Being Active Free Essays

The unexamined life is not worth living ‘ Preferred language Plato wrote : â€Å"The unexamined life is not worth living ‘ Apply this   quote to the main characters of â€Å"The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Ivan , â€Å"The Metamorphosis (Gregor , â€Å"Death in Venice (Gustav ) and â€Å"To   Room 19 (Susan and Mathew . Focus on the quote as it relates to the   characters and the stories . Do not retell the plots . We will write a custom essay sample on Being Active or any similar topic only for you Order Now Give specific   examples to back up your responses . This is a response paper . I want to hear your ideas about the texts . This is NOT a research paper — do not use any outside source . —————————————I agree with the statement that unexamined life is indeed worthless . People who are respected everywhere are those who follow the path of   reason rather than allow themselves to be lead by moods and impulses . Most people , however , are guided by their desires and impulses and come   to grief . They never pause to think what they are doing – to critically   analyze the consequences of their thoughts and action . They take life   for granted and choose to follow the conventional path . Animals have to   follow their instincts , but why should human follow them . All the evils   of life spring from this unthinking habit .Even good characters have to   suffer because of the wrong decisions taken uncritically . Examples and   illustrations may be taken from literature in support of this argument . Leo Tolstoy ‘s hero Ivan Ilych is a good case in point . He is driven by   excessive ambition for money and status which makes him insensitive to   other important issues of life . Only after he falls ill he begins   examining his life to discover a rationale for his suffering . At   different situations of his life he reacts emotionally : frustrated at   not being promoted to the post of presiding judge , he becomes a   workaholic and neglects his relationship with family .Once he joins the   rat race of success , he gives up thinking about the consequences of his   actions . Being uncritical he makes a series of blunders which lead to   mental depression and his ultimate death . Before the death of his body , his mental decay sets in . All disastrous actions in his life are the   result of his giving up of thinking habit . First , his impusive marriage   to a woman , Praskovya , and her pregnancy prove to be a stumbling block   to his career advancement . In reaction he turns into a workaholic and   gets more and more isolated from his family .He leads a life of impulse   and set his priorities in the wrong way . Again , when denied the coveted   promotion , he irrationally takes leave to settle down in his   brother-in-law ‘s country house and then faces financial hardship . Owing to his lack of self-knowledge , he always moves from the frying pan   into the fire . His curious disease and mental depression further   degenerate into an abnormal preoccupation with death . Even his   estranged wife does not show sympathy which in turn antagonizes him . Ambition , isolation and hostility spring from his clouded judgment . the   confused state of†¦ How to cite Being Active, Papers