How To Obtain Happiness In The Mosquito Coast

Happiness is a mental or emotional psychological state of well-being. In the novel, The Mosquito Coast, the development of modern society influences a brilliant but unstable family to pursue life abroad in Honduras. Soon thereafter, the author explores the manner in which different individuals approach their contentment. Theroux illustrates that the pursuit of one's desires can deliver happiness within their life. Allie, the protagonist, derives his satisfaction through his connection to the natural world, and in doing so, he imposes his ideals on others. His efforts though, are to no avail and his instability becomes apparent in times of adversity. In other words, individuals can attain happiness through their personal pursuits or with the

The protagonist valued his connection to the natural world far greater than his connection to the “savage country” America had become. Allie was somewhat incensed in America because he was subjected to rejection on multiple occasions for his ambitions. He was often referred to as a man with “crazy schemes” who needed to be more obedient and not “waste [anyone's] time.” His dissociation from America also evolved from his early belief that people “eat when [they're] not hungry, drink when [they're] not thirsty. [They] buy what [they] don't need and throw away everything that's useful.” This very thought encapsulates Allie’s “delusional” outlook of the modern world that fueled his yearning desire to pursue life abroad. Consequently, Allie’s direct objection to the developing world through his actions of leaving enabled him to be free of the afflictive and “controlling country” he lived in; he “could not bare to see the things he [hated] destroy the country he loves.” Allie was able to escape the fears he developed in America; he believed there were “Ten year old homicidal maniacs on every street corner… and that people [would] [stick] knives in [his] ribs” because of this, the idea of change satisfied Allie’s aspirations. In the final