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Envy Is Ignorance

In: English and Literature

Submitted By TawanaLobell
Words 423
Pages 2
Is Ignorance“Envy is Ignorance.”
Plan
* Envy is a strong emotion. Ill feelings towards someone. * Everyone experiences envy, when we see people with something we want or at a place in society where we wish we were. * Ignorance is the lack of knowledge about something that is commonly known. * Emerson is saying that when you ‘envy’ someone- or harbor ill feelings towards them-for their success or possessions, you lack common knowledge. * Envy is truly ignorance. * When you envy someone you are ignorant of your blessings. * When you desire to be like someone else you are denying your own potential * We are our own self and we must work hard to bring about our own qualities instead of coveting another’s.

Essay- Draft
Envy is harboring ill feelings towards someone because of their success or possessions. Most of us experience envy in our lives. We covet the success and possessions of others and secretly wish for their downfall. Ignorance is the lack of knowledge about something that is commonly known. We are known as being ignorant if we lack basic computer skills or can’t work a phone. Ignorance is a word often associated with envy.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that “Envy is Ignorance”. What he means is that when you envy someone-or harbor ill feelings towards them -for their success or possessions- you lack common knowledge. You are ignorant because you ignore the fact that the other person has worked hard to get where they are. With the energy we waste to envy people we could use it to make ourselves successful. For example, you spend your whole life envying what someone has and whiles you are doing that they are becoming more successful. You are then ignorant of the fact that the time spent coveting what they had could have been spent achieving it for yourself.
When we envy another we are being ignorant of our own blessings. In desiring to be like others we deny our own potential. Everyone has the capability of achieving their own success once their mind is set. We are our own self and we must work hard to bring about our own qualities instead of coveting another’s. We can’t expect to get anywhere without doing the work.
In summary, envy is truly ignorance. For when we envy we ignore one’s own ability and when we ignore one’s own ability we are not able to achieve our own success. That then results in more envy and hatred towards others and thus the cycle never ends.

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