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  • Essay / The golden mean as the path to happiness

    Too much exercise destroys strength as much as not enough, and in the same way, too much or too little food or drink destroys health, while the proportional amount l increases and preserves it. It is the same with temperance, courage and other virtues, because he who fears everything and does not stand firm becomes a coward, and he who fears nothing and rushes into danger becomes reckless. And in the same way, the man who indulges in all pleasures becomes complacent, and he who abstains from all pleasures becomes coarse. Temperance and courage are therefore destroyed by too much and too little, but preserved by average. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Aristotle was clear that living in the “golden mean” would maintain the most balanced lifestyle. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the main characters show the repercussions of what living in excess can have. Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton behave irrationally in the name of personal glory. Likewise, the beast created by Victor is immediately rejected and turned away from society, causing him to be feared and feared. These excessive behaviors could only lead these men to failure, but, according to Aristotle, if they had been able to find this middle path of reason, they might have succeeded. The archetypal critical approach says that the writer and the reader share memories from the unconscious. A writer can incorporate these memories into their narrative, which can in turn affect the reader. The reader is allowed to compare their own experiences, as well as other works, with the writer and the tale to have a more distinct understanding of the piece. Commonalities in archetypal plots are recurring archetypal characters such as the scapegoat, the hero, the terrible mother and the wise old man (Barnet, et al, 2004). Aristotle believed that all moral virtue lies between the extremes of pleasure or action. For example, he said that too little confidence breeds cowardice and too much self-confidence breeds rashness, but courage is the right way. Likewise, he believed that true pride was the way to have too much honor or excessive humility. This is what he calls the “golden mean”. In Greek, eudaimonia means “well-being”. Aristotle believed that every person should pursue eudaimonia, or goals and happiness, in their life. He believed it was our duty to exercise our ability to think and reason and to flourish in the most practical way possible. Contemplation, Aristotle also believed, was important to having a good life. Frankenstein shows how the lack of these virtues leads the main characters to ultimate failure. Both Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton seek immortality by doing the impossible. We learn that Walton is a ship captain traveling to the North Pole to discover a passage connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. He explains: "I may perhaps discover there the wonderful power which attracts the needle... I will satisfy my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and I will be able to tread a land never yet marked by the foot of man. . These are my incentives, and they are enough to overcome any fear of danger or death…” Walton desires to feel invincible through this mission and pursues it with zeal. If Robert had chosen moderate courage over rashness, he might have avoided his next failure. Walton's journey across the North Pole is interrupted when their ship becomes stuck in the ice. Instead of rejoicing..