Enduring to the End

Every person has struggled with the question of  'why?'. Why are we here, why is there evil, why do we care? The middle of the 18th century was a time of upheaval against the dogma of ages past, as men struggled to understand the meaning of their existence. One of the great problems was that of Happiness. Leibniz argued for a world that was the best of all possible worlds, while others like Voltaire ridiculed the idea that this world was anywhere near an ideal.

Samuel Johnson, the author of "Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia" was no stranger to the evils of the world. At birth he contracted tuberculosis, he dropped out of college due to poverty, his father died while he was young, his school failed, his brother died,  he lived much of his marriage separate from his wife who also died in his forties, followed in rapid succession by the death of his mother. Amidst this gloom came the tale of Rasselas, and his quest for happiness.

A portrait of Samuel Johnson

        Rasseslas grew up in the "Happy Valley" a place where all care was taken to amuse and cater to every need that he and his royal siblings could have. He grew discontent with his never ending pleasure and escaped into the world in search of happiness. At each new turn, Rasselas, his sister, her servant and his tutor seem to discover the happiest person. Each however, is fundamentally broken, and Rasselas discovers that,"Human life is everywhere a state to be endured, and little to be enjoyed"(Johnson 32). This pessimistic view is the poison that can infect every human. If they are so caught up in checking on whether they are happy in the moment, they will never find the happiness that they seek. Rasselas and Johnson killed their chance at happiness through the comparison to others. They were convinced that their own "gaiety is counterfeit" and that we only believe that,"[happiness] is possessed by others to keep alive [our] hope of obtaining it" (Johnson 46). This level of insecurity can never lead to lasting happiness. Johnson's Portrait on the left specifically shows his concentration because, "He did not want to be known as blinking eye Sam" (Yung 32). Johnson clearly cared about what the world thought of him, and projected this idea that no ones happiness is real because Johnson's was fake onto Rasselas and his companions.
   
      Social Media is a journey out of Happy Valley for all of us that can lead us to the conclusion that Johnson reached. As we compare ourselves to the online counterfeit happiness of others, we can come to the conclusion that everyone is miserable. We will become those who" feel to be wretched, .... are weary of themselves, and of others..." and who hope to find "relief" in the misery of others (Johnson 35). In society today, where more than 1/6th of the world owns a facebook account, we need to find happiness not by comparison to others, but by companionship with others. The peers that I have talked to about happiness have all concurred that the joy from moments like being surrounded by family is balanced by the trials in between, and are worthy of the journey to find it. If we constantly check to see if we are happy, compare ourselves to others, or give up and return to Abisinnia, we will miss the best that life has to offer: lasting Joy.
   

Johnson, Samuel, and D.J Enright. The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia. Penguin, 1982.
Yung, Kai Kin (1984), Samuel Johnson, 1709–84, London: Herbert Press, ISBN 0-906969-45-X.
Photo - Portrait of Samuel Johnson - Joshua Reynolds