Contextual Analysis
The concept of Utilitarianism by Mill is that an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce the reverse of happiness- not just the happiness of the performer of the action but also that of everyone affected by it. The Rainbow Fish relates to a core notion of basic utilitarianism, the happiness of the group vs. the happiness of the individual. The basic of utilitarian tenets of "The greatest good for the greatest number" and "Maximizing happiness across the population" are easily apparent when reflecting on Rainbow Fish's decision and the consequences (Mill). In the Rainbow Fish's case, theoretically, he was going to be a little less happy if he lost his scales, but as a result his friends will become much happier. In practice, though, giving everyone a scale actually made him even happier. Mill’s theory of maximizing happiness across the population in Utilitarianism explains why Rainbow Fish becomes happier when he shares his scales with the other fish and his perspective of selfishness explains why Rainbow Fish is unhappy at first.
In the book, The Rainbow Fish, there is one of the most beautiful fish in the ocean. Unlike all of the other fish, Rainbow Fish had shimmering, colorful scales. He is asked to share one of his shining scales with a little blue fish, and to which he refuses. All the other fish in the sea leave him alone, and he wondered why. He goes to the wise octopus for advice, and she tells him to give away his scales. Rainbow Fish reluctantly does so, except for one. In the end, he is less beautiful then he was before, but he has new friends and is now the happiest fish in the sea. Utilitarianism, by John Stuart Mill, is an essay written to provide support for the value of utilitarianism as a moral theory, and to respond to misconceptions about it. Mill defines utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness" (Mill). Mill defines happiness as pleasure and the absence of pain. He argues that pleasure can differ in quality and quantity, and that pleasures that are rooted in one's higher faculties should be weighted more heavily than baser pleasures. Furthermore, Mill argues that people's achievement of goals and ends, such as virtuous living, should be counted as part of their happiness.
Mill argues that utilitarianism coincides with "natural" sentiments that originate from humans' social nature. Therefore, if society were to embrace utilitarianism as an ethic, people would naturally internalize these standards as morally binding. Mill argues that happiness is the sole basis of morality, and that people never desire anything but happiness. He supports this claim by showing that all the other objects of people's desire are either means to happiness, or included in the definition of happiness. Mill explains at length that the sentiment of justice is actually based on utility, and that rights exist only because they are necessary for human happiness.
The Rainbow Fish follows Mill’s concept of selfishness. Mill explains that the major sources of unhappiness are selfishness. Rainbow Fish refuses to share his scales. Since he does not share, he loses his friends and becomes very unhappy. By him being selfish, Rainbow Fish does not follow the concept of making everyone else happy instead of just himself.
The Rainbow Fish also ties into Mill’s theory of Utilitarianism by maximizing happiness across the population. Mill believes that people do not desire anything but happiness. Rainbow Fish lost all of his friends because he would not share his scales. He did not want to be unhappy and alone, but he also did not want to lose his scales. As he begins to share all of his scales, he gains his friends back and everyone else is happy. Rainbow Fish thought it would make him unhappy by sharing his scales, but it actually made him even happier. Mill admits that the willingness to sacrifice one's happiness for that of others is the highest virtue. Furthermore, he says that to maintain an attitude of such willingness is actually the best chance of gaining happiness, because it will lead a person to be tranquil about his life and prospects. Mill also states that a pleasure is of higher quality if people would choose it over a different pleasure even if it is accompanied by discomfort, and if they would not trade it for a greater amount of the other pleasure. The Rainbow Fish did just that. He took the discomfort of losing his scales even though he was not getting anything in return. Mill observes that even if the possession of a "noble character" brought less happiness to the individual, society would still benefit. Thus, because the greatest happiness principle considers the total amount of happiness, a noble character, even if it is less desirable for the individual, is still desirable by a utilitarian standard. Mill also observes that the utilitarian's standard for judging an act is the happiness of all people, not of the agent alone. Thus, a person must not value his own happiness over the happiness of others; and law and education help to instill this generosity in individuals. However, this does not mean that people's motives must only be to serve the greatest good; indeed, utilitarianism is not concerned with the motives behind an action; the morality of an action depends on the goodness of its result only. The Rainbow Fish also follows one of Mill’s quotes. "Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness" (Mill). Rainbow Fish did the right actions because his actions promoted happiness for everyone else and himself. By maximizing everyone else’s happiness, Rainbow Fish follows Mill’s theory of promoting pleasure to prevent pain.
The Rainbow Fish follows Mill’s Utilitarianism by following his perspective of selfishness and by maximizing happiness throughout the population. The lens text supports the book by explaining what the Rainbow Fish went through better. Mill’s Utilitarianism gives The Rainbow Fish a completely different perspective. It explains why he decides to share his scales with the other fish and why he was not completely happy when he has all of his beautiful scales. "The greatest good for the greatest number" and "Maximizing happiness across the population" are easily apparent when reflecting on Rainbow Fish's decision of sharing. By sharing his scales he gained all of his friends back and even some new ones. Also, he made everybody that he shared with happy, including himself. He gave up something really special to him to make all of his friends happier. Rainbow Fish followed Mill’s theory by giving something up even though it would give him discomfort and he would not get anything in return. Rainbow fish also follows Mill’s perspective on selfishness. Mill states that selfishness is the major source to unhappiness. That explains why Rainbow Fish was so unhappy when he kept his scales all to himself. The book, The Rainbow Fish, supports Mill’s theory of Utilitarianism. Many people question this book and how Utilitarianism plays in the story. Many people ask was it really selfish of Rainbow Fish to give away something that he treasured. Even though he had many scales, he valued all of them. In order to elevate the happiness of the group, should he really give away something that is rightfully his just to make others feel happy? Is this book saying that if you don't give away your superficial objects, people will avoid and dismiss you? Does Rainbow Fish deserve to choose what he wants to do with his own possessions? One could also argue that the pride and vanity that Rainbow Fish displayed was the reason the other fish didn't like him. Was he just showing off his scales? Should Rainbow Fish have been prepared to share his scales? Would Rainbow Fish have been just as happy at the end of the story if he hadn’t given away his scales? Of course Mill would not agree with any of these questions, but many people disagree with Mill’s theory of Utilitarianism. Even though many people question Utilitarianism, The Rainbow Fish follows John Stuart Mill’s moral theory.