Rimsha Asher

Mrs. Belmonte
AP Language and Composition, 3
rd
Pd.
5-30-14
Synthesis: Anger

Anger is destructive when one is consumed in their anger,
allowing it to take control of themselves, their soul, their relationships
with others; however, anger is productive when it is used as
motivation to improve oneself, ones attitude and ones actions.

To start off, anger is destructive when it destroys ones sense of
self. As Fuller acknowledges, He that keeps anger long in his bosom
giveth place to the devil (Fuller 156). When one lets anger take
over them, they are no longer themself anymore, but their anger
itself. Likewise, Aristotle emphasizes, if others do one wrong, they
become irrational and are attended by a certain pleasure to get
revenge (Aristotle 1). It is easy to get consumed by ones anger, and
it is destructive when one overindulges in it, letting it define them.
Moreover, anger is destructive when it is bottled up and starts to
harm you. When one lets anger consume them, they lash out
bitter and self-destructive and are miserable company to those
around them (Barreca 3). Fuller advises, fright not people from thy
presence with the terror of thy intolerable impatience (Fuller 155).
When one is constantly angry, people see them for their anger.
When an individual is so angry that they only think those harmful
thoughts, as though a mantra, and then act destructively on them
hurting themselves and othersit is inevitable and eventual that it
will affect their attitude and relationships with other people,
becoming a dire strain in their lives. When this happens, anger is in its
quintessential dark realm and is patently destructive.

Although anger is conventionally destructive, it can also
ostensibly be a productive factor. When it is used as a drive to
improve oneself, ones life, anger is productive. One needs to Keep
(their) cool and not let anger destroy them (Barry 77). One needs to
learn to control their anger, and not let it become a part of them, or
let it play a role in their lives outside of the boundaries of motivation.
Furthermore, Ehrenreich believes negativity can be positive; there
are those individuals who have something useful to say
(Ehrenreich 637). When anger forces, such as guilt and criticism, are
used as catalysts to reflect on what changes to engender, that
anger has been morphed into making one a stronger version of
themself. An example is when an individual consistently auditions for
a role, but gets rejected with pointers of how to improve their skills;
they use the anger they have accumulated from their rejections to
view their own skills and actions with a critical eye, to seek room for
change/improvement, and ultimately perform competently in the
future.

All in all, anger can be both destructive and productive.
Although anger is predominantly destructive and seldom
productive, where the line is depends on when/how/in what way it
is affecting the person, their life, their attitude and their relationships.






Works Cited
Ehrenreich, Barbara. The Menace of Negative People. The
Bradford
Reader. Ed. X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E.
Aaron. 11
th
ed. Boston: Bradford/ST. Martins, 2012. 634-39.
Print.
Barry, Dave. The Road Warrior. 100 Great Essays. Vol. 3. N.P.:
Longman, A.d. 75-77. Print.
Barreca, Regina. The Fires Within. Chicago Tribune: 10 Sept. 1995.
1-
3. Print.
Fuller, Thomas. Of Anger. Holy State, and the Profane State.
London:
Hardpress, 1841. 154-156. American Libraries. Web. 3 Feb 2014.
Aristotle. Book II. Rhetoric. Trans. W. Rhys. Roberts. New York:
Modern
Library, 1954. N. pag. Internet Classics Archive. Web. 3 Feb
2014.