Preview

Analysis Essay " the Smell of Success Isn't That Sweet"

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1103 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis Essay " the Smell of Success Isn't That Sweet"
SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS

Critical analysis of
“The Sweet Smell of Success Isn’t All That Sweet”

By: Maggie Yi
A00631572

Instructor: Karyn Huenemann
Use a serif font (the same font) for the entire paper
Oct. 15, 2012

Critical Analysis of “The Sweet Smell of Success Isn’t All That Sweet”
In “The Sweet of Success Isn’t All That Sweet,” writer Laurence Shames emphasizes that people should accept failure as a having positive instead of purely negative attributes [is this really his point? Simplifying it thus changes his meaning]. Shames’s purpose is to clarify the true meaning of success and what people can learn from the process of becoming a successful person, rather than what it looks like when a person ends up with what society may label success. Shames adopts an ironic tone and uses an organic arrangement to define what the true meaning of success is [his statements are intended to apply to all of Western or at least North American society, not just his readers].
Success can be interpreted from different perspectives and shown in different ways [yes, but Shames is explicitly stating that MOST (not “some”) people view it one way: the wrong way.]. The current social definition of success involves high-paying jobs, gorgeous houses, and expensive meals in fancy restaurants; Shames, however, argues against this particular idea of success and claims that each person should create his or her own individual goals and definition of success [partially, but mainly that “the journey not the arrival matters” to quote Leonard Woolf].
To begin the essay, Shames presents[“to begin” and “starts” are redundant] three examples of failure—according to their contemporary social standards—to express how one can face and deal with a failure, develop one’s own strength, and put personal attitude into one’s work[is this what he is doing? Rather, he is presenting three individuals who are now considered famous and successful, but at the time were considered failures… so

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Success. Webster’s dictionary defines it as “The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted; the gaining of fame or prosperity.”Although to truly understand the meaning of success, one needs to understand the relationship between success and goals. Success can simply be accomplishing your goals, but can also have a deeper meaning, such as personal growth. In the book A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger’s, Walter and Lena especially, are portrayed as a typical African American family in the 1950’s, trying to fight the prejudices that haunt every aspect of their lives. Lorraine Hansberry takes us through the journey of the Younger’s as they attempt to accomplish their dreams and achieve success. Overall, despite the obstacles they face such as racism, sexism, and dishonesty, Walter Lee and Lena “Mamma” Younger achieve success to certain extents; Walter achieves complete personal success and Mamma is completely successful in her goal to buy a house for her children and Travis.…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Being successful may imply to accomplishments or other external rewards, but being truly successful solely depends on an individual's way of interpreting their own values and actions in the past.Everybody has their own unique personality shaped by certain situations or cultural norms, but the way one utilize those learned morals determine success in life.Although success seems to be attainable only through gaudy and prestigious backgrounds,simple lives of less fortunate can also contribute to the level of success one can achieve in life.Success is greatly influenced by one's lifestyle and background because they motivate one to strive for change like Malcolm Gladwell, who advocated the importance of underdogs,the poem “if” with the theme of success and the eminent writer,shakespeare's famous quote which provides germane details on the impact of one's background that defines complete success in life.Success is being self actualized by knowing one's incapabilities and yet maintaining persistence to find alternative ways to tackle a challenge and our life backgrounds provide those characteristics required for success.…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A lot of people misunderstand what leads to success. Success is more than just being able to fill your bank account with loads of money, it’s about being satisfied with the lifestyle that you have. Of course having money makes you happy, but it can’t buy happiness, love, respect, or even trust. Everyone is born with their own unique talents and is better at a specific skill compared to…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Merriam-Webster defines the word success as “the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect or fame.” The definition of success differs from one person to another. Most people work hard throughout their life to achieve goals and be successful in their careers. That might mean acquiring a secondary education, being able to provide for one’s family, achieving a life’s ambition, or acquiring wealth. However, to a homeless man living in a busy city of New York, success might simply mean attaining enough cash to purchase a small meal. Success through the eyes of a United States Marine may be avoiding death in order to see one’s family. Perceptions of success can be faulty. In most cases, one can be successful in one part of life and be a total…

    • 1256 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Success is being satisfied in a personal & a career life. Being successful does not always mean at top. It has a different meaning for everybody, one can be successful in her eyes, but the same can be unsuccessful in other people's eyes or vice-versa. Success is not evaluated on how much money,houses, and materials one has. It depends on how you behave,treat others with in life, and how happy the person is.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Critical Lens Essay

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Success is to achieve something that we truly long for. “Sometimes failure is more beneficial than success.” Written by Darren Roberts. This is a very inspiring quote for all species of mankind. I agree rightfully with this quote as it states that even sometimes there are ups and downs, falls and disruptions in life, but those problems make us even stronger and prevent us from making the same mistake and make us more successful in life. Although, if losing things sometimes make us closer to something we want, we must make a go for it. As In Homers’, The Odyssey, and Nancy’s’, The House of The Scorpion, the main characters deal with personal loss and face many hardships, but finally reach to their own respected homes and families, safe and soundly.…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Success is one thing most humans strive for. That the purpose or end goal of life is to be successful in of any kind of task. The true feeling accomplishment is a joyful, never ending happiness. Knowing everything you have worked for payed off in the end is just about the most pleasant emotion. Success is achieving one’s true desire in the soul and mind.…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    dezzwork

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Success is something everybody should want in life; it is something that your parents try to instill in you when you're young. Parents want to see you succeed in life and do great things, they send you to…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Defining success is never as simple as it seems. People spend their entire lives aiming to be successful in their goals, but in actuality, many individuals don’t even know what it is they’re striving to achieve. The reason for this is that success can be defined in a number of different ways depending on the person that you ask. In particular, countless individuals associate success with the widespread idea that achieving milestones such as gaining wealth or power; but for others, defining success is a more difficult, personal, and complex experience.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ap English Essay

    • 1763 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Success has a different meaning to every person, whether it is educational, political, or even just overall financial. Depending on the person and their upbringing, success can be achieved in a variety of ways, and could be seen through many different aspects in the American society. Success means something different to every person; therefore, not everyone has the same view of success. However, the Collins English Dictionary defines success as the attainment of wealth, fame, etc.…

    • 1763 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Therefore, success is many times defined as becoming an actor or actress, a songwriter or a rapper, but are they really successful. Headlines read daily of another one of these "successful" getting married or divorced, turning to drugs and alcohol, or some other temporary high of this world and what is this? This is their search for the happiness and fulfillment that "success" failed to bring them. Many of them find themselves superior to the rest of the world and yet still all the money, all the luxuries, and all the attention do not satisfy. Williams too dealt with these feelings of…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “No matter how old you are, where you are from or what you do for a living, we all share something in common—a desire to be successful” by Kara Heisman. Most people consider synonymous success with wealth, fame and power; however, some think that success associated love and faithfulness in marriage or the cares and responsible parent. Therefore, the success life with each person has different meanings is due to the way of their understanding and definition of the success word.…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In chapter one they ask, what is success? I believe success is keeping up good grades, living a happy life by maintaining a social life. Success is to be looked up to by many. Last but not least I believe success is to leave the world knowing you’ve made somebody’s life easier by your existence. They asked that question to many undergraduate students and some of the answers they gave were “Success is to get all A’s and B’s, being the first person in my family to earn a college degree, having a great social life…etc.” Those were only a few answers. The interviewers noticed that each response emphasized outer success. Then they interviewed actual college graduates, and there answers were a little different. They said “success is to focus on learning instead of just getting good grades, discover my personal values, learn more about the world I live In and more about myself, etc.” Those answers were similar but the college graduates focused on inner success.…

    • 1521 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Success Definition Essay

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Most people measure success monetarily. We spend the majority of our lives working towards success (“Defining success”). The word “success” is defined in the Merriam Webster dictionary as the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence. Individuals who would be considered successful in this generation are Kim Kardashian or even Justin Bieber. These celebrities simply live in the moment, without thinking about what their goals are. Everyone wants to be known for something. Success takes several different forms but because of societal issues we have lost sight of its true definition. To be successful is to have a purpose, to know where you're at, to know where you're going and to not be afraid to work for it.…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Define Success Essay

    • 400 Words
    • 1 Page

    Another way which is define success is also by someone's mindset . For example, a dishwasher in a restaurant although it may not be "the American dream" of success but in the eyes of family he is success because has providing stable income, or could be dishwashing to put himself through school, or simply building his resume before moving up and opening his own business. It's all about the mindset, with success as a mindset, failure is never an option, no matter how long it may take one to achieve their goals.…

    • 400 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays