https://www.ted.com/talks/isabelle_allende_how_to_live_passionately_no_matter_your_age/transcript?language=en
Summary
Isabel Allende talks about aging and how life can still have purpose and joy no matter what age you are. Isabel gained freedom because of aging -- she does not have to care what people think about her anymore. She goes on to say that she stays passionate by saying yes to whatever comes her way even though it is hard. She also trains her passion by trying to stay in love.Summary
She talks about how we all start aging at birth and being "old" is not decided by when we get medicare. We all feel younger than our age because spirit does not age. She gives an example of someone who finds joy in helping girls in Nepal escape domestic bondage and how that gives her eternal youth.
As a final note, she says jubilación is retirement in Spanish. Retirement is a jubilation, a celebration. Because we have paid our dues and have contributed to society, we have choices. She chose to be passionate.
Analysis
The speaker is 71 year old, married, Chilean-American author Isabel Allende. She is considered the "world's most widely read Spanish-language author". "Allende's novels are often based upon her personal experience and pay homage to the lives of women, while weaving together elements of myth and realism," which may be why she is so knowledgeable about life and living it. Her purpose is to influence people of all ages to make choices that will guide them towards a meaningful life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Allende
She uses ethos by mentioning her age, 71, and using other older people as examples throughout the talk. Age is an important aspect of her talk and she puts emphasis on how aging is not a restriction. Pathos is used when she uses the examples such as Olga Murray, woman who works in Nepal who by the age of 88 has saved 12,000 girls, Ram Dass, a man who had a very bad stroke, and Grace Dammann, confined to a wheelchair after a bad car accident. These examples of people who seemingly are in sad/ hopeless situations become inspiring because they are optimistic and appreciate life as it is. It appeals to people who have been in terrible accidents or situations themselves and have begun to lose hope.
She claims that society decides when we are old, "usually around 65, when we get Medicare, but we really start aging at birth. We are aging right now, and we all experience it differently." She challenges how society views aging by saying aging is also about attitude and health. She supports this with an anecdote about Olga Murray who works in Nepal to save young girls from domestic bondage, which makes her happy and eternally young. These points illustrate how aging is defined by the individual rather than the society and by the choices the individual makes. Furthermore, she acknowledges that age has made her lose things but that did not mean that it was all over for her. She says, "What have I lost in the last decades? People, of course, places, and the boundless energy of my youth, and I'm beginning to lose independence, and that scares me." She has also gained much from aging. This includes freedom from having to please anyone, lightness from not carrying grudges, ambition, vanity or any of the deadly sins, fearlessness, and spirituality.
She uses ethos by mentioning her age, 71, and using other older people as examples throughout the talk. Age is an important aspect of her talk and she puts emphasis on how aging is not a restriction. Pathos is used when she uses the examples such as Olga Murray, woman who works in Nepal who by the age of 88 has saved 12,000 girls, Ram Dass, a man who had a very bad stroke, and Grace Dammann, confined to a wheelchair after a bad car accident. These examples of people who seemingly are in sad/ hopeless situations become inspiring because they are optimistic and appreciate life as it is. It appeals to people who have been in terrible accidents or situations themselves and have begun to lose hope.
She claims that society decides when we are old, "usually around 65, when we get Medicare, but we really start aging at birth. We are aging right now, and we all experience it differently." She challenges how society views aging by saying aging is also about attitude and health. She supports this with an anecdote about Olga Murray who works in Nepal to save young girls from domestic bondage, which makes her happy and eternally young. These points illustrate how aging is defined by the individual rather than the society and by the choices the individual makes. Furthermore, she acknowledges that age has made her lose things but that did not mean that it was all over for her. She says, "What have I lost in the last decades? People, of course, places, and the boundless energy of my youth, and I'm beginning to lose independence, and that scares me." She has also gained much from aging. This includes freedom from having to please anyone, lightness from not carrying grudges, ambition, vanity or any of the deadly sins, fearlessness, and spirituality.
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| Antonio Banderas |
Her structure is basically making a claim and then supporting it with stories or quotes from other people. She weaves in stories of older women exemplifying beauty on the outside and well as the inside. She also uses many examples such as the Dalai Lama and Ram Dass. She weaves in humor with her comments about how she sees herself as vain because it's difficult for older women to be noticed in this culture and how she is in love with Antonio Banderas to make the topic seem lighthearted. The style of the talk is very lighthearted and based on her and other people's experiences with aging. Her diction is euphonious, "passionately", "tenderness", "sensual", and subjective. She speaks in an informal way but her words are chosen to illustrate the beauty of aging rather than denounce it.
The end result is that the audience can identify with her no matter what age they are because it is true that everyone is aging. The tone created is a reflective one that is intended to inspire. The reader, who may believe that there are no merits to aging or is scared of it, will begin to see that age is not a setback. It is the attitude and the choices that make life what it is. Anyone can live the life they dream as long as they practice loving and making the right choices. Be more hedonistic, be more vain -- as long as you're happy.
Personal Connections
At first I picked this because, truly, I dread becoming an adult. Even though there is no one right way to age I think she is right in saying that it's mainly the attitude about life and what choices we make that can make aging pleasant. I'm someone that likes to keep improving as I go and I just don't feel like I want to take on all these responsibilities at one time. Another problem I have is having ambition without the motivation to go through with things. I mean.. a lot of people probably go through that but I hope I'll find a way to make ideas into reality.
In relation to Handmaid's Tale, I would never want to be like Offred who lives her life basically in a cage. All she can do is daydream at night, to the point that her daydreams and reality blend together. That must be really damaging to her mental health. I like the idea of having choices and being unique. Instead of age being her handicap I think it was her will that kept her from taking action. She probably didn't even pay attention to aging since her life was the same routine everyday and her only responsibility was to get pregnant.
As far as Never Let Me Go (chapters 1-5) I think it's totally sketch that they're all living together at Hailsham and are clueless as to what is really going to happen in the future. But I guess that would make aging less scary. To some extent it's like they aren't aware of what to be scared of yet so they just live a humdrum existence. Living a prescribed life versus living with freedom to choose... I would want freedom. Even though being told what to do eliminates uncertainty, it doesn't guarantee happiness. Part of life should be making mistakes and making choices, otherwise how would you really know you're living?
This was a rockin' response- very thorough and thoughtful. You truly considered the WHAT? and followed that with the HOW?
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