Essay on Samuel Johnson's "The Vanity of Human Wishes"
The vanity of human wishes is s poem by Samuel Johnson that features the futile life of human beings that is self-centered. There is a general hunger within a human being to prosper and be famous. Fame and material gain are the two main pursuits of human beings. People have become so much obsessed with material things that they do not realize the danger they expose themselves to. It is unfortunate that people have to die young or even without having to accomplish their greatest dreams simply because they were after things that could not satisfy them. Johnson notes that material things such as wealth and fame may never satisfy a human being. They are addictive yet not satisfactory. Once a person plunges into such desires and gives their soul to pursue them, it becomes a constant hunger within them, which will never be satisfied. He emphasizes instead on the need for people to pursue spiritual fulfillment by imparting on other peoples life. According to Johnson, this is the best addiction that will make a person to leave earth fulfilled and satisfied.
The world has conformed to a common believe that with more wealth, there is more power and with more power, one gains more control. This has become a driving force where once a person feels they are wealthy enough, they feel the need to have power that will make them control people and even their livelihood, which is the economy. This has become a common trend among politician and those aspiring to be politicians. Once a person feels they have a good number of investments, they realize that they still do not have that power to control a larger number of people. Wealth makes a person feel like they hold the livelihood of other people in their hands through job creation and support. This is a point when they feel that their presence needs to be felt by other people (Johnson 109). The fact that they are holding many people’s livelihood also makes them feel they can manipulate their thought by coercing them into power.
In most cases, such people get political positions of power because of the people who thought they were obliged to vote for them. This follows a fear that if they do not get the power, them their livelihood will also be threatened. In the mind of such a leader or politician, what runs into their minds is not necessarily the love of the people but simply the need to have control. They realize that when they are in such positions, they will demand respect even from their enemies. Such power becomes a source of pride and an opportunity to make people bow to them and serve them without much hustle. Such a driving force has not only left people frustrated but also made the leaders realize how stressful it can be. The more power and control they have, the more they realize that they are losing their human nature and making more enemies. The need to punish their enemies and confirm to people that they have the wealth and the power make them engage into other devious activities.
One thing that politicians never realize is that power may be temporal especially in the democratic world we are living in. on the other hand, it is the temporal nature of power that makes people display their worst once they are there. Power has been transformed to be a platform where the influential are able to retaliate on their enemies. This becomes a trend that has made mot of them not have a happy ending. Once out of power, the people who were being harassed and taken advantage of come up against the leader (Johnson 73). As many more such complains come against such a leader, they realize that they were not fair to people and hence becoming a constant disturbance to them. They may end up living the rest of their lives without being recognized or rather being hunted by a law that wants to avenge their past actions.
The world has witnessed the rise and fall of great political leaders who thought they would get over their mistakes. Even though they gained wealth and fame during their tenure, it was only a matter of time when their sins came back to haunt them. Contrary to what they wished, they leave a bad legacy in the book of history as people are cautioned against such characters. The aspects of fame, which makes a person to wear a mask and adopt a lifestyle that will make them stand out. According to Johnson, such a life becomes stressful to the actor who is now too addicted to fame that they end up living a lie and dying miserably. The world has defined a particular order of a lifestyle which many people have fallen victim. There is the fear of just being themselves which may not get them where they want to be. Simplicity and modesty have been considered outdated as people adopt sophisticated lives that make their latter life miserable.
In this age and time, it has become a trend for people to use their youthful years gaining wealth and popularity and spend their elderly years nursing sicknesses. The sicknesses may not necessarily be age related but because of what they neglected and took for granted when they were younger. The aspect of health and reflection are never in the mind of a young person who is mistaken to think that they will remain young forever (Johnson 87). As they grow older, they start realizing the need of eating healthy, maintaining good relationships with people as well as taking care of their spiritual life. During this age, they realize that the wealth and fame they gained during their youthful years cannot heal their spirits. They do not even have the ability to enjoy what they gathered as they die in misery.
In conclusion, what a draw from Johnson’s poem is that people do not necessarily need to learn from their own experiences, as it may be too late. The experience of other people can be a good lesson that will help us make the right choices of our lives. It is better to run after that which will satisfy our lives even during our last years on earth. Wealth and power may look good but will not grant us the happiness that we wish from it. Sowing seeds of love and hope to other people will guarantee us inner peace as well as make us be remembered for the good acts. Our spiritual foundations are more important and need to be strengthened more than our material foundations, which can be shaken by any physical means.
Works cited
Johnson, Samuel. The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749) and Two Rambler Papers (1750). New York: General Books, 2010.
Johnson, Samuel. The vanity of human wishes: The tenth satire of Juvenal, imitated by Samuel Johnson. Oxford: R. Dodsley, and sold by M. Cooper, 1749.
