Self- Appointed Misery

In chapters 12 and 13 Voltaire depicts the ultimate characteristic of the human mind: self appointed misery. Members of the human species tend to be unhappy especially with them personally as compared to others. Voltaire makes the point through the characters of his story, most precisely, by this comment made by the old lady: “Just to amuse yourself, persuade each passenger to tell you his story, and if you find even one who has not often cursed his life and told himself that he is the most miserable man alive, you can throw me into the sea headfirst (p.57).” This assumption in its daring tone has a number of components to it that construct upon self appointed misery. The first thing we must take into account is the fact that the author of this assumption was completely sure about her words and even bet her life to the previous, indicating that there is just no way this doesn’t happen, for it has become a rule. Taking into account that it is not one, two or a few, but every human that curses himself at some point, we proceed to apply this to a context. Quite obviously, not everyone can be entitled as the most miserable man alive, for it would literally contradict the rule. By mathematic concepts there is only one such individual and all of us are better off than him, but we fail to think on this perspective. We are all too busy worrying about our own misery to depict any trouble in other people which comes back to the absurdity of the behavior. First and most important, a small flaw or trouble doesn’t make us the most miserable individuals, so we must stop acting as such and start focusing on the pros of our character. On the other hand, everyone is too busy in midst of their own so called misery to figure out yours, so even if you happen to have some trouble, it isn’t of great importance for no one but you will truly understand and uncover its components. This specific time, and in the midst of its extreme in term of absurdity, I must strongly agree with the point the author is trying to make. After all we are the leading species, and the simple fact that you come across and understand this message makes you better off than millions of people.