December 13, 2013
Period 1

“Types of Friendship”

Trust, caring, and respect are the most important characteristics of a good friend. In Nicomachean Ethics, Book 8, Aristotle wrote about three different types of friendships. Pleasure, utility, and characteristic all categorized under friendship, but each one has contrasting requirements to fulfill. Emma, the movie, demonstrates each type of friendship that Aristotle illustrates. Emma Woodhouse and Frank Weston demonstrate the friendship of pleasure. Mr. Elton and Augusta show a friendship that would be under utility. Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Knightly show the last one, known as characteristic friendship. In Aristotle’s view, he has three types of friendship. Every other one has something different that defines itself from the other friendships. One of the type friendships there are is pleasure. A pleasure friendship is based on the company of each other. The second type of friendship is utility, which is a friendship that one person uses another person for a specific purpose. Aristotle says, “friends for utility dissolve the friendship as soon as the advantaged is removed; for they were never friends of each other.” The last type of friendship is characteristic friendship. This friendship has an intrinsic value, in which you want something good for the other person that does include both friendships of pleasure and utility.
In the movie Emma, a girl considers herself a matchmaker for the people. Emma Woodhouse made a friend named Harriet. Emma thought Harriet would be a perfect match for Mr.Elton, but she doesn’t consider that they’re both of different classes. Harriet was asked to get married by the Mr. Martin, which she said no. Although the Mr. Elton and Harriet matchmaking didn’t work out for Emma because later on Mr. Elton confessed his love to Emma and she denied him. Which lead him to leaving town and go marrying women named Augusta. Emma later on met Mr. Weston’s son Frank, who came by for a visit. With Franks visit, Emma was enjoying herself around him. While Frank and Emma were getting along, the secrete of him being engaged to Jane was kept quiet. Emma was confused on her loved life, but when Mr. Knightly told Emma he was leaving, she realized that she loved him. When he came back, Emma told Knightley that she does feel the same way he feels about her. At the end Knightley and Emma are engaged, Harriet is asked again by Mr. Martin to marry him. Jane and Frank are still engaged but are now publicly about it. Everything that Emma did changed her into being a better person.
The friendship in which one enjoys each other’s company in the presence is pleasure. Supported by Aristotle’s criteria, Emma Woodhouse and Frank Weston exhibit the friendship of pleasure. When Mr. Weston is always around Emma, his spirit lightens up. Throughout the movie, it was oblivious that they enjoyed each other’s company. Although it seemed Mr. Weston and Emma were interested in each other; Mr. Weston was actually flirting with Emma to cover up his engagement to Jane. At end of the movie, Emma realized that she wasn’t that guy. There friendship changed