Daryl Evans' Blog

For my Journey, the first intangible I decided to take with me is my family. I included a picture of my mom and dad to represent the love and support everyone in my family provides for me. The next thing I decided to take with me on my journey is my friends. They help keep me grounded by providing me with advice and a strong shoulder to lean on. I included a picture of my friend Zeno and me. I also decided to take my love of sports with me. I enjoy watching them and also still being able to play at times. Finally, I decided to take my dog and my two favorite things to read, The Iliad and The Odyssey. My dog is always excited and happy, bringing brightness to my dad. The Iliad and the Odyssey are both very interesting to read and have been my favorites for some time now. Those are the intangibles I would bring on my journey.

The movie The Pursuit of Happyness vividly explores the issue of homelessness and poverty in American society. The movie stars Will Smith as Chris Gardener and his son, Jaden Smith, as Christopher Gardener Jr. Chris Gardener is a salesman who invests his entire life savings into portable bone density scanners. He fulfills his financial needs by selling these scanners to doctors, proposing that they have surpassed normal x-ray machines. A huge gap in sales leads to these needs not being met, which angers his already unhappy wife, and eventually breaks up their family. Chris demands that Christopher remains with him, now making him a single father. Shortly after, they are evicted from their home, forcing the two to rotate between sleeping in homeless shelters, bathrooms, and if he can make enough money, a hotel. Chris eventually meets a manager for a brokerage firm and applies to the company’s internship program, which includes a chance at a full-time position. Despite the many obstacles presented to him along the way, he impresses company partners with his brilliance, production on the job, and willingness to do anything asked of him. He is awarded the full-time position and ultimately goes on to start his own multi-million-dollar company. The Pursuit of Happyness successfully illustrates the societal issue of homelessness among family life and the many disadvantages presented to the individuals living in these circumstances. It enables many to ponder what can be done to combat the issue.

            In The Pursuit of Happyness, light is shed on the many different interpretations of what finding happiness means. As you may notice in the title, happiness is misspelled. Behind the misspelling is a deeper meaning. In the movie, as Chris brings his son to daycare, he notices the word happiness spelled “happyness” on a piece of cardboard. He tells the man cleaning outside of the daycare to correct the spelling because he wants his son to be taught things the right way and grow up to be an educated young man. However, the title signifies Chris’ own pursuit of happiness. The Journal of happiness studies writes that people tend to anticipate being happier in the future (Van Tilburg 23). Throughout the movie, Chris maintains positive views about what he thinks the future holds for he and his son. He constantly assures him that everything will be fine, helping add meaning to why Chris worked so hard to earn the full-time position with the company. Happiness is measured as “how much one likes the life one lives” (Veenhoven 1037).

The Pursuit of Happyness explores the life of Chris Gardener, (Will Smith) a man who has lost his job, his wife, and is now a single father. He and his son rotate between sleeping in homeless shelters, bathrooms, and if he can make enough money, a hotel. Chris creates a machine called Bone Density scanners that he feels can replace X-rays. While trying to sell one, he meets the manager for a well known company. Eventually, he goes on to intern with the company and gets a full time position. The societal issue highlighted in this movie is homelessness and poverty in the United States. Why is so little done to help the less fortunate? How is it that they are always overlooked? What can be done to possibly change this in the United States.

This issue is very compelling because I have always been curious as to how people can sit around and watch these individuals struggle and offer no help. As I drive around my hometown, I see hundreds of homeless people daily. They either wander aimlessly, are asking for spare change just to get through the day, or are sleeping in the horrid weather conditions. Will Smith does a great job portraying life from their point of view, but also showing great ambition throughout.

I know that the people who are less fortunate are struggling to survive daily. I also know that they are sometimes mistreated and over look because of the situation that they are exposed to daily. I need to further expand my knowledge about why more isn’t done to try to help these individuals. Also, I need to research what may be possible for me to contribute to help push for reform of this issue. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly, regardless of the circumstances encountered.

Henry Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. adequately argues their case of racial injustice and government in “Civil Disobedience,” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail,”. Both authors successfully relate the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to support the notion they speak for. Thoreau evokes many instances of sarcasm and support throughout his essay, while also showing moments of contradiction to the points he elaborates on. King maintains a tone of humbleness, respect, and knowledge in his writing, therefore, allowing him to present the stronger argument. Combining those aspects with his ability to appeal to readers through strong logic and credibility, King provides a compelling essay for readers to ponder.

An endless amount of interpretations can come from this powerful quote. Looking at the deeper meaning, I feel as if the quote is trying to tell us that in order to have certain things we want, we have to give up something in return. For example, think of the life of an athlete. Most times, they are often doing something pertaining to their sport such as practice, games, fundraisers etc. In return, they may have to sacrifice going to a family function or spending time with friends. This quote, although small, is very powerful.

In “No Guns Are Not the Problem,” Rosemond declares that guns are not the reason that these horrific mass shootings occur so often in current society. Instead, he feels that the problem is that kids do not know how to express their feelings properly and in a safe way. He uses the example of his high school days, highlighting that they carried and used guns but these shootings did not happen.

I am arguing against the claim that he made regarding feelings linked to mass shootings. There are other reasons that can make people do these things, such as traumatic experiences or even how they were raised. I also will argue against his point of view. Society has changed tremendously since his childhood, and he does not reference how in his essay.

I question his assumption that phycologists and therapists fuel these mass shootings. These professionals should not be blamed for doing their job. Everyone should be held accountable for their own actions, therefore, making it incredibly unfair to make that statement against those individuals.

Whether big or small, I come across an argument here or there. My most recent argument, however, happened yesterday. My friends and I were in the union at school and started to talk about sports. We all have different opinions about basketball, so an argument escalated quickly. We debated about who we thought was the best basketball player of all time. You may be thinking that this a common issue between male friends, so it isn’t really a big deal. I beg to differ. Most of my friends love sports, so when we talk about things involving sports, it gets heated. The audience consisted of anyone who was listening while the other tried to prove their point. I was trying to make my case as to why I felt Lebron James was the best basketball player of all time. Although I couldn’t get them to agree with me, I got them to realize why I felt he is the best player in history. Once they heard me rave about his 3 NBA titles, and four league MVP’s, they understood more.

I do feel as if this situation describes my typical argument style. Normally, I maintain a pretty adversarial style of argument. I would start off telling my side of the story trying to convince listeners to agree with my point of view. The other person would do the same and see who’s side the audience takes. They could also choose to just remain neutral, which happens a lot of the time. This is exactly what you’re thinking, the traditional style of argument.

My argument style has been influenced by my family members and friends. I feel, however, like I am the main influence of my style. I have a laid-back personality, which makes adversarial argument the best fit for me. Once I feel like I’ve gotten my point across, you get your chance and the rest handles itself. This has always been my personality throughout my life because I’m typically quiet, so arguing isn’t really my thing.

I like that my style of argument is right to the point. It allows both sides to be heard rather than only hearing one point of view, another important style of argument. A lot of the arguments that I have heard throughout my life usually results in one person not getting their side of the story told. The adversarial style, however, allows both parties to be heard. I would like to adopt a more consensual style of argument, where the other person and myself can reach an agreement. Sometimes, I may feel as if you have no choice but to agree with what I say. I can become more flexible in my style by allowing myself to be more talkative and say more rather than staying quiet a lot of the time. That is also a main reason why I adopt a more adversarial style. Maybe somewhere down the road, I can become diverse in how I argue with people.

There are many things out in the world that people dislike. For example, a person suddenly jumps in front of you while driving and you nearly crash. When you are waiting for a parking spot and the person takes long to back out, do you dislike that? How about when you go to a restaurant and wait an hour for our food only for it to be cold? Finally, you wake up in the morning, rush to get dressed, and arrive at your class only to realize it’s cancelled. Yes, I too dislike it.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton