I know it's a boring title for a post, but your assignment here is to write a body paragraph attacks or defends the quotation from Ecclesiastes, something that you didn't write the first time around. Have fun. Make it sharp -- it will be read out loud in class.
mrh
In regards to disagreeing with the statement " More wisdom is more grief and an increase in knowledge in an increase in sorrow" , the novel Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathebane is a novel that illustrates this arguement well. The novel is mainly concerned with the poor environment in which mark is raised in. Living in the slums of Alexandria, in apartide stricken South Africa, Mark is faced with the choice of street violence or education. Mark chooses school, which is of course the factory of knowledge. Mark goes through multiple beatings as a result of not having the proper school books, but day after day he endures the pain with the hope of gaining knowledge. Mark's persistance allows him to pursue his dream if playing college tennis and attending a University in America. In this instance the "increase in knowledge", was in no way "an increase in sorrow".
ReplyDeleteThis Ecclesiastes quote discusses the increase of grief with the increase of wisdom, and the increase of knowledge with the increase of sorrow. The quote claims the two feelings to be directly proportional with an increase of awareness of the world. However, it differentiates between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge can be defined as the basic information and understanding that a person gains through their life experiences, while wisdom is the practical application in life of that knowledge. In this respect, I agree with the quote. Coming to terms with and understanding the harsh realities of life often leads to much sorrow and misery. This knowledge gained about the world can be shocking and distressing. For example, in the Biblical tale about Adam and Eve, Eve gains knowledge of the possibilities of eating from the Tree of Knowledge. The possibility of being more like God looms over her, even though eating this fruit is forbidden. Acquiring this knowledge led to sorrow for Adam and Eve, and eventually sorrowful consequences for all of their children. An increase in their knowledge became their downfall and brought sorrow to their lives. On a different level, the quote describes the amount of wisdom to be directly related to the amount of grief. Grief is a much more intense feeling of sorrow, accompanied by misery and suffering. In the 1920s novel “The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, narrator and protagonist Nick Carraway gained wisdom through his experiences with the affluent crowd of New York. He learned how the rich society members lived their life and interacted with others, and began to make decisions and take action based on his involvement with the Buchanans and Jay Gatsby. However this increased wisdom negatively affected Nick’s life, and eventually led to grief due to the death of his friend Gatsby. Nick changed his judgment and morals due to these experiences with the Buchanans, and therefore he suffered and grieved after the consequences. This is what the quote argues; negative effects accompany increase in wisdom and knowledge. The two are different, yet they both yield intense forms of suffering and sadness in a person’s life.
ReplyDeleteAn example of why this statement does not have truth in it, one can relate to the novel "Catcher In the Rye." This novel tells the story of a young man whose main motto in life was "ignorance is bliss." He refused to open his eyes to the reality of the world, and instead chose to live in complete oblivion. By doing this, he managed to get into tons of trouble and mischief throughout the entire book. It wasn't until the end of the novel, when he accepts his fate of growing up and ACKNOWLEDGES IT. By gaining this knowledge, the reader sees a transformation of the main character in which he becomes a more mature and disguinished person. By gaining this knowledge, although in someway, may have had some sorrow in it, was more of a sense of bliss in the long run, because he was no longer screwing up his life.
ReplyDeleteA result of World War II was technology unlike the world had ever seen. New knowledge came in the form of the Atomic Bomb. The Atomic Bomb thankfully ended World War II but brought on another war, The Cold War - a fight to see which country could dominate the other by creating an Atomic Bomb. This new knowledge of the Atomic Bomb caused grief and sorrow around the world, it instilled fear in the lives of many people. What the world was lacking was wisdom. There is an immense difference between knowledge and wisdom. In this example knowledge was the progression of technology while the world did not know what to do with it. In order to gain wisdom you have to make mistakes and learn from them. During The Cold War mistakes were made that had never been made before. When these mistakes were eventually learned from, The Cold War ended and wisdom was gained. However this wisdom did not come without the grief and sorrow of many people that directly came from the advancement in knowledge through technology.
ReplyDeleteKnowledge can indeed lead to an increase in sorrow, as stated in the conclusion of Ecclesiastes. An example of this can be seen in the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe. The book gives the story of a village in Africa that was visited and later inhabited by white explorers. The main theme of the book is that change is inevitable, and for the villagers the change that occurred ended up causing the death of many villagers and disrupted their traditional way of life. The white explorers had brought with them knowledge of technology and knowledge of other cultural and social practices that lead to a change in the way of life in the village, which subsequently cause the disruption and break down of the village society. In this instance, increase in knowledge only lead to an increase in problems. These problems lead to the deaths of village members and caused a culture, that had been deep rooted for years, to fall apart, which certainly contributed to the sorrow of many village members.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am not all that cynical, I do (to an extent) agree with this quote. Take the fable "The Scotty Who Knew Too Much" for example. In this story, a Scottish Terrier went to the countryside to visit a farm dog. The Scotty learned that all of the farm dogs that resided in the countryside were afraid of a curious animal with a white stripe down its back. The Scotty wished to take the creature on, and the farm dog asked, "Don't you want to ask any questions about him?" with which the Scotty refused and demanded to be taken to the creature. Soon after, he was still undeterred after getting sprayed, and wished to confront every animal that the farm dogs were afraid of. Next was the porcupine, whom he still did not ask questions about. He got stuck with spines. With his newfound knowledge of these country animals, he stated that he would like to fight the farm dog because he now knows how to fight in the country. The Scotty proceeded to shield his eyes from "spines" and cover his nose to protect against "squirts". Needless to say, knowledge was not power in this situation. If the Scotty had fought with his original skills, he could have possibly beat the farm dog, but with his newly acquired "wisdom", he failed.
ReplyDeleteNick Carraway was a young Minnesota World War One veteran searching for some changes in his life, searching for excitement after returning home after War. After befriending Gatsby and partying during a stint as a New York City Bond's man. Nick realizes he doesn't truly feel at home like he hoped he would in New York after some of his friends are killed by the drama caused by Gatsby. Nick returns back home to Minnesota after his endeavors in New York, realizing on the train ride back that his real home was always in Minnesota and he grows a deeper appreciation for his maiden land. In a way, the 1920's prohibition era party's were Nick would get innebriated, showed him how life could be more exciting and unpredicatable and unsafe all at the same time. This new "knowledge" created a fondness for home, Nick proabably will never forget Gatsby and his home in Long Island as he sits near his fireplace in humble Minnesota.
ReplyDeleteThe Ecclesiastes quote, although true in many ways, is somewhat ignorant of the possibilities knowledge has to offer. I would agree that knowledge could bring sadness however that knowledge would have to be sad in the first place. Any knowledge of pain and suffering in the world would depress most people, however there is knowledge of success, knowledge of love, knowledge that would bring a warm feeling in the heart of many people. This warm feeling caused by certain knowledges has unlimited possibilities it may even help save the world. One example of knowledge saving the world is when Naruto Uzamaki of the Hidden Leaf Village learns who is father is in the japanese tv show Naruto Shipuden. In the scene wher Pain (a member of the akatsuki trying to capture the Kyobi spirit sealed inside of Naruto) destroys the village in an attempt to bring Naruto out of hiding, Naruto learns a valuable piece of information that helps him destroy Pain and save the village. Half way through their fight naruto is consumed by the hate of the Kyobi and cant control his power and begins to destroy everything he touches as well as loose the battle between Pain. As the Kyobi beast is about to kill Naruto and set himself free Naruto goes into is self conscious where there the Kyobi is locked up in and encounters the leader of the village that died saving the village 16 years before by sealing the Kyobi into Naruto. It is there the leader, known as the Fourth Hokage, reveals to Naruto that he is his father and he has faith that Naruto can overcome the Kyobi and defeat Pain by himself. With knowledge of his father being a hero and his love for Naruto, Naruto controls the Kyobi and defeats Pain humbly and saves the village. This knowledge lead to love and strength that both physically and mentally over came hatred and pain and misery. Knowledge is like a double edged sword, one edge is a blunt destructive edge known as pain an misery, the other is a clean steel edge that pierces and slays hate, pain, misery, and any other emotion that could bring sorrow.
ReplyDeleteThe Ecclsiastes quote underestimates the importance of sorrow. While it is something no one would wish to feel, everyone has at some time or another. It is just an emotion; and one that embodies exactly what we are; human. Sorrow is felt in different levels, but none of them are wrong or right. Whether it be the heartache you feel after someone you loved told you it can't work, or the pain of loss, the only thing that heals you is time. But feeling sorrow is an important part of that process. It sparks the process of recovery. Although knowledge can bring sorrow, like the harsh stereotypes and realities blacks faced during the Civil Rights Movement, it can also give people a cause. Martin Luther King Jr. saw what was expected of him as a black man, but would not accept it. He instead became passionately dedicated to the fight for blacks' rights, including his own. Although his life was cut short, I believe he died a proud man. But I don't think he could have ever been proud without the sorrow to create his cause. So I would like to propose a new quote. If one does not know sorrow, they can never know happiness.
ReplyDeleteEcclesiastes' quote "... increase in knowledge is increase in sorrow," gives justice to the philosophy of ignorance. While sometimes knowledge can benefit us and create wisdom, it can also lead to a downfall. In respect to the quote, I qualify. In Siddhartha, a young man leaves home in order to find the true meaning of life. Along the way, he encounters the many realities of life, such as prostitution and nomad life. This, however, adds fuel to the fire in a positive way. He found out a side of life that he didn't even know existed and this made him all the more wiser and contributed to finding his chih and his own purpose in life. Unlike in Siddhartha, the contrary effect is shown in J.D. Salinger's novel the Catcher In the Rye where the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, faces similar obstacles as Siddhartha. Holden comes accross prostitution, sex, drugs, alcohol, and debt, things that are probably all too much to handle for a young 16-year old boy. Holden begins to have suicidal thoughts and drinks to an extreme, in order to suppress recent events. All in all, wisdom can bring someone happiness and content, or sorrow and grief, but it will always depend on what you make of your circumstances.
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