William Hazlitt On The Want Of Money Essay

In his essay “On the Want of Money” William Hazlitt draws comparisons between unpleasant circumstances and how they’re brought forth by the want of money / greed. There seems to be many unconnected pessimisms throughout the essay but they all relate to each other represented by the similarities in sentence structure. Hazlitt uses parallel structure to convey the idea that negative circumstances are united under one root cause: greed.
Hazlitt draws an ironic connection between the want of money and negative situations. He states “to be in want of it, is to pass through life with little credit or pleasure, it is to live out of the world, or to be despised if you come into it” connecting how various mindsets regarding wealth ironically result in negative outcomes for those involved. His repetition of “is to” is to unite the statements under the notion of being in want of money. Hazlitt’s use of parallel structure unites many unconnected indignities under the overarching theme of a want for money. Hazlitt labels these negative situations as synonymous with greed, stating that they simply are to be in …show more content…
”It is to be compelled to stand behind a counter, or to sit at a desk in some public office, or to marry your landlady, or not the person you wish.” Hazlitt connects the two ideas with parallel structure by his repetition of “to” in each statement. The similarities in sentence structure convey to the reader that all are similar because of one uniting force, the want of money. Most of the excerpt has a similar structure, stating how the want of money is “to be ashamed to venture into crowds; to have cold comfort at home; to lose by degrees your confidence and any talent you might possess” amongst other things. Hazlitt uses extended parallel structure to symbolize the idea that many of the bad things in the world are brought forth by the want of