5 Matching Annotations
  1. Sep 2020
    1. Tertius’s tragedy is that he never reconciles himself to his humdrum reality. Dorothea’s triumph is that she does.

      Smith is warning us that we should quickly recognize that we should want to find joy from small, everyday things.

    2. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”

      Example of what she is saying, which is that it is important to find happiness in small things and involving yourself in people around you.

    3. Today’s college students desperately want to change the world, but too many think that living a meaningful life requires doing something extraordinary and attention-grabbing like becoming an Instagram celebrity, starting a wildly successful company or ending a humanitarian crisis.

      Addresses her audience, and shows that she can be a knowledgeable figure.

    1. There is always an explanation. There are always barriers. Just because you can’t see them, or don’t view them as legitimate, doesn’t mean they’re not there. Look harder.

      I don't completely agree with this statement. Although the barriers that people go through are legitimate, some people with no "barrier" can be legitimately lazy. Being lazy is unwilling to do work or use energy. I am lazy sometimes when there are no barriers between me and doing work. Sometimes I would rather play games instead of doing work I need to do. And I know it's my fault, not any barriers that were placed in front of me.

    2. The quiet, occasionally-class-skipping student watched this discussion with keen interest. After class, as people filtered out of the room, she hung back and asked to talk to me. And then she disclosed that she had a mental illness and was actively working to treat it.

      I think that this links to the homeless person in the beginning of the article where conditions that a person cannot control on a daily basis affects their ability to do "work".