"The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia" by Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson's The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia is the story of a young prince's search for happiness. Interestingly, he seeks to find happiness away from the valley he is forced to live in - a valley where every care has been provided for, where every need has been met and where no struggle is necessary, and is aptly named the "happy valley". In short, Rasselas no longer is contented with a life of leisure and luxury. He yearns to experience life beyond the happy valley and seeks ways in which to escape. He believes the key to happiness lies out in the world he has, thus far, been denied access to and in his escape companions who have reasons of their own for wanting to leave join him.
One such companion is Imlac, a poet who has traveled the world. What first captured the prince's attention about Imlac was that he "knew the world so well, and could so skillfully paint the scenes of life" (54). …