The Four Loves: Reflections/ 盧羿君

The Four Loves: Reflections 

進階英文作文2Ac 盧羿君

     Before I read the masterpiece, The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis, I began considering what love is. I continuously asked myself what is love. Eventually, I though it is difficult to define the meaning because everyone has a variety of ways to present or express their love. As far as I was concerned, it is important to concern about other people’s feeling and to have to be considerate to the others. Although I wouldn’t prefer to say something sweet to the person, I would help the person in action. For example, when the person is depressed or he faces some obstacles, I will give him my suggestions or listen to what he feels and give him a hug. I though giving someone supports is more significant than saying sweet. For me, when someone is willing to listen or to concern about me, I will feel toughed and I even may burst into tears.

     In The Four Loves, it divided love into many parts, such as Likings and Loves for the sub-human, Friendship, Affection, Eros and Charity. However, I didn’t read the part of Charity. In the introduction, the author distinguished love into Gift-love and Need-love. Gift-love means a person pays his or her all heart on other people or creatures without selfish. For example, a man works hard every day and saves most of his money. It is because he wants to give his wife and children a better life. As a result, the author viewed the Gift-love as divine love at the beginning. Second, the Need-love means when people feel lonely, frightening, boring or helpless, most of people will want somebody to keep company with them. The feeling that people desire others’ company calls Need-love. For example, the new-born baby needs his or her mother to take care. Then, when the baby feels lonely or frightening, the mother has to keep company with him or her. The author was contemptuous at the beginning. Although desiring others’ love is called Need-love, it doesn’t mean it is selfish. After the author though the question again and again, he found the truth is that Need-love can resemble the God, if people have healthy spiritual and have to work hard on the same purpose with God. On the contrary, if there isn’t any love in the Gift-love, those people will be cruel. Consequently, in the end, there is an analogy between the Need-love and the God.

A plant must have roots below as well as sunlight above and roots must be grubby. If the plant doesn’t have the wonderful sunlight and the grubby roots, it won’t become strong and beautiful. It is just like the sentence “The highest does not stand without the lowest” in page 20. It means that the highest and the lowest can’t be separate apart. I agree with some points of views of the author. For example, in around page twelve, the author said that he still thought that if all we meant by our love is a craving to be loved; we were in a very deplorable state. Then, if we meant only this craving we were mistaking for love, it is not love at all. We can’t deny the name of love, Need-love. Then, in about page seventeen, St. John said that God is love has long been balanced in his mind. On the contrary, a remark of a modern author said ‘‘love stops to be a demon only when he cease to be a god.’’ Which of course can be re-started in the form, when love begins to be a demon, at that moment, he begins to be a god. We can’t ignore the truth that God is love may slyly come to mean for us the converse, but the situation gradually become that love is God. Consequently, the balance seems to be an indispensable safeguard. From the two parts, although Need-love was regarded as a disparagement, actually, the reality is more complicated than people though. Need-love is similar to humans. Gift-love may think their love is great and mighty and consider to be Divine love, so it will become a demon. As a result, I think Need-love is better than Gift-love.

     In the first chapter, Likings and Loves for the Sub-human, I think the author mentioned a basic idea. In around page twenty six, “pleasure can be divided into two classes; those which would not be pleasures at all useless they were preceded by desire, and those which are pleasure in their own right and need no such preparation. Take the first one as an example, a drink of water would be a pleasure, when you are thirsty. Probably no one in the world, except in obedience to thirst or to a doctor’s orders, every poured himself out a glass of water and drank it just for the fun of thing”. However, it is not noticed by humans. People always want to have something when they need or desire to have it. For instance, people can get and eat food easily. People have food for getting the nutrition. Nevertheless, one day, if people can buy food nowhere, most of the people will freak out. People take these things as common things. The second would be in about page twenty six “the unsought and unexpected pleasures of smell. When the breath from a bean-field or a row of sweet –peas meets you on your morning walk, the person will be pleasure”. It is wonderful because it is an unsolicited and superadded present. There is a concept in around page twenty. “For the temperate man, an occasional glass of wine is a threat that is just like the smell of the bean-field. However, to the alcoholic, whose palate and digestion have long since been destroyed, no liquor gives any pleasure except that of relief from an unbearable craving”. A normal person can enjoy the smell of a glass of wine, but the alcoholic cannot enjoy the same thing as a normal person. It is because the alcoholic views a glass of wine as a glass of water. The alcoholic needs to drink the glass of wine instead of enjoying the smell of the wine. As a result, we may call the first one as Need-pleasure and the second one as Pleasure of Appreciation.

     In the second chapter, Affection, the use of old as a term of Affection is significant. We can know how long I have been a person’s friend, but it is difficult to know the exact time of Affection. “People can take Affection for granted and it is right and proper up to a point. However, it is an outrage in erotic love” in page fifty five. The author took Mrs. Fidget as an example in about page seventy five. “Mrs. Fidget said she lived for her family. It was not untrue. She actually did a great number of things and paid all her heart on her family” in page seventy five. My mother acted like her. My mother is a traditional housewife who always does all the washing. “There is always a hot lunch for anyone who is at home and always a hot meal at night. If we get home late, we will find the frail pale, weary face awaiting us, like a silent accusation. My mother always works her fingers to the bone for my family just like Mrs. Fidget. “After Mrs. Fidget died, her family seemed to be energetic”. Although the author let the story become funny and interesting, I think there is a little distress. There are three dogs at my home. My parents take care of them with all their heart. It is because my sisters work late and often hang out with their friends. Besides, I study in Taichung, so I can’t go home frequently. At the beginning, my father said this is a bridge between us and the rest of nature. Nevertheless, I think these dogs are the obvious substitute of us. Although Affection is unselfish, there are still some drawbacks. If Affection is made the absolute sovereign of a human life, the seeds will germinate. The author said, “Love, having become a god, becomes a demon” in page eighty three.

In the third chapter, Friendship, I think what the author said is not totally right. In page eighty seven, the author said, “To the Ancients, Friendship seemed the happiest and the school of virtue. The modern world, in comparison, ignores it”. As far as I am concerned, although friendship in ancient time might be pure, friendship in the modern world is also important. People cannot ignore it. Then, when students are ready to enter into universities, adults always mention that you have to meet different kinds of people. If you can make friends with them, that is wonderful. However, the author said, “Friendship is something quite marginal; not a main course in life’s banquet; a diversion; something that fills up the chinks of one’s time” in page eighty eight. I don’t agree with the concept of his idea. We can learn a lot of things from friends. Even though friends graduate from school, they still have chances to cooperate in the future. As far as I am concerned, it is a significant and essential issue in human’s life. Besides, I have to say if people live without friendship, it would be terrible and pessimistic. Nevertheless, in page eighty eight, the author mentioned, “Without Eros none of us would have been begotten and without Affection none of us would have reared; but we can live and breed without Friendship”. What he said is reasonable and acceptable, but it is against my thought. Although it is momentous that Eros is an element to make a family, it would be boring and tedious without friends. I think doing some activities with friends would be much more interesting. In addition, people often hang out with friends or spend much time with friends don’t mean that they are homosexual.

     In the fourth chapter, Eros, actually, I cannot totally realize some parts of the concept. I think one of the reasons is that I don’t have this kind of experience, but I get some thoughts from my elder sister. Recently, she got married and they went on a honeymoon. Before my sister got married, I asked her a question. I said weather she is satisfied with her fiance. She told me that her fiance is not too handsome, tall and stylish, but he concerns her feeling and is responsible. After I heard what my sister said, I felt touched and am happy for her. The author mentioned “No lover in the world ever sought the embraces of the woman he loved as the result of a calculation, however unconscious, that they would be more pleasurable than those of any other woman” in page one hundred thirty five. In other words, people won’t think weather they got benefits or other things or not before they become lovers. After I saw the sentences, I thought of my sister immediately. Although sometimes my sister teases her husband about his height, I think both of them enjoy this kind of jokes as a third person speaking.

     After I read this masterpiece, I got a lot of knowledge, such as the use of words, useful phrases and the concept of different kind of love. Even if I do not agree with everything he wrote, I also can realize what the perspectives of the author are. In the beginning, I cannot realize all the things that he wanted to express, but I can realize the idea that he wanted to tell. Throughout reading this book, we can compare our idea and the author’s.