If a person was to ever make a list of the people most dear to them, he/she would probably have their friends at the top of the list. Friends are an essential part to everyone’s lives, especially to teenagers who need others they can relate to and pour their heart out to. The meaning of the word “friend” goes beyond what any dictionary can define it. A friend is someone that helps you out when you are in a jam, a pal that is with you in the good times and the bad, and a companion that never tries to deceive you. That’s why I love the following quote by Joseph Roux, who said “We call that person who has lost his father, an orphan; and a widower that man who has lost his wife. But that man who has known the immense unhappiness of losing a friend, by what name do we call him? Here every language is silent and holds its peace in impotence.” For me, nothing else other than this quote can sum up the importance of a friend and the deep anguish of losing them.
He does not use descriptive language or metaphors or hyperboles. He doesn’t drone on and on endlessly about how it’s horrible to lose a friend and he doesn’t even talk about he would feel if he lost a friend. The way Roux drives his point home is by stating simple fact, and then a concluding sentence that leaves whoever reads it reflecting about how true it is. No one really thinks about what Roux mentions in his quote because it either doesn’t cross their minds, or they believe that friends come and go but family is finite so family is much more important. However, for the English language and many other languages not to have a word for someone who has lost a friend, makes us face the harsh truth that losing a friend is so awful and unbearable that a word hasn’t been made and probably will never be made to come close to defining the pain that comes along with losing a friend.
Unless a person has actually been through it, they never really can relate to a person who lost a friend because it is not something that can be described with words, but felt with feelings. If I ever lost my best friend, or any of my other friends for that matter, I would feel lost and wouldn’t know what to do. Taking our friends for granted is easy to do, but when we hear this quote, it remind us that friends are special things that shouldn’t be let go to waste and that there is still yet a word to be created to describe the unfathomable loss of a friend.
I love this post! It’s like the quote “life without a friend is death without a witness” you need friends in our lives! I think they are the reason most people are sane. Although I slightly disagree with you on the topic of friends and family because in some cases friends are like your extended family or you other family. I wouldn’t even like to think about what life would be without friends. But great job on your posts! I can't wait for more!(:
ReplyDeleteWow. Just absolute wow. You completely described the meaning of the term "friend". I mean if you had to describe it and put it into words people should use your definition as the main definition in the dictionary. Well anyways, I really admired reading your post because friends are the "essential part to everyone's lives". Behind family, they are the most important part of the day and piece of life. They are what creates a smile on your face everyday and what everyone always takes for granted. Friends do so much for each other they should never be forgotten about.
ReplyDeleteMany people can not give a definition to the word friend, but you did. People say to put family first before friends, but those real friends are family. True friends are there when you need them the most, just like family.I liked how you explained how important friends are because friends are the best people to talk to, when you feel like you have no one else.
ReplyDeleteFriends are an essential part of life! And what do we call the man that has lost his friends? Wow! I never even thought about it. We do call people widowers, but do we call people who have lost friends antisocial. I love your way of thinking!
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