The life prospects of people living in a fast-growing society subdue the material side of the issue. In this respect, the essay Life without Principle is a grave example of the argumentative narration about the comedy of individuals’ lives. This essay serves as a reminder for those who being intensively busy with various activities do not shape the reality of what they do, in particular. In other words, the truth of the essay is incorporated in a concise and paradoxical character of what people do and how they do it. Moreover, the rational approach is embodied in remarks of the author which emphasize the idea of curiosity about life prospects and the vision of life purposes made by individuals.
Thus, the essay is intended to call attention to the idea of peoples’ urge for money-making in terms of finding out personal benefits. The relationships provided by people in different spheres of life are carried by the sense of making mutual profits so that to find a consensus. Furthermore, the author fairly admits that such situations are not often in a real life. With the flow of time, people became faster in thinking and inventing mechanisms for making life more advantageous. The material amenities made people blind, in fact, and the author contradicts the idea of such tendency further development. In all spheres of life, the dominant position of money requires the ability of human beings to violate the laws and principles of fair living on earth. A man is rather apt to find ways of how to pass over the lawful basis of different affairs. Moreover, the genuine values of life seem to be almost trite due to peoples’ urge for money.
The criticism of the author falls into the idea of business predominant position in a man’s life. The reasons for and effects of business relationships are evaluated in the essay by means of several opinions said by different people. The idea of real motivations for work within people is underlined in terms of the behavioral approach. Though, the author seeks the truth of the motivational peculiarities in people. The aim of the essay props up against the author’s own experience, as a surveyor. Thereupon, the versatile manner of making the text divided into separated parts provides a reader with weighty facts and arguments, so that to prove the idea of “principles lack”.
The academic community is the best audience for understanding the massage of the essay right. The academic approach is also described in the work due to the deep analysis of the problem and its estimation in contemporary reality. While taking into account somehow severed parts of the essay one should be aware of the social philosophy and psychology. A prescribed pessimism maintained in the essay shows that the problem is not solved yet. This is why the audience of the academic community fits better for the afterward discussion of the issue that arose in the author’s narration. The thing is that it is not a matter of one glimpse or just reading. It is a discussion about the everyday life of human beings and their connection to the possible traps covered under the hopes for success and further excellent living. Such a manifoldness of mind should be possessed by people looking at the sense of the essay. Life without Principle is built on the basis of the subjective opinion of the author. Thus, there should be a correct attitude of the audience not to accept the ideas in the work as a universal truth. Of course, there are many points that exactly do not thwart a common notion of life, but, on the other hand, there are facts that oppose somebody’s conviction as of social realities. All in all, the audience should be conscientious about the issues touched upon in the essay.
Due to the huge scope of experience that mankind already has about life priorities and values the, author surpassingly operates with the examples, facts, figures, and personal attitude in the essay. This is outlined by their personal addressing of him toward the supposed audience. The author uses examples of different locations of the world along with different statements of outstanding researchers for making arguments more convicting. For example, the statement of the author “The ways by which you may get the money almost without exception lead downward” (Thoreau Reader P 1 para 8) may be analyzed categorically and stop a reader in his/her attempts to improve life. However, the author leaves space for a personal explanation of such a position. To lay more emphasis on the facts provided in the discussion the author notes that a wise man often knows a way how to live better than the rest (Thoreau Reader P 1 para 16). In this respect, the example of Plato’s life promotes an assumption of the truthfulness of the thought. The capability of a narrator to cite authoritative persons and their statements makes the essay more comprehensive and applied to real life. A sound flow of ideas is illuminated in a gradual following of an argument’s structure. First, there is a statement, several ideas to exceed its value, and then confirmation of it by means of a more authoritative and weighty person. In such succession of material feed, a reader has almost no obstacles in making personal estimation concisely to the body of the essay.
A point on a disgrace of mankind is made by the author while analyzing in brief the events of the gold rush in California and Australia when all people notwithstanding their position in society were concerned in having merely their own share of the gold. Here the reason for the gold rush and the effects are correlated dramatically. A religious theme is touched upon in the essay with a rational approach. Thus, put case points out that mankind is moving backward from the right attitude toward life prospects faster every now and then, due to the existence of greed and jealousy. Once more the religious theme provided by the authors is full of grave criticism so that to make no difference between the real intentions of people assertedly placed by God to tell people truth maintained in the Scriptures. There is a notion in the essay which states: “…among all the preachers there are so few moral teachers” (Thoreau Reader P 2 para 1). The plot of the essay intends to make efforts in order to agree or disagree with the points stated in it. For the purpose to highly emphasize the discussion the author uses a technique of self-promoted dialogue as if he talks to somebody, a reader in this case.
The point of the essay is argued well due to an effective argumentative base and examples which played a major role in the discussion of the problem. Ideas and facts are both compared and contrasted in the work. This is why there is no place for doubts that the approach toward the problem under analysis was made with thorough attention to methods of persuasion. The author leads a reader to a sphere of peoples’ relationships, then to the religious affairs, and then promotes an idea of the whole disgrace of mankind notwithstanding the sphere of presupposed activities. In almost all respects toward the issue, the author showed personal awareness of the life values and survey on the peoples’ real intentions when speaking about money and amenities. Examples of different lives and situations over various countries are grounded deeply on reliable sources and all pros and cons about them. This is why the message of the essay seems to speak about the same problem but from different angles of view. A versatile picture projected on the problem of peoples’ interests for money promotes a whole persuasion in deceitful nature of men even when they have so-called sincere motives to help or just to intrude into another man’s life or spheres of activities. In this respect, the essay proves the criteria of good arguments.
On the other hand, the author promotes only a discussion. He expresses ideas about the personal evaluation of things outlined, but he does not give personal suggestions of how to struggle with the cruel and coarse reality of today. In other words, the essay lacks the methodology to improve the situation observed in the paper. Perhaps, the author by such virtues wants to leave space for a reader’s imagination about probable solutions. Nonetheless, the objective side of the paper needs to have the author’s personal position with current steps for solutions.
References
Thoreau Reader. Life without Principle. Part 1, 2. Web.