Good Pursuit Of Happyness And Abraham Maslows Hierarchy Of Needs Essay Example

The movie, Pursuit of Happyness, starring the father and son tandem of Will Smith and Jaden Smith, is a classic example of Abraham Maslow’s theory on the Hierarchy of Needs, which basically states that man’s main goal in life is to achieve self-actualization. However, to reach that state, man has to overcome other levels in the hierarchy beginning from the fulfillment of man’s basic needs such as food, shelter, and sleep, among others, to security in terms of employment, health, and family. Man also longs for quality relationships with family and friends as well as increased self-esteem and respect. When man hurdles all these, he then begins to seek for deeper meanings in life, including the ability to accept what he cannot change, increased morality, and engagement in activities that are more creative, spontaneous, and in unprejudiced manner.
In the movie, when Chris Gardner and his son were evicted from their rented place, Gardner had to ensure that he could provide food and shelter for his son, thus, he had to hurry up each afternoon just to secure themselves a place to sleep at night. This is what Maslow considers as the lowest level of the hierarchical needs, that is, the physiological and safety requirements of individuals.
Despite his circumstances, Gardner fulfilled his duties at work, paving the way for him to bag the coveted fulltime position. His acceptance of his predicament led him to the realization of his dream, which, although can still be further improved, is already beginning to look brighter. Consequently, this is what Maslow considers as the final step for man to reach self-actualization.