Chimal 1

Christian Chimal

Professor Ditch

ENGL 115

9 December 2020

The Transformation of Suffering into Political Change?

Suffering is something that can come in different ways impacting a person. In the excerpt

“Alchemy of Suffering” by Matthieu Ricard, he talks about three types of suffering such as

invisible, visible, and hidden. Ricard’s idea of alchemy in suffering, is that it can be transformed

from something without value to something valuable. In the book March by John Lewis, he faces

segregation, discrimination, racial injustice, and other social issues. Lewis gets involved during

his childhood, schooling, protests, march, and the movement. Lewis transforms his suffering into

altruism, preaching, perseverance, and adopting the philosophy of nonviolence. Lewis’s activism

was impacted by his suffering because it led him to speak out, rebel, and take action in the

African American community.

Lewis transforms his suffering into altruism because he wanted to make change when his

parents did not. In Ricard’s excerpt invisible suffering is the “hardest to distinguish because it

stems from the blindness of our own minds, where it remains so long as we are in the grip of

ignorance and selfishness” (Ricard 36). This means that the suffering has been inflicted for so

long that it becomes unrecognizable. In March, John Lewis had the courage to file a suit against

the state of Alabama but was told by Dr. King that he needed his parents’ permission and support

to desegregate it. Although he did not get their support, he was aware of the problems with

segregation and that his parents became passive and unresistant because they feared the

repercussions for challenging their oppressors. Lewis transformed his suffering into perseverance
 Chimal 2

to face his oppressors because he wanted to desegregate his community. This impacted his

activism because it led him to head back to Nashville to change his moral philosophy by learning

about resistance without violence.

Lewis transforms his suffering into courage to revolt against oppressors. In Ricard’s

excerpt visible suffering is something that is easily acknowledged to the eye when it occurs. In

March, Lewis took classes with Jim Lawson who taught methods of resistance without violence

and participated in sit-ins to protest against segregation in stores, diners, and restaurants. When

he got involved, he was aware of the consequences for challenging the oppressors. Lewis’s

suffering was transformed into courage because he took action and came to terms with the

dangers ahead regardless of being dehumanized, spit-on, beaten, persecuted, and possibly killed.

This impacted his activism because it led him to take action protesting through sit-ins in his

community.

Lewis transforms his suffering into perseverance because he wants change in his

community. The third source of suffering that manifests itself in the book March is hidden. This

type of suffering is “concealed beneath the appearance of pleasure, freedom from care, [and]

fun” (Ricard 36). This means it is caused by a false sense of security, victory, and pride when the

suffering is still present. In March during Lewis’s childhood, segregation was outlawed which

felt like a great turning point in his life even though the suffering was still there. The moment he

read this in a newspaper he felt that for sure things were going to change, but the white people

were not pleased with the news. Although it was a moment of triumph over the oppressors there

were still many more steps to take to stop oppression towards African Americans. Lewis

transformed his suffering into perseverance because he acknowledged there were still things that
 Chimal 3

needed to change, and he became ready to take action. This impacted his activism because it led

him to speak out and protest for African Americans.

Lewis transforms his suffering into altruism because he wanted to take action in his

community when others did not. The online source that connects to March is an article called

“The Making of a Hero: Cultivating Empathy, Altruism, and Heroic Imagination” by Ari Kohen,

Matt Langdon, and Brian R. Riches. The authors argue that anyone could be heroic, but it

depends on their preparation and willingness to take action. The authors also conclude that most

people are passive and do not take action when there are others in need. In March, John Lewis

participated in multiple sit-ins where the number of participants increased every time because

they were inspired to take action and follow along. Lewis transformed his suffering into altruism

because he felt the need to act for others. This impacted his activism because it led others who

were once bystanders to become people who took action shaped him to become a leader to

preach, protest, and take action like Dr. King.

Lewis transforms his suffering into preaching because he wanted to speak about the

social issues in his community. The second online source I chose is called “Deconstructing Dr.

Martin Luther King's ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ and the Strategy of Nonviolent

Resistance” by Conra D. Gist and Karsonya Wise Whitehead. The authors talk about Dr. King’s

letter that he wrote from within the Birmingham Jail. Dr. King spoke about the philosophy of

nonviolence used in “the early Christian church and was the first used in modern history by

Mohandas ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi, in his struggle for India’s independence from British rule” (Gist

and Whitehead 7). This means that the philosophy of nonviolence has been a method used by

past activists, pacifists, and people in the civil rights movement. Dr. King spoke about how this

method of nonviolent resistance is a powerful weapon for those struggling for social justice
 Chimal 4

against the oppressors. In Dr. King’s letter, he was incarcerated for protesting in Birmingham

because he felt it was necessary to resist without violence through peace and love for those who

were still oppressed. In the book March, Lewis participated in the sit-ins to protest against

segregation along with many others. He was also inspired by Dr. King who preached about

injustice and protested without resorting to violence even if it meant being persecuted, beaten,

and possibly killed because it could make a difference. Lewis transformed his suffering into

perseverance to push through the dangers ahead and this impacted his activism because he

became willing to take action, protest without violence, and want change in the African

American community.

In conclusion, Matthieu Ricard’s concept of alchemy in suffering is that suffering is not

just something without value, but something that can transform into something valuable. In

March, John Lewis encountered the different types of suffering presented in Ricard’s excerpt.

Lewis was able to transform his suffering into perseverance, preaching, altruism, and by

adopting the philosophy of nonviolence. The suffering impacted his activism because he became

a person to speak out, rebel, and take action in the African American community. Today, there

are still many social issues that occur, and people who are suffering. In suffering there is

alchemy, people can transform their suffering into determination for change and to take action

for people of different communities.

Works Cited

Conra D. Gist, and Karsonya Wise Whitehead. “Deconstructing Dr. Martin Luther King's

‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ and the Strategy of Nonviolent Resistance.”

 Chimal 5

Black History Bulletin, vol. 76, no. 2, 2013, pp. 6–13. JSTOR, https://www-jstor-

org.libproxy.csun.edu/stable/24759688?seq=4#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Kohen, Ari, et al. “The Making of a Hero: Cultivating Empathy, Altruism, and Heroic

Imagination.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology, vol. 59, no. 4, 2019, pp. 617–

633. Sage Journals, https://journals-sagepub-

com.libproxy.csun.edu/doi/full/10.1177/0022167817708064#articleCitationDown

loadContainer.

Lewis, John and Andrew Aydin. March: Book One. Illustrated by Nate Powell, Top Shelf

Productions, 2013.

Ricard, Matthieu. "The Alchemy of Suffering" Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford Spotlight

Reader, Edited by Matthew Parfit and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford/St. Martin's,

2015, pp. 35-41.