In this article Joan Didion emphasizes the idea of self-respect. She talks about innocence as another "big idea" through the beginning of the piece. I believe the authors perspective and opinion on self-respect is very narrow. She only talks about this one view on what self-respect is, completely disregarding actuality. Her opinion on self-respect is black and white; it is all or nothing, there is no in between. But in reality, there is an in between. You can have self-respect while feeling upset over a goal that was not met or any other type of "failure".
I personally think that in order to achieve self-respect you must accept your flaws and imperfections. You must be able to take in the bad, with the good. Once an individual is able to do this and understand that they are not perfect, just like every other human being on this planet, they can achieve a level of self-respect that allows them to go on in life, face its challenges, and grow as a person. I think experience has a lot to do with self-respect as well. We are complex, spiritual beings that have emotions and we all have our good and bad days. When our peers berate and degrade us it is a direct attack upon our self-respect. It is only natural to feel upset about this but it does not mean you have any less self-respect.
My last point about this article is character. Didion mentions that when an individual has self-respect they "exhibit a certain toughness, a kind of moral nerve; they display what was once called character". I agree that this may be true for many people but not all. This is what I mean by an all or nothing. A person who may exemplify character may not have a strong sense of self-respect, and vice versa. Self-respect is not a concept which is absolute. It can be analyzed through several different perspectives.
Overall, I believe Didion does a good job defending her argument as to what self-respect is, but there is no particular method in order to define it. Each person is different in regards to their behaviour, thought process, etc. Self respect can be defined and demonstrated in many different ways.
1. Joan Didion speaks of innocence as a direct relation to self-respect. What is her opinion on the concept of innocence? Do you agree or disagree? If so what is your opinion?
2. Do you agree that self-respect is in no way related to the approval of others? Why or why not?
3. Do you agree that without self-respect one is just living a life filled with only failure and no accomplishments?
4. Recall the part in this piece where Didion mentions that people who exemplify self-respect display character through their behaviour. Do you believe that one's character is directly related to their level of self-respect? Explain.
Yours Truly, yummyichigo;)
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