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Amber Sosa

Mrs. Priest

ERWC

08 November 2019

Value of Living

As long as humans have lived on this earth, many have tried to find a meaning to our

existence. Confined more to a search for a dictionary definition yet failing to take action in

discovering the meaning for themselves. There is no true answer to why we exist, from an

existential standpoint, the meaning of life is what we make for ourselves. However, to go

beyond meaning, our reason to get up every day is out of spite. We live to outdo our hard

situations, we live out of spite for the people we love, people we hope to outlive, and in general,

we exist for the sole reason of existing despite how cruel the world is. To make sense of it,

existing out of spite is an odd idea yet by the words of ​Hamlet’s Soliloquy ​and​ ​Roger Ebert’s

optimistic outlook on living despite his disability,​ ​it eventually makes sense why we choose to

live despite hardships​.

For better or for worse, there isn’t an exact point into why humans choose to stay alive

especially in regards to how tiring living could be. The world isn’t a perfect place and we aren’t

always guaranteed to get what we want. As mentioned in ​Hamlet’s Soliloquy, “​ For who would

bear the whips and scorns of time”. Corrupt politicians, insensitive people, uncontrollable

problematic occurrences, truly who would want to deal with that every day. Yet, there is value in

his nihilistic viewpoint, living isn’t quite a smooth wave. As ​Hamlet​ slowly leads up his
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soliloquy into why he stays alive despite the hardships, “Thus conscience does make cowards of

us all,

And thus the native hue of resolution”. While his revelation is religious in it’s the idea that

suicide won’t let him make it to heaven, it could also be interpreted beyond that. Instead, it could

be interpreted as we choose to stay alive to prove against irrationalities. That while not everyone

thinks about what comes in the afterlife, but some ponder what can they prove by just staying

alive. Spite in its actions has a negative connotation but it’s the guiding motivator to keep us on

our feet. Especially in the context of ​Hamlet, ​he wants to stay alive to avenge his father’s death,

to bring his vile uncle to his deserved fate.

On the other hand, to live out of spite isn’t necessarily a thing of revenge but a necessity

to stay motivated. Roger Ebert, an acclaimed movie critic, had to come to terms with his new life

s a result of his cancer. As mentioned in Chris Jones, ​Roger Ebert: The Essential Man

​ bert had to deal with humorous medical emergencies regarding the effects of the
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surgeries, “He could no longer eat or drink, and he had lost his voice entirely”. The cruelty of

this was his voice was essential for his career, it’s what help attributed to his fame amongst

Americans, his show, ​At the Movies. ​Regardless, Ebert made an effort to not let his disability

hold him back from his passion. ​ ​In his ​TED Talk,​ he asks the question, “But what value do we

place on the sound of our own voice? How does that affect who you are as a person?”. This

poses to the audience how little we think about how something important to our lives could

easily be gone. His individuality, the one thing people value in themselves the most, missing.

Yet, Ebert’s solution isn’t to stop doing everything he once loved all together, nor isolate

himself. In his speech, he continues what he’s learned to go against his limitations, “That's why
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writing on the Internet has become a lifesaver for me. My ability to think and write have not

been affected. And on the Web, my real voice finds the expression”. Difficulties can motivate

you to do the best you can despite how exhausting it could be. Ebert has displayed this with his

willingness to continue his movie reviews through the web, reaching wider audiences worldwide.

Asking the meaning to exist or “to be” universally is a question viewed through an

artificial lens. Depending on whom you ask, answers vary from literal, religious or

philosophical. In regards to what Fredrich Nietzche said “God is dead”, it brings up how a man

can only assign meaning to why they live in their existence. If there is no true meaning to life,

then who cares, existing just to spite this idea we must have meaning to everything is enough on

its own. Personally, the “little things” or “living in the moment” aren’t answers to what is

considered existing but instead back up the idea we’re living so we don’t allow pessimism ruin

what we love. People end up in existential crises trying to discover meaning yet ignore why we

stay alive in the first place. Meaning shouldn’t be what humans seek, instead, they must seek the

“why” in this situation.

To conclude, “to be” is living against what could stop you from being in the first place.

Spite isn’t always a bad word, instead of more people should be accepting of what it could do for

them in the first place. For what ​Hamlet​ does to keep existing, and what Ebert did to keep his

passion alive are very similar in idea but differ in action. Live to out outlive. There is value in

understanding that there shouldn’t be a concise meaning of living, instead we should live by our

own and strive to go against life’s obstacles.

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Works Cited

Ebert, Roger. “Remaking My Voice.” ​TED​,

www.ted.com/talks/roger_ebert_remaking_my_voice​.

Jones, Chris. “Roger Ebert: The Essential Man.” ​Esquire​, 5 Nov. 2018,

www.esquire.com/news-politics/a6945/roger-ebert-0310/.

Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet's Soliloquy.” ​Hamlet's Soliloquy,​ 1603,

monologuearchive.com/s/shakespeare_001.html.
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Reflection Paragraph

In my original essay I had a couple grammar mistakes in the middle paragraphs, as well

as missing to explain the value of knowing the meaning “to be” in the conclusion

paragraph. I tried to add more of my personal perspective on the third paragraph and add

more to my conclusion. I felt like my original lacked some more in depth explanations.

Also I realized I forgot to turn in my revision, sorry.