Money Made Me Do It

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William Hazlitt believed that "one cannot get on well in the world without money". I believe that mindsets like this are the reason why the statistics of depression are rising from generation to generation. If you know anything about money then you're aware that there will never be a point in your life when you're satisfied, the dream of wealth is a hunger that can never be satiated. And a life built around chasing said wealth is one of a tired existence, for what is wealth? Do really think that you could honestly sit down at one point in your life and say "yep that's enough money for me"
The idea of an opulent lifestyle is romanticized almost everywhere you look nowadays, you can't even go on instagram without seeing a famous musician or actor throwing stacks of money off their yacht with various bottles of champagne scattered around the floor. I mean who wouldn't want to be rich right? But then that begs the question of what it means to be wealthy, is it living a life in your work and waking up early to spend long nights at the office? Or is it never risking being close with anyone out of fear for distraction? Call me old fashioned but I believe that a successful life is that which is lived doing the things you love with the people you love, "but connor" I hear you ask, "Money can help you do and buy the things you love so technically money buys happiness" and to some extent I guess that’s true, but that doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day all of the things you but to make you happy are just that... things. And after the crazy yacht parties and the serial shopping spree, what do you have? In text, I believe no one explains this better than F. Scott Fitzgerald himself. His character Gatsby threw parties for all of the aristocrats of New York to enjoy and after the champagne bottles were empty and the night grew older he was left alone, even after being murdered he spends his funeral not with the crowds of the rich party goers or the corrupt cops but with a handful of the few people who actually cared for him.


People think that wealth is a gift for the taking but it’s more like a mutualistic symbiotic relationship as you benefit from the lavish mansions and the spoils of economic abundance, it robs you of a possible life of real happiness and strips away the very things that make us human. Not exactly a bad thing depending on where your morals are at but it can’t be a coincidence that more and more Musicians and Actors are getting increasingly more depressed and turning to drugs and alcohol, which in most cases leads to their untimely deaths. After reading this, Im curious on just what you believe the true definition of wealth is?
Yours truly
-Connor

Comments

  1. Jessica GeislerMarch 10, 2019 at 3:02 PM

    This was an amazing post!! I wrote about something very similar this week, but you expanded the concept of wealth incredibly here. It really made me think about why we all crave money, and you are totally right -- we most likely will never be happy with how much we have. Great job!!

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  2. Rithvik MohanaranganMarch 10, 2019 at 3:13 PM

    Wow this post really made me think. I love how you used a bit of dialogue as well as how you connected it to "The Great Gatsby." I agree with your definition of wealth because in the end your life is near worthless if you don't have anyone to share your money and luxuries with and nobody that actually cares about you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. molly capelliMarch 10, 2019 at 5:05 PM

    I was thinking of the Great Gatsby when we read this piece in class, so I am so glad you brought it up! I think it's cool how you connected one piece of literature to another and in doing so analyzed them both better! Great Job!

    ReplyDelete

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