Do you have a problem choosing wants over needs? If so, you are not the only one! Everyone whether they realize it or not, 95% of the time, chooses their wants, rather than fulfilling their needs. Many people get caught up in the decision of putting their wants before their needs. An example of why people should not put their wants before their needs, is from the short story, “ The Necklace.” by Guy de Maupassant, about a woman named Mathilde, who wants to be nothing short of wealthy, classy, and upper class. Little did she know, she was better off living the way she was, and fulfilling her needs. She ends up getting invited to a ball, and borrows a diamond necklace from her good friend Madame Forister, and realizes by the end of the night that the necklace is gone. “ What’s the matter?” asked Mathilde’s husband. “ The… the necklace… it’s gone” ( Maupassant, 377). …show more content…
In this short story, there is a lot of thinking. It is about a man named Forrest Fenn, who lived in Santa Fe, NM. He went through chemo and radiation for kidney cancer. Being told that there was only a 20% chance for him surviving, Fenn did the inevitable and sold his Santa Fe art gallery. Out all of his artifacts, he decided to use some jewels and other things to put together a worldwide treasure hunt. People from all over the world participate in this, to this day. There is about $3,0000 worth of treasures. Although this can be an exciting adventure, it can also be very dangerous. “ There are dangers involved,” Fenn says. “ Things can complicate the search- earthquakes, mudslides, forest fires, floods, trees, falling rocks” ( Goldsmith, 473). This hunt is at your own risk. You can risk finding the treasures, and you can get hurt, lost, sick. You decide. Many people get caught up in the decision of putting their wants before their
People often confuse the idea of acting in one’s self-interest and of being greedy for the same thing. While they are of a similar concept, there is one large difference. To be self-interested simply means that you seek your own personal gain. Reasonable self-interested behavior is actually a virtue; it acts as a form of motivation for people. Greed, however, is when self-interest is taken too far and it becomes excessive. When self-interest is taken too far, and it becomes greed, it can actually work against your own interests and be self-defeating. Meanwhile, most of the economic activity we see around us is the result of self-interested behavior.
Ever wondered what will happen to others if you got exactly what you want? In the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare portrayed many elements of manipulation to get what one desires. The desires and happiness of Claudius and King Hamlet has led to the downfall of the state and another character without thinking of the consequences of their peers and the state, but minding their own. To obtain happiness you must be selfish and thoughtless of others by being in a state and doing whatever you can as to what makes you happy.
This also parallels the way that society functions at times, where it is perceived that the need of the many outweighs the needs of the few or of the one. While this is sometimes correct, it can often be a road leading to disaster, especially if lives are thrown away or ignored for the sake of a fool's venture.
The Article “Perfection Anxiety” written by A.A Gill illustrates through his findings, that while the means to have everything you desire is by no means bad , neither is it the best. Throughout the article he talks about the phenomenon of “perfection anxiety”, a condition causing it’s host’s feelings of significant ennui, a circumstance found within the abhorrently wealthy portion of the world’s citizens. This psychological disorder is found to occur when the incomprehensibly rich have realized essentially, that they have run out of things to spend their money on, continuing to spend only to appease the ever imposing expectations and judgments of the wealthy.
... act in ways we normally would not. It is then in these action were we fail to stop ourselves to realise the trouble that are to come. I believe that people need to realise that it is not always about who has more or who has the better thing. It is about accepting what you are given by ignoring your wants and accepting your needs.
Coveting is the wanting of not only what you don’t have, but what you can’t have as well. Let’s face it, ultimately, almost everyone covets at some point in their life, but at the end of the day, our happiness comes from within, not from our material possessions. If you spend all of your time coveting for better things, then you are just digging yourself into a deeper and deeper hole of loneliness and disappointment. Inside the story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, coveting negatively affects Mme. Loisel by not only altering the reality of her situation, but her perception of the situation as well.
In “The Necklace,” Guy de Maupassant uses setting to reflect the character and development of the main character, Mathilde Loisel. As a result, his setting is not particularly vivid or detailed. He does not even describe the ill-fated necklace—the central object in the story—but states only that it is “superb” (7 ). In fact, he includes descriptions of setting only if they illuminate qualities about Mathilde. Her changing character can be connected to the first apartment, the dream-life mansion rooms, the attic flat, and a fashionable public street. [This is a well-defined thesis statement.]
Greedy people tend to be less able to determine the gap between what they want and what they need. The story The Necklace by Maupassant tells of a young woman and her husband living at an above average level of wealth. The woman is never satisfied with what her husband gives her, always wanting to be with the high upper class. She decides to borrow a seemingly expensive necklace from a friend but
Those who could have it all seem to focus more on materialistic things that only fill a space of happiness and urge for a second while those who were less advantaged really go out for something that will benefit their goals and what they'd like to do. In the article “Anti-Consumption, Materialism, and Consumer Well-Being”, the authors mention that “Studies also find that materialism inherently shifts a person’s focus onto extrinsic rather than intrinsic goals…”(pg. 22), which goes to show that the higher productivity of intake can come between goals while trying to achieve in life. Consumerism has a way to show the difference between those who would rather have it all just to show and those who would rather work for something real and for things that would benefit them more. Some people would rather have a super awesome car with a nice house and the whole nine yards while others would rather have something more realistic and ethical in life. In some way it’s like who would rather focus on realistic things rather than just be full of materialistic things that just make you known for what you have.There's no right or wrong, but there's different levels to this ring of
You might just as well try to imagine a country where two and two made five. Men have differed as regards what people you ought to be unselfish to—whether it was only your own family, or your fellow countrymen, or everyone. But they have always agreed that you ought not to put yourself first. Selfishness has never been admired.” (Lewis) Now, whether or not people choose to follow
No matter if something is right or wrong, and no matter if something is necessary, the greedy ones will always want something usually a specific and certain thing, despites the complications and/or the sacrifices someone has to make. Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of The Baskervilles, follows the story of a master detective Sherlock Holmes and his helper Dr. Mortimer, as they go on a hunt to track down and stop the threatening Hound of The Baskervilles, which tries to kill the Baskervilles family line. With the first kill of Sir Charles Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Mortimer do all in their power to try and protect Sir Henry, the of kin, from this monstrous beast that
It is said that “everything that shines isn't gold.” A difficult situation can result a vast illusion that is not what one thought it would be, which leads to disappointment and despair. Just like Guy De Maupassant stories, “The Necklace” and “The Jewel.” In the first story, the protagonist, Mathilde Loisel’s need for materialistic fulfillment causes her hard labor which ends her natural beauty. In the second story, the husband Monsieur Latin ends up living a dreadful life due to the passing of his wife and her admiration for jewels. “The Necklace” and “The Jewel” both share many similarities such as the unconditional love each husband haves toward their wife, the necessity each wife haves towards materialistic greed, the beautiful allurement
Several different elements are necessary to create a story. Of all the elements, the conflict is most essential. The conflict connects all pieces of the plot, defines the characters, and drives the story forward. Once a story reaches its climax, the reader should have an emotional connection to the both story and its characters. Not only should emotions be evoked, but a reader should genuinely care about what happens next and the about the end result for the characters. Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace” is the perfect example of how a story’s conflict evolved the disposition of its characters.
Guy de Maupassant, formally Henry-René-Albert-Guy de Maupassant, was a French writer best known for his ability to create short stories (Encyclopedia Britannica). Maupassant had a writing style that was best described as “classically simplistic, clarity and objective calm” (Encyclopedia.com). Maupassant wrote stories that were bold and held subject matter such as that of infidelity and murder, to support themes of lust, greed and adultery. These themes were used to give his works shock value and draw many readers in.
The moral of Guy de Maupassant’s story “The Necklace” seems to be suggested by the line, “What would have happened if Mathilde had not lost the necklace?” If Mathilde had not lost the necklace, or in fact, even asked to borrow the necklace, she and Mr. Loisel would not of been in debt ten long years. Because Mathilde had to borrow the necklace to make herself and others like her better her and Mr. Loisel’s economic situation had become worse than it already was. I think that the moral of the story is that people need to be happy with what they have and not be so greedy.