Ownership In The Magic Thief

To be perfectly clear: There is nothing in this world that can be truly yours. No item, no memory, no relationship, no skill , no knowledge can ever be yours forever. However, the belief of ownership does exist: Many people believe they "own" such tangible or intangible concepts. This idea of ownership can degrade your moral and develop your character positively, but ownership is inherently a false concept.

Morals across the world vary greatly for a variety of reasons, but it is definite that the degradation of morals will be affected by what someone believes they own. In The Magic Thief series, the main character is a very poor boy who resorts to stealing to obtain food. His morals tell him stealing is acceptable because he does not own

enough to survive otherwise. If he had owned more wealth or a job, then his morals would be quite different, for he would be the one in danger of being stolen from. This moralistic concept can be reflected in some tax systems. Many are arranged in brackets: the poor pay the least if any and the more wealthy one is the more he or she pays in tax. Many poor, who own less, believe it is right to take more from those with more, even if the poor themselves do not contribute to the tax collection. Conversely, the wealthy, who own more, believe it is wrong and unfair that they contribute more of their earned pay while others do not, even if the wealthy can spare more. There is also the stereotype of the "spoiled rich kid" to consider; many believe this stereotype to be true. This stereotype features a young person who has been raised in relative abundance, and therefore does not value the standard moral compunctions of society because they have no need of them. A person's belongings determine what more they need to survive. A person's needs impact what ideas and items they value. A person's values decide what they see as moral or immoral. However, people's situations can change, and they can lose or gain ownership of items or ideas. When one's possessions change, his or her character can as well, for good or ill.

Moral character can be affected negatively by a change of possessions, but that change is not always negative.

In the Greek myth of "The Midas Touch", Midas, a king, learns the dangers of greed when he gains the ability to turn anything to gold. This ultimately leads to him losing the ability to eat, his daughter, and the ability to drink. Midas grows in character as a result: he learns the value of family, human life, and happiness. Total loss of ownership can develop character as well. My community recently underwent this experience during a devastating flood in august. Throughout the catastrophe, many people lost everything they owned, but they still helped each other. The people of my community have developed their selfless and caring character through this disaster. Conversely, an increase in ownership can positively impact a person's character. Many people own a car in America at some point in their lives. Cars can be high maintenance technology and can cause an increase in personal responsibility and duty. The constant care that an old car may require can teach people how to fulfill their duties by having a clear risk to failure. If the owner doesn’t properly take care of an old car, it can cease to function. Pets work in much the same way, but they can be more personal. They can teach humans to form emotional connections that require more care than a simple oil change. Constant care forces humans to get attached. This attachment can cause moral shifts such as the

movements that created PETA. Ownership can develop your character, but physical items can be lost or broken, just like intangible ideas.

The idea of ownership can extend to many things, but in the end, that is all it is: an idea. A person cannot own anything forever. Even intangible concepts like skills or knowledge can be lost. In Flowers for Algernon, the main character slowly loses his intelligence as the cure for his mental disability fails. His knowledge is slowly stolen from him until he is left more disabled than he was to start. His experience is an extreme occurrence of something that happens to everyone everyday. Humans forget; It is a fact of life. Not even your memories are yours: the disease Alzheimer's slowly strips its victims of their memories as they to the point where they are unable to recognize even close family. These victims lose memories they hold dear and aren't even aware of it. People can also lose their valuable skills through a variety of ways: degradation of the body, improvements in technology , and disability. A man can lose his ability to hunt as his sight fails due to cataracts caused by age. A woman's skill in sewing can be rendered worthless and be replaced by a sewing machine. A soldier could lose an arm in battle and his capability to use a gun. This just goes to show that nothing- not your knowledge, not your memories, not your skills - are every truly and completely yours . You can lose them just like any physical object. Nothing you think you own is ever truly yours. Everything you "own" can be taken away, and its best to remember that and enjoy what you have for as long as you can.