Seneca Essay; Critiquing Practice

Bold: Supporting argument in each body paragraph

Underline: Thesis and supporting quotes in each body paragraph

Red: Opposing statement to prove thesis statement is an opinion

In life, when a person experiences something traumatic or enjoyable, they express emotion.  This emotion is a way to not only express feeling on the experience, but also deal with the experience itself.  It is believed, however, that emotions are better off not being expressed at all, and that focus and success in life is only achieved by going through life without any emotion towards things one encounters.  These beliefs are collected in a philosophy known as stoicism.  Stoicism is the belief that, when confronted with hardships, one must control one’s emotions; the events surrounding the death of Seneca are a perfect illustration of stoicism in action.  Given the definition of stoicism, which is the belief that when confronted with hardships, one must control one’s emotion, Seneca’s attitude and actions during the events of his death clearly did not demonstrate the philosophy of stoicism.

            Stoicism is demonstrated in The Death of Seneca is many ways.  Tacitus states, “Seneca, quite unmoved, asked for tablets on which to inscribe his will, and, on the centurion's refusal, turned to his friends, protesting that as he was forbidden to requite them, he bequeathed to them the only, but still the noblest possession yet remaining to him, the pattern of his life, which, if they remembered, they would win a name for moral worth and steadfast friendship.”  Here, Seneca is being told that he has been sentenced to death.  Traits of Seneca that majorly demonstrate stoicism are illustrated in this excerpt.  After being told that he was sentenced to death, Seneca did not react as he was probably expected to react.  If someone was told they were going to die, they would express many different emotions in response to this, rather than just moving on right away and continuing with their lives.  Seneca, however, did the exact opposite.  He did not seem to mind that he was being sentenced to death, or at least he did not explicitly show it.  He was worried about his will and what his friends would get of his after his death.  Even when being told he was going to die, Seneca continued to demonstrate stoic qualities.

            During his execution, Seneca failed to show any noticeable signs of pain and suffering.  It was as though he kept it all bottled up inside of him.  “Even at the last moment his eloquence failed him not; he summoned his secretaries, and dictated much to them which, as it has been published for all readers in his own words, I forbear to paraphrase,” Tacitus says.  Instead of showing his pain and other emotions that are expected during a forced death such as this, Seneca called in his secretaries and dictated something to them.  Substituting the natural reaction to such an experience was the passive and indifferent attitude of stoicism.  Even when faced with a terrible and horrifying experience, Seneca still managed to portray extremely stoical values.  This shows that one must demonstrate stoicism in all experiences one encounters.