Pursuit of Happiness Is a Forced Delusion

Sun+Yan

Find Your Beach， the title of Zadie Smiths essay， also the tag line of a beer ad gives full expression to modern Manhattan culture， i.e. “near obsessive pursuit of happiness”. But happiness in Manhattan is a hardly realized dream. People are living in a forced delusion of happiness.

“Find your beach”， as the author said， the construction is odd. With a possessive form， it simply means that the pursuit of happiness is a personal matter， that whether to find it or not is your own choice， that no one could force you to make a decision， as Americans believe that the pursuit of happiness is one of their rights. But it is also an imperative form with a tone of threatening， which means that you are ordered and forced to pursuit happiness. Besides， happiness should be your only pursuit， “the focus is narrow， almost obsessive. Everything that is not absolutely necessary to your happiness has removed from the visual horizon.” Pursuit of happiness has been an obligation or a duty in America.

“Beach” has been transformed from a noun into “happiness”， a state of mind， another oddness in the construction as the author mentioned. Because in reality， you can hardly find your happiness； all you see is your limit， “the brain that puts a hairbrush in the fridge， the leg that radiates pain from the hip to the toe， the lovely children who eat all my time， the books unread and unwritten.” Therefore， happiness is advocated to be found in ones mind， that it is always there， your just need to conceive it. When reality clashes with your sense of happiness， you should deal with problems by crushing them with your “mind vise”， by telling yourself you are limitless and not letting your mind set limits， an attitude found in all over of the island and encouraged and reflected in the popular culture， especially the movies. It followed that those who fail to find their beach are defined as mentally fragile. To find your beach， you have to be ruthless， to empower yourself， not to allow reality to impinge upon your sense of happiness.

Such energy that used to support citizens to pursuit happiness as street art and underground cultures has almost entirely disappeared. Pop culture and commercial culture are at an advantage in rivaling with elite culture and subculture， which we can see from the echoes of the ad “find your beach” that “can be found in the personal growth section of the bookstore， and in exercise classes， and in the therapists office” and the beer ad was placed on the entrance to SoHo where a colony of artists clustered here but now chain stores， boutiques and restaurants like Prada， Foot Locker， Sephora， frozen yogurt crept in， it has fairly commercialized as a result， artists and academics are vanishing. Now that the vigorous energy that used to supply people to realize their dreams has gone， it becomes a delusion for people to acquire happiness. As the author said， “I despair when Shakespear and Co.closes in favor of another Foot Loker. Theres no way to be in good faith on this island anymore.”

This creative energy is replaced by relentless pursuit of self-actualization. “A twisted kind of energy radiates instead off the SoulCycling mothers and marathon-running octogenarians”. Ambition as a personal trait ambition keeps Manhattan running. People come to Manhattan for desire， self-actualization. The pursuit of happiness is intertwined with the realization of ones ambition and desire. The author said，” I suppose it should follow that I am happier in pragmatic England than idealist Manhattan， but I cant honestly say so. You dont come to live here unless the delusion of a reality shaped around your own desires isnt a strong aspect of your personality”. Ambition for productivity， high incomes and material gain draw many people to Manhattan. Manhattan is a good place to work， to improve your productivity and to realize your ambition. But a goal realized is a dream with deadline. “Here you will be free to stretch yourself to your limit， to find the beach that is yours alone. But sooner or later you will be sitting on that beach wondering what comes next.”

In Manhattan， happiness is an imperative obligation instead of a right； you have to pursuit happiness. Since it can hardly be found in reality， you have to conceive it with your mind by crushing many things with your mind vise， leaving happiness a self-deceiving fair story. Since the creative energy supplied by subculture has been substituted by personal ambition， “not a pretty energy”， the pursuit of happiness has only been reduced to a delusion.