TOW #1 | Written - The Moral Bucket List

With curiosity and a determination to reach moral success, David Brooks explores the nature of “deeply good” people. Journalist and author of “The Road to Character,” Brooks adapts an excerpt of his well-known novel in one of his New York Times article, “The Moral Bucket List.”  He highlights the idea that such people are not born with this ability, but are instead “self-made.” Through the use of examples and counterexamples, Brooks expresses his idea of what attributes to a genuine, humble person and compiles them into what he calls the “moral bucket list.”

Brooks lists each attribute in his moral bucket list: “The Humility Shift,” “Self-Defeat,” “The Dependency Leap,” etc. before analyzing the nature of each through an example. One topic in his list, “Energizing Love,” begins with addressing a well-known author and journalist, Dorothy Day. He explains the reckless life she previously lived—“drinking, carousing, a suicide attempt or two, following her desires, unable to find direction”—before showing how the birth of her daughter gave her the energizing love she needed to turn her life around. By using examples of well-respected figures, Brooks is able to show his audience how with each attribute he lists, there is evidence behind his findings. Since Dorothy Day is someone that particularly is known for turning her life around, the audience is thus able to make a logical connection between how “energizing love” can make someone a better person.

In an effort to connect with his audience, Brooks uses relatable types of exemplification to provide counterexamples for his claim. He begins one of his topics, “The Dependency Leap,” by pointing out the commonality of gifting “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” as a graduation present. Using this relatable counterexample, Brooks shows how unlike the book, life cannot be an “autonomous journey” to achieve moral success. He takes the idea of individual will, reason, and compassion expressed in the book and places it up against the horrors of selfishness, pride, and self-deception. The familiarity of the book helps the audience to relate and understand the opposing argument that follows the counterexample. Because the audience is aware of the context of the book, they are then able to realize through Brooks’s argument as to why these ideas of individual effort cannot lead to moral success.

Not only does this counterexample clarify Brooks’s argument and compel his audience, Brooks’s exemplification emphasizes the audience he is aiming towards. Using “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”, a common graduation gift, displays that Brooks is reaching for an audience that is in the transition between high school and college or is beginning college. He focuses his primary audience as these young adults, for in that time of people’s lives, many are focused on maintaining high grades, studying hard, or getting a good job instead of the moral success that Brooks believes is much more important. By distinguishing a specific audience, Brooks shows the struggle, but crucial importance to achieving both career or economic success and moral success.

In a generation where everything from social media to teachers emphasize the idea of self-success, Brooks argues otherwise. He uses both examples and counterexamples to show how with self-awareness, help from others, and a little love, one can reach a kind of success that money or a stable job could never buy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/opinion/sunday/david-brooks-the-moral-bucket-list.html