Free An Analysis If “Je Regrette” By Carina Chocano Article Review Sample

A lot of elderly people will tell you, don’t live your life with regrets. When we are young, we don’t really know the meaning of the word. It’s not until we get older that we begin to feel the weight of what regret actually means. However, knowing the meaning of regret isn’t always a deterrent for stopping regrettable actions. In her article entitled “Je Regrette”, Carina Chocano proposes that people dislike regret because it is a direct link to failure, and that it stretches their comfort “with the limits of [their] personal control.” The purpose of this paper is to examine those arguments and decide whether or not to agree or disagree with the authors reasoning.
Regrettable actions cause problems for everyone. But do we, as 21st century people, really lament our regrets? It seems rather silly to express the sentiment of regretting to regret something. On the surface it makes absolutely no sense, but what happens if we dig a little deeper? Carina Chocano seems to think that Americans are pre-conditioned to avoid the emotion of regret. She asserts that feeling regret is to admit to defeat or failure. As such, I find it difficult to believe that with that thought process that Americans would continue to make regrettable decisions. If I don’t want to feel the emotion of regret, then would I not in turn make sure that I do not make regrettable decisions? If control is what people seek in order to avoid the emotion that is tied to regret, then it makes more sense for them to control the actions that would lead to regret. In other words, if I don’t want to feel that loss of control, then would I not therefore control my actions?
In her article “Je Regrette”, Chocano states: “There is always something we can do today to avoid regret tomorrow.” I agree with this statement however, there aren’t to many people who live their lives this way. Observation alone shows that people live more in the moment than they do thinking about what tomorrow brings. For instance, take a look at your social media account. In it there will be more than enough friends status updates that include one regrettable decision or another.
In conclusion, we look at the question of whether or not our desire for control over our lives is the real reason why we dislike regret. I am of the opinion that more and more people are testing the waters of life. They are creating bucket lists that require courage of action more than well thought out planning. People are the decisions they make, but in one form or another they are also emotional. Chocano seems to feel that people are more calculating than they actually are. I can agree that people have a tendency to try to avoid making regrettable decisions, but I cannot agree that they actively seek to avoid it. For the most part, 21st century people are living in the moment and are not trying to rationalize what is coming tomorrow.

Works Cited

Chocano, Carina. “Je Regrette.” Aeon. n.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.