Essay about Material Possessions - The Path To Happiness?

In the esteemed collection 50 Essays, the editors recognize Lars Eighner’s On Dumpster Diving through his capability of heightening the degree and compelling concept of dumpster diving etiquette. Eighner redefines words such as “Dumpster,” by making it its own proper noun, which brings a sense of formality. He cajoles the reader’s perspective towards Dumpster diving in a positive outlook by referring it as an art and that it’s not anomalous for “respectable employed people...find something tempting sticking out of a dumpster” and “brag that they found this or that piece of trash” (108). Eighner exposes the audience the truth behind homelessness; however he also depicts that not all homeless people are winos causing trouble in the neighborhood,

Lars Eighner represents the thousands of homeless people that have simply fallen victim of financial struggles, holding strongly onto his respect for others, his community, and himself, despite the difficulties he faces. According to Eighner’s website, he spent time at the University of Austin, Texas studying creative writing, which is clear through his writing techniques and narrative style. However after falling on hard times, Eighner ended up homeless. While homeless in the late 80’s Eighner composed the essay “On Dumpster Diving.” It need not take long for one to find his purpose in writing the essay. Dumpster diving and homelessness are deeply connected to a notion of poor life choices, mental illness, and substance abuse. And while Eighner doesn’t deny that many people he encounters are “winos,” Eighner’s purpose is to represent dumpster diving, in sense, as an art; reclaiming homelessness as “a modern form of self reliance.”

As Begley “When people buy something they try to pay as little for it as they can” (p. 1). Therefore, I agree that money sometimes can bring happiness while there are a lot of things which people cannot have it with money. The author states that people enjoy when they get something on sale, and they feel happy when they spend less money for. Also, the author mentions how money can affect people who are poor and give them happiness; however, rich people gather money to increase their wealth. Sharon also writes about the survey, which how people consider their happiness.

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.

Ownership is the act and state of having something in control or possession. Aristotle claims that owning tangible objects help to build moral character, while Jean-Paul Sartre proposes that ownership extends beyond to include intangible things such as skill or knowledge. Different objects can have varying effects on the development of self identity, leading us to who we grow as a person. A sense of self can be a reflection to what we own, whether it is a tangible or not. Ownership of intangible and tangible objects play a vital role for the growth of self identity, as it teaches crucial morals in life to develop personal character.

I agree that money leads to happiness because if you don't have money you can't buy things, you can't go out and do things like go on vacations and do things just to have fun.

Other purposes that Eighner may have written this essay include: a how-to guide on Dumpster diving, a memoir of his experiences, and a look on how people’s wastefulness support the homeless.

Homelessness is increasing every year and effecting Americans of different age, ethnicity and religion. In Lars Eighner “On Dumpster Diving” he explains what he went through while being homeless. He describes how and what foods someone should be looking for and to always be conscious of what one is eating because there is always a reason why something has been thrown out. He continues to go into detail about other items that can be found in the dumpster like sheets to sleep on and pieces of paper to write on. Things that can keep him busy through the day. Eighner carefully explains to his readers how being a dumpster diver has become a life style for the homeless and this is how they survive. It’s a way of living and they are comfortable

The author has also made intentional attempts to persuade the audience through the use of logical statements backed up by evidence. Eighner has started the essay by introducing how he viewed dumpsters as valuable objects. He then gives reasons why he is depending on dumpsters for his food. Being out of the workforce, he had no means of acquiring meals. He thus seeks refuge to the dump sites to get what he described as discarded and perfectly good food items. To support his position, Eighner informs his audience that this decision followed his inability to buy food as the little money he had was used to pay rent. He writes, “I put almost all my sporadic income into rent. The necessities of daily life I began to extract from Dumpsters” (Cite). Hence, he is able to convince the audience that his actions were as a result of saving money for rent.

Although at first he was not homeless, he still dumpster dived to survive. Eighner uses a calm tone throughout the whole essay. With using this tone causes the reader not to feel sympathetic like normal people would feel when they hear about

Often, the things people consider to be valuable have the ability to influence them. For instance, one who values their family is likely to base important life decisions on the impact they would have on his or her relatives. People who value money are known to engage in risky behaviors, such as gambling, in hopes of making a profit. The books we read can have this same power. Books that have value, or merit, are not only able to entertain but also leave the reader thinking about the issues the book discusses long after they've set it down. These pieces of literature leave a lasting impression on their audience for both their artistic storytelling and the impacting message they leave behind. Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible displays

Summary and Response Essay “On Dumpster Diving” In the essay “On Dumpster Diving” Lars Eighner describes the wastefulness of Americans, how they view the poor, and how to stay safe while living the life of a scavenger. As he travels the streets with his companion Lizbeth he scavenges through dumpsters in search of the necessities of life. There are many people that are homeless in need of food.

What does it mean to own something? An individual may own something that has more significance to the item than meets the eye. This subject has encouraged prominent thinkers to learn more about the idea. This has entered a very fascinating way of thinking that has even perplexed the astounding minds of Plato, Aristotle, and Jean-Paul Sartre. This is why owning something has more significance than may be thought, tangible goods are detrimental to a person's character, ownership of tangible goods helps to develop moral character, and ownership extends beyond objects to include intangible things as well.

"How to Mark a Book" by Mortimer J. Adler is an essay over the author 's belief on the importance of marking or writing inside a book. Adler 's primary purpose is persuasive. He writes to convince the reader to partake in writing in one 's own books when reading to become more efficient. Adler 's secondary purpose is expressive because of the way he describes his least favorite type of reader: "There are three kinds of book owners. The first has all the standard sets and best-sellers - unread, untouched. This deluded individual owns woodpulp and ink, not books" (17-6).

Landau states that “more money does not necessarily buy more happiness, but less money is associated with emotional pain” meaning money is materialistic and in the long run will not effect long term happiness (Landau 2). Money will buy you something materialistic that will be temporary in your life but after time fades you will eventually get bored until you find something new although it might have left you with some good memories and experience.