Walking with Friends...

I think “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light,” says it best when considering our dependency on other people. This quote is saying that going blindly through something with a friend is better than to know exactly where you are going but going there alone. In other words this quote is describing a journey and it could be an emotional journey, a physical journey or even a hypothetical journey and even though you may not know where the journey will take you or how you will get there, if you have a friend you will be ok. And going blindly through this journey with a friend is far better than being able to anticipate what is coming and how you will get there having to get there by yourself.

This quote is by Helen Keller and knowing that, it can take on a whole other meaning. To me in this case it means that Helen Keller would rather be blind and have a friend to go through life then to be able to see, but have no friends. Keller is physically walking through the dark, and with no amount of light would she give up her friends. It is important to understand that even though Keller is “walking in the dark” physically, it is also mental. She is on a mental journey of the mind it is extremely difficult, so having a friend with her to aid her in that journey is also crucial.

I also think it is important to realize that this quote mentions nothing about actually finding an end, because many have heard before that it is not about the destination, it is about the journey. And think in a way this quote is sort of rewriting that. The ones who think only of the destination are likely to go about it in the light and alone. But those who value the journey and learning on the way would rather be in good company regardless if they are fully aware of where there steps will take them.

I think the word choice is also very important in this quote. I like the choice of the word “walking” because to me it is more of place holder for anything you would want to insert there, and it really could be any number of things, it is left up to the interpretation. It could be interpreted by saying “Traveling…,” “Growing…,” “Learning…,” or maybe “Exploring…” It allows the imagination of the reader to turn this saying into whatever he or she needs it to be. Walking in the dark does not get solved by being with someone else, but it makes it easier to figure things out when you have two people there. So instead you have two blind people putting their heads together trying to sort through this “dark” place. In the second part of the quote “light” signifies and end or solution, and that it is “better” to not know where you are headed or how to get there as long as you are with a friend then it is to know exactly where you are going and how to get there but to be alone.

People are dependent on other people. Nobody’s life is fulfilled unless they have friends that help them or are helped. Inductive reasoning is used in this quote by showing us how to go through life. From past experiences it has shown us that we rely on other people and nobody can or even should be or act alone.

The tone of this quote, I think, is empowering. It shows that why should anyone have to go through life alone, when you in reality it is much better to have a friend to assist you and for you to assist them. The sacrifice of knowing where you are going is worthwhile and necessary when comparing whether to have friendship or to be alone. It is inspirational and one is wise to follow it. The diction of this quote is important, because in order to induce a tone of empowerment, the words need to be understandable to greater audience and something that people can relate to, so it does not have a high diction and I think it makes it easier to relate to in that sense. Many people have a lot of pride and think they are capable of doing things alone, and that’s ok if you know what you are doing. But think about whether or not you really do know what you are doing because what if you ended up walking through the dark alone.