Right to Happiness by C.S.

¶ … right to happiness by C.S. Lewis Lewis's Strong Understanding Of Audience In "We Have No Right to Happiness." The Western world's occupation with rights is something that laws, pop culture, and rules of order emphasize. Because much of the Western world is composed of democratic governments, the importance of rights has been imposed on many Westerners since childhood. Thus, for this group, the identification of rights is often confused with the identification of wants.

The term rights is also often used to suggest that one should be morally capable of doing whatever one deems most appropriate regarding one's lifestyle and desires. C.S. Lewis, in his essay, "We Have No Right to Happiness," presents a well-founded argument built specifically for this audience of Western, right-mongers. That Westerners who have this open-minded attitude toward rights make up the target audience of Lewis's piece is a subject of little debate.

Lewis opens his piece with a conversation and situation that this type of audience would find interesting. He uses Western names, such as Clare, and goes on to give enough details, dialogue, and commentary about a marriage, divorce, and remarriage to pique the Western reader's interest. Throughout this short narrative, Lewis refers to his characters with proper Western titles -- Mr. And Mrs. A and Mr. And Mrs. B.

If this is not enough to convince the reader that the audience for this piece consists of Westerners, he or she can observe that Lewis actually refers to this audience by name.

When Lewis identifies what Clare is really saying when she states that the couples have "a right to happiness," he says that she is "doing what the whole western world seems to have been doing for the last 40-odd years." Thus, through these words, Lewis shows that he knows the Western world that makes up his audience and hopes to establish this bond of commonality with them so that they will continue not only to understand the argument that he is making, but also to agree that it is for them.

Having established that the article is, indeed, for the members of the Western World, especially those who have done what Clare did -- assume that a "right to happiness" exists "simply and solely [for] sexual happiness," Lewis goes on to form his argument for this group using stylistic and organizational choices. By taking the tone of the rational philosopher, Lewis gains the attention of his readers, establishing a bond with them, and emphasizing his credibility.

Though his choice to organize his essay using an introduction likely to engage the interest of his audience is effective, it is not simply the interesting story of divorce to which his readers respond. Instead, his even, credible, and reasoned tone draw readers in the Western World into his piece, establishing Lewis as an authority on the issue. Furthermore, his choice to relate to his audience with humor and situations that they can understand allows him to tailor his argument to this audience.

For example, Lewis sets out to show that the "right to happiness" is not considered a right in all matters, but only in sexual matters. He does this by suggesting that Clare, who was "rather leftist in her politics," would most likely take issue with someone who stated that "his happiness consisted in making money and he was pursuing his happiness," while pursuing money in a way that was harmful to others.

Another example is his point that Clare might object to her friends' pursuit of happiness when that pursuit included "boxing her ears" (Lewis). Humor can also be found in Lewis's word choice and phraseology. For instance his statement that everything goes if "the object aimed at is 'four bare legs in a bed," is so ridiculous and crudely put that it becomes amusing.

Similarly, drawing a similarity between morality that allows everything and anything when it comes to sexual behavior and "a morality in which stealing fruit is considered wrong -- unless you steal nectarines" is an amusing parallel that emphasizes the absurdity of the morality that Lewis is trying to expose. Thus, by using humor and situations to which the audience can relate, Lewis' appeals to this group, capturing their attention and proving that he is writing directly to them.

Finally, Lewis suggests an intimate knowledge of his audience not simply through the tactics he uses to gain and keep their attention, but also through his subject matter. First, Lewis suggests that he understands the counterarguments that his audience.