Self-love. Not Only Is the Phrase Self-Love

¶ … self-Love. Not only is the phrase self-love used as synonymous with the desire of happiness, but it is often confounded with the word selfishness, which certainly, in strict propriety, denotes a very different disposition of mind." --Slewart. [Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary] The novel "Things Fall Apart," by Chinua Achebe, is a shocking account of the life and extinction of an African tribe called the Ibo. The light is mainly on the main character, Okonkwo, who begins his search for self-perfection at a very young age.

He was highly unimpressed with his father and vowed to never to be like him. Okonkwo and his family suffered through trying times but he eventually beat the odds and was very successful as the leader of the tribe. However, on beating his wives, he disobeyed the gods by refusing to offer animal sacrifice. The gods gave him a severe punishment. He was extremely selfish and stubborn, who just loved himself and didn't bother about anybody else.

In the end of the novel, he committed suicide but did not accept defeat. He loved himself so much that he gave up his chance of regaining authority and respect from his tribe and chose to die. Sometimes, relationships with the opposite sex can change into relationships where one=half seeks the relationship only to satisfy personal ego. This happened to a friend of mine; whose boyfriend was only interested in her because of the status and money that came with the package.

She was madly in love with him and the relationship had progressed to meeting each other's families and even tying the knot. My friend was really hurt when she caught him red-handed talking to his friend about how she was just his golden goose and he used her to attain his desires purely out if selfishness. She left him but underwent a serious phase of depression. This is a true story based on self-love.

This incident is similar to the theme in Shrek, since they both depict that selfish desires never let a person attain any materialistic wants. A movie based on the theme of self-love is the animated comedy called Shrek, about an ugly green ogre who's on a quest to rescue a princess for the egocentric lord who simply wants her because he feels she is perfect for his kingdom. However, Shrek sees the inner beauty in the princess.