Positive and Negative Desires

People always have many different forms of desire. They may desire a certain person, a car, love and affection, or even admission to college. A desire can sometimes lead to success or sometimes create a huge mess. “The Storm” by Kate Chopin, “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, and the song “Perfect” by Simple Plan are all pieces of writing that show these different forms of desire can affect an individuals decisions. Desires can have positive and negative affects on people. Self- satisfaction is one of the positives that can come out of desire but, on the other hand, it can also sometimes ruin other relationships.

In “The Storm”, Kate Chopin uses the characters Alcée and Calixta to show a sexual desire. Alcée and Calixta meet at Calixta’s store during a storm and have an affair. They both have a family and yet they are happy about what they have done. Their desire leads to adultery. Even in today’s world, adultery is not a good thing so regardless of how Alcée and Calixta felt after their affair, their desire caused them to take sinful actions towards their spouses and families. This is an example of how sometimes a desire can make a person take a wrong decision even though it may satisfy their own needs.

“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway also shows desire but in a different form. The American couple is going to have a baby and the man in the relationship has a desire to keep his girlfriend for himself and wants to be free of the responsibly of a baby. He does not even want his own baby get in the way of the relationship they have now. The woman in the relationship, however, is confused. She wants to have the baby but at the same time does not want to loose her boyfriend. This desire of hers leads to her to believe everything that her boyfriend is telling her and gets convinced into having an abortion. A desire like this can be considered selfish since they are only thinking about their own selves and not about how they will be affecting another human life.

The song “Perfect” by Simple Plan is about a man, Pierre Bouvier, is trying to live up to his father’s expectations. “And now I try hard to make it. I just want to make you proud. I’m never gonna be good enough for you.” This line from the song shows that all the Pierre Bouvier had was a desire to be closer to his father and make him proud. He is also feeling distant from his father and wishes things would go back to they way they used to be when he was a young boy. In the song, Pierre Bouvier, the lead singer, also tells the listeners how the man had a desire to be in a band and his father was against it. He mentions this in the song as well when he tells his father “Do you think I’m wasting my time doing things I wanna do? But it hurts when you disapprove all along.” This desire lead to the man becoming what he wanted but in the process lost a good relationship with his father.

Throughout life, it is natural to desire particular goals and emotions. A desire can bear positive results as long as it does not become an overwhelming force or emotion in the person’s life. There are times when desires only lead to something good. For example, the Pierre Bouvier had a dream of being in a band and today he is successful in what he had desired all his life. Of course, desires can sometimes have completely negative effects as well such as wanting to seek revenge on someone. Desires should be limited and one must not become to obsessed to their desires because it can end up turning into something unfortunate. A person always has to control or balance their desires with the other priorities, emotions, or relationships in their life.