Beauty By Susan Sontag BBS 2nd Year English Vision Summary
Beauty
Susan Sontag (1933 - 2004)
About Poet:
Susan Sontag was an American who was born on 1933 and expired on 2004. She was a writer, film maker, philosopher and a teacher by profession. She has presented about the concept of beauty in her essay 'beauty'.
Beauty by Susan Sontag Essay Summary :
The concept of Beauty according to the Greek's were virtue (a behavior showing high moral standard), which is seen in both inner and outer part of our body. According to them, excellence was a beauty. Beauty means overall excellence not only the outer portion that is seen but the inner portion which is invisible. Socrates, a Greek philosopher who was very brave, honorable and intelligent but was ugly from the outside. Though he was ugly from the outside, it didn't reflect his inner beauty and wisdom which was inside of him and was invisible to others. Socrates disciples had observed this inner beauty but from the outside he was ugly. Nevertheless, a person beautiful from the outside can be intelligent and have good wisdom.
In the west, Christianity brought new concept and ideas about beauty. A person could be very attractive and beautiful from the physical appearance but could be dumb or lack virtue from the inside. For this beauty had no value.
In English when we say 'a beautiful person' we immediately think it is for a woman not for man. But in French and Italian the word beauty is not only reserved for woman but also used for addressing men. In English, the word beauty is never used to describe a man instead they are addressed as handsome. The word beauty is only valued as a word for decoration.
In the essay Susan Sontag, she has described about the beauty being burden to woman. She objects woman to seek for beauty rather to spend their time on other creative activities. Beauty is not a powerful thing that could be used to do great things, it is only a means of attracting men towards them. Apart from attracting men towards them, beauty doesn't have any other goals. The aim of woman to attain beautiful personality has limited their true potential. This aim of theirs is making them inferior and dependent them towards the men.
Similarly, Susan Sontag also want to change in the attitude of male toward the woman. Male should also not only judge a woman from their outer appearance but also to focus on their inner wisdom and intelligence. Our society teaches woman that attaining beauty is the only goal of a woman. This concept that arises from the society has lead woman towards anxiety and depressions. The power of beauty should be used to do something more valuable than to attract men only.
Woman try to attain beauty to attract men towards them. They have been obsessed with the fact that getting beautiful in front of men gives them high reputation and perfect place in the society. The aim that the woman have taken to attain beauty has made them lost their true potential. By doing so they are not getting more beautiful rather than they are losing their other true potential which is due to the loss of time in attaining beauty. This concept of attaining beauty should be changed and return to the ide of the excellence i.e. the original Greek idea which will not limit one person in the idea of beauty.
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