1. Pope describes the purpose of his poem as “to vindicate the ways of God to man.” What do you think he means by this?
2. Choose one metaphor that Pope uses to describe the universe and explain its significance.
3. What would it mean to believe that “whatever is, is right?” How would that affect one’s outlook or behavior?
4. According to Pope, what place do human beings have in the universe in relation to other creatures?
Pope sees the human being relationship to other creatures with sarcasm and view man as hypocrites.
“Say, here he gives too little, there too much:
Destroy all Creatures for thy sport or gust,
Yet cry, If Man’s unhappy, God’s unjust;
If Man alone engross not Heavens high care,
Alone made perfect here, immortal there:”
Pope sees man as having a place in the universe, the same as creatures. We are a part of the order of things, and mankind thinks that it is special and unique, when we are just part of the natural world and see ourselves as superior or different somehow.
“Each beast, each insect, happy in its own:
Is Heaven unkind to Man, and Man alone?”
According to Pope, mankind feels as if they are on the top of the food chain, making decisions without any regards to the outcomes and affects of those decisions on others. Human beings tend to act as if they are God, according to Pope. He also describes how because of this mistaken belief of man, unfortunate outcomes occur to those around us. To Pope, he believes that man is equal with nature, nothing more. However, man does not have the same beliefs as Pope does.
3. What would it mean to believe that “whatever is, is right?” How would that affect one’s outlook or behavior?
To believe that “whatever is, is right” means to accept fate. Many people use it as a reason to not worry or stress over something too much, as they believe it is a a part of God’s plan. This line can also be seen as a way to keep the readers of the poem happy with themselves and with how humanity is as of the time of its writing. Throughout the poem, Pope keeps warning about humans wanting to become more than what we already are, and states that it’s fine that we don’t have/know everything. He says that humanity has to keep it’s faith in God, which was most likely a response towards the more scientific and humanist viewpoints of the Enlightenment period that he was in.
The quote ” whatever is, is right” can affect ones outlook on life and behavior. I say this because I interpret the quote as meaning that whatever we do and however the outcome is the right one. I say this because everyone is different and unique so what we do is right to ourselves. Religiously it could mean that whatever is done is Gods plan and there’s nothing that can be done about it and we should accept it because god is right. This could change the way we behave because it could make us believe that everything we do is a lesson in life and that we should learn from it. For example in this logic if we fail a test it was parts of Gods plan to make us learn from our mistakes and accept failure as a part of life.
What would it mean to believe that “whatever is, is right?” How would that affect one’s outlook or behavior?
“Whatever is, is right?” means that one would accept whatever life throws at them no questions asked. If somebody has this outlook on life they would go on with life thinking that all of the things that happen to them happen for a reason and is what is supposed to happen. This quote to me basically meant that whatever happens, happens for a reason and you cant change the outcome of it, just have to live in the moment and deal with it.
3. What would it mean to believe that “whatever is, is right?” How would that affect one’s outlook or behavior?
I think that in this poem, Pope understands that the world may have come a long way, but he also tries to emphasize that we wouldn’t be here without god. Therefore, all of the accomplishments that humans had must be credited to god in the first place. There is a specific chain of command “… which from God began, natures ethereal, human, angel, man, beast, bird, fish, insect..” and even though humans are pretty high in the chain they are still underneath god. He implies that there is a bigger picture and a plan”…Man’s as perfect as he ought..” that we, as humans, cannot see, therefore we must know, that even though science plays a major role in our world, there are somethings that we still don’t know and it’s for a good reason. We cannot possibly see the full plan or bear its responsibilities.
3. What would it mean to believe that “whatever is, is right?” How would that affect one’s outlook or behavior?
“Whatever is, is right?” This quote has the same meaning as, “whatever happens, happens.” In full explanation, whatever one decides to take part in or take action upon, the outcome can’t be changed as it is bound to happen in this particular way. In other words, whatever particular opinion one believes in is the defining of who they truly are in life. There is no right or wrong answer to making a major life decision because it is up to the individual to decide who they truly are or who they truly want to shape up into. In response to one’s outlook or behavior, every individual has their own perspective on his or her outlook of life and how he or she reacts to a certain scenario. Whatever that individual believes in or how that individual reacts to a given situation, that outlook or behavior is truly defining his or her true self. We as individuals are all made different and all think/believe differently which makes us all unique in our own ways. One can’t change their true identity/personal…
3. What would it mean to believe that “whatever is, is right?” How would that affect one’s outlook or behavior?
The phrase “whatever is, is right” means to have the realization whatever needed or was destined to happen, has or is happening . This is a form of Pope to connect with the reader in a reassuring manner, hinting at that what the reader is going through is part of God’s plan. This can even be used on a broader term than just the individual by using it as a way to explain what is happening within a society as a whole. However he warns the reader of trying to become bigger than what his place is, stating that we are not in control of nature but rather part of it. He continues by stating that humans must continue to maintain its faith in God, by attempting to reconcile the existence of evil with a belief in God.
3. What would it mean to believe that “whatever is, is right?” How would that affect one’s outlook or behavior?
To believe that “whatever is, is right” would mean that everything happens for a reason. Whatever life is throwing at you is happening for a reason. Such is life. You can not change it. I think that it can affect someones behavior by preventing them from looking into the whats and why’s of life. It would keep you from thinking too much about whats going on around you and just taking it on rather than fighting it.