Sherwin Nuland on hope

Profile:
     Sherwin Nuland is the author of the book "how we die", who won the National Book Award. His book spent thirty-four weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.

Summary:

     According to Sherwin Nuland’s lecture, he explains what hope is in his opinion and how to encourage people and the world with a hope. First of all, Sherwin says that there are 14 definitions of hope in the dictionary, but none of them really hits people’s heart. The word “hope”, which is not a concrete word, is an abstract phenomenon or idea. He did some study, and then he got the idea of hope which is an expectation of something good that will happen. It is a sense of going in different directions. In addition, hope is human’s spirit. It is an ability of people to achieve something greater than he or she thought at the beginning. Sherwin uses a quotation from a 27 years old poet Shelley: “hope is moral imagination”. It makes a person to do better and to see himself or herself through other’s eyes. Finally, he states that every disadvantage people or nation is kind of patient, and this disadvantage world is a patient too because wars and disparity everywhere. All of us should to be the healer of the world. To conclude, hope is the love of healing power to translate into action of human’s spirit.( words:201)

Response:

     In my opinion, Sherwin not only gives the definition of hope, but also encourages people to achieve their goals and to love this world. First of all, hope enlightens a person’s motivation. None of us could succeed without any actions, because everyone knows that no pie from sky. We may have a tough beginning, but we can still make our dreams come true as long as we have hope. For example, Martin Luther King is a leader in the African American civil rights movement.His speech “I have a dream” moved many people, and nowadays black people share the same rights with others because his effort for the African American. Secondly, hope is the expectation for the world peace. We are in living in a high standard of life; however, there are millions of people who are suffering from the wars. As Sherwin says the disadvantage country is a patient, the citizens there are patients too. I have a great compassion for those people, and I wish they have a peaceful life someday. Finally, many of us are concerning about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In college, we donate and write on the board. We hope everything will be fine there. In a word, I think all the people and also the world need hope.(words:217)