Two Examples of Hedonism:

It is only fitting that I discuss Question one and detail two examples of Hedonism. For the past four or five days I have been in Las Vegas working a convention. Hedonism professes that happiness is the equal to physical pleasure and also the possession of things that bring us pleasure. If Las Vegas does not perfectly parallel Hedonism I must be sorely informed on the subject.

            As I sat and did a little people watching, as I always do when in Vegas, I couldn’t help but reflect on our discussions in class the past two weeks. To view the people and their actions, the only explanation I could muster up justify their actions was that they were acting on their hedonistic tendencies and enjoying the pleasures that they have so rightly earned and so deeply feel the urge and need to experience.

            Two events of particular exclusivity in Las Vegas stuck out to me like a sore thumb. Gambling and Prostitution are two of the most Hedonistic activities available for pleasure in Vegas. The slogan of “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” is very similar to the slogan for Hedonistic view of Carpe Diem or “Seize the Day.” In other words, live it up. I remember reading that hedonistic people believe that all pleasure is automatically good. This statement had more effect on this topic of discussion than all others combined. For the only reason I could actually believe that someone would be willing to thrown outrageous amount of money away in a casino that you fully understand is not in the business of losing money and to also throw away your dignity and self respect for the flesh of a prostitute or stripper to enjoy for a hedonistic moment of pleasure, because all pleasure is automatically good.    

Into the Woods Blog Post 2

Speaking of the opening song in the second act that reads, “ Wishes may bring problems such that you regret them. Better that though, than to never get them.” When thinking about the play and in life in general, I reflected upon the wishes or “wants” of the characters and how they achieved their wants and then reverted back to want things how they originally were. Sometimes in life we wish for things to happen and when they do not turn out exactly how we want them to, we fret and frown. Divorce after marriage is something that would fit into this category quite well but I want to discuss the death of a spouse that I feel also fits correctly. My father and mother were married for 35 years before my mother passed away due to lupus. This was not the fairy tale ending that my father had hoped for but it was not final doom either. Dad set a great example for us kids and the tone he led with was encouraging and helping throughout the process. He showed this through a song he asked a sister-in-law sing at my mother’s funeral. The song is “The Dance,” by Garth Brooks. Part of the chorus reads, Our lives are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain ,But I'd of had to miss the dance. I think this part of the play resounds strongly in our lives. It is sometimes painful to wish and want. Life Happens. We fail. We don’t always get what we want but we can always learn from our adventures and take something positive from them.  

Into the Woods Blog Post 1

 

I want to talk about one or two of the proverbs discussed during the play. The first proverb I want to talk about is “ The harder to get, the better to have.” One of first thoughts that come to my mind is remembering the first big purchase I made with my first check I earned on the job as a paperboy growing up. All summer long I had used my brother’s rickety and rusty, hand me down bike to labor around the neighborhood with 100 papers in my bag that was fastened to the handle bars and which tossed me around. My motivation was increased to purchase my own bike through this experience. Oh the joy I had having sweat many mornings and having forfeited the extra sleep that a young man usually has during the school-free summers. Sacrificing those things and earning that Green Diamondback 21 speed all by myself I was determined to take great care of that bike. I was the only one that could tell me the real value of that bike. Much like the Baker and  his wife as they truly earned the right to have a child. They had a remarkable experience and only they know the true value of that experience and of that child.