outside reading ii

Outside Reading II-
an editorial
by David Sosa
The Spoils of Happiness
October 10, 2010.

What is happiness? This is an age-old question that has no correct answer, but David Sosa certainly offers an interesting view in his editorial The Spoils of Happiness. He begins making his point right off the bat- the title. He plays on the fact that “spoils” has two meanings; as a noun, “spoils” are the benefits reaped from a conquest, and as a verb, “to spoil” means to degrade the value of something. In his article, Sosa addresses the spoils of achieving happiness, but also argues that those can be spoiled by the rest of the world- “Happiness isn’t just up to you. It also requires the cooperation of the world beyond you.”

 

Sosa believes that happiness is more than a state of mind. He makes this concept easier to understand by drawing an effective parallel to popular culture- the matrix. In this movie, experiences are simulated inside the brain; one feels as though he is having all these wonderful adventures, but in reality, his body is suspended in a floating tank. Is this true happiness? Sosa argues it’s not, stating, “There’s an important difference between having a friend and having the experience of having a friend. There’s an important difference between writing a great novel and having the experience of writing a great novel. On the machine, we would not parent children, share our love with a partner, laugh with friends (or even smile at a stranger), dance, dunk, run a marathon, quit smoking, or lose 10 pounds in time for summer.” The parallel structure in the first two sentences help drive the point home, and by adding little experiences that we readers can connect with (dance, dunk, lose 10 pounds in time for summer), it makes this rather confusing topic become much more understandable.

 

In this paper, it was necessary that Sosa address the opposition- if one is suspended in a tank with simulated thoughts, how would one even know that what he was doing was not real? Sosa states that this would be a “horror”- “we’d be ignorant, too- duped, to boot!” However, this does not address the commonly held belief that ignorance is bliss; a weakness of this paper is that, while making a strong case for his point, he really doesn't combat the opposition effectively.

 

Sosa uses punctuation to add emphasis to a sentence: “...What normally makes the experience so special is that it’s an experience of watching your child, playing soccer, for the first time.” This sentence would be grammatically correct if all commas were eliminated, but they effectively stress the important parts of the sentence. They make a reader pause and ponder- your child, playing soccer, for the first time. It is these things, the realities, that make one happy, not the feelings they evoke.

 

By using identifiable examples and references, and addressing the reader directly, Sosa establishes an easygoing and relatable persona. This is very effective while trying to explain a topic as confusing as this one. However, for an AP exam, it may not be suitable. The fact that Sosa addresses the reader as “you” is seen as informal, and would be out of place in an AP essay.