It is likely that the main character in Goethe's Sorrows of Young Werther is a man whose thoughts allow us to glean wise and important statements about life. Through numerous passages, Werther offers us his unique perspective on various elements of life, including survival, freedom, mortality, and moral perspectives. It is addressed primarily to his dear friend Wilhelm, so it is clear that these are personal letters containing deep thoughts and feelings. However, contradictions arise in the letters which will be examined. So I argue that while much of what he says is eloquent and thought-provoking, not all of it necessarily constitutes a series of wise life lessons. Perhaps there is a wealth of truth in what Werther says, but whatever life lessons he gives come not only from what he thinks, but also from the way and about who he presents these ideas to, and how he applies them to his own life. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay He talks in detail about how he views the rest of human existence. This outlook is not necessarily positive; in fact, he is quite critical of the people he meets. In his letter of May 17, Werther wrote: “The human race is only a monotonous affair. Most of them work most of their time for simple subsistence; and the little freedom they have left troubles them so much that they use every effort to get rid of it. Oh, the destiny of man! » (Goethe, 6) In the same letter, he also says "Alas, that the friend of my youth is gone! Alas, that I never knew her! I could say to myself: "You are a dreamer to seek that which is not found here below." (Goethe, 7) This seems to say that there is a certain caliber of person and that people are comparable to a certain ideal. In his case, Werther does not seem to be able to find anyone of equal or better quality to his dear deceased friend He seeks companionship, but what is paradoxical is how little he appreciates most of the companionship he receives, also believing that. he is worshiped by those who encounter him It is not entirely wrong to perceive that people find it necessary to repress certain talents, emotions or impulses for practical reasons. This is mentioned in the letter of May 22, where. he writes: “…I consider the narrow limits within which our activities and impulses are limited. research faculties are confined; when I see to what extent all our energies are wasted in providing for simple necessities, which have no other purpose than to prolong a miserable existence..." (Goethe, 8) He argues that our passivity in this world makes us makes them only big children, who are attracted and repelled by some sensory things, but do not seek a deeper meaning. Furthermore, he proposes that for other bodies in the universe, the individual is immediately dead. cried, then is soon forgotten In the letter of October 26, he says: “I often contribute to their happiness, and my heart seems not to be able to beat without them and yet — if I were to die, if I were called from; middle of this circle, would they feel — or for how long would they feel the emptiness that my loss would create in their existence” (Goethe, 78) This tells me that not only is Werther as willing to abandon the human race as he is? he can't wait to let her kiss him, but he's afraid that his own life will disappear into nothingness and that all the people who apparently adored him will.Just forget about it. There may be a life lesson here, but it does not necessarily come from his philosophy alone. The paradoxical, uncertain and irrational side of man is demonstrated in Werther, who generalizes the universe to account for his own fears and fears. wishes. Werther's general discontent adds to the irony of his character when we consider his disdain for what he calls "bad humor" (Goethe, 29). In his letter of July 1, he wrote: "We must repeat to ourselves daily," I cried, "that we must not interfere with our friends, except to leave them in possession of their own joys and increase their happiness by sharing them . with them! But when their soul is tormented by violent passion or their heart torn by pain, is it in your power to give them the slightest consolation? » (Goethe, 29-30) Perhaps there is something to be said in their favor. overcome difficulties with optimism; but what is really interesting about his argument are the persistent contradictions between his words here and other letters. His dissatisfaction with society and himself, visible in the letters of May and October, is neglected in this one. What is evident about Werther is that he feels things very intensely, so it is interesting that his apparent desire is to isolate pain and share happiness. The contradiction here is that he expresses his pain all the time, as we have seen in his previous letters. He suggests that pain is personal and yet when he feels it, he demands and listens. This can easily be seen in his letter of August 18, where his desperate view of existence appears fully: "My heart is devastated by the thought of this destructive power which lurks in every part of universal nature." (Goethe, 47) The idea of ​​mortal fragility bothers him to the extent that he realizes that in life, death is inevitable. He seems to have recurring fears of going through life dissatisfied and of dying and fading into oblivion. Perhaps this is why he turns to God for comfort: it is something perfect and eternal. This is not a person with the moral strength necessary to overcome their fears, but rather a person consumed by insecurity and who needs to be pampered and reassured. When it comes to life declarations, what we can infer from Werther is that a man consumed by evils might wish to do without them. He realizes this himself in his letter of August 12, in which he writes "My good friend, if resistance is a strength, how can the highest degree of resistance be a weakness?... Human nature, I continued, "has its limits. It is capable of enduring a certain degree of joy, sorrow and pain, but annihilates itself as soon as this measure is exceeded. The question therefore is not to know. whether a man is strong or weak, but whether he is able to bear the measure of his sufferings” (Goethe, 42-43) Werther reiterates the idea that pain and despair cannot be generalized, but cannot. be examined only in cases It determines that when a person is sick and dies, it is very much like ending their life after a deep depression However, it also compares suicide to the search for a cure, somewhat. like getting rid of bad humor I believe that this relationship between illness and cure is what Albert calls “all paradox” (Goethe, 43). The lesson here is in the paradox: there seems to be a demonstrated duality of the human condition. dreams of getting rid of him, and yet seems to identify with him. And despite this desire for universal happiness, we only have a threshold to go until these feelings need to be expressed in one way or another. Can we then2006.