“The Dark Night of the Soul” is a chapter in the book Writing at the End of the World by Richard Miller. In this chapter, Miller gives many examples of how reading and writing help the world, and he asks questions about whether literature and its teachings bring about change in the present. Miller says, “Why bother reading and writing when the world is so obviously going to hell? » (Dark Night of the Soul 433). I think this is the best statement to sum up what Miller is trying to get across. Why read? Why write? Is it going to matter in the end? Does this really help anyone? These are all questions that arise for the author when reading this chapter. What is the dark night of the soul? It's a term used to describe what might be called a collapse of the perceived meaning of life, an eruption in your life of a deep sense of meaninglessness. The internal state is in some cases very close to what is usually called depression. Nothing has any meaning anymore, nothing is of any use. Sometimes this is triggered by an external event, perhaps a disaster, on an external level. The death of a loved one could trigger it, particularly a premature death, for example if your child dies. Or you had built your life and given it meaning, and the meaning you had given to your life, your activities, your achievements, where you are going, what is considered important and the meaning you have given to your life , for some reason. , collapses. From a religious perspective, I believe it is best described by St. John of the Cross as “the journey of the soul toward the divine union of the love of God” (Perrine). The darkness represents the trials and difficulties that the soul encounters in detaching itself from the world and reaching middle of paper...... page of their books and trying to live our lives with their teachings in mind. The importance of having a good support system that we all create is of paramount importance and the effects of not creating such a system could be disastrous. Our future, our confidence and even our self-esteem can all be affected by not creating our own motivation or not having the rock so to speak, always being there to help us get through it. Rather than avoiding difficult situations in our lives, we should go through them, because avoiding them will undoubtedly only make the situation worse. Getting through the situation may not always be the path of least resistance, but in the long run it can prove to be a very important decision. If what motivates each of us is reading, writing, movies, or music, I hope we can all find it and put it to good use, and that we can become better people because of it..