The Illusion that Money Brings Happiness - 803 Words

Some would say we are slaves to our primal urges, shackled in our endless pursuit of gratification and shaping our very existence around them. We gravitate towards the things in life that bring us pleasure, and recoil from those that cause us pain. People always show a feeling of wanting everything their way, as to wanting something. Just like everything else there are always limits. In order to obtain these things that people believe will bring them happiness, many go over the line. Many believe that with money they can have anything they desire. Though it may be true to an extent, sometimes the desires eventually turn into greed and people lose some of the most valuable things life has to offer. Focusing on the illusion that money brings happiness may have an unexpected turn later down the road. For instance, when someone reflects on how money would change their sense of well-being, they would probably think about spending more time in leisurely pursuits such as traveling abroad. But in reality, they would have to spend a large amount of time working and less time engaged in experienced happiness. Robert H. Frank says in his book Luxury Fever: Money and Happiness in an Era of Excess: â€Å"Even among those who can easily afford today’s luxury offerings, there has been a price to pay. All of us- rich and poor alike, but especially the rich- are spending more time at the office and taking shorter vacations; we are spending less time with our families and friends; and we haveShow MoreRelatedF. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby Essay1295 Words   |  6 PagesScott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, The Great Gatsby, accurately re-creates this time period yet criticizes the changes of societal attitudes and its values that occurred, making Fitzgerald the first â€Å"American writer to write seriously about money and the effects of money on character† (Bruccoli). 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