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Andrea Perez

Professor Ditch

English 113B

11 May 2020

How Can They Be Happy?

Many people have different point of views when it comes to being happy. Some people

depend on their families and friends to make them happy; others are more independent. In the

book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie

Barrows two characters Juliet Ashton and Sidney Stark go through different personal challenges

in their life which leads them to ultimately figure out who they are. Sidney does everything he

can just so Juliet can succeed while also dealing with internal struggles of his own, such as

hiding his sexuality. Juliet is more of an independent woman who is highly invested in her career

as a writer, while still being there for her friends and family, but also going through the struggle

of finding herself and what ultimately makes her happy. Sidney puts his focus on helping out his

family and friends while still doing his part which is being the editor for Juliet’s book. This takes

place during World War II, as it has shown to be very deadly, so trying to be happy, or showing

some emotion during this time is a bit hard. Aside from looking out for Juliet’s happiness, Stark

also deals with his own identity as a gay man during the time of World War II and the conflicts

he faces. Though Stark finds himself with inner conflicts because of his identity and the fact that

he cannot fully express himself, ultimately his happiness comes from seeing Juliet happy and

succeed. Stark finds his happiness from his happiness from his selfless love for Juliet and their

friendship. Juliet finds her happiness from being a strong independent woman and her passion

for writing her books and poems.

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Sidney Stark has been really close friends with Juliet for over 20 years, he is an editor for

her book. Sidney cares deeply for his family and friends, since that’s who he can trust the most.

Sidney has a younger sister named Sophie, who he cares about deeply. Sidney has a lot of love

for Juliet and wanting to see her succeed in whatever she desires. He cares a lot about her love

life, her career in writing. Sidney’s friendship with Juliet makes him happy. Sidney cares a lot

about Juliet’s future, whether it is through her writing books or her love life because, he sees her

as a little sister. In the book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Sidney says “if

she marries him, she’ll spend the rest of her life being shown to people at theaters and clubs and

weekends and she’ll never write another book. As her editor, I’m dismayed by the prospect, but

as her friend, I’m horrified. It will be the end of our Juliet” (Shaffer and Barrows 194). What

Sidney means by this, is he knows that Juliet strives off writing, it’s her passion. As her editor

he’ll be sad, but as her friend he’ll be devastated because, he knows how much Juliet loves

writing. He shows that he does not think Mark is the right one for her, and he does not want to

her to end up with someone like Mark who is very greedy and selfish. This shows how Sidney

cares for Juliet and her future, and it shows how he strives off her happiness. In the article “How

Happy Are You and Why?” by Sonja Lyubomirsky, she talks about “happiness is not out there

for us to find. The reason that it is not out there is that it is inside of us” (Lyubomirsky 147). This

means that happiness is not meant to be found through your exterior emotions but more so of

your inner feelings. This shows how Sidney’s inner emotion and happiness is found because, of

his close bond with Juliet and his sister Sophie. Sidney Stark comes out as homosexual to his

friends and family; coming out during the World War II era, is not something that is seem as

normal. If Sidney were to come out as a homosexual to the entire world, he risks being
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persecuted by the Nazi’s but he stays positive above all because of his family and friends

support.

Many people can argue that because Sidney Stark is homosexual and he has to hid his

feelings and emotions to people he cannot be happy like that. In the time frame of World War II,

it doesn’t allow him to come out freely to society and so he has to hide his inner feelings; which

can lead people to say that he is not happy. Which is a valid point because, how can someone

who is forced to hide their true identity and feelings be happy in real life. But for Sidney it is

different because he strives off his family and friends support and happiness. Sidney is hiding his

homosexuality to other people that are not important to him, and because it can be a huge risk

letting non family members know his sexuality. He revealed to the people he loves how he feels

which is all he needs. Sidney doesn’t need the approval of anyone else besides his close family

members and friends. Sidney is happy because of the love and support he receives and gives to

his loved ones.

Being a strong and independent woman during this era is very tough, especially since

women are looked down upon. Juliet Ashton is someone who you can describe as independent

and open. She is 33 years old living in London. She is a very independent woman who loves to

write. Her love for writing is what ultimately makes her excited and happy. She started off by

writing funny stories but she felt like she wanted to be respected in writing. In the book she says

“I don’t want to be considered a light-hearted journalist anymore” (Shaffer and Barrows 4).

meaning she wants people to know her for something more than just comedy or laughter. She

wants to be known for writing deeper things and improve her writing even more. Which is why

she starts to write 3 different articles about Guernsey and The Society for a more mature style of

writing. By writing these more mature books and articles will help her improve and make her a
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better writer. For Juliet writing is a very natural thing that comes to her and it brings her peace.

She is determined to show a different side of her, a more mature side where she expresses herself

through her writing.

During Juliet’s time writing she has found that having a personal life isn’t really that

important to her right now. Juliet’s love life has had its struggles in the past as she did end one

engagement and denied another one. She started dating Mark Reynolds and although she liked

him, he decided he wanted to propose but she ultimately said no. In the book she says “One year

as his wife and I’d have become one of those abject, quaking women who look at their husband

when someone asks them a question.” (Shaffer and Barrows 214). Which basically means that if

she would have stayed with Mark, she would have become someone who she isn’t and would be

devoted only to Mark which was not her whatsoever. Juliet being an independent woman she

decided she didn’t want to live that lifestyle and ultimately had to make a tough decision for her

future and happiness. In the article “The Source of Happiness” by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

and Howard Cutler they say “Because that person has another source of worth, another source

that gives him or her a sense of dignity, another anchor, there is less chance of that person’s

becoming depressed if his or her fortune happens to disappear” (Cutler 23). What this means is

that if their fortune happens to disappear, they have another source of happiness or worth. The

Dalai Lama and Cutler both believe that internal happiness is what truly matters, which basically

is Juliet and Sidney; internal happiness helps them overcome whatever issues going on in their

life. This connects back to Juliet because, even if she doesn’t end up with someone, she has her

writing to keep her motivated and happy.

Being an independent woman and dating is very difficult especially during that era

because, they don’t typically see a woman as being independent but more as being devoted to
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their spouse. In the article, I Am Busy Independent Woman Who Has Sense of Humor, Caring

about Others’: Older Adults’ Self-Representations in Online Dating Profiles by Mineko Wada he

talks about how dating while being an independent person can be tough especially since they are

known to only look out for themselves, but it is possible to be happy and have a dating life.

Which would mean that Juliet’s relationship with Mark might have not worked out, but does not

mean that in the future she will not have luck finding someone. Which is the key factor for Juliet,

she doesn’t need a love interest or a relationship to ultimately make her happy. For Juliet to be

happy all she needs is family, friends, and writing books.

Many people can argue with the fact that having multiple failed relationships in the past

can be pretty hard for her to be happy. Which makes total sense because, finding love is an

important part in being happy, but for Juliet she is an independent woman and whether some

relationship do not work out it helps her improve and become a better person for a future love

interest. Just because some relationships do not work out doesn’t mean you can’t be happy, it is

the total opposite it helps you move on, find and focus on yourself which is exactly what Juliet is

doing. Juliet shifts her focus on writing books, which allows her to express herself. So, Juliet can

still be happy even though her love life isn’t going as planned right now.

In conclusion both Sidney and Juliet are happy because, for Juliet being happy comes

with her writing books and articles she is passionate about and her loved ones, as she does

different things to improve it like writing more mature books. She is an independent woman who

lives her life trying to improve everyday whether it is in her relationships or friendships but most

importantly to write books which is her real source of happiness. In today’s world being an

independent woman is what everyone strives for, back then woman was seen to just be a wife not

an independent woman, so it has come a long way. Sidney’s happiness comes from the support
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of his family and friends. Before Sidney being homosexual would have been such a risk for him

as he risked getting executed by the Nazi’s in today’s world being homosexual doesn’t define

them, and they are free to express themselves and not have to hide from the world. Sidney cares

a lot for Sophie his sister and Juliet so in any way he can help them, makes him very happy. He

also strives on being Juliet’s editor, it keeps him busy and helps him help Juliet which is what

ultimately makes him the happiest.

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Works Cited

Lyubomirsky, Sonja. “How Happy Are You and Why.” Pursing Happiness, edited by

Matthew Skorczewski, 2020, pp.141-158.

Shaffer, Mary Ann, and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie

Society. Random House, Inc., 2009.

The Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler. “The Sources of Happiness.” Pursing Happiness,

edited by Matthew Parfitt, Dawn Skorczewski, 2020, pp.15-27.

Wada, Mineko. “‘I Am Busy Independent Woman Who Has Sense of Humor, Caring

about Others’: Older Adults’ Self-Representations in Online Dating Profiles.” Ageing and

Society, vol. 39, no. 5, 2017, pp. 1–26.