Emily J's Analysis of "When Nice Ain't So Nice"

Emily Johns
Honors Writing 150
A Critical Analysis of When Nice Ain’t So Nice by Elouise Bell

In an essay written by Elouise Bell titled, When Nice Ain’t So Nice, Bell explores reasons behind her theory of why being nice is not always nice. Giving examples of crimes committed by murderers, rapists, and child molesters, Bell claims that most crimes have been committed by seemingly nice people. Bell uses logos and diction to effectively convince the reader that it is not always nice to be nice and that it is okay to show other emotions.

In the first paragraph of Bell’s essay she writes, “The problem is that Nice can be dangerous.” She immediately after informs the reader that more crimes have been committed by people with a “mask of niceness” than all the “ski masks,” meaning crimes that consist of the criminal wearing some type of physical mask to hide their identity. Using logic the reader will agree that people that are more dangerous are those that you do not immediately associate danger with. Bell uses the example of masks to clearly state that people that do not hide their identity are those that are the most dangerous.

Giving examples of many criminals that were and are considered “nice” people excluding the criminal act that they performed, Bell was able to make clear the difference between the “nice” criminals and those that were not so nice. The criminals that Bell included in her essay are known for the brutal crimes they were responsible for. The reader, using logic, is unable to disagree that point. The examples of these “nice” criminals help prove Bells point that crimes are not only committed by people who are obviously angry, violent, or mentally insane. Crimes are committed by your neighbor, teacher, best friend and family member. People that seem to be “nice” and completely put together are the ones that, Bell hints at, should be the most looked out for.

Bell gives the example of college students. While being at Brigham Young University she noticed that majority of the student body believed that if they were nice enough to the professor that in return the professor would be nice enough to give them a good grade. “Niceness in some students’ minds fulfills al obligations that one might otherwise expect to see paid in the coin of effort, intelligence, and results.” This meant to Bell that students in college seem to believe that the way you act towards each other and the professor should make up for any lack of hard work or intelligence that is necessary in receiving a good grade. By using the example of college students in an essay published to be read by college students, Bell was able to reach a personal aspect of the reader. Because the reader expected to be a college student, they will be able to identify with the example of the college student being nice to get a better grade. Whether the student agrees with this argument or not, they are able to relate to it and may be able to see it in other students if not themselves.

The example provided by C.S. Lewis, who says that courage is the virtue that protects every other virtue, Bell is able to use this theory to further explain her own. Bell explains Lewis’ theory of the protected virtues but then gives her own theory. Believing, with the same logic as Lewis, that niceness is what can corrupt every virtue. “Niceness edits the truth, dilutes loyalty, makes a caricature of patriotism. It hobbles Justice, shortcircuits Honor, and counterfeits Mercy, Compassion, and Love.” By capitalizing the first letter of specific words puts an importance on each word used. Bell’s diction is clearly displayed in this example. The reader is able to realize that the words beginning with a capital letter are important to the author and therefore should be important to them as the reader. The way that Bell uses the words in capital starting letter is her way to make their importance clear. Her theory is using the same logic used by Lewis and therefore should make perfect sense if the reader uses logic as well.

Being nice is something that is taught at a young age in the home to children. Bell brings in the psychologist Alice Miller’s thoughts to explain that being nice is part of this century. Children are taught to be docile, subservient, and obedient to the parent. Miller calls this the “poisonous pedagogy.” She explains that is teaches children to simply be nice, no matter what. This teaching sticks with children as they grow to become adults. Bell states that she can see this in the “nice people” all around her in the way that they act when they disagree and wish to not be so nice. She claims that these people are nice when face to face but hostile if they do not know the person to whom they disagree with.

She then goes on to explain that being nice is not solely taught in the home but it is taught as part of our culture. She calls this a “cultural mandate” and that a man’s dark side is sent into hiding and that women are not supposed to have a dark side. Culture has made it seem unacceptable to be anything but nice. It is expected for someone to be nice even when someone is not nice to them. This pressure leads to suppressed anger and other emotions that when they finally surface, it can be in an extreme way, such as with the criminals spoken of earlier. This is just another example of how Bell writes in aim of the readers’ logic.

Pathos is another way that the author expresses her thoughts for the reader to understand. She does this when she speaks of when saying that, “the creed of niceness does damage to the Self, to the soul.” Aiming for the readers emotions using words like self and soul, Bell was able to get to the emotions of the reader. Going further in using pathos she associated “demons” with pride, sloth, envy and avarice. She called the less obvious ones as “pastel despots” which included conformity, busyness and niceness. Associating these negative terms with being nice and that they can have the same effect causes the reader to search themselves and acknowledge what their own “niceness” has done.

Never does Bell argue that being nice is a bad thing. She does not support treating people poorly or doing things that are in any way opposite of being nice. The point of her essay is to acknowledge that being nice is not always being true to one’s self. She explains the journey that we must all take to get to true self authenticity. Suppressing certain emotions or self expression will only hurt that journey to finding ones true self. This is another way that Bell used pathos in her writing. Bell’s knows that the reader will begin to think of themselves when reading this and that is her goal. Making the reader not only aware of the effects of being nice on those around you and society but also what it can do to your own-self really gets to the core of the readers emotions.

Knowing that most of the readers of this essay at Brigham Young University are Christian, Bell includes a “Nice Creed” written for the Christian confession of faith. This state’s very strict rules to what being nice should be. When reading these rules, one would feel as if they are being instructed to have no opinion, feelings or way to express them self. This further explains Bell’s point that being nice ain’t so nice.

Towards the end of her essay, Bell goes back to the beginning of the world. She uses the example of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. She states that a world where everyone was just “nice” Adam should not have taken a bite of fruit but should have instead remained “nice.” To end this way is almost poking fun at the concept of being only nice. Because Adam was not “nice” and partook of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, there is a world today. While being nice is good, it is not the only way to be. Bill’s encourages the reader to be in touch with their feelings and to be able to express them freely. Even if it is not always so nice, it will help in the path to self discovery. In closing, Bill calls being nice the Great Imposter because it is being puffed up in one’s own vanity. There are other emotions to have and to express so being nice ain’t so nice.