Samuel Johnson's short story, The Story of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, tells the story of a young man, Rasselas, who is dissatisfied with his current life in a utopian society . He forces himself to venture outside the only existence he has ever known to see and understand the trials that people actually endure in the real world. Through the many experiences he witnesses and takes part in on his journey outside his seemingly perfect society, he comes to realize that happiness is not something he could simply decide to seek. His sister, Nekayah, also joins him on his adventure, and together they grapple with the realization that happiness is an ever-changing and fleeting state of being that cannot be grasped or forced. Johnson's story seems to emphasize the idea that in reality there is nothing that can guarantee happiness, and the more you look for it and desire it, the more you end up moving away from it while wasting your life trying to get hold of something that is too illusory to be achieved. human control. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Rasselas and his sister Nekayah come from Happy Valley, a utopian place where life is free of suffering. It is a place where “all the diversities of the world have been brought together, the blessings of nature have been reaped and its evils extracted and excluded” (Johnson, 2858). They are used to a place that seems utopian in structure, yet they are still dissatisfied and feel dissatisfied with the state of their life. In this almost perfect place, “every wish was immediately granted,” but Rasselas finds himself wanting more, as he is unhappy with his current situation (Johnson, 2858). People in Happy Valley “had everything at their fingertips” as it is an extremely difficult place to leave and many people have no desire to do so (Johnson, 2859). However, Rasselas is dissatisfied with having his every wish fulfilled and not truly knowing what life is truly like outside of his current existence. He seems to be grappling with and trying to understand the concept that happiness cannot truly be achieved without sadness as he reveals that he wants to “get some comfort from the miseries of life” (Johnson 2860). Rasselas wants to leave the utopian society that is Happy Valley and often consults with his instructor, Imlac, for guidance on the matter. Imlac tells the young prince that happiness cannot exist, be known, or truly felt without the presence of misery, and in response Rasselas expresses his desire “to see the miseries of the world, for the sight of them is necessary to happiness” (Johnson , 2861). The young prince meets an artist who is working on making a device that can swim and fly, which Rasselas sees as a means to escape from his miserably utopian world. The artist explains to the prince the importance of the "effort of getting up from the ground", which is not only how the device will work, but also how it will work to overcome difficult moments in life, since happiness is not always a guarantee (Johnson, 2864). Rasselas wants so much to find a happier existence than the one he is currently living, but it is not a task that can be accomplished just because he wants it. Once he successfully exits Happy Valley, Rasselas seeks more guidance from Imlac, and listens to his life story to better understand the world he is about to become a part of. Imlac tells the young prince that “human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured and little to be enjoyed” (Johnson, 2873). Imlac, the wise poet,teacher and philosopher, he seems to try to prepare the naive Rasselas for the difficulties that real life presents, and for the fact that happiness will not simply be within reach just because he is hungry for it. Imlac orders the prince and princess to find their “life choice” many times throughout the tale, which seems to allude to the fact that both characters have the ability to choose their own path in life in the hope that happiness will follow, but that happiness itself cannot be the ultimate goal to succeed, because life is “a journey of which [one] cannot perceive the end” (Johnson, 2878). Rasselas wants so much to find happiness, but it may not be the correct way to seek the meaning he so desires in his life as it is a fleeting state of being that cannot be achieved by simply wishing for it. He wants happiness to be “something solid and permanent, without fear and without uncertainty,” but Imlac tries to convey how wrong this notion is (Johnson, 2881). It seems that in Imlac's eyes, he sees that people from all walks of life may experience life in different ways and have different approaches to life, but their happiness is never guaranteed, no matter how prosperous their path may seem. Rasselas and Nekayah seem to come to terms with this idea when they meet people both rich and poor who have a similar outlook on life. After meeting wealthy families, Rasselas reveals that it is possible to know people with “the finest display of prosperity and peace, and not know a house that is not haunted by some fury that destroys its peace” (Johnson, 2889). Meeting the poorest families, Rasselas concludes that “every day is lost in devising tomorrow” (Johnson, 2889). Nothing in life can guarantee happiness, not even monetary status, and more people than Rasselas and his sister expected struggle to find the comfort they aspire to. Imlac also seems to express in Johnson's story the idea that happiness is an illusory and transitory state. of being that is not only difficult to grasp, but can also be further impeded due to human intervention. He speaks to the prince about the dangers of envy as he explains that he will "rarely meet anyone who does not consider his neighbor's lot better than his own" (Johnson, 2880). Imlac seems keenly aware of the tendency of happiness to seem stronger and more obvious when it's in someone else's hands, when in reality everyone struggles equally. Rasselas meets a teacher from Bassa during his trip to Cairo, and discovers that, although he lives a fruitful life full of abundance, he is also unhappy because his “prosperity puts [his] life in danger” (Johnson 2884). Even living a life with high social and economic status is not enough to guarantee the limits of happiness, Rasselas realizes. While conversing with her sister, Princess Nekayah, about the people they met one day, they discuss the life of a hermit. Living in solitude to escape the evils he has experienced throughout his life, the hermit admits that he does not “wish [his] example to gain any imitator” (Johnson, 2885). The young prince and princess begin to realize that living in fear of downfall or loss of prosperity and running away from unhappiness are both ways in which actual happiness is further prevented. Nekayah comes to an enlightened realization about happiness when she says that “a constant prospect of a happier state; this can allow us to endure calamities with patience; but remember that patience must presuppose pain” (Johnson, 2892). The princess seems to begin to understand that happiness is not something you get just because you want it and because you decide to.