Book Reports / About a short story "Fair Extension" by Stephen King [4]

The short story Fair Extension, written by the famous Stephen King, is about a man named David, and his deal with Elvied, who is a merchant selling "extension" of anything: credit, penis, time, and even life. David, who was diagnosed with cancer prior to meeting the merchant, successfully bargains a life extension in exchange for twisting his hated best friend's fortuitous life into a living nightmare. While the story itself is intriguing, one is often mindful of a daunting question: Provide that you are at David's situation, will you sacrifice Tom's wonderful life as a payment for turning the table around? I think there will be many Davids in reality.

In the story, Tom, David's hated best friend, is the primary victim of David's jealousy. Believing that Tom's continuous successes are nothing but luck, David does not hesitated to sacrifice the best friend to prolong and better his life. As a result, Tom's fortuitous life takes a drastic and irreparable downfall: the death of his wife; the paralysis and prosecution of his sons; the misfortune of his daughter; the falling of his business. All these misfortunes are the results of David's bitterness towards Tom's seemingly effortless achievements, and David, who feels only antipathy for Tom and his family loved ones, are thriving in all aspects of life.

In reality, there are many people like David; they will not hesitated to change their lives around if the cost is the damnation of their adversaries. This behavior is not selfishness; it is, sad to say but true, normal and widely accepted in our society. Consider we have the chance to control and inflict damages to someone we despise, who we will feel no guilt and remorse for, many people are not reluctant - and happy - to uptake the opportunity. This action, as unjust and atrocious as it looks, is just in our nature; it is built in our gene, which is passed down by years of endless evolutions.

The story Fair Extension, while it is an interesting story, outlines a negative yet normal aspect of human nature. When we are given the opportunity to change our lives at the cost of our adversaries' fortunes , many of us will not reluctant to accept such opportunity.

Writing Feedback / 'money can't buy happiness' - Is it more important to do work that pays well [6]

It would be great if someone can give me a pointer or two for this writing here. It is for SAT essay :)

It is often difficult to choose between a fulfilling career with mediocre salary and a dull career with rewarding salary. The choice of either one is usually affected by one's financial situation and career goals. However, in general, I believe it is more important to do work that one finds fulfilling because money can't exchange for true happiness and self- satisfaction, and can lead to the development of acquisitive attitudes.

It is true that money can't buy happiness, especially not at work. When we enjoy our work, we will find much happiness during the process; being happy at work is a valuable feeling that no money in the world can provide. Self-satisfaction, too, is also a feeling that money can't compensate. While we enjoy our work, we become more willing to accept exciting challenges and overcoming those challenges can lead to self- satisfaction and self-fulfillment of one's character. If, however, we only do work solely for our paid, then we will see challenges as a hassle and become reluctant to accept them. This, ultimately, can result in the development of acquisitive attitudes. Those who have acquisitive attitudes often complain about never finding happiness and self-worth because money, according to their beliefs, is the most value item in the world. Those people fail to comprehend to true value behind happiness and self-satisfaction; therefore, they are unaware of the reasons behind their unhappiness.

In summary, a work that is more fulfilling is better than a work that only pays well. People who choose work because of the money are often unhappy and unable to find satisfaction from their work. Furthermore, as they are made to believe money is everything in the world, their attitudes will also change, becoming more acquisitive.

Writing Feedback / In the pursuit of peace, is it okay to sacrifice the lives and freedoms of some? [2]

Feedback is welcome!

Throughout history, there are many incidents where people's freedoms and lives were sacrificed in the name of peace and stability. Personally, I do not believe peace can be achieved by manipulating others because true peace is not acquired through suppressing individuals with rules and regulations; it is acquired through building an understanding between individuals.

Peace that is kept by suppressing the freedom of others is no better than slavery. When the communist party took over China in the early 20th century, it enforced an equality policy on its citizens. The party strongly believed that to achieve peace and tranquility, everyone should be equal - regardless of their intelligence, background and procession - and the government should be the in control of all things in the country. As a result, many people were stripped of their personal belongings, status, and wealth, and the economic better ones were accused robbing the nation's resource and were sentenced to death penalty. During these times, many people were starved to death because what the government provided was not enough. Yet, no one dared to revolt because the government had all the powers; as a result, this peace, which is more pertinent to slavery, was created by this atrocious governing method.

To achieve the true peace, people first need to establish an understanding between each other and doing so can prevent many human-made tragedies. For instance, wars, throughout the age of humanity, have happened primarily because people are unable to come to an acceptable agreement with their adversaries; they do not understand the viewpoints of others. Hence, people will selfishly think for their own benefits and result in conflicts that pose harm to both sides. Many of the time these conflicts are unnecessary if both sides can compromise through understanding the need of each; they can come to a mutual agreement, resolving a potentially harmful situation. In short, when people start to understand each other's point of view, many atrocious conflicts can be avoided.

In summary, I do not believe peace can be attained by confining lives with rules and regulations. Using force to create peace is not ideal because many people will suffer. However, if people are able to understand each other, many conflicts can be resolved - peace is created.