Wednesday, October 23, 2019
“Of Friendship†by Francis Bacon and “Friendship†by Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay
Friendship is practical and a way of life. It is practical because it resolves the conflicts you are experiencing through reflection, your friends help you without you telling them. The efficiency of friendship lies on how you communicate with your friends. It is a way of life because it mirrors your values and attitude as a person. According to a famous saying, â€Å"Birds of the same feather flock together. Usually, friends have the same interest, opinion, habits and activities. The essays â€Å"Of friendship†by Francis Bacon and â€Å"Friendship†by Ralph Waldo Emerson revolves on the theme of how friendship becomes practical and a way of life. Same is the point of view of William Rawlins which says that:                        As a cultural category and source of imagery about ideal human relationships and  social  being, the term â€Å"friendship†usually evokes positive connotations. Its idealt ypical characteristics include the freedom to choose and maintain one’s bonds with others voluntarily, the personalized recognition of and response to particular individuals’ intrinsic worth as human beings, the pursuit of equality based on the  corresponding validity of friends’ subjective experiences, a shared orientation of mutual good will, understanding, trust, support, and acceptance, and heartfelt  feelings of platonic affection and concern. (271)            First will be the discussion of the style. Bacon’s essay is impersonal, brief and descriptive ,using figures of speech and detailed while Emerson’s is personal, unabridged and poetic just like the first sentence of his essay â€Å"We have a great selfishness that chills like east winds the world, the whole human family is bathed with an element of love like a fine ether†, using similes and metaphors and other figures of speech. Emerson’s style is conversational and subjective. Bacon’s style uses a smooth transition touching one subject after another in an abrupt manner and sentences are fluid while in Emerson’s coherence is improved, explaining every idea that he has in mind. The same idea is given by Edwin Abbot:                        It would seem that Bacon’s habit of collecting choice words and phrases, to express his meaning exactly, briefly, or ornately, had from a very early date the effect of repelling some of his hearers by the interspersion of unusual expressions and  metaphors. ( 450)            Next will be the discussion of the essay’s focus, content and organization .The essay accomplishes to instill to the mind of the reader the message it wants to convey. The words are clearly defined except for those old English that was used. Both are appropriate to individuals reading the essay and it does consider the needs and expectation of the reader. Both are supported with adequate details and evidences .The choices of the words are just. Emerson’s essay does not really get my attention due to its length, it becomes boring to read although there are memorable quotes and ideas that I get that really moved me and make me realize what he is talking about.            Afterwards will be the discussion of the essay. â€Å"Of Friendship†by Francis Bacon denotes the idea that no man is an island, coming from its introductory words: â€Å"It had been hard for him that spake it to have put more truth and untruth together in few words, than in that speech. Whatsoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god.†It is companionship. A person should not isolate himself from the society. It also discusses the fruits of friendship like confession and built of trust to another person , understanding and affection .Light comes out of the dark and confused thoughts become clear, that is the role of friendship. You also must not elevate yourself from others but be of equal to them to achieve true friendship.            â€Å"Friendship†by Ralph Waldo Emerson tells us that the sweetness of life is achieved through friendship .Intellect can help but it should act to feel the happy expression of being a friend and to befriend someone. A possession of a friend is more than the material things that the world is offering. Emerson also uses the physiology of a human to discuss the importance and meaning of friendship and also the mythological beings like the Greek gods and their representation in the essay as an agent of companionship. If Bacon has fruits of friendship to sweeten up life Emerson has the elements of friendship including tenderness,patience,silence and camaraderie to pump up the relationship and make it worthwhile.            To sum it up, I would like to borrow the words of C.S. Lewis that says that friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art. It has no survival value;rather is one of those things that give value to its survival. It is unnecessary because friendship comes naturally, it is not forced. It has no survival either because its only residence is a good heart. As I have said friendship is practical, so if we have friends and they don’t act like one don’t mind them. True friends know the value of each one. Friendship does not survive in a lifetime but by the time that you are need by your friend. Friendship is also a way of life. Act as you are but know the value of friendship because according to John 15:13, The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them†. Works Cited            Abbott, Edwin. Francis Bacon: An Account of His Life and Works.London:                                           Macmillan,1885.            Rawlins,William.  Friendship Matters: Communication, Dialectics, and the Life Course.                     New York: Aldine De Gruyter,1992.            Sharp, Ronald. Friendship and Literature: Spirit and Form.  Durham, NC.: Duke                               University Press,1986.
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