When are people really the most active is question that has plagued intellectuals and been a subject of controversy. The End of Solitude written by William Deresiewicz and Doing Nothing Is Doing Something written by Ann Quindlen are two different articles that tend to convey very similar message though created in different environments and time. In his article, The End of Solitude, William complains about the rapidly vanishing tolerance to solitude.
William indicates that people especially the digital generation do not like to be solitude, which is very fundamental in enhancing individuals’ reasoning capacities and creativity. Ann Quindlen on the other side while writing Doing Nothing Is Doing Something indicates that contrary to as often mistaken, people do a lot of constructive things especially those related to creativity and innovation when they appear to be doing nothing. The essence of the two writer essay thus is that There is need for people to find certain moments in their lives when they desist from doing any activity other than thinking, and away from other people. Overview In The End of Solitude, William tends to console himself for the serious effects of technology that have seen people ignore being solitude. According to William this is a big lose to human beings considering that one thinks and reasons in the right way when in solitude. In Doing Nothing Is Doing Something, Ann Quindlen struggles to persuade human beings to fight hard and secure some moments when they do nothing.
Ann confirms that though one can consider one doing nothing as doing absolutely nothing, they actually do very crucial activities run in the mind. Quindlen proves that moments when one is doing nothing is when one can think properly, analyze environmental factors and develop practical creativity and innovation skills. Concisely, there is need for people to find certain moments in their lives when they desist from doing any activity other than thinking, and away from other people. The End of Solitude by William Deresiewicz. The End of Solitude is an article compilation created and written by William Deresiewicz. In the article, William complains about the effects and change in lifestyles brought about by ever advancing technology.
To ensure clarity, William found it necessary to first give a personal definition of interchangeable and confusing terms that include solitude, loneliness, idleness and boredom. William defines solitude as the act of being alone and unattached to any other activity and person, but to one’s own thoughts. Loneliness in the definition of William refers to the act of being alone, but may engage in certain activities that link one or intended to link one to another remote person or people. Idleness on the other hand refers to luxury enjoyed by human beings for reasons of not working. Boredom according to William refers to a mental state that affects someone who is idling by force of the prevailing circumstances.
William notes that idleness is never bad, but result to positive or negative experiences depending to the contemporary circumstance that one is in. William unveils that boredom resulted righ from invention of television that allowed people to sit for long hours watching programs. Loneliness on the other hand emerged by the time of internet and web invention. Television, communication and internet technologies that can allow individuals to keep in touch with their peers have totally eroded the idea of solidarity. According to William, people can nowadays engage in electronic communications, and would aspire to check inbox and create communication from time to time.
Reading and concentrating in schoolwork without any press of button of electronic device is very difficult among today’s learners. William poses this concern by way of complaining that most of the critical things such creativity, innovation, self-deliberation and thought that would be when people exercised some level of solitude are scarce if not existing. According to William, solitude that entails spiritual, mental and physical loneliness enables individuals to reason appropriately by way of thinking deeply. Lack of solitude, has seen people of the current generation lack innovation and ideological diversity since they spend most of the time interacting either through messages, face book, twitter or other forms of social networking. William argues that reading done without any form of interruption, which is very difficult is very crucial for insightful thinking.
Doing nothing is doing something by Ann Quindlen Doing nothing is doing something is a literary work created and compiled by Ann Quindlen in attempt to accentuate that people do a lot of things or accomplish many events when deemed to be doing nothing. In so proving, Ann points at the current trend American societies where adults either at school or home over schedule the children. If in school and not scheduled to do class work, children are busy set to play in pitch. Children are in organized football clubs, and piano clubs. Children are also in music camps, fat camps and sports camps that consume most of their time.
Back at home parents do not want to allow their children free time. Downtime in children is not a convincing child commitment among school going children. Ann sarcastically writes that parents will struggle as much as possible to schedule the unscheduled time for their children. Literally, America children or community as whole do not value free time when people do nothing despite of its enormous importance to the life of human being. Ann reaffirms that adults have denied the American children the most abated opportunity to enhance their thinking capabilities and capabilities.
Ann goes ahead to heed that it is not too late anymore to accord or subject the American children into forced boredom. According to Ann, such boredom can help a typical child or human being develop very complex and necessary creativity and innovation. Ann as writer claims that it take her some moments doing nothing to investigate, think, analyze and compose the ideas she writes about. Ann insists that people think well and reason accordingly whenever they actually do nothing.
In light of the above arguments, Ann rigidly holds that as much as doing nothing may actually seem as nothing to the observer, the individual who does nothing actually does something(s) mentally that might be beneficial to him/her. Synthesis A seen from the two articles belonging to different personalities, solitude and the act of doing nothing are very crucial aspects of human life. It is during these moments that human beings can become very useful as they engage their inner souls into a lot of thoughts that may result into very positive effects on their individual lives. To begin, with William Deresiewicz, solitude that involves being alone and doing no physical activity or anything that involves physical makeup is very important in steering human growth. William indicates that solitude marks the best moment when a typical human being can soul search, think of and analyze environmental factors and proceedings, and come up with the best strategy to counter the events. William sympathizes with the current generation as they do not value solitude or literal loneliness.
William blames this on the rapidly advancing technology that consumes much of the free time for people. If not sitting down to watch television or nor on a call communicating with someone, the current generation will be in face book and twitter or checking their email accounts. Addictions to such life have made people of the current generation lack or devalue time when they should be lonely and glued to their thoughts. Such deficiencies has made children of the current generation suffer from low thinking and reasoning capacities to an extent of impeding creativity and innovation. In her own writing, Ann Quindlen also depicts the same arguments as William.
Ann tries to convince her readers that they should cherish moments that they do nothing for it is such moment that one can think deeply and come up with smart idea. Doing nothing to Ann is the period when a person is uncommitted to anything and is free to do anything of will.Conclusion I think that the two writers, William Deresiewicz and Ann Quindlen are very right in their perspectives. The messages are very valid and pardonable by any individual who foresees both economic and technical growth. The moments of solitude as claimed by William and doing nothing as per Ann are very crucial as they define the best opportunity when one can think appropriately and make rightful decisions.
Staying in isolation and perhaps bored, but not deprived of thinking can help a typical human being inspect, analyze and classify his/her environment in the rightful manner. People should avoid over dependence on the technological products to occupy their free time. There is serious need to encourage limited use or access to electronics and its correlatives like face book, twitter, email and short text messages. Human beings should also be made to realize that loneliness and not boredom is very essential for their intellectual growth. Take for example Samuel the CEO of Wal-Mart stores in America whose characters depicted a man of low social skills. This means that he liked being lonely, but not bored to an extent of lacking something to think of.
If liked doing nothing and maintain solitude while at the same time think of nothing, he would have not come up with the tremendous ideas that saw and sees his business grow to its current level.
