Have you ever wonder how wealth can bring a person happiness and how it can
change a person or does it make that person a better person who was once poor?
Driving to a local grocery store for an example, to buy some food for your
family to eat and at the register, you have a dollar left. So you decide to buy
a lottery ticket and later that night watching TV, you out of million hit the
jackpot which would change your life forever. Or just going to school everyday
and doing your homework knowing that your family poor and have money problem,
you kept up in school and later went to college and getting a master degree plus
a well-pay career bring you wealth. Being poor to wealthy or being rich and
staying rich as a child to an adult, does the wealth usually bring you
happiness? In the novel "Great Expectation," Pip is a character who as
a child become a wealthy person from a poor background family. As he grew up in
a poor childhood, an opportunity came up for him to become rich and surely he
took that opportunity from a secret benefactor which was Magwitch, Pip convict.
Now being wealthy, Pip thought that it would bring him closer to the girl he
loved, Estella. But it didn't. In return, he had more problems personally then
before to face and wasn't enjoying his wealthy life. Wealth brought him to the
path of broken love and change him because if Pip didn't take the job or
opportunity to become rich at the Satis House where he first fell in love when
he saw Estella. And now for him to get Estella, he has to change his old way of
life to a higher class of people like Estella herself to even have a chance with
her.(Chater 8) So according to Pip, wealth doesn't bring happiness, but it
regard only one person only Pip. The way he live in London, he look back at his
childhood and old lifestyle, he realize what a terrible place he grew up in and
was an embarrass to him.(Part II of the novel until the end of the book or
Chapter 20) When Pip was poor, his relationship with Joe was like father to son.
But when Pip became wealthy, the relationship grew further apart until a point
where Pip became a higher classmen then Joe which he was at the low classmen of
people. Looking back now, Pip again realize how Joe was an embarrassment to him
now and that he couldn't socialize with Joe. From what he realize, Pip didn't
talk to Joe as often as he would thought when he came from poor to rich. So
wealthy does change a person and in Pip case, it made him not a better person
but a poorer person especially in attitude. But Pip is only one individual
compare to hundreds of thousands of people. How about what other people
experience other then Pip. Another character in the novel, Miss Havisham who
almost have the same but simliar problem like Pip with wealth, love, and
happiness. Miss Havisham being wealthy herself wanted to get marry with guy who
name is Compeyson, but she thought that the marriage was base on love not money.
She also didn't know that the guy Compeysonwas just after her money not her
love. Her father warn her about this, but she didn't care. When the wedding day
came and everything was set up, the guy she thought she was going to marry stood
her up just as her father warn her. Now heartbroken and mad, Miss Havisham left
everything that day like the wedding cake still on the table til the present
day, molding away. Because being wealthy, Miss Havisham didn't find true love as
she wanted and now so depress from that day, her lifestyle change to a witch
like house. Not seeing the sun or letting sunlght enter her home, she growing
old and wrinkle not having happiness to enjoy. Love was want Pip and Miss
Havisham thought as happiness, but none of them got it because they were
wealthy. In conclusion, so does wealth usually bring a person happiness? To my
oppinion yes it should bring a person happiness because it let what the person
want and desire knowing that they can afford it. It really depend on the person
and what he or she think happiness is and their attitude toward other people
about their wealth. Maybe being greedy or just being a fool falling in love over
the person because of their wealth or their appearence. Money is money whether
you earn it or win it, and it will cause the person who own its problems because
of the way they spend it. But money can't buy true love which is happiness for a
person like Pip or Miss Havisham. But on the other hand, if you found true love
when your poor and become wealthy, the same person that love when you were poor
is true love like Herbert Pocket love life and of course you'll be happy like
Herbert and his love becoming rich. So according to the novel, about 75% percent
say that wealth doesn't bring happiness. But Pip and Miss Havisham are only two
people compare to hundreds of thousands of people in real life. Maybe so, who
really know what wealth will really bring happiness. If you ask me I would say
yes it does for me. Well how can wealth change a person? Its can change a person
in many ways from their attitude to their physical appearence. Wealth can change
a person by making them feel better about life and knowing that what the want
they can get. And does wealth make someone a better person that someone who is
poor? Well once again, it depend on that person. That once poor person who
became wealthy can realize the hardness of life low on money can help out in
many way. Giving away money to buying cloths for the poor. But on the other
hand, wealth can make a person attitude even poorer then before over greed. So I
think wealth does bring a person happiness for a while and it can the person
too.