Alexander Pope was a living paradox and he portrayed it in An Essay on Man and The Rape of lock. Pope had a disease that caused him to be viewed as weak in society, while at the same time this weak man was also a genius. The truth behind Pope and the things he writes about is the idea that there is a common middle state between conflicting things humans have to deal with. Humans are always trying to find a balance. The things that cause this balance to get disproportionate are having too much pride to act, letting your ego control yourself, and overreacting.
In An Essay on Man he says,”with too much knowledge for the skeptic side, with too much weakness for the stoic’s pride. ” The belief that you know you must get something done but you do not want to start because you think you will fail. In the form of competition particulary sports when a team is being beaten terribly by the opponent and they choose to give up instead of still trying to overcome there deficit. It also applies to when a student has to do a difficult project and they are given a lot of time to do it. Most students do not start the project immediately because of the fear they will fail at there first attempt.
Also in the back of there mind though, is that they must get the project done and the longer they wait the less time they have. In An Essay on Man he states,”created half to rise, and half to fall;great lord of all things, yet a prey to all. ” the main idea that influences this idea is a persons ego. Nobody is meant to be perfect all the time in anything and there are up’s and down’s in everything difficulty wise. We are made as humans to be imperfect and it is those of us who can deal with the adversity of a situation and be able to work through it or let the change of the situation control you.
The Term Paper on Team Dynamics Time Leader Project
Is there such a thing as a perfect team? Is there any team that does not have any obstacles or conflict to overcome? Obstacles like communication or confusion due to a lack of materials. Conflicts such as a difference in opinion or different priorities each member has could be something plaguing the group. Time management could also be something holding the group's progress up. There are a lot of ...
People are powerful beyond measure and if they allow themselves to let there mind control there actions it will take them to extraordinary places. Of all things great that make up a person and the things that we are capable of there are still things that can get under our skin and cause us to be weak. Any great athlete will tell you that they remember the journey more than the later success they had after there hard work. If someone is content with who they are and they do not let there ego control what they want to become it will allow them to be able to deal with adversity and not let any small thing dictate what they are capable of.
In The Rape of the Lock Pope states,”then flashed the living lightning from her eyes, and screams of horror rend th’ affrighted skies. Not louder shrieks to pitying heaven are cast, when husbands, or when lap dogs breathe their last; or when rich China vessels fallen from high. ” This is the reaction of Arabella when Robert cut a lock of her hair. This shows how much she over reacted to this minor thing and how this over reaction is a part of human nature. It is comparing her reaction to that of someone dying and how having her hair cut is that same feeling.
This all plays a role in Pope’s purpose in his life and his writing and that is to live in a middle state. The idea that you should be to extreme to either side of things in this case not reacting too much but also not reacting too little. Pope is trying to get across finding the fine line between things. Universal truth is an unalterable fact in humans that can be applied to everything. The truth is people get too caught up with what has happened and what is going to happen that they are not in a middle state of the present.
The Essay on The Cicada Many Things to Many People
In this century of rapid scientific discovery, there still exist natural phenomena with the power to inspire wonder and mystery. The cicada, an insect known since ancient times, is one such phenomenon. Because scientific knowledge of the cicada contains many gaps, these mysterious insects can still stimulate our imagination or lead us into confusion. At the present time, the cicada is many things ...
Being caught up in ones self worth is very demoralizing and can cause people be selfish when they should find a middle ground of thinking for others sometimes while at other times they do things for themselves. Not doing when you have to builds a certain pressure which leads you to forcing yourself to do something. Doing at all times, in a state of constant motion causes people to not let there pride get in the way. There are two extreme types of reactions one being overreacting and the other not reacting at all. Being able to react appropiately to a situation allows someone to live in a middle state.
