<p>Suggestions for improvement are welcome! </p>
<p>Prompt: Do we need other people to in order to understand ourselves?</p>
<pre><code> Throughout history, human beings have always required other people in order to understand themselves. In the words of Anne Sheppard, “Understanding ourselves and understanding others are connected, since as human beings we all have things in common.” The notion that we need other people in order to understand ourselves is exemplified by several memorable characters throughout literature.
In Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South, Mr. Thornton, one of the protagonists, comes to better understand his own faults after meeting the lovely, but outspoken Margaret Hale. Margaret criticizes Mr. Thornton's treatment of the people who work at his mill. No one had ever told Mr. Thornton that the way he treated his workers was unacceptable before. Mr. Thornton needed Margaret to better understand himself.
Another example is illustrated in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Frodo Baggins, the young hobbit entrusted with the Ring of Power, needed his friend Samwise Gamgee in order to understand his weaknesses. Sam repeatedly reminds Frodo of the temptations of the ring. He tells Frodo at one point that the Ring is controlling him. Frodo realizes then that he has been submitting to the Ring's power. Without Sam, Frodo would not have understood his own weakness.
In Jane Austen's trenchant social commentary Pride and Prejudice, both Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy needed each other to understand themselves. Elizabeth realizes that she was too proud and didn't treat Mr. Darcy fairly because of her pride. Mr. Darcy realizes that he prejudged Elizabeth based on her family's behavior. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy needed each other to recognize their faults.
After a careful examination of the preceding examples, one can clearly see that the notion that we need other people in order to better understand ourselves is true. Indeed, without other people, we would never recognize our own faults and weaknesses.
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