The Mask of Ego

The Perfect Life

By: John Koethe                   

                  What is happiness? Is it having the opportunity to be alive? Is it to be blessed with gifts? Or is it living each day to the fullest, with no regrets, but only dreams? However, how is it possible to make mistakes and not regret them? We are humans, and we are bound to be flawed. John Koethe describes “The Perfect Life” as a definition of the early years. Youth only brings ignorance and lack of experience, it is full of mysteries. Most of all, youth is superficial. We base our self–esteem and build our character with ego. Society at the commence of life has an overview of a successful future, nevertheless, are so drowned in self-image, there is no acknowledgement of the possibility of an imperfect life. Arrogance covers the various faults committed. If people convince themselves that they did nothing wrong by making mistakes, they are avoiding the idea of being defective. Koethe claims: “For my own powers and innate superiority – the fake.” These final words point out how ego is an illusion of the human mind. He justify’s this idea by stating that our souls mock the human behavior. The first stanza concludes that despite the fact that youth is a bright time of a person’s life, it is a fantasy created by the  human mind and spirit. 

Poetic Justice Nowadays

In the seventh circle of Dante Alighieri's Inferno lie the sinners who mistreated themselves. These souls were given a life on Earth, a body, and a capable mind. They dishonored God by committing suicide and negating their gifts. Hell harbors the sinners condemned to spend eternity as stunted trees. Within a dark forest, these trees endure as parts of an eerie scenery. Forbidden interaction, self-expression, food, and sleep, this punishment instills remorse in those who disregarded their life. According to Collin's English Dictionary defines this situation as poetic justice, or "the rewarding of virtue and the punishment of vice, often in a especially appropriate or ironic manner". This implies that every immoral act denotes a penalty to suit such act. The irony in each sanction follows the laws of Karma: Every wrongful act has an equally hurtful consequence. It also entails how a sinner must learn his/her lesson by receiving what he neglected in the past. In Dante's journey he encounters sinners who loathed living and were physically transformed into trees upon the woods of Hell. Tree's are listless, as opposed to humans, where they are energetic and lively. Justice is demonstrated in Hell. What might be unjust in Earth, where people exploit their freedom, will be unbiased in Hell, where everyone earns exactly what they deserve.  Poetic justice doesn't only present itself in the Netherworld, people who act viciously upon others within their daily lives usually face life situations where they realize they have preformed dishonorable behavior. In my experience, I knew a person who used to be critical and judgmental on peoples social and economic position. However, justice served when he went broke for ten years. Gaining humbleness and respect towards society itself, is an example of poetic justice presenting itself on Earth.