This is an AP English assignment
AP English was a bit odd today. First off, Jackie's older sister, Andrea, was sitting in. That really says something about a teacher (In this case Mr. Wheeler) when former students will spend vacation time to come and visit. This was the fourth time this happened. Therefore we were treated to another combined Wheeler-Hogan-Former Student story, in which a girl was driven insane by one of the optional reading assignments (Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man). Yeah, so if you're ever in that class, and also happen to be on the brink of insanity, just be careful. I also had to learn that this year...
Anyway, we were picking out our optional reading assignments today. I chose Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Now, Mr. Wheeler had limited copies of the books, so he didn't allow multiple choices. He apparently decided to exempt me from that rule however because when Pride and Prejudice came up he threw a copy at me, even thought I didn't ask for it. It kind of caught me by surprise because Wheeler literally throws books at you. Guess I should read it...
Anyway, what follows is a reflection I wrote concerning motives and incentives as seen in the film The Emperor's Club, which we watched while Wheeler was out. My analysis of Belle is a little off now that we discussed it in class today, but whatever. I have no idea why I'm posting this, I guess I just want to see if anybody will read it. I worked real hard in the predawn hours so please do! Eh, that was too enthusiastic, do whatever you want.
***
All people, whether they know it or not or whether they want it or not, are striving towards some goal. We are all traveling along a path that has been laid ahead of us. But the question arises as to what drives us along these paths. If you ask most people what “drives them,” they will most likely tell you what “motivates them.” However, upon further inspection it can be found that what some people consider to be motivation is oftentimes better described as an incentive. There is a stark difference between the two driving forces, motivation and incentives. While one exists in the internal realm of emotions and thought, the other resides in the external world of reward and punishment.
Motivation is the internal and emotional of the two forces. The life experiences of an individual will help to form a specific psychological state that will produce motivation within them. In the course of a lifetime, a person will experience both positive and negative experiences. It seems reasonable that any person would prefer to constantly experience the more positive side of life for as long as they lived. This desire for a better (the criteria of which obviously varies from person to person, and even then some more) life oftentimes will impel the person to pursue “the good life.” They already know what they want, all that needs to be done now is to create and agenda that will aid them in achieving their goal, and carry it through. The person has chosen a path to travel along and has begun moving upon it. This psychological state that impels a person to choose a path and travel along it is what motivation is.
Incentives, on the other hand, being external and physical in nature have the potential to help or hinder the effects of motivation. Incentives are rewards or punishments that are meant to impel a person to travel along a specific life path. It is an external force, meant to aid society in pulling any wayward individuals back into line. Therefore, it can be seen how incentives have the potential to be both positive and negative in regards to motivation. If a rewarding incentive lies at the end of a life path that a person has been motivated to travel upon, then they will move with a renewed vigor. But if a rewarding incentive lies slightly off of the path that a particular individual was “meant” to travel upon, there’s obviously the potential for a problem. The motivation and the incentive will be fighting each other, instead of aiding the individual in finding the right pathway for them and travel upon it. With an incentive, it is oftentimes more about the “ends” than the “means”.
In the film The Emperor’s Club, there are characters that pursue their goals through motivation and incentives. Mr. Hundert was regarded by many to be an exceptional teacher. But why did that particular path? It is never really explained for most of the film, and the audience must rather accept the fact that whether by motivation or incentives, Mr. Hundert has chosen the path of an excellent teacher. Towards the end, however, we begin to sense that Mr. Hundert had his eye on the position of headmaster, a position that would not be his. In realizing that he will most probably never hold that revered position, Hundert resigns as a history teacher, a decision which many of the people around him are disappointed to see. It is not until after he is reunited with some of his former students that Mr. Hundert finally realizes that, despite the fact that he is still not in a high level of power, he is still having a large impact on the world through the students he has taught and will teach. With this as motivation, he returns to his former position of a history professor.
Sedgwick Belle, on the other hand, is driven primarily by incentives. To him, material possessions and success mean everything. In his eyes, if you don’t have anything to show for yourself, you, personally, are worthless. Therefore he believes in reaching his goals and incentives by using any means necessary. If “lying and cheating” is what he needs to do to get ahead in this world, than he will do it. As long as the incentives of fame and fortune are there, he will continue to pursue them, any way he sees fit.
It is interesting that when the incentive of becoming headmaster was taken away from Mr. Hundert, he saw no reason to stay at the school. But once he had the motive to return, almost nothing could keep him away. It would be even more interesting to see what would happen if all the incentives for Mr. Belle to be successful were taken away. He might very well find that the path he is on is not, in fact, the one he should have been on. For if you rely on your motives to guide you, you will remain in complete control over what path you are on and the control over which path you want for the rest of my life. But if you rely on incentives, you are placing you’re future in the hands of an impersonal and often cruel society.
Anyway, we were picking out our optional reading assignments today. I chose Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Now, Mr. Wheeler had limited copies of the books, so he didn't allow multiple choices. He apparently decided to exempt me from that rule however because when Pride and Prejudice came up he threw a copy at me, even thought I didn't ask for it. It kind of caught me by surprise because Wheeler literally throws books at you. Guess I should read it...
Anyway, what follows is a reflection I wrote concerning motives and incentives as seen in the film The Emperor's Club, which we watched while Wheeler was out. My analysis of Belle is a little off now that we discussed it in class today, but whatever. I have no idea why I'm posting this, I guess I just want to see if anybody will read it. I worked real hard in the predawn hours so please do! Eh, that was too enthusiastic, do whatever you want.
***
All people, whether they know it or not or whether they want it or not, are striving towards some goal. We are all traveling along a path that has been laid ahead of us. But the question arises as to what drives us along these paths. If you ask most people what “drives them,” they will most likely tell you what “motivates them.” However, upon further inspection it can be found that what some people consider to be motivation is oftentimes better described as an incentive. There is a stark difference between the two driving forces, motivation and incentives. While one exists in the internal realm of emotions and thought, the other resides in the external world of reward and punishment.
Motivation is the internal and emotional of the two forces. The life experiences of an individual will help to form a specific psychological state that will produce motivation within them. In the course of a lifetime, a person will experience both positive and negative experiences. It seems reasonable that any person would prefer to constantly experience the more positive side of life for as long as they lived. This desire for a better (the criteria of which obviously varies from person to person, and even then some more) life oftentimes will impel the person to pursue “the good life.” They already know what they want, all that needs to be done now is to create and agenda that will aid them in achieving their goal, and carry it through. The person has chosen a path to travel along and has begun moving upon it. This psychological state that impels a person to choose a path and travel along it is what motivation is.
Incentives, on the other hand, being external and physical in nature have the potential to help or hinder the effects of motivation. Incentives are rewards or punishments that are meant to impel a person to travel along a specific life path. It is an external force, meant to aid society in pulling any wayward individuals back into line. Therefore, it can be seen how incentives have the potential to be both positive and negative in regards to motivation. If a rewarding incentive lies at the end of a life path that a person has been motivated to travel upon, then they will move with a renewed vigor. But if a rewarding incentive lies slightly off of the path that a particular individual was “meant” to travel upon, there’s obviously the potential for a problem. The motivation and the incentive will be fighting each other, instead of aiding the individual in finding the right pathway for them and travel upon it. With an incentive, it is oftentimes more about the “ends” than the “means”.
In the film The Emperor’s Club, there are characters that pursue their goals through motivation and incentives. Mr. Hundert was regarded by many to be an exceptional teacher. But why did that particular path? It is never really explained for most of the film, and the audience must rather accept the fact that whether by motivation or incentives, Mr. Hundert has chosen the path of an excellent teacher. Towards the end, however, we begin to sense that Mr. Hundert had his eye on the position of headmaster, a position that would not be his. In realizing that he will most probably never hold that revered position, Hundert resigns as a history teacher, a decision which many of the people around him are disappointed to see. It is not until after he is reunited with some of his former students that Mr. Hundert finally realizes that, despite the fact that he is still not in a high level of power, he is still having a large impact on the world through the students he has taught and will teach. With this as motivation, he returns to his former position of a history professor.
Sedgwick Belle, on the other hand, is driven primarily by incentives. To him, material possessions and success mean everything. In his eyes, if you don’t have anything to show for yourself, you, personally, are worthless. Therefore he believes in reaching his goals and incentives by using any means necessary. If “lying and cheating” is what he needs to do to get ahead in this world, than he will do it. As long as the incentives of fame and fortune are there, he will continue to pursue them, any way he sees fit.
It is interesting that when the incentive of becoming headmaster was taken away from Mr. Hundert, he saw no reason to stay at the school. But once he had the motive to return, almost nothing could keep him away. It would be even more interesting to see what would happen if all the incentives for Mr. Belle to be successful were taken away. He might very well find that the path he is on is not, in fact, the one he should have been on. For if you rely on your motives to guide you, you will remain in complete control over what path you are on and the control over which path you want for the rest of my life. But if you rely on incentives, you are placing you’re future in the hands of an impersonal and often cruel society.