Difficulty

Batool ElHage

MS. Dania Adra

English 203

13 October 2015

         Referring to The Social Contract, written by the Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, he wrote some very remarkable words in the following sentence "Man was born free, and he is in everywhere in chains." This quotation is somehow illustrated physically in the picture above, where I captured some papers flying freely in the air. But in no more than few seconds, they fell back to the ground as they're restricted by the gravity and its laws. And that's how we, human beings, are.

         When I thought about the kinds of chains Rousseau meant by in that quotation, what came on my mind weren't declared laws. Instead, I thought about it from a self aspect. I found out that we're restricted by ourselves; by our emotions, mental and physical abilities, and our never-stoppable-thinking mind. I found out that no matter how free we are, we're still not.

         Moreover, viewing it from an outer aspect, my thoughts met with how Rousseau defined those chains. In the world we live in, we're always supervised from above and asked to obey specific rules and laws, mostly proclaimed by governments. If we assumed that we're enforced to follow those norms, then by force we could also become non-obedient. But that isn't how it works, as nothing works by force. Instead, we compromise between what we want and what we can have, as stated in the thesis ".. I shall try always to unite what right allows with what interest demands." (Rousseau 113). 

         So as those flying papers are set free, the moment they exceed their limits they're set back, and so we are. We are set free, but with limitations. This is a fine social contract that won't function properly if it wasn't based on agreements and adjustments.

Work Cited:

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques.”The Social Contract. “Shifting Narratives: A Reader For Academic Writing.Ed. Sinno,Zane , Bioghlu-Karkanawi, lina , Flezsar, Dororta , Jarkas, Najla , Moughabghab , Emma , M.Nish, Jennifer, Rantisi, Rami, Ward, Abir.Beirut:Educart,2015.Print.