Social Economic Divide In America

If you were to discover your house was on fire and you only had time to grab a few possessions, what would you grab? A family heirloom or child’s toy? Money or something worth a lot of money? The line between the two is often blurred so people can say they need things that they really want. However, the inability to differentiate what we need vs. what we want is one of the major causes of the social economic divide in America.

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

Civil Peace by Achebe discusses the period after the Civil War in Nigeria, Jonathan is struggling to survive with his family. He uses what little money he has left to get his bicycle. Jonathan and his family arrive back at their house to see all of the others around it in ruble. He thanks God for everything he has provided. The family works hard everyday to stay alive and is always content. One day, the people are rewarded an extra 20 pounds and Jonathan is ecstatic. That night, however, robbers threaten them and steal the reward. Upon discovering the events of the night, their neighbors pity them but they are just as happy now as they were before, going back to their regular day. While Jonathan could have sulked about all his losses, he rejoiced in all he had received. Even when he was robbed he said that he didn’t need that money so he would still be as content as he had always been. Jonathan never took anything for granted and found more success than others who had greed. People should focus on necessities before worrying about things they