Distinguishing what you want from what you need can be a tricky procedure. In fact, a lot of people today probably still struggle with it, but a lot of people don’t. It’s likely because they found out what happens when you have too much of one, and too little of the other. There are many stories, fictional and real, that give an example of people learning their needs from their wants by learning how it is to live life without a proper balance of the two, my own included. The Good Life by Tracy K. Smith is a poem about the life of the author regarding how she spent her money for some time. The poem shows what results from binging on stuff that you want. She would spend her money on luxurious dining whenever she got her paycheck, then be hungry until she got her next payday. In her own words, she says, “For the years I lived on coffee and bread. Hungry all the time, walking to work on payday. Like a woman journeying for water. From a village without a well, then living.
One or two nights like everyone …show more content…
This is a story of a man who chases gold so much that he makes a deal with a god to give him the golden touch. This err results in him not being able to see from his spectacles that turn gold, or eat food that also turns gold, or even love his daughter who suffers a similar fate as the last two items. The story says, “...he discovered he could not see through them.” (Hawthorne 448), “...which immediately underwent a change similar to those of the trout and the cake.” (Hawthorne 451), and “The moment of the lips of Midas touched Marygold’s forehead, a change had taken place.” (Hawthorne 452). His chase of the gold he wanted made him lose the things he needed, until the god came back and gave Midas a second chance. Although I could have never gone through a time like he did, it relates to the stories of many people who never form a
One or two nights like everyone …show more content…
This is a story of a man who chases gold so much that he makes a deal with a god to give him the golden touch. This err results in him not being able to see from his spectacles that turn gold, or eat food that also turns gold, or even love his daughter who suffers a similar fate as the last two items. The story says, “...he discovered he could not see through them.” (Hawthorne 448), “...which immediately underwent a change similar to those of the trout and the cake.” (Hawthorne 451), and “The moment of the lips of Midas touched Marygold’s forehead, a change had taken place.” (Hawthorne 452). His chase of the gold he wanted made him lose the things he needed, until the god came back and gave Midas a second chance. Although I could have never gone through a time like he did, it relates to the stories of many people who never form a