Two Men Look Out Through the Same Bars: One Sees the Mud and One the Stars.

Cell "Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud and one the stars." - Frederick Lang Bridge

This quote can be interpreted in this way. A human has a choice to improve his life or decide to continue in their negative situation, this is symbolized by the stairs and mud in the quote. Mud in this case can be verify as the negative life it the fact that people often say “someone is stuck in the mud” meaning depressed, also slowing them down and stars can be labeled as being positive, as in to excelling higher to a better stage. Now when they say bars this could me meant as a physically jail, or a mental jail (depression).

In the book The Grapes of Wrath – by John Steinbeck we are introduce to a family who are on their way to a better living in California. Uncle John one of the characters in this book is experiencing a mental break down over a sin he committed. He tells the members that he “Kept her out” (268), he was referring to the 5 dollar he didn’t contribute to the group. He is unable to stop thinking about his sin even though he told the group; people might say this is a form of mental jail. The idea that he sin is keeping him from becoming happy. So by this one might say Uncle John is looking at Mud.

Depression can be considered a mental jail; it keeps your happy/bright side locked inside. Depression the invisible disease “affects nearly 10 percent of adult Americans ages 18 and over in a given year” (www.pioneerthinking.com) It is quite hard to escape depression but if one looks out of the depressions cage to the stars they might have the chance to see something to be happy about, something positive that could give them the keys to the cell and escape depression.

As Humans we never see something from the same perspective. Our points of views are as different as we ourselves. If one is able to look out of your jail and think happy thoughts, you will be looking at stars, but if one keeps thinking in a bad mood all he/she will see is mud.