Nahom Benyam

5-19-20

GLST 179

How Proust Can Change Your Life is an unconventional yet extremely interesting

book in that the content functions as an alternative to self-help books yet also gives tips

on how to live life in the best way possible. Self-help books tend to give a very positive

outlook on life and various situations while also providing solutions, that help the reader,

that are very positive and uplifting in nature. Yet, this text is so different in that it focuses

less on attempting to be uplifting and forces the reader to consider and analyze the

information given in the text in order to form their own solutions. The book itself is

written by Alain de Botton but is unique in that it focuses on the literary work of author

Marcel Proust in order to teach readers of the book how to live a better life. Proust was

a man that lived what many would consider a miserable life but the author argues that

the multitude of failures that Proust has experienced in his life function as teaching

experiences for both Proust and readers of the book.

Prout himself was very aware of the value that his failures would have and the

success that it would bring which is oftentimes reflected in his work which is why the

author chose to use Prout’s work as a self-help method. The text, in general, is different

in that preaches self-help through negativity whereas self-help books tend to rely on

positive subject matters to convey their critical points. One of the most interesting points

made in the whole book by De Botton is that suffering can help people live a better life

because according to Prout, we can only learn to appreciate and understand our life

and the world around us through suffering. The argument is made that instead of
actively trying to fix our life through steps such as the arguments made from traditional

self-help books, we should seek to live in the moment and use the observations of our

surroundings to develop our knowledge.

De Botton develops the argumentation in the book further of living in the moment

by discussing how we can use reading and the arts to develop a better understanding of

both the world and ourselves. Even works that are centuries old have value to us in the

current day because they can still help us undergo the journey of self-reflection that is

needed to live a better life. He argues that art is unique and a good learning tool in that

it helps us see and understand the world in a different way than we previously had. At

the same time, relying on art too much can be detrimental as it may not always be able

to explain or provide a new perspective on our experiences throughout life. Because of

this, De Botton argues that readers must become the artist and seek to examine their

own life from a different and artistic perspective if they hope to see change within their

life.

Like other class texts, De Botton also examines human relationships and the

correct way to go about maintaining and developing these relationships. He says that

friendship should be more about companionship and friendliness rather than a way for

two people to exchange concepts and ideas which means that friends should avoid

opinions and criticism to keep the friendship as friendly as possible. In terms of love, the

author argues that readers should always make an effort to make it fresh, new, and

uneasy for their partners as love being easy and routine will lead to contempt.

The first chapter in the book gives a very interesting scenario where people were

asked what people would do if a scientist announced that a cataclysm was about to
strike the world. There replies that said things such as men what do whatever they

wanted since their actions would have no consequences and people would try and

capitalize on as many earthly pleasures as possible. Proust, on the other hand, argued

that people would start doing things that they previously were too lazy to do which

conveys the point that taking risks and being uncomfortable could yield the reader a

better life in the long run. The second chapter builds on the idea that art is beneficial to

living a better life, which was discussed previously because it oftentimes contains

characters that resemble you and your own life. Literature itself has such a close

resemblance to the life that readers live, therefore, it serves as a way for readers to

learn about humans operate socially and how they can improve themselves and how

they communicate to live a happier life.

The third chapter unveils an important lesson within the work of Proust which is

that every experience in life, no matter how little or insignificant, has important

implications and that humans throughout life fail to see so much because they tend to

view experiences in the most mundane manner. His works tell us that it’s important not

to rush and try to conceptualize experiences as quickly as possible but rather to practice

reading between the lines and deep analysis. The next grouping of chapters discusses

how the emotionally and relationship-related tips that can lead to a better life, but

chapter 8 specifically made a very interesting point concerning love and relationships.

In the chapter, Proust discusses how it is human nature to never be contented

with what we have in the present day and the example he brought up illustrates this

perfectly. In the example, the telephone was invented in 1876 yet only two decades

later many people within France had one which made them grow tired and take the
telephone for granted. He connected this example to the love life of readers because,

as creatures of habit, we tend to get tired of the mundane and familiar so it is essential

that the readers reduce the familiarity within a relationship as much as possible. The

book concludes by discussing how art tends to improve self-awareness and allows

oneself to gain a better understanding of one’s emotions and how they interact with the

physical world. At the same time, books only can cover the topics that the author

chooses to cover, therefore, it is critical that the reader also learns to navigate the

intricacies of the outside world through their own thinking and analyzation.