Analysis of The Trouble with “X”
Summary
The
essay, The Trouble with “X,” by C.S.
Lewis, shows us his personal thoughts on our journey to becoming like God. While men are imperfect, God is perfect, and
he knows each of us perfectly, and he loves every one of us with a perfect
love. Now humans, on the other hand,
look for the faults of others, and how they affect their own lives, yet don’t
see their own mistakes. We can’t improve
these relationships until we first make a change within ourselves.
As
stated earlier, God knows all! He can
see everyone action, ever good gesture, and every dirty deed that is committed
upon this earth that he created. He
knows the true happiness that we are capable of feeling in this life, but with
judgmental feelings of hate, scorn, or anger towards another person, heaven
will be as far away as the sound of beautiful music in the ears of a deaf man;
in fact, nonexistent.
How
is this heaven found or this joy obtained?
One must try to see the world through the eyes of God, who can see the
world in two ways. He sees the world as
we do, both good and bad, and he sees everyone that we see. Now God also sees the world in a way
different than we do, he can see us, and what we do. We must remember that for all the things that
others do that offend us, our actions cause others just as much grief. We must change ourselves before we can change
others, and only then we will truly be happy.
Evidence
In
this essay C.S. Lewis uses two very effective types of evidence to support his
argument that make his claims very reasonable to his specific audience. The first of the two is the use of his intuition
based on personal experience. To begin
this essay, Lewis describes a scenario common to many humans around the world,
and though it is not clearly stated that any of these conditions are from his
own life, since he is also human, we can safely assume that this argument was
probably relevant in his personal life.
The scenario explained is that of the natural desires of a person to
look for faults in others, and Lewis begins his article by talking about whom this
person may have a problem with, what the problem may be, and how others say
that one must go about solving this problem.
I assume that he has experienced this situation hundreds of times in his
life, either as a witness or from a more involved position; therefore, he has
the ability to discuss this topic with his readers because of his life
experiences.
The second type of evidence that he
uses in his argument is that of an appeal to a higher authority. In the second half of the essay, Lewis
discusses the thoughts of God, the highest authority; so that we can follow his
example, and by doing so better ourselves in hopes of becoming more Godlike. To demonstrate this point, it is best to
quote directly from the essay, the text reads, “He would rather have a world of
free beings, with all its risks, than a world of people who did right like
machines because they couldn’t do anything else. The more we succeed in
imagining what a world of perfect automatic beings would be like, the more, I
think, we shall see His wisdom.” This
use of an appeal to authority as evidence is a very intelligent decision by
Lewis because a majority of his readers have a Christian background and are
reading his work for that reason.
Overall, I feel that the evidence
that he used to support his claims and ideas was very effective. It added to his argument, and it really
helped to prove the point that he was arguing for. These aspects made his argument valid!
Assumptions
The
first line of this essay reads, “I suppose that I may assume…,” and that leads
me to believe that a large majority of this argument is based off of
assumptions. The first assumption that
he makes is that seven out of 10 people who read this essay have feelings of
discontent with another person. This
assumption allows the author to describe his target audience and talk directly
to them. I feel that this assumption is
potentially acceptable, though the number is hard for me to believe, upon a
deeper study of human emotion, one could come to the conclusion that seven out
of every 10 people have a difficulty with another that they need to deal with.
A second assumption that is made in
the argument is that God, exists, is all powerful, and has the ability to do as
his pleases with the things he has created.
This assumption is based upon study that he has obviously done, and his
own personal testimony and beliefs that came from that study. To me, this assumption is acceptable without
additional support because of the beliefs that I have, and Lewis can safely
assume that most of his readers will share his same beliefs, making this assumption
a very powerful tool in his argument.
Overall, I feel that the two main assumptions that are made in this
paper are understandable, and can be considered true, which makes his argument
very solid.
Fallacies
In
this argument, there are several statements made that may appear to be fallacies,
but I feel as if as a whole, he is truthful in his assessments. One such questionable statement reads, “What,
after all, is the alternative? You see clearly enough that nothing, not even
God with all His power, can make ‘X’ really happy as long as ‘X’ remains
envious, self-centered, and spiteful. Be sure there is something inside you
which, unless it is altered, will put it out of God’s power to prevent your
being eternally miserable.” Though I
agree with this statement, it may be considered over simplification.
In his argument, Lewis continually
brings everything back to the point that being more Godlike can solve your
problems. In the essay, that is the
only solution that is discussed. To
oppose that point, there are several other known ways to solve some of the
problems that he discusses, such as counseling, temperance, or faith in
something other than God. If a reader of
this essay did not share the same beliefs as the author, then this could be considered
a fallacy, but as what has already been stated several times, for his intended
audience, I do not believe this to be a fallacy.
Ambiguities
For
the most part, this essay is very well written, clear, and easy for the reader
to understand. While reading, I noticed
the word “shipwrecked” several times and realized that I didn’t understand the
exact meaning. At one point it reads, “You
know, in fact, that any attempt to talk things over with ‘X’ will shipwreck on
the old, fatal flaw in ‘X’s’ character,’ and I found myself trying to define
shipwreck, just to have a more clear understanding of what was being said. To more fully comprehend this phrase, I began
to ponder a real ship wreck and what happens in that situation.
In a shipwreck there are two parties
involved, the ship and the passengers.
If the ship were to “shipwreck” on a reef, there would mostly be a large
amount of physical damage to the sheep rendering it lost at sea with little
hope of recovery. Now the passengers on
the other the ship could face one of two outcomes, they could survive the
wreck, or “go down with the ship.” Now
how does this help to find the meaning of that phrase?
I feel that there are two potential
meanings for what Lewis was trying to say.
He may have been saying that this shipwreck was fatal and that there
would be no chance of fixing the damage that has been done. In other words, the relationship can’t be
fixed if it is caught up on this problem.
On the other hand, he could be saying that even though this shipwreck
may occur, there is a chance of survival, or overcoming the problem after an
amount of effort is put in to finding a solution. I feel that the meaning is closer to the
second, and that with this definition in mind, a reader could more fully
comprehend the essay and what is being argued.
Conclusion
To conclude, I feel that this was a
very well written argument great evidence to help to prove his point. With the evidence that he found and discussed
he makes very intellectual assumptions that allowed him to dive deeper into the
concept and make a valid argument that is difficult to contend against in his
field of writing. Though as mentioned
earlier there may appear to be fallacies, I feel that they are sound, and that
in his writing they can be considered fact.
I also feel that his writing was very clear and that after one
understands an important term, shipwrecked, then the point that he is trying to
make is even easier to comprehend.
This was a great essay and I feel
that C.S. Lewis would win this argument!
If someone who was going through a struggle like this were to read the
essay, they would be filled with hope that through being more Godlike, peace
could be found, and Hell could be
avoided. I feel that this essay
enlightens everyone to one of the many benefits of being a Christian, and I am
glad that I chose to study this essay!
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