William Hazlitt On The Want Of Money Essay

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There are many factors around which our lives orbit. A major factor is the need for money. In “On the want of money,” William Hazlitt uses a bitter tone, long and involved syntax and picturesque diction in order to develop his position on how the need of money controls our lives. Right from the beginning, Hazlitt has a bitter tone in his writing, expressing how the need for money places a burden on a person. By describing the struggles that a person goes through, “sitting at a desk in a public office or marrying his or her landlord,” allows Hazlitt to place a negative stigma on these awful situations. People go to desperate lengths, their lives become nothing more than a means to get by financially. Debunking the glorification of working hard in order to be successful in life, Hazlitt’s tone expresses only bitter resentment from the sad struggles that people have in need to earn money. In addition to his tone, Hazlitt uses a long and involved sentence in order to mentally depict the strenuous struggles that walk hand in hand with the need for money. One massive sentence consumes the bulk of the passage. Through rambling on and on about all of the tiresome, tedious, and taxing situations that people have to put up with, causes Driven into less desirable jobs by the need for money, Hazlitt sets up a vast selection of situations through picturesque diction. In attempt for fame and fortune some bring it upon themselves “To go upon the stage, or try some of the Fine Arts.” Nevertheless, Hazlitt manages to strike a connection to his audience, portraying the failure that comes inevitably with pursuing these kinds of aspirations. Then right in the middle of their fantasy reality hits with a financial situation, and the need for money shoves that person right into an “irksome livelihood by some laborious

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