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The relationship between wealth and happiness
The relationship between wealth and happiness
The relationship between wealth and happiness
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Although it has been said that money is the root of all evil, many people actually believe that they would be happier if they were wealthier. Could this be correct? This essay will support the thesis that not only does the pursuit of wealth not lead to happiness; it may actually make us unhappy. Tim Kasser has written an excellent short book describing the scientific evidence relating to materialism and happiness. Kasser gives one striking quotation concerning Jim Clark, the founder of Netscape and other computer companies: "Before Silicon Graphics, Clark said a fortune of $10 million would make him happy; before Netscape, $100 million; before Healtheon, a billion; now, he told Lewis, 'Once I have more money than Larry Ellison, I'll be satisfied.' Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle, is worth $13 billion." Kasser first shows that people who are rich are not necessarily happier than those who are not rich, provided ba... ... middle of paper ... ...ut on the effects of materialism. Regardless of its origins, in America materialism works against happiness. This is a thought-provoking book about the pursuit of material goods. Kasser is not a preacher, but a scientist. He presents his evidence carefully, and concludes that materialism is a game not worth playing even on its own terms of promoting human happiness. Work Cited Kasser, Tim. The High Price of Materialism. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002. 149 Pages.
In “The Real Truth about Money” (2005), Gregg Easterbrook discusses the effects of money on the people’s happiness. He presents his article with statistics of the generation immediately after the World War II and the current generation. He has experienced both generations as he has lived in both and is very familiar with the difference of people’s lives now and back then. Easterbrook is a highly reputed journalist, he is an authorized writer, editor, and professor. He worked with many professional magazines and newspapers; accordingly, he has enough knowledge to write about the people’s happiness in terms of money. Easterbrook has well convinced the readers with psychological facts from university researches and credible
Abigail Williams is manipulative and wants everything to go her way. She is the main character and causes trouble everywhere she goes. The Salem Witch Trials is about hearings and prosecutions of people who were accused of witchcraft. In The Crucible Abigail is a no good villain. Abigail first commits adultery with Elizabeth’s husband. Later on Abigail begins to accuse innocent people of doing witchcraft which causes them to die. Abigail Williams uses the Salem Witch Trials to put out all the resentment she has toward everyone.
Abigail is wicked and confident and is not afraid to take control of situations. This is shown when she is with Parris, Abigail is respectful on the surface but she hides her resentment and disrespect. She talks back to defend her name and in Act One, she suggests to Parris," Uncle, the rumour of witchcraft is all about; I think you'd best go down and deny it yourself." She is also aggressive and forceful, the other girls are afraid of her. When Mary Warren suggested that they should confess to dancing in the woods. Abigail threatens them,."..I have seen some reddish work done at night and i can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!"
The introduction of Abigail Williams sets the stage for how she is treated and how damaging her life already is. The author describes her as, “a strikingly beautiful girl, with an endless capacity for dissembling (Miller 8). Although it doesn't give the exact age, by the year of the novel Abigail is an orphan and has already began to conceal her true feelings. Although Abigail finds a home with her uncle, Reverend Parris, in reality the home is quote unwelcoming. An example of Parris’s inability to establish love is shows in act one, “I have given you a
Set in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, Arthur Miller's The Crucible describes the witch hunt that saw harmless people hanged for crimes they did not commit. The Crucible provides an accurate historical account of the witch hunt, but its real achievement lies in the many important issues it deals with. Miller's concerns with conscience, guilt and justice develop into significant and thought-provoking themes throughout the play. These themes are developed through the characters of Abigail Williams, John Proctor and Deputy Governor Danforth. The Crucible is even more successful when the wider relevance of these issues is considered. This occurs particularly when the themes of the play are examined in relation to the events occurring at the time Miller was writing.
In our contemporary American life we have the desire for things that we do not really need to make us happy. Our commercial world intends to sell us substitutes for the things we truly need in order to be happy. We replace our real needs with things like clothing, furniture, cars, nice houses, and many other unessential items. Many individuals place the blame for an unhappy lifestyle on their occupation, and search out alternatives such as material items. We are happy when we receive things fast, because of our lack of patience, and because we simply enjoy the hassle free lifestyle. Our technological advances have made many things easy for us and it brings us some joy. Examples include that we rather drive than walk, and eat from unhealthy fast food restaurants than cook a meal ourselves. We see advertisements everywhere selling us products to make us happy, however the happiness from sex, food, and excitement are pleasures that are short lived. If we took away all unnecessary items for survival from our society today, could we still be happy? ...
Throughout the story, Abigail Williams is a self-centered, mean, and deceiving person who will always get her way. Many people went through pain and suffering because of the lies she put on everyone's name. She cared about no one except one man, John Proctor. John and his wife
Throughout the years of the Salem witch trials, many horrific events occurred. Events such as when many innocent people were, “tortured until they confessed, and then were hanged” (Jimerson 29). John Proctor is no exception to this horrific event. Proctor is wrongly accused, by Abigail Williams, a young lady from the play, The Crucible, to be involved in witchcraft. In order to show reasons not to blindly follow authority figures, author Arthur Miller transitions the reasons behind Abigail’s actions from lust to self-preservation.
Sandler, Lauren. "The American Nightmare: We Have Everything the American Dream Prescribed, So Why Aren't We Happy?" Psychology Today 44.2 (2011): 70-77. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 20 July 2011.
The Salem Witch trials of 1692 was an event that shaped the history of this country, as well as the lives of those whose wives and husbands were condemned to death. In order for such an event to occur, there must be a set of people who catalyze the event, and others who speak out against it. In “The Crucible”, certain characters help contribute to the rising hysteria of witchcraft, and others contribute to the disapproval of so many wrongful convictions. Throughout the endurance of Arthur Miller 's The Crucible, vengeance and the love for John play a big role in the actions and fates of various characters. Since Abigail Williams is motivated by John Proctor, her decision to lie and accused others of witchcraft resulted in the deaths of many people in Salem by the end of the play.
Wealth is a diverse topic amongst many people, it’s talked about widely and there is a lot of books, journals, and statistics - that I will use in my paper - but were written based on what other people have found to be true. These sources I have chosen to use talk about the factors, struggles, and lifestyle lived based on being wealthy or not.
“The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money.” (unknown). All families are not perfect, they all have problems that they struggle with daily, they all go through tough times that cause unhappiness, but the thought that these factors have no affect on rich people is completely untrue. In Judith Guest’s Ordinary People and Jo Goodwin Parker’s “What is Poverty” both address how two families relationships, happiness and daily struggles are affected by the amount of money they have, which shows that the more money a person has does not necessarily make that person happier.
In addition, money’s effect on an individual’s happiness will be examined, in particular the belief that more money will bring more happiness and how it is not as significant as individuals with less money being less happiness.
..., a person who earns $25,000 is happier than a person who makes $125,000 and an employee who makes $500,000 is only slightly happier than someone who makes $55,000. Lastly, there are more important things in life that and make you happy, for example, friends. They don’t come with a price tag, and if they do, you definitely need new friends. Money won’t make you happy since good times can’t be bought. You don’t need a fancy vacation to have a good time; it’s just a matter of who you spend it with. Over the years, humans have blown the value of money way out of proportion. People make it seem like if you’re not filthy rich, then you won’t live a good life but it’s not true. You can lack money and yet still live a perfect, happy life.
Money and Happiness are two things that we have all given a lot thought. We put lots of effort into these two things either trying to earn them or trying to increase them. The connection we make between money and happiness is strange because they are two very different concepts. Money is tangible, you can quantify it, and know exactly how much of it you have at any given time. Happiness, on the other hand, is subjective, elusive, has different meanings for different people and despite the efforts of behavioral scientist and psychologist alike, there is no definitive way to measure happiness. In other word, counting happiness is much more difficult than counting dollar bills. How can we possibly make this connection? Well, money, specifically in large quantity, allows for the freedom to do and have anything you want. And in simplest term, happiness can be thought of as life satisfaction and enjoyment. So wouldn’t it make sense that the ability to do everything you desire, result in greater satisfaction with your life.