Paradox: “Even in our so-called virtues we
are intemperate: A teetotaler is not content not to drink- he must stop all the
drinking in the world; a vegetarian among us would outlaw the eating of meat.”
The paradox shows how many Americans are only caring about themselves and how they only care about what they are doing. This is shown in the paradox do to the fact that it says, “a vegetarian among us would outlaw the eating of meat”. Which shows the reader if a person has a different opinion than everyone else must have the same opinion. It makes sense that John Steinbeck put this into his essay because this is something that people do to make themselves more comfortable, but doing so we are making matters worse for those around them.
I have seen this type of thinking around me many times thought my live. One of them was when my little sister was mad because she could not play with her toys so when she saw other kids playing with them she told them they could not do sox. This is also seen in many TV shows or movies were a character is trying to go on a diet but sees that friend and family are eating foods that are unhealthy. To respond to this he/she will either throw away the food or will hide so he/she will not feel so temped. As well with me when I can’t do something whether I am sick or just unable to I find it unfair that another person I know is doing.
Paradox: “ We trample friends, relatives and stranger who get in the way of our achieving it; and once we get it we shower it on psychoanalyst to find out why we are unhappy.”
This is a paradox because we hurt those that we care and even those we do not care for but once we achieve what we wanted it seems that it no longer make us happy. This shown when Steinback writes “we get it we shower it on psychoanalyst to find out why we are unhappy” Which shows the reader that we do enjoy what we have worked so hard for because of what he have done to get there. It makes sense that he put this paradox in the essay because it is true that many people that are success are sometimes are un happy because they always have to work.
I can relate to this because sometimes I push away my family trying get a good grade and sometimes my friends. This also happens to many people that try to move up the corporate latter and push away their friends and family and later they have no one to share his experience and wealth. This happens to many american because when they are young they do not see anything but what they want and when they grow older they found out that now they have not family and those he thought cared for him/her are not their for him/her.
Good job, but you have a spelling errors in your second reflection on the first paradox.
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