What is egoism? (essay-reasoning)

Essays

9th grade

Selfishness is a personality quality that can both help and hinder in life. It is noteworthy that in Russian the words “egoism” and “egoist”, as a rule, have a negative emotional connotation. However, this interpretation is too simplistic. Egoism is a multifaceted phenomenon. The most famous egoists in Russian literature: Pushkin’s Onegin, “hero of our time” Pechorin, Raskolnikov from “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky. But what is the egoism of each of them?

The selfishness of Eugene Onegin is akin to recklessness and idleness. The hero lived a social life, filled with events, balls, and meetings. He made acquaintances easily, was attracted to women, but also quickly lost interest in them. In addition, he was completely unfamiliar with the life and aspirations of ordinary people, but this is not surprising: this is how many noble offspring behaved, spoiled by their surroundings. Gradually, from a frivolous egoist, he turns into a suffering egoist. Life circumstances force Onegin to think about the meaning of life. He begins to realize his own selfishness. The main question becomes that it is impossible to change life if you are not ready to change yourself, in particular, to moderate your own egoism.

Pechorin's egoism is complex. On the one hand, it is akin to indifference: the hero is cold with people, does not open up to anyone mentally. At the same time, he is smart, educated, talented, energetic. – in these qualities he surpasses his peers. The hero is certainly charismatic, this is the other side of his egoism. The title of the work, its essence, leads the reader to the idea that Pechorin, among the people of his time, is an outstanding personality, albeit selfish.

Rodion Raskolnikov from the novel “Crime and Punishment” by F.M. has a completely different egoism. Dostoevsky. His selfishness is ideological. The hero “sacredly believes” in his own theory of the superiority of certain chosen people over the rest. From an idea it turns into a pathology, an obsessive mental state. After the murder, all of Raskolnikov’s actions are an attempt to justify himself, but only to his own “I”

In everyday life, selfishness can manifest itself in the fact that a person puts his own interests and benefits at the forefront. Sometimes this goes against the needs of others and negatively affects loved ones. Egoists are not aimed at mutual exchange, they only want to receive. The positive side of egoism is that it provokes a person to achieve goals. Without it, it is impossible to imagine a truly charismatic personality.

Essay 2

An egoist has always thought only about himself, but he simply does not care about the opinions of other people. In addition, he doesn’t even pay attention to other people’s needs, but he puts his own needs first and this is not always considered the right option. But this can greatly offend or anger the other person and then he simply will not communicate with you.

In addition, no one likes such people and everyone tries to stay as far away from him as possible. It is very difficult not only to communicate with such people, to be friends and even to live. He never considers or listens to other people, but does everything only to please himself. Usually such people remain alone.

Of course, there are other people too. They are very different from those described above. On the contrary, they do not take into account their opinions and their needs, but for others they do everything that is necessary and even more. He gives up what he needs and helps or listens to other people and does what they need. Usually such people do not become individuals at all, but bend under other people.

And what comes of this, that being an egoist is bad or good? Of course, in some cases this is useful, but everything should be in moderation. You should always listen to other people and help them in everything. So, for example, you must always and in everything help not only your parents, but also your grandmother, who worked all day and came home and cannot even move. And if you don't help them, then it is considered a bad deed.

You don’t always agree with the opinions of your comrades, and if they start insulting other people, but at the same time you don’t want to do this, but still agree with it, then it’s not always the right decision. You must have your own opinion, and they must also take this into account and do everything that you like. If you do not express your opinion, then interest in you will gradually disappear and no one will take your opinion into account, because they are used to you always agreeing with everything. They may also gradually begin to bully you, as they did with other people before.

I believe that there must be a golden mean. You need to be able to take into account the opinions of other people, and also not forget to express your opinion. You must help your family, friends and loved ones in everything, and when you need help, they will always come to your aid. But at the same time, you shouldn’t forget about your interests and don’t forget about yourself.

Other topics: ← Kindness ↑ 9th grade Life principles →

The essay contains references to the story by O. Pavlova.

Option 1

Egoism is a person’s desire to put himself above everyone else, and if he succeeds, then it seems to such a person that the world revolves only around him. This quality is considered negative, because behind it are immodesty, pride, and sometimes even heartlessness.

In O. Pavlova's story we can find several egoistic characters.

Max Smirnov, wanting to make jokes, does not hesitate to imitate the stuttering Zhukov. It’s common for Katya Lebedeva to narcissistically admire her embroidery. Despite the fact that Max is the captain of the school basketball team, and Katya is beautiful and talented, they do not evoke sympathy from the reader.

Why?

But because selfishness nullifies all a person’s virtues, making him unpleasant and soulless.

Option 2

I believe that selfishness is one of the most unpleasant qualities in a person. This is narcissism, thirst for attention and stupidity combined. The egoist does not notice the people around him; on the contrary, he expects adoration and admiration.

Let's see, referring to the proposed text, how unpleasant manifestations of selfishness can be.

Katya Lebedeva does not doubt her own superiority so much that she does not for a second allow the thought that Zhukov will write his essay not about her. The narcissistic girl accepts his kind attitude without gratitude, with “feigned displeasure.” Surely it was about her that Vovka wrote: “True talent without kindness is like dead flowers.”

Unfortunately, I can also be selfish. I am still ashamed of the money that I took from my grandmother for a long time for small expenses, until my mother told me that my grandmother was saving on herself in order to collect this amount for me. But I didn’t even think about the fact that my grandmother’s pension was very small.

For egoists, as I understand even from my own experience, all interests are limited to their own “I”.

Option 3

I think selfishness is the unwillingness to understand that there is someone else in this world besides you. A selfish person considers himself smarter, better, more worthy than others.

Selfishness is a quality that distinguishes Katya Lebedeva from the story of O. Pavlova. Everyone considers her the first beauty, objects are easy for her, but at the same time she is arrogant, rude and immodest: Katya calls her embroidery amazing and brags about it. Agree, such behavior is selfish.

Max Smirnov behaves no better: he does not hesitate to imitate the stuttering Zhukov, and behaves defiantly.

And only Vovka Zhukov, with his essay, taught a lesson to all those who behave selfishly in their class.

There is no beauty in a person if he loves only himself and his achievements.

Option 4

Selfishness is the behavior of a person when he thinks only about himself and his merits. Egoists are often characterized by narcissism.

Let us turn to O. Pavlova’s text to prove this idea. Katya, who knows how to embroider well, brings her work to class. Trying to attract everyone’s attention to his paintings, he calls the embroideries a “beautiful garden,” admires them, and seeks confirmation of his delight in the reactions of others.

Her conceit is unpleasant, but Katya does not notice this. In addition, she is sure that Vova, who is in love with her, will definitely tell about her talents. Without even listening to his essay, she comments on what she is reading in order to once again draw attention to herself.

Eugene Onegin from the novel of the same name by A. S. Pushkin is also an egoist, and selfishness deprived him of a friend and sincere love.

Selfish people tend to cause hostile feelings.

Option 5

Selfishness is a disdainful attitude towards others and a demonstration of one’s imaginary and real merits. Egoists love only themselves.

Let us prove this idea with examples from O. Pavlova’s text. In the class where the girl Katya studies, everyone has long noticed that the quiet and C-grade student Zhuk is in love with her. However, Katya humiliates him, demonstrating her disdain. Feigned dissatisfaction is also heard in her words when Katya listens to Vovka’s composition, confident that it is written about her. Material from the site //iEssay.ru

But the girl certainly signs her works, admires them, and boasts that an exhibition of her “delightful garden” will be organized. Katya does not yet understand how unhappy she is in her selfishness: unable to love anyone other than herself, she is doomed to loneliness.

However, this is natural: few people would want to communicate with a person who is only interested in himself.

Option 6

Selfishness is the disgusting tendency of a person to consider himself better than everyone else. An egoist, as a rule, is soulless and self-confident; he does not take into account the feelings of the people around him.

Thus, in O. Pavlova’s text, Katya leaves an unpleasant impression of herself, although she sings, draws, and embroiders well. However, I don’t want to admire her talent, because the girl constantly does it herself.

Having decided that she is the best and everything is allowed to her, the girl easily insults her classmate. When it comes to the couplet of a boy in love, Katya makes a contemptuous face. This egoist is aware only of her own exclusivity.

In order for everyone to live well in society, everyone must think not only about themselves, but also about others.

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Option 3

“Egoist” - many use this word in the wrong meaning. This is often said about people who live for themselves. But is this right?

An egoist is someone who believes that everyone owes him. He does not consider the opinions of others. His angle of view of the world does not extend beyond the radius of his own “I”. Such people live in their own fantasy world, believing that everything revolves exclusively around them. The eyes of the egoist are closed with a veil of faith in imaginary virtues, for which society, in the opinion of the egoist himself, should reward him. Such people do not care about the feelings of others and the consequences.

But where does this lead? Selfishness is a harmful habit for a person. Whatever one may say, sooner or later the veil of the fictitious “beautiful self” falls from the eyes. The egoist realizes the falsity of his worldview. This can lead to disappointment in life and even apathy. The inability to adequately evaluate oneself lets a person down. He realizes that his actions towards others were unfair and stupid. Remorse for his actions does not give him peace. This is inevitable in any case.

But no matter how hard the egoist tries to correct everything that he has done, it is too late. An example of this can be many characters from literary works. One of the striking examples, in my opinion, is Erast from the story by N.M. Karamzin "Poor Liza". Why did the young man ruin Lisa's life? Erast is an egoist and for the sake of his comfort, neglecting the conscience and feelings of the poor girl, he crossed out her future and broke his promise. Did this make him feel better? Whatever one may say, the feeling of responsibility for Lisa’s broken fate haunted the guy. But it was too late. The girl committed suicide.

Such human egoism is a virus for society. It spreads to all people like the consequences of a nuclear explosion. He kills, spoils destinies and hurts everyone. What a pity that this can be found not only in literature, but also in real life. Wanting to create an increasingly comfortable life for themselves, some people forget that their interests should not negatively affect another person. You can't be happy by walking over the heads of others.

I believe that humanity could bypass many unpleasant events in its history. If people thought beyond their own comfort and benefit, we would interact much better with each other.

Selfishness is not only the cause of personal troubles, but also mass ones. And we definitely need to fight it.

With example

An unpleasant story from childhood has always stuck in my head, and it is impossible to remember it without shame. One hot day in the kindergarten, the water suddenly stopped flowing from the tap. The teacher lined us up in one line, poured the contents of the heated teapot into a large mug and ordered us to pass it to each other. Each of us took one sip of warm water. Thirst tormented everyone, and there were few drinking supplies. Boys and girls slowly poured drops of liquid into themselves, prolonging the pleasure. The mug was in my hands. I didn’t even notice how I drank it all in an instant, driving five or more people into hysterics. An indescribable shriek filled the entire room. “You’re such an egoist,” a woman’s voice sounded in my ear. I was really very sorry. It's a pity that I got so little water. The realization of the disgusting nature of what had been done came only with age. It's a shame, a very shame.

Selfishness is an obsession with one’s own benefit or benefit. To some extent, everyone can be called an egoist. Self-care is okay. But when a person is ready to “go over their heads,” this is already inflated egoism.

What makes a certain group of people put their own interests above all else and not look at others? Some will say that the world is like this. Cruelty and injustice reign on earth. The strongest survives. The theory may have a right to exist. But who builds the world around us, if not ourselves? God, when creating man, did not want this for us. We ourselves made the world what it is now, and we justify selfishness.

I believe that with each new generation this lousy phenomenon will appear among people more and more often. It will get to the point where manifestations of the best human qualities will be considered rare. However, this can be observed today. It is useless to lecture others about morality - at best, they will nod their heads and tell you how they fed a stray dog yesterday. One of the reasons for this behavior, in my opinion, is the following. I'll take my friends as an example. I personally know people who are sincerely convinced that the whole world belongs to them. Try to convince them otherwise - you will hear a wave of indignation. Moreover, the scoundrels sincerely consider themselves to be right. And how can I condemn them if I was a child... In my understanding, drinking water and not sharing it with anyone was the right thing to do. At that moment I felt no remorse. And the teacher’s words did not make any impression on me. Changing someone is difficult. It all depends on the desire of the person himself...

Other essays: ← Self-doubt↑ 9th grade and OGEVThe inner world of a person →