Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella

2261 Words5 Pages

UManitoba Confessions of Capitalism
“Confessions of a Shopaholic” by Sophie Kinsella is a quirky take on modern consumption trends. The story address some very important themes faced by capitalist societies today. Whilst maintaining a consistent level of humor accompanied with a discreet romantic plot. This novel is about a 25-year-old girl named Rebecca Bloomwood trying to make it on her own in London, England. However, her addiction to shopping is her tragic flaw that leads to her downfall. The book follows her story as she encounters issue after issue as they escalate in all aspects of her life. Firstly she is thousands of pounds in debt from over spending. Secondly, she is ironically a journalist for a financial advisory magazine, which begins to translate into compulsive lying. Eventually everything crashes down and she must reconstruct her relationships, job, and spending habits.
“Confessions of a Shopaholic” begins with Rebecca Bloomwood, the protagonist, reluctantly reading a visa bill, setting the message of overconsumption as the overarching theme. As she goes down the purchase list, she begins justifying each expense and describing the necessity and superficial utility it has in her life. At first the impression is portrayed that she is a victim of the societal culture and pressures. However, as the novel progresses you quickly learn her unfortunate situation is her own doing, and deep down she has the ability to solve each problem. The author captures how life in a capitalist world is depicted as a consumer. In addition, having such a relatable protagonists develops a sense of empathy and understanding in the readers. Through what seem to be fictitious non-issues, Sophie Kinsella has made her target market...

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... Change has to be generational and falls into the hands of children; is a reasonable method to consider? There is the obvious approach of investing in teachers and early childhood education, but what child loves school enough to care. Children love television, movies, and games. From personal experience, many life lessons instilled in me were from the former sitcom Full House. Each episode contained a “moral of the story” and it was demonstrated through real life, relatable examples. I did not have to steal to know it was wrong, I watched Michelle Tanner (character on Full House) do it for me. Perhaps we should invest in generating blockbuster movies and amusing sitcoms to indistinguishably revise cultural norms. Ethics has to be taught and has to be impregnable to carry into the business world and capitalism. Does the future of capitalism rely on Hollywood?

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