How Not to Ruin Your Life

          Growing up my whole life all I wanted to be was to be a doctor.  I remember watching Doogie Howser on television and wanting to be just like him.  Moreover, I saw doctors in everyday life who were making a bunch of money and had the life.  They had great houses, cars, and other material objects.  However, when I realized how much work and effort it would take to become a doctor, I decided to investigate the option a little more.  I figure that I had better be one hundred percent positive I wanted to become a doctor because it is very time consuming and expensive.  After shadowing a doctor, I realized I would not be happy in this profession even if I made a ton of money.  I am glad I took the time to realize this epiphany as it would have been a terrible mistake.  Two artists that we read this semester help warn readers of similar dangers in life:  Salman Rushdie and Kazuo Ishiguro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            In Salman Rushdie’s short story of “A Prophet’s Hair” in his book, East, West, the main character, Hashim, finds a vile with the hair of the prophet Muhammad inside.  Hashim was a very wealthy man who seemed to care about nothing besides money.  He was a money lender that charged “an interest rate over 70 percent” (Rushdie 41) and taught his children “the virtue of thrift” (42).  After finding the vile, he becomes extremely obsessed with it because it is an extremely important material possession.  The vile takes over his family and his life and ends up ruining his entire family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Moreover, a man, Sheikh Sin, is hired to steal the vile away from Hashim.  Hashim’s daughter talks him into trying this feat so their family will return to normal.  Even though he is warned of all the trouble that comes with the vile, Sheikh Sin decides to steal it away because she offers him “lavish” (39) rewards.  However, after the robbery attempt goes haywire, the police end up shooting Sheikh Sin.  Moreover, his children, who had been crippled and made their living begging, miraculously had their legs fixed.  However, this essentially made them “ruined men” (58). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                        In Kazuo Ishiguro’s book, An Artist of the Floating World, he warns us of the dangers ones decisions in life have.  The main character, Ono, painted pictures of the Japanese government in a positive light leading up to World War II.  Now, looking back through history, it was clearly the wrong choice.  At the time, Ono was swept up in the nationalism that was going on and aided the government.  During a dinner, he says, “All I can say is that at the time I acted in good faith.  I believed in all sincerity I was achieving good for my fellow countrymen” (123-124).  Even though this may have been true, the fact remains in his life that it was the wrong decision.  In helping his country get excited about the government and involved in the war effort, Japan was historically bombed and the country lay in ruins.  When Ono talks to his friend Matsuda (who also aided in the pro government propaganda), Matsuda tells him, “But there’s no need to blame ourselves unduly” (199-200).  However, you can tell from this quote that he believes they were partly to blame for their actions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I believe these two artists help us live in a floating world because Ishiguro is warning us to think very carefully before making any decisions in life.  It is important to make the right decision so as not to regret it later.  Even though a decision may seem like the right one at the time, it is very possible that it is the wrong decision.  Moreover, Rushdie is telling us that there is much more to life than material possessions and money.  In only worrying about money and material objects, one can very easily destroy their life and family.  He is warning us that greed is a terrible thing and can upset the balance in one’s life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Ultimately, both of these authors’ messages apply to my previously wanting to be a doctor.  Using Rushdie’s knowledge, I found that having a profession should be about enjoying what you do and not about money.  Like his story, if you do things for money very bad things will happen or you will at least be miserable in life.  Furthermore, I thought very hard about what I wanted to become in life so as not to make the wrong decision.  This is Ishiguro’s message and it hits home and everything we do in life.  If I had decided to become a doctor, it would have been the wrong decision and I would have regretted my actions much like Ono regretted his.  Overall, these are very wise authors that offer important life lessons and strategies in life to be successful.