camp and Safari, and to achieve a major in Integrative Public Relations, with a minor in Leadership. Throughout high school, I have been able to maintain an excellent grade point average, while also being active in many different clubs and sports. My current school activities include: Student Council (Historian of the council and Secretary of my class), National Honors Society, Business Professionals of America (Vice President), Cares Charity Club, Varsity Cross Country, and Varsity Soccer. I have also been a member of Pep Club, Foreign Language Club, Yearbook, and Volleyball. Along with school groups and activities, I am an active member of my church youth group at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ. One of my very favorite and most fulfilling events each year is a mission trip, where I’m able help people who may be less fortunate or just need some extra help from their community. A schedule that blends academics with school and community activities keeps me very busy. My ability to have both a school life and social life is something that might distinguish me from other high academic achievers. As I’ve seen with some of my own classmates, many people aren’t able to find a good balance; you either have a â€Å"bookworm† who does not get out much, or students who get out too much and end up failing classes. A crucial skill I had to learn quickly was how to manage my time between school, extracurricular activities, and just relaxing with my friends and family. I love to have fun with my friends, but I also know when it is time to concentrate on school work. The fact that I love public speaking is something that might also set me apart, not only from high academic achievers, but most high school students in general. I do not think you can find many people my age who are comfortable talking in front of people – anytime or anywhere – in either large or small groups. My speaking skills have strengthened my confidence to take on leadership roles when working on an event, and to take charge of a group in order to get things accomplished. Every school year, my friends appoint me as the class coordinator of the school’s Lip Sync Competition, which is actually a dance competition between the four grades. My friends and teachers always compliment me on how I am able to take 32 classmates – all with different opinions and personalities – and persuade them all to agree, without coming across as being mean. I believe my public speaking and leadership qualities will help me to achieve my goals to major in Integrative Public Relations and minor in Leadership. In addition to earning my degree at CMU, I plan to pursue my interest in the university’s volunteer and interdisciplinary programs, and student professional organizations such as the Public Relations Student Society of America. During my visit back in December, I met members of both the Honor’s and Leadership Programs. I was so thrilled that CMU offers programs where I can continue to grow and build on the professional and personal skills I’ve gained in high school. It was also exciting to see that so many students share a lot of my same interests. The Integrative Public Relations degree is what initially sparked my interest in becoming a Chippewa, however the confirmed my decision to attend Central Michigan University. In regards to the Honors Program, I believe I have a lot to offer. The planning and organizational skills I’ve learned by coordinating events through student council and the National Honor Society will help as I work with other members to create and plan fundraising and campus events. My confidence in speaking to large or small audiences will be helpful during classroom discussions or in working with a small team on a class or honor’s program project. Being involved with athletics has taught me a lot about commitment and teamwork, especially how to work well with many different personality types and levels of play. All of these skills will help me in many other areas such as: meeting my new dorm mates, working with fellow students and Honor’s Program members in class or on special events, and ultimately as I earn my degree and begin my new career. Last, but not at all the least, I have a great family. There are four of us – my parents, my little sister, and me. My sister, Sarah, is a freshman at my high school. We haven’t attended the same school since I was in first grade, so its fun to be in school together. I’m looking forward to playing with her on the varsity soccer team this year before I graduate. Family and friends are very important to me, and I love spending time with them. School is also an important thing in my life, and I do work hard to achieve what I need to, to reach my future goals.

Java Syntax The String Literal

AString literal is a sequence of characters used by Java programmers to populate String objects or display text to a user. The characters could be letters, numbers or symbols and are enclosed within two quotation marks. For example, I live at 22b Baker Street! is aString literal. Although in your Java code you will be writing the text within the quotes, the Java compiler will interpret the characters as Unicode code points. Unicode is a standard that assigns all letters, numbers, and symbols a unique numerical code. This means that every computer will display the same character for each numerical code. This means that if you know the number values you can actually writeString literals using Unicode values: \u0049\u0020\u006C\u0069\u0076\u0065\u0020\u0061\u0074\u0020\u0032\u0032\u0042\u0020\u0042\u0061\u006B\u0065\u0072\u0020\u0053\u0074\u0072\u0065\u0065\u0074\u0021 represents the sameString value as I live at 22b Baker Street! but obviously its not as nice to write! Unicode and normal text characters can also be mixed. This is useful for characters you might not know how to type. For example, a character with an umlaut (e.g., Ä, Ãâ€") as in Thomas Mà ¼ller plays for Germany. would be: Thomas M\u00FCller plays for Germany. To assign aString object a value just use a String literal: String text So does Dr Watson; Escape Sequences There are certain characters that you might want to include into aString literal which need to be identified to the compiler. Otherwise, it might get confused and not know what the String value is supposed to be. For example, imagine you want to put a quotation mark within a String literal: So my friend said, Its how big? This would confuse the compiler because it expects allString literals to begin and end with a quotation mark. To get around this we can use what is known as an escape sequence - these are characters which are preceded by a backslash (in fact youve already seen several if you look back at the Unicode character codes). For example, a quotation mark has the escape sequence: \ So theString literal above would be written: So my friend said, \Its how big?\ Now the compiler will come to the backslash and know the quotation mark is part of theString literal instead of its end point. If youre thinking ahead youre probably wondering but what if I want to have a backslash in my String literal? Well, thats easy - its escape sequence follows the same pattern - a backslash before the character: \\ Some of the escape sequences available dont actually print a character to the screen. There are times when you might want to  display some text split by a newline. For example: The first line. The second line. This can be done by using the escape sequence for the newline character: The first line.\nThe second line. Its a useful way to put a little bit of formatting into oneSting literal. There are several useful escape sequences worth knowing: \t is for inserting tabs into the literal\b inserts a backspace\n inserts a newline\r inserts a carriage return\ inserts a single quotation mark\ inserts a double quotation mark\\ inserts a backslash Example Java code can be found in the Fun With Strings Example Code.