So Called Iced-Cream

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Analysis of Happiness Being Key to Success In The “So Called Iced-Cream” by Daniel Barwick and “How Not to Get Into College: The Preoccupation with Preparation” by Alfie Kohn both demonstrate that life is meaningless without having a passion for the things you do and things you wish to achieve in life. First of all, from Barwick’s essay Monty Burns has everything in gross excess yet cannot bring joy into his own life. For instance, the narrator writes, “How could it be that Mr. Bums is unhappy? He has his own Xanadu, a nuclear power plant that he runs with his iron fist, a chauffeur driven Rolls-Royce, control over the local Republican Party… He was even reunited with his precarious teddy bear, Bobo. What, then, might the problem be? (Barwick,…show more content…
Burns still cannot find happiness. Ultimately, highlighting the importance love for something dear to one can have, which for many people becomes their reason for existence; in Mr. Burns’ case, he already possesses everything in the world which is the sole reason why he has no desire to protect and cherish something in his life. Secondly, in Alfie Kohn’s essay, students deserted their social lives and interests in fear of what is to come. For example, students began associating themselves with clubs “because they thought membership would look impressive”; “[their] even forgetting-what they enjoyed doing” in order “to squeeze out another few points on the G.P.A or the SAT” (Kohn, 7). With intense pressure upon them, students believed that the only way to achieve fulfillment in life is to give up things dear to them in life and sacrifice things for the better future, though unfortunately are not able to realize that the cycle will only repeat once they get to university and are in need of a job and so on. Therefore, outlining why it is better to be satisfied with something that brings pleasure into one’s life instead of being miserable for the rest of their lives. Thirdly, in Barwick’s essay, Mr. Burns only views things as pathways leading to other things in

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