In
this essay, Joseph Epstein, an essayist, short story writer, editor, and
lecturer, explores boredom. Epstein has written numerous essays for a variety
of publications including the New York Times and The New Criterion. Through the
essay Epstein describes the feelings associated with boredom along with its
causes and both negative and positive effects. Epstein’s purpose is to show the
public that boredom is not a negative emotion but rather one that has many
positive effects. One such effect is described when he writes, “One often finds
oneself more patient with boredom”(7). Epstein delivers his message by using
animals as a comparison to humans. Essentially Epstein says that if animals
have been shown to experience boredom, then it is only natural that humans do
as well. The comparison to the animals shows the reader that being bored is as
Toohey says, “A normal, useful and incredibly common part of human
experience”(110). Epstein further makes his point by supplying the reader with
anecdotes from his life. One example is when he was in a peacetime army and was
bored, “Out of my [his] gourd”(104) and he enjoyed the, “Luxuriousness of
boredom”(104). These luxuries again affirm the fact that boredom has positive
effects. However as the essay progresses, not only does Epstein talk of his own
experiences but also talks of the opinions of Lars Svendsen, the author of A Philosophy of Boredom. Although Svendsen
argues that, “Boredom is…a social, a cultural,[and] finally a philosophical problem”(104)
Epstein uses this as well as other philosopher’s views of boredom to find the
source of the problem. Epstein goes about using various resources to find the
kinds of boredom, and their positive effects. Throughout the essay, Epstein
uses various sources of research to show the reader that he is using valid
information to make is point. Essentially, Epstein first shows the negatives of
boredom through the eyes of intellectuals and then shows the positives effects
of boredom. Personally, I think that Epstein’s organization and research
greatly helped him in conveying his ideas and achieving his purpose. By the end
of the essay, I felt as though Epstein had outweighed the negatives with the
positives, and therefore he got his message across.
The Thinker By Auguste Rodin
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| Is he thinking? Or is he just bored? |
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