Selfishness In Funny Valentine, And The Temporary Job

Paw Ku Shee
Miss Wides
CL English 12: 4
12 May 2023
The Projection of Inner Anxiety: An Analysis of Selfishness in Literature When we think about selfishness, we think of putting ourselves above others, but we seem to forget the inner anxiousness that causes the outward manifestation of selfishness. In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Tenesse William’s The Glass Menagerie, and short stories, “Funny Valentine” and “The Temporary Job,'' one of the major themes displayed is selfishness. In As I Lay Dying, the character that portrays the most selfishness is Anse - constantly putting himself and his needs before his family’s. Similarly, in The Glass Menagerie Amanda and Tom, mother and son, value their own happiness over each other, causing an

Just like Anse, Amanda loves her children deeply, but she loves manipulatively. Amanda defends herself saying, "I'll tell you what I wished for on the moon. Success and happiness for my precious children! I wish for it whenever there is a moon, and when there isn't a moon, I wish for it too (Williams)!" Clearly, Amanda is passionate about her children but doesn’t let them chase after their dreams. Amanda’s inner anxiety lies in the fact that she wasn’t who she used to be, and her children are not who she wanted them to be. Her reputation and others' perception of her are valued over her children’s desires. In addition to Amanda, Tom is anxious about his life at home and feels trapped - longing for adventures, he selfishly leaves his sister behind. In both cases, they love one another deeply, but they sacrifice Laura’s needs in order to get what they

It leads to selfishness that consumes us and others, but God encourages us, in Philippians 2:3, to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves.” God wants us to be humble like Jesus, putting others' interest before His own, but this doesn’t mean we are to have low self-esteem. Selfishness is not necessarily putting yourself down, but it is considering others first. Our selfishness comes from our worries deep down about how things in the future will be, how others perceive us, our own happiness, but God tells us not to worry about all that. In fact, in Philippians 2:13, Paul reminds us that, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” There is no need to be anxious because God has a perfectly good plan for us so we can live a fulfilling life, but this doesn’t mean it will be easy. In the previous four pieces of literature, each flawed character had something worrying their minds, and they let it dictate their actions which put their own self interest above others. Jesus, on the other hand, is our perfect example of how we should act towards one