Essay Writing
Essay Writing
An essay discussing Kongzi, also known as Confucius, and the idea of improving oneself.
Out of all the chapters teachings by Kongzi and his disciples, one stood out to me. In Book Eleven, the twenty-second chapter tells a story of two disciples asking Kongzi the same question: “Upon learning of something that needs to be done, should one immediately take care of it?” To each disciple, Kongzi gives different instructions. A third disciple asked about it: “Zihua inquired, ‘When Zilu asked you whether or not one should immediately take care of something upon learning of it, you told him one should not, as long as one’s father and elder brothers were still alive. When Ran Qiu asked the same question, however, you told him that one should immediately take care of it. I am confused, and humbly ask to have this explained to me.’ The Master said, ‘Ran Qiu is overly cautious, and so I wished to urge him on. Zilu, on the other hand, is too impetuous, and so I sought to hold him back,’” (Van Norden, Analects 11.22). In other words, Kongzi knows the flaws of his students and by giving them different and even opposite advice, seeks to help them overcome their weaknesses.
This stood out to me. There is a tendency to take short, wise phrases as gospel and not question them. They are used as common pieces of wisdom that can be handed out like the advice in fortune cookie; they get overused and lose their meaning. However, in this chapter, Kongzi demonstrates that his words are not universal. People are different, and therefore their flaws and strengths and circumstances are different. What one person needs to work on to become a better person will differ greatly from everyone else. By changing his instructions to his pupils, he emphasizes the importance of knowing what one must focus on in order to improve oneself. At the same time, all of Kongzi’s teachings point to an eventual end; becoming a better person. Who that person is and the traits they have, Kongzi defined; but how to get there is a different path for each person.
Knowing this, my understanding of The Analects changes. I recognize that there are some teachings that I need to focus on personally in order to better myself. However, it is difficult to know which teachings best apply to my circumstances and where my weaknesses are. Kongzi recognizes that self-evaluation is difficult. “The Master said, ‘I should just give up! I have yet to meet someone who is able to perceive his own faults and then take himself to task inwardly,’” (Analects 5.27). This is likely why Kongzi’s disciples took his words so seriously; he could see their faults where they could not, and guide them accordingly. However, I don’t have a Kongzi in my life, and I don’t follow around one person enough that they would be able to pinpoint what I need to change. This doesn’t mean that I cannot follow these teachings; it means that I need to find a more effective way of self-evaluation.
Book Four of The Analects has a solution: “The Master said, ‘When you see someone who is worthy, concentrate upon becoming their equal; when you see someone who is unworthy, use this as an opportunity to look within yourself,’” (Analects 4.17). While I live in a culture that disagrees with judging others, this seems to be more specific than judging. This is analyzing others and discerning what traits they have and don’t have, rather than labeling people as good or bad. In order to best analyze others, it is important to note both their words and their actions. A chapter in Book Five illustrates this; “Zai Wo was sleeping during the daytime. The Master said, ‘Rotten wood cannot be carved, and a wall of dung cannot be plastered. As for Zai Wo, what would be the use of reprimanding him?’ The Master added, ‘At first, when evaluating people, I would listen to their words and then simply trust that the corresponding conduct would follow. Now when I evaluate people, I listen to their words but then closely observe their conduct. It is my experience with Zai Wo that has brought about this change,’” (Analects 5.10). Analyzing others consists of listening to them, seeing if their words match up with their actions, and judging accordingly.
From these teachings, I am better able to evaluate my peers and pinpoint where I am lacking and where I excel. With that knowledge, I turn back to The Analects, searching for advice to better myself. That leads me to Book Ten, to a both straightforward and strange piece of advice; “He would not instruct while eating, nor continue to converse once he had retired to bed,” (Analects 10.10). At face value, this seems to be saying to not talk with a full mouth nor stay up late talking. However, this chapter is instructing that one must remain focused in all actions. When eating or preparing to sleep, be fully focused on that one task. I realize this teaching applies to me particularly. I have a tendency to multitask, which results in my brain having to quickly jump between class subjects or other work, which doesn’t produce the best work. It opens the door to various distractions, especially if I have noise in the background, such as people talking or a TV on. This teaching is something that I particularly need to work on: rather than multitask, I should focus on one task at a time. Now, it is on me to set a goal to not work when there are distractions and instead to remove myself from those environments, and to strive to focus on one thing at a time. By doing this, I should become more effective and efficient in my work, and be less distracted.
Although Kongzi’s teachings can be very particular, many do apply in any circumstances. Being able to analyze others and myself allows me to better perceive my own faults and where I need to improve.
Works Cited
Ivanhoe, Philip J, and Van Norden, Bryan W. Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. Indianapolis, Hackett Publ, 2007.
An essay about how authors harness the passage of time in literature, and the results.
Authors tell stories using an arsenal of tools; the way they use time is easily one of the most important tools. The perception of time, or how the characters feel the passage of time, can affect how the readers connect with characters, while the portrayal of time changes how readers view the story as a whole. Either way, through the perception and portrayal of the passage of time, authors affect the readers.
When it comes to time in narrative, the first distinction to make is between the passage of time, the portrayal of time, and the perception of time. The passage of time in fiction works similarly to the way time works in the real world. Seconds build minutes, then hours, then days pass. This phenomenon is impossible to portray perfectly through narrative; thus, the portrayal of time differs from the actual passage of time. This refers to the way the narrative expresses the passage of time, through description, scene, summary, or ellipses. The portrayal of time is outside of the story, and only viewed by the reader. Conversely, the perception of time works within the story, felt only by the characters. It shows how the human mind comprehends time. Humans don’t feel like time is as linear as it is, instead enduring minutes that feel like years or days that leave in a flash. “Narrative is the principal way in which our species organizes its understanding of time,” (Abbott 3). Thus, through narratives, the way that humans understand time becomes clear. Furthermore, authors know this and use it to their advantage, to show something about humanity through the perception or portrayal of the passage of time.
A great example of the way the perception of time shows something about a character and their situation is Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game.” It is an adventurous short story following the masterplot of a hunter who becomes the hunted. Sanger Rainsford, a seasoned hunter, meets General Zaroff who has created a sort of paradise for himself, where he can hunt the most dangerous prey known to man; mankind itself. Finding it appalling and rejecting his host’s offer to take part, Rainsford is thrust into a hunt, being hunted by General Zaroff and his dogs. This short story is straightforward, and the usage of time is what could be considered rather normal; time passes in a consistent way, with sentences noting when a day or night passes. However, as the story reaches its climax in the hunt, Rainsford’s perception of time shifts. “An apprehensive night crawled slowly by like a wounded snake,” (Connell). As the conflict rises and Rainsford’s life is threatened, every second could be his last and he feels that through the uniquely slow passage of time. “He lived a year in a minute,” (Connell). In these examples, Rainsford’s perception of time is portrayed in the narrative through summary. He didn’t literally live a year in a minute, but he felt like he did. Had Connell shown this, however, it would likely take the form of an ongoing monologue that would distract from the approaching threat of General Zaroff. But by including it, this sentence shows more about Rainsford’s mental state than any adjective could. Rainsford isn’t just waiting with anticipation, but waiting so intently, so breathlessly, that time to him slows down that each minute is like a year. By presenting Rainsford’s perception of time, Connell demonstrates a human reaction to danger.
Conversely, when it comes to the portrayal of time, Leo Tolstoy mixes the order of events in order to make the reader invested in the story. The Death of Ivan Ilych begins at an odd place: the main character’s death. As Ivan Ilych is named in the title, he is clearly the protagonist, which makes the beginning seem strange as the reader therefore knows that Peter Ivanovich is a temporary point of view character. Seeing Ivan Ilych’s funeral through someone else’s eyes, however, shows a great deal. Without knowing who Ivan Ilych is or what kind of man he was, much is made clear by the different characters' reactions to his death. His coworkers start planning who will replace him, who will move up in the company, and who will enter that vacated place they’ll create. It is rather callous and uncaring, made worse by the fact that these same coworkers prioritize their game night over his funeral. Even Peter Ivanovich leaves to join his friends’ game without another thought to Ivan Ilych. Similarly, during Peter Ivanovich’s conversation with Praskovya Fedorovna, Ivan Ilych’s new widow, it is clear that she is more concerned with monetary matters over her husband’s death. After presenting this depressing scene, the next chapter opens up with the line, “Ivan Ilych’s life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible,” (Tolstoy 102); following this, his life unfolds chronologically. This is an example of the portrayal of time, as time passes normally for the characters: Ivan Ilych wasn’t buried before he was born. This portrayal of time, however, is vital to the rest of the story.
Ivan Ilych is not a very pleasant man. Reading his life chronologically would likely highlight all of his flaws even more, but by starting with his death, seeing how few people truly are mourning him, it keeps the reader sympathetic and invested in his character and his fate. And knowing the end, that he dies in great pain, the reader keeps those sympathies in mind. It becomes an experience to read the life that built the apathy towards his absence. The portrayal of time is used to make the readers care about Ivan Ilych without making him somebody that a reader would actually care about.
Through both the portrayal and the character’s perceptions of the passage of time, authors like Richard Connell and Leo Tolstoy are able to express or manipulate the reader's experience. By observing character’s reactions and the way time feels longer or shorter than it is, readers are able to empathize with the characters and understand what they feel in a particular moment. Despite never having been chased through a jungle by a madman, they know what it feels for a minute to last a year, and are therefore able to empathize with Rainsford. And by telling about Ivan Ilych’s funeral before his life, readers feel sympathy for him, which leads to their investment in the rest of the story. In these ways, authors use time to affect their readers.
Works Cited
Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Cambridge University Press, 2021.
Connell, Richard. The Most Dangerous Game. Colier's, 1924.
Tolstoy, Leo. The Death of Ivan Ilych. 1886. New York: Signet, 2003.