Since reading Lars Eighner's essay, my views remained the same. I don’t make fun of the homeless people. I feel sorry for them that they lost their job and they don’t have a house anymore. I am not rich, I am not poor; I’m just a middle income. I live in a nice home, I am glad to be with my family, and that is very important to me. Buying some nice clothes here and it is normal for people and everybody does it once in awhile. Buying five or six sports cars is pretentious. People who are materialistic are bad because they can only take care of themselves and they only care about the money. My family is more important to me rather than being rich or poor. Therefore, I live as a middle income in my life with my family and we have been showing that we are not materialistic. My family and I are a middle-income family; neither poor nor rich. I’m okay of being …show more content…
in a middle income and it doesn’t really matter that I want to be rich. My friends are not rich either, we are same as the other people who are not rich. What is really important to me is that I would rather be with my family and friends to spend time together instead of caring myself and being rich. If my family and I were rich, we can only care for ourselves, be greedy, and instead of caring for each other and our friends. If I was poor, my family and I will be finding food and a shelter, but what is really important to me is being with my family. Overall, I care my family and friends, I go with them to spend time, and I am glad of not being materialistic. As being in a normal life, I am part of a middle income. In my neighborhood, they are also part of a middle class. My neighbors were very cordial and do not flaunt their material possessions. My family and I use money that is very important like buying groceries, pay the electricity and water. We buy something that is not important, but it is only just once in awhile and it doesn’t mean that we are not greedy. Once in awhile, we buy to get a new electronic, new clothes, a new kitchen households, and more. My family is financially secure, the way they presented themselves to control our impulse spending, invest in our future, keep my family secure, evaluate our expenses, and live frugally. We're all materialists to some extent, and there are many material goods that are helpful and even necessary to us. We get rid of our stuff that we don’t need them anymore, and we just donate to the poor or sell them in the yard sale. If I’m rich, I will not try to become materialistic, I will spend time with my family, and work with my major. I have a strategy for determining if I really need something fragment, or if this something is simply appealing to my desire for material goods.
Being materialistic is a distraction because it gives us a direction in which we focus our attention and our energy that seems to be attainable. When people become focused on materialism, they’re spending a great deal of time and energy on something that is completely apart from their intellectual and spiritual selves. We may rationalize and claim that if we obtain a certain material object then we’ll be more at peace, but that simply cannot be the case. In Lars Eighner’s essay, “On Dumpster Diving,” he criticizes the materialism of those people who are rich because they are more wasteful and tend to throw out items with no real issues. People who are very rich can live in misery, because their love of money can lead them to lose a person they love, their family can treat them very poorly, and it can lead them to a lonely life. To conclude, we may be materialistic to some extent, but there are many material goods that they can be helpful and it can be necessary to
us.
Lars Eighner's short essay, "Dumpster Diving," reveals the stereotypes about homelessness in America. In order to confirm these known stereotypes about American culture, Eighner includes autobiographical accounts of the economically inferior class, as well as revealing his elitist rules that governs the life of a homeless person. According to Eighner, homeless people fall into the following categories, 'can scroungers', 'Dumpster divers', and 'scavengers.' (Eighner, 1993). In addition, Eighner's blatant demonstration of his superiority to the people he scavenges from reveals his true character of snobbery.
“I rather would be blind than then see this world in yellow, and bought and sold by kings that hammer roses into gold.” (King Midas Pg.462 Para.10) Many think that if they got what they wanted they would be happy, but if the world was all based on malterlistic things and everyone got what they wanted there would be chaos and no feelings just want and people would do crazy things to get what they want. Now a day’s people mistake malterlistic things for happiness. “The necklace”, “Ads may spur unhappy kids to embrace materialism”, And “Thrill of the chase” illustrates examples of materialism and show some base their happiness on it.
Mark Peterson’s 1994 photograph, Image of Homelessness, compares the everyday life of the working class to the forgotten life of the lowest class in society. In the image, the viewer can see a troubled homeless man wrapped in a cocoon of standard manipulated 12in by 12in cardboard boxes and yarn. The yarn is what is keeping the man and box tied to the red bench. This bench has chipped paint and is right in front of a black fence. Underneath the bench is dirt and debris from the dead fall leaves. The center focal point is the homeless man on the bench. He is the focal point because he is the greatest outsider known to man. Behind this man is vibrant life. There is pulsating people crossing the clean street, signs of life from all the advertising on store windows, families walking and blurred cars filled with
Statistically, over 670,000 Americans are homeless with a growing number. 48 million people go to bed hungry every night. Although we do provide shelters and opportunities in America, millions of people are homeless worldwide. Even on a more minor level there are still hundreds homeless within hometowns. Everyday we encounter the homeless whether by seeing them holding their personal signs at stoplights, confronts with beggars, or viewing them from afar under bridges. In her essay titled “On Compassion”, writer Barbara Ascher uses rhetorical techniques detailing some of her personal homeless experiences within the city life, Asher does effectively use logos, pathos,
...This is a very powerful article taking his readers into the world of being poor and homeless, and what people experience every day that could never be imagined. Eighner says in one of his last paragraphs that, “many times in our travels I have lost everything but the clothes I was wearing and Lizbeth” (Eighner 724). He also states that he and the wealthy have the same attitudes about knowing there is more where what they came from. Eighner is so powerful and doesn’t care what others think of him. He is just trying to survive like everyone else. To have such a carefree attitude is very moving.
Essayist, Lars Eighner, in his prize-winning essay, "On Dumpster Diving," discusses his experience as a homeless person. Eighner's purpose is to convey the idea that society needs to be less materialistic and place emphasis on items with "sentimental value" (387). He wants society to not get caught up in materials and live life to the fullest. Eighner creates an informative and educated tone to convince readers that dumpster diving is a honest, not greedy or selfish, "modern form of self-reliance" (386).
...stic things in order to live a better, more sound, and overall healthier life. Juxtaposition makes the audience want to follow through with the purpose. Exemplification causes the audience to realize the extent of their materialistic nature. A definition of the average homeless person’s terms allows him to build his ethos and consequently allow the audience to believe and follow his purpose. A majority of people are a part of the middle class, and this majority tends to judge the poor for their lifestyle whether it be through Dumpster diving or begging on the streets. However, as proven by the essay, these people have no right to do so because the poor do, in reality, have a greater sense of self than these middle-class people, similar to the rich. The middle-class citizens must no longer act the victim; instead, they should be working on becoming more sentimental.
1. The main idea is not only that owning stuff is not the key to happiness, it’s also that consumers today own more than they need to thrive which directly impacts the environment. Hill illustrates the environmental impact by showing statistics of global warming today versus the past century, and how consumerism is leading to a hotter climate. Hill debunks claims of buying happiness by discussing a study where stress hormones spike to their highest when people are managing their personal belongings. Hill’s most prominent example that consumerism is not the answer is himself, as he discusses some of the most stressful times of his life being right after coming into a large sum of money and buying whatever he fancied. When Hill concludes his article, he states that “I have less—and enjoy more. My space is small. My life is big” (213).
...on the homeless community. I previously held preconceived notions that the homeless consisted of people who were either unable to connect and form relationships with others or didn’t desire to do so. Yet, I observed most everyone greeting one another and reminiscing with those who have been absent from the community for a while, as well as, expressing concern for those missing. I recognized that the homeless may live in a non-traditional way, but they have established their own communities and are successful in forming and maintaining cohesive relationships.
I am 29 years old and I come from a lower - middle class family. My
Lars Eighner’s essay, Dumpster Diving, implements his thoughts on materialism and wealth through his actual experience as one of the homeless and conveys his concerns on modern society. That is to say, Eighner provides ethical accounts on people and their obsession over prestigious conveniences as to where they need to focus on the necessities. The author formulates a commendable position in exclaiming that people should not place value on tangible objects but rather what results from the human mind.
With no strong supporting evidence, some people believe those who make an honest living as members of the working and middle class are actually happier. Menezes, a world famous blogger, preached, “you are rich when you have peace of mind, love flowing through you and satisfaction and close friends and family” (p.2). This source would not be credible, however, she is a primary source who knows what it is like to live in poverty. She believes she is at an advantage over those who have “wealth beyond your basic needs and few luxuries”
We live in a materialistic culture that thrives on having "things." Yes, we must have things in order to live (shelter, food, water, etc.), but the word is misused. Our culture has become so materialistic that we forget what is really important. The "have" mode has almost become the norm, especially with our generation. Even though we subconsciously practice the mode of “being,” many people do not realize it which makes it difficult to appreciate life and all the aspects of “being.” “Because the society we live in is devoted to acquiring property and making a profit, we rarely see any evidence of the being mode of existence and most people see the having mode as the most natural mode of existence, even the only acceptable way of life” (Fromm 25). Majority of people want to be as successful and rich as possible that this idea takes over their mind and eventually lives. Every young person is obsessed with “fitting in” and having the latest and greatest items. This attitude causes adolescents to lose sight of what is important and lose touch with their emotions. Our culture needs to begin to think less about material items and being rich and more about his/her emotions and what it means to be truly happy. It is important to focus on the “bigger picture” and how one must become the best person he/she can be to benefit
This is a thought-provoking book about the pursuit of material goods. Kasser is not a preacher, but a scientist. He presents his evidence carefully, and concludes that materialism is a game not worth playing even on its own terms of promoting human happiness.
Acquiring things like houses and cars only has a transient effect on happiness. People’s desires for material possessions crank up at the same, or greater rate, than their salaries. Again, this means that despite considerably more luxurious possessions, people end up no happier. There’s even evidence that materialism makes us less happy. People don’t shift to enjoyable activities when they are rich.... ...