PROMPT:

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
We are often reminded that acuiring and owning material possessions!money" property" #ewelry" e$en
clothing!will not lead to true happiness. While it is certainly true that material possessions alone cannot
bring happiness or pro$ide us with genuine meaning in life" there is something to be said for ha$ing material
possessions. %ot only can they make us comfortable" but the happiness they can pro$ide" while it may be
momentary" is still happiness.
Assignment: &o material possessions make us truly happy' Plan and write an essay in which you de$elop
your point of $iew on this issue. (upport your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading"
studies" experience" or obser$ations.
Warren Buffet once said, "True success is not determined by the number of dollars
in your bank, but by the number of people by your side." In the modern age of
consumerism, people often forget that material possessions are not the true measure of
one's success and happiness. As the well known adage states, "oney can't buy
happiness". !"amples depicting the idea that true happiness does not come from material
possessions can be found throughout mythology, literature, and personal e"perience.
#ne compelling e"ample of how material possessions cannot bring real happiness
can be seen in the $reek myth of %ing idas. According to legend, %ing idas was
gi&en the chance to ha&e any wish granted by the $reek god 'ionysus. The greedy king
re(uested that e&erything he touch turn into gold. At first, idas was o&er)oyed at his
new power, but he (uickly found that he had cursed himself. When idas reached out to
touch his daughter, she fro*e and turned into a golden statue. All the food and drink that
idas reached for turned into solid gold, and e&entually idas star&ed to death,
surrounded by a mountain of glittering, but useless, gold. This story is a clear illustration
of how material possessions cannot bring happiness to people, and in some cases can
e&en become a curse.
The idea that happiness does not come from material possessions can also be seen
in the classic American no&el The $reat $atsby by +.,cott +it*gerald. In this book, the
main character, $atsby, becomes wealthy by trading on the black market in the hopes of
becoming successful and li&ing a happy life. -owe&er, although $atsby achie&es all of
his materialistic dreams, he loses himself along the way, and in the end $atsby is still
unhappy inside. $atsby is a perfect e"ample of a tragic hero who learns that material gain
does not lead to true happiness.
+inally, the idea that material possessions are not what bring happiness can be
seen through my own personal e"perience. .ast summer I tra&eled to $hana as a part of a
ser&ice learning trip. There, I met many young students whose li&es were entirely
different from my own. They had no I/ods or computers, fancy homes or e&en cars, and
yet each one was happy with their li&es. As I got to know the students better, I reali*ed
that their happiness did not come from what material ob)ects they possessed. I remember
the words of one child in &i&id detail. "I ha&e my family and my friends. What more
could I need0" y personal e"perience on my trip to $hana e"emplifies how material
possessions are not needed for true happiness.
As these e"amples in mythology, literature, and personal e"perience demonstrate,
real happiness is not determined by material ob)ects. Although people are often pressured
to always want more and more, it is clear that these things are not what truly bring )oy
and contentment. As the four noble truths of Buddhism state, the fundamental reason for
suffering is the desire for material ob)ects.