I was watching one of my favorite movies of all time, "Les Miserables", the other day and it got me thinking. One of the main characters, Fantine, had quite a rough start to her life. She worked for a sewing company in order to make money for the innkeepers watching her child in the town over. However, she keeps her child a secret from everyone in order to keep her job. Unfortunately, a letter from the innkeeper is sent to Fantine, and her secret is revealed. This causes her to be thrown out of the sewing company and out of a job.
Fantine realizes that she has to find another job or another way to earn money for her child. This is due to the fact that there's no way she could care for her child in this town. So, Fantine sets out looking for another job. She is stopped by an individual who says she could earn money from selling her hair. Fantine believes she has no other choice, so she agrees. Right after, another individual says he will pay her for her teeth, and again Fantine agrees. By this point, Fantine has lost a lot of her self-esteem and worth, but is still determined to get money for her child. She eventually begins selling herself to men through prostitution. After a while, Fantine gets sick and passes away without being able to see her daughter for one last time.
The reason I'm bringing this up is because it is an example of when choosing the dangerous path of life doesn't bring any joy in the end. Fantine chose to stay in the town and work hard for money. She went through so much pain for her child, and none of it mattered in the end. Her goal was to be able to earn enough money to get her child back, but that never happened. I am one to believe in taking the dangerous path of life because the majority of the time it ends well. However, this is just one case where that didn't necessarily happen.
This example, and another one that was mentioned on the blog, demonstrates that Nietzsche's saying "Live dangerously" isn't as simple as just doing dangerous or stupid things. Rather, it is about life choices--sometimes, a more risky path can be a better way to achieve fulfilment than a safe path that keeps you in your comfort zone. However, you still need to have a goal in mind and to be smart about it!
ReplyDeleteNow, your example here is even more complicated, because Fantine feels she doesn't have a choice at all! So is she really choosing between a safer or more dangerous path? Is she just a victim or circumstance? Or was there another way she could have dealt with her situation?
I disagree with this because from the mothers view she is doing what she has to so she can provide for her family. This is something that any mother would do for her child. Also, taking the dangerous path is not always bad because that is how we learn because we are more likely to fail on that path or we work hard and feel more accomplished after we finish our work. That is why I disagree with this because the dangerous pathway can end up helping in the long run.
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