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The relationship between wealth and happiness
The relationship between wealth and happiness
Relationship between wealth and happiness
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Even though “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell and “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence are very different, they both display characters with a desire for more than what they are given. Lawrence’s character, Paul, wants luck mostly for his mother. Paul believes that if he can bring more money into the whispering house then it will stop. Connell’s character, General Zaroff, gets bored with the hunt of regular game so he creates own game to hunt. Paul insists that he will become lucky for his mother since she and his father are not. All the children listen to the house whisper “there must be more money” (Kennedy & Gioia pg. 174). The mother is a materialistic person that thrives on keeping the look of her high social status. …show more content…
Paul asks his mother, “Is luck money, mother?” (Kennedy & Gioia pg. 174). Because his mother demonstrates that she is not happy without material things, her son believes that to make the house stop whispering he must provide her with the money to satisfy her materialistic values. Paul knew that when his mother looks at him she “the felt the center of her heart go hard” (Kennedy & Gioia pg. 174). Paul wanted his mother to love him. What he did not understand was that bringing her luck would not change things. Paul and his rocking brought him more money that only made the house whisper louder and louder each time. He did not understand that his mother was not happy because she did not have the money, but because she felt as though she was forced into the life she had. A life that did not suit her high-class expensive …show more content…
They both wanted more and more. Overall, there is a thin line between satisfying others selfishness and satisfying your own selfishness. Both situations can hurt you if you are not careful. Philippians 4:11-12 (NIV) says, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty of in want.” We need to learn to not be like Paul or Zaroff. We need not to satisfy others or to be selfish ourselves. But to be contented with what we have because God will provide for us when the time is
While Mama is talking to Walter, she asks him why he always talks about money. "Mama: Oh--So now it's life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life--now it's money. I guess the world really do change . . . Walter: No--it was always money, Mama. We just didn't know about it." Walter thinks that the world revolves around money. He wants to believe that if his family were rich they would have perfect lives. This isn't true though, and Mama knows it. She knows that no matter how much money Walter has, he will never be happy unless he has a family that loves him. Before Walter goes out to invest in the liquor store he has a talk with his son. "Walter: You wouldn't understand yet, son, but your daddy's gonna make a transaction . . . a business transaction that's going to change our lives. . . ." Walter thinks that this transaction will make their lives better. What he doesn't realize is that he already has a good life and he doesn't need more money to make him happy. He should be grateful for what he has instead of worrying about money.
Paul suffered setbacks and dilemmas because he never knew his mother as she died around the time of his birth. Therefore he is lacking the maternal guidance of emotional stability that every child needs to grow mentally. Paul is withdrawn from society, and he resorts to the arts and music to feel comfortable and free from his disassociation and sense of loneliness. One should not be confused and believe that his father was not loving or caring of Paul because his father did what he could to support Paul and to do all he could to get Paul out of problem situations. He just was not very keen on Paul's needs, especially his manners or clothing. The narrator described Paul's clothes as being "a trifle outgrown, and the tan velvet on the collar of his open overcoat was frayed and worn" (67). Men are not the gender who is as observant and uptight about people's attires. Men tend to desire less than women do, and this was inflicted upon Paul since it was his father who was overseeing Paul's limits on material well-being. It takes more of a female's point of view to judge if something looks perfect, and Paul and his father did not have this type of direction around. A master of Paul's noticed "what a white, blue-veined face it was; drawn and wrinkled like an old man's around the eyes, and stiff with nervous tension . . ." (69). The wrinkles apparently came from the stresses that ruled Paul. HE was constantly dealing with the pain of no mother and his nervous tension was that he knew how he did not fit in with all the other boys his age. He lacked the maternal stability and reassurance that most children had in order to be string mentally and emotionally. This stood out when he was aro...
Those similarities and differences can be found anywhere when comparing and contrasting, especially when it is over two genres with a main topic. In the case of The Most Dangerous Game, the short story was more descriptive, informative, and did not stray far from the central theme of everything has feelings no matter what someone may think. “You have one the game.” Rainsford did not smile. “I am still a beast at
In order to sustain her indulgence for the finer conditions, her hunger for moneys grows so much that even the house whispers about it because there is never enough. Hester's anxiety over wealth affects her children to the point they feel as if they can hear the house constantly saying they need money: "And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase: There must be more money! There must be more money!" (Lawerence 411). Children feed off their parent's energy. In the mother's constant state of distress, Paul feels trapped by the overwhelming cries that flow throughout what should be his safe haven. In an attempt to quiet the voices, Paul secretly gives money to Hester to be distributed over a span of 5 years. Unappreciative of this
Paul in “Paul’s Case” wanted to get away from the reality and the hostile environment he faced. He was sick of Pittsburgh and the middle-class, Cordelia Street, which he lived on. Although his mother past away, his home life was as normal as could be. This is something Paul hated, normality. At school he would tell other students false stories to try to make his life seem more interesting than theirs. This ultimately caused none of the other students like him, even the teachers lash out at him. Paul was suspended from school, but he didn’t mind. He found an interest in music and in art, although he knew his father would not approve. Paul’s father wanted him to be a business man, have a normal family and have an ordinary life. Although, having a normal, ordinary life was not what Paul had in mind for his future. He dreamt of much more which caused him to believe he would never get his father’s approval.
In ‘Paul’s Case’ Paul has created a fantasy world in which he becomes entranced, even to the point of lying to classmates about the tales of grandeur and close friendships that he had made with the members of the stock company. This fantasy falls apart around him as “the principle went to Paul’s father, and Paul was taken out of school and put to work. The manager at Carnegie Hall was told to get another usher in his stead; the doorkeeper at the theater was warned not to admit him to the house” (Cather 8). The fantasy fell apart further when the stories he had told his classmates reached the ears of the women of the stock company, who unlike their lavish descriptions from Paul were actually hardworking women supporting their families. Unable to cope with the reality of working for Denny & Carson, he stole the money he was supposed to deposit in the bank to live the life of luxury in New York. Only a person who felt backed into a corner would attempt something so unsound. After his eight days in paradise, he is again backed into a corner by the reality of his middle class upbringing, and the dwindling time he has before his father reaches New York to find him. The final way out for Paul is his suicide, for which an explanation would be “In the end, he fails to find his security, for it was his grandiose “picture making mechanism” that made his life so deardful.” (Saari). With all the securities of his fantasy life finally gone, his mental instability fully comes to light as he jumps in front of the train to end his
...ft who is actually honest. To Paul, the ultimate place in life is to be a part of the upper class. Paul had to try very hard, and be very dishonest, to convey a certain image so that he would be accepted as a part of that class. At this moment, since the best place to be is the upper class, and if one must be dishonest to achieve high social status, Paul wonders how there can be anyone in the world who is honest because everyone should be striving to be a part of the upper class. As far as Paul is concerned, his deceitful measures were an acceptable means for achieving his goal.
Paul's father is a single parent trying to raise his children in a respectable neighborhood. He is a hard worker and trying to set a good example for his son. His father puts pressure on Paul by constantly referring to a neighbor, whom he feels is a perfect model for his son to follow.
In D.H. Lawerence's short story, “The Rocking Horse Winner”, and Grahm Greene's “The Destructors, there are many truths to consider. Although these two stories are considerably different, the message is the same. Whether in a life-like story, such as “The Destructors”, or a fantacy, like “The Rocking Horse Winner”, the seeds of materialism are planted and nourished in lives of the characters. The aspects of materialism in these two stories develop desired conclusions by its characters. In order to understand the similar message of Greene short story “The Destructors” and Lawerence's “The Rocking Horse Winner”, one must scrutinize the various aspects of each story.
Paul surrounds himself with the aesthetics of music and the rich and wealthy, as a means to escape his true reality. In Paul’s true reality, he has a lack of interest in school. His disinterest in school stems from the alienation and isolation he has in life. This disinterest in school reflects Paul’s alienation because of the unusual attention he receives there that he doesn’t get at home. In class one day he was at the chalkboard and “his English teacher had stepped to his side and attempted to guide his hand” (Cather 1).
In the beginning of the story, Paul seems to be a typical teenage boy: in trouble for causing problems in the classroom. As the story progresses, the reader can infer that Paul is rather withdrawn. He would rather live in his fantasy world than face reality. Paul dreaded returning home after the Carnegie Hall performances. He loathed his "ugly sleeping chamber with the yellow walls," but most of all, he feared his father. This is the first sign that he has a troubled homelife. Next, the reader learns that Paul has no mother, and that his father holds a neighbor boy up to Paul as "a model" . The lack of affection that Paul received at home caused him to look elsewhere for the attention that he craved.
In the story The Most Dangerous Game a character named General Zaroff has a passion for hunting. He has been hunting since he was born. He has hunted every animal known to man, but, then he gets tried of hunting the same animal over and over. So he discovers a new animal human flesh. General Zaroff is person of bad character because he is cruel, cowardly, and untrustworthy.
At the beginning of this story the family did not have enough money to support their opulent lifestyle. Mr. Lawrence illustrates their situation like this: "Although they lived in style they felt always an anxiety in the house. There was never enough money." (p. 159) The family scrambles to pay the bills at the end of the month. An unspoken phrase "Whispered" throughout the house, "There must be more money! There must be more money!" (p.160) the whispering said. Even though the family had money, they wanted, they needed, more.
In "The Rocking Horse Winner" D. H. Lawrence tells us about the traumatic downfall of an upper middle class family struggling to maintain appearances through habitual overspending. Both the parents with common jobs and "expensive tastes" (pg.646) exploit all their resources to give their family the best; however, it was only to retain their high status in the society. "The Rocking Horse Winner" depicts a common demon we all face; greed, society's need for more possessions and money often drives people to do drastic things.The magnificently decorated house had always been haunted by the unspoken phrase, "there must be more money" (pg.646). "Nobody said it aloud. Just as no one says: We are breathing! In spite of the fact that breath is coming and going all the time." (pg.647) "They heard it at Christmas, when the expensive and splendid toys filled the nursery. Behind the shinning modern rocking-horse, behind the smart dolls house, a voice would start whispering: There must be more money!"(pg.646).The house cried with pain as it pitie...
Does the house really murmur for more money and does the rocking horse really for tell the Paul the winning horse? Those questions are overlooked at the beginning but become more and more true at the end of the story. This superstition is created in this house. Paul’s mother believes in superstition and convinces Paul of it. The mother explains to Paul, “If you’re lucky you have money. That’s why it’s better to be born lucky than rich” (1224). This drives Paul to be lucky. His most important tool is his rocking horse. This superstitious object is described in lots of detailed. In some ways, it is described as a living creature as Paul rides it to the winner of the horse race. The men in Paul’s gambling group know this wrong and should probably stop. The addiction of winning and becoming rich force them to not do so. The more money Paul wins the more the house screams of pain. This pain traps Paul in his own identity. In the end, the identity eventually wins and claims life life of the boy. The old family addiction struck