The moral of the story is: “It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.”
The End
Shaun David Hutchinson’s novel We Are the Ants is a riveting story which draws attention to the everyday struggles people may face such as depression, grief, and bullying, acknowledges different perspectives to life and setbacks, and includes a little bit of mystery. Although the novel emphasises the importance of understanding that everyone is going through some sort of dilemma, the struggles facing the characters are exaggerated, which is why I rate this book an 8.5/10. The main character, Henry, is abducted by aliens on a sporadic basis, and is given the chance to save planet Earth from an upcoming catastrophe occurring on January 29, 2016 by pressing a red button on a spaceship. However, Henry is heavily bullied by those at his school,…
The tone of this book, however, can be interpreted as judgmental and condescending. Chilton explains that we are all “prisoners of envy” who are “consumed with consumption”, and that our pursuit for material objects makes it very easy to overspend. A significant portion of the book is centralized around exercising discipline and using common sense in order to control one’s spending. With reason, the…
Daniel Akst, in his essay “Saving Yourself”, discusses the need for thrift during the U.S. economic recession. According to Ackst economist Thorstein Veblen developed the theory of conspicuous consumption while economist Simon Patten promoted consumer spending and capitalism as tools of social change. Thrift declined following World War II and the Great Depression due to the promotion of spending as a way of strengthening the U.S. economy. Akst discusses how purchasing second-hand items may be necessary due to economic problems. Akst gives a very informative, descriptive, and detailed article about the spending habits of people. He gives the impression that he really researched this topic. I felt that Akst brings up several good points and is very persuasive.…
IntroductionAnts Formīca are arguably the most successful organisms presently on earth. They evolved from a wasp like common ancestor approximately 150 million years ago(2006 Chuck Lydeard)1. Due to their long ecological dominancy amongst insect and short life span they have undergone a high rate of adaptive radiation. Leading to a reasonably large amount of species and inter- species diversity. There are at least 12000 different species of Formicidae (2008 Edward O. Wilson)2 which have colonised almost every landmass on the planet(Alice S. Jones 2006)3 This unique dominancy and prevalence means that Ants presently account for an incomparable 15 to 20%(2000 Ted R. Schultz)4,3 of the world's terrestrial animal biomass. Formīca exhibit eusociality, they have complex rigid social roles and interactions. They form colonies varying form a few hundred to super colonies with billions of individuals. Ant's prevalence is often over looked due to their size and nature. The time when we most notice their vast numbers is when it starts affecting us; but to put it in perspective there are around 1.7billion ants for every person in Scotland(2006 Edward O. Wilson) 5,6.…
We can still make a difference in the lives of others. As Keri Wyatt Kent said in her book “Simple Compassion,” that to make a difference in our country we need to cut back on our spending. Reasonably, I discover that Americans are frugal based on the followings. First, the presidents’ examples of frugality are to clear our hearts. Secondly, most Americans were the immigrants for the sake of adapting their lives to a new land, they lived the frugal lives. Lastly, the Americans are compassionate, and their sense of generosity reflects the frugal trait. Therefore, frugality is a part of the philosophy of the Americans that we in this country hold dear.…
In "Economy", Thoreau discusses the problem of luxuries and material desires. He encourages humans to steer away from lavish desires, and he leads by example by building his house in a simple manner rather than having multiple floors and halls and rooms. He won't be stressing about paying back loans, making mortgage payments or…
In “Mega Marketing of Depression,” Ethan Watters talks about how culture of depression was evolved in Japan. Steven Johnson in “The Myth of the Ant Queen” talks about the pattern which were used to develop organized complexity. In “The Power of the Context,” Malcolm Gladwell talks about the circumstances which were responsible in changing individual’s behavior. Although, all of these essays are related to each other, culture or community doesn’t determine individual behavior rather individuals determine the culture.…
There are two important decisions we have to make: what do I keep and what do I throw out? Schutza tells how the inability to throw out, due to the emotional attachment, is extremely hard for hoarders (Schutza 254). Dr. Randy O. Frost and his colleague RC Gross supports her as he defines hoarding as the acquisition of and failure to discard large numbers of possessions, which appear to be useless or of limited value (Frost & Gross 367-381). While hoarding is widely frowned upon, everyone, whether consciously or not, partakes of hoarding habits. Asking the question “Do we really need everything we buy and save?” she implies that we have enough, if not too much, when she explains how there was one time when only the wealthy used to be able to afford materialistic nonessentials but now that food and material are sufficient; we have just developed problems of greed (Schutza 256). Frost, Steketee, and Williams defined compulsive buying as chronic, repetitive purchasing behavior, in response to negative events and/or feelings, that is difficult to stop and…
Cited: Fast, Howard. "The Large Ant." 1960. Imprints 12. Toronto: Gage Learning Corporation, 2002. 150-58. Print.…
The intended audience for this essay is both men and women from the age group of 20-75. The geographical location doesn’t matter as long as they have internet they can do all their shopping online. Schutza proclaims that we all have a little bit of a hoarder inside of us because we like to hold onto the small things that we just can’t let go of. “Even the most organized and efficient among us must admit to feeling a bit overwhelmed by the volume of stuff and junk we possess, accumulate, and think we need.” (Schutza 309).…
In 2012, 16259 people in the United States were murdered and another 1.8 million people were sent to the hospital due to assault. Humans resorting to violence and harming others is a daily occurrence, but why? Is it in our nature, are we instinctively violent, and why is it that these acts are not only happening in the United States but worldwide. Although the average person does not leave their home planning on harming somebody that day, under the right circumstances almost every single person in this world will commit an act of violence. Sometimes these acts are justified, such as when we are trying to protect ourselves or a loved one, but what about the smaller acts that we all do every day. Whether it is killing the spider you see crawling on the wall, or the bee flying around simply trying to do its job. We do not see these as acts of violence but in there essence they are. Why is it that our first instinct is to kill them when they are not causing us any harm? Howard Fast builds on this idea within the theme of his short story The Large Ant, where the narrator kills a creature that resembles an ant, purely out of instinct.…
“American Consumerism is not only causing more debts, but it is also causing a sharp decrease in saving”. Due to the desire to get more materials things, the amount of money allocated for saving or in saving to be use in the near future will be diverted towards the purchase of latest and newest fashion design clothes, cars, best food etc. Most people today are not concern about the future or what tomorrow will look like in term of survival, but tend to prove some level of supremacy over others by showing off or bluffing, by consuming materials that cost more money showing to others that they are financially equipped. As such, the amount of money need to be saved will be used up. Jamie Bentley wrote “In 1973, the average amount of disposable income put into saving was 8.6%, in 1994 it was 4.2% by November 2005, it was negative 0.2%.”…
Busybody thought everything was alright until something horrible happened. It was February 27th, no sign of Johnny Dorset. Mrs. Busybody could finally lie down and relax without being disturbed. Everything was starting to seem so peaceful, relaxing, and calm. She was slowly drifting off to sleep. Then, she heard someone yelling as loud as an elephant. Mrs. Busybody sat up to see the worst surprise ever. The terrible and mean Johnny Dorset has come back. She got ran around the house faster than a cheetah. Awe Man! , “I thought I would never see him again”, she said. “Lord, why me? Is this punishment for popping Johnny’s little, red ball or breaking all his sticks so he wouldn’t be able to play that Indian game”, she thought. Whichever one it was please forgive me. All of sudden, a thought struck her head. “I can leave for a few days”. Mrs. Busybody quickly ran to my dresser and pulled out a week’s worth of clothes. What about my two cats’? , she thought. “I’ll just leave them here”. “My cats are missing limbs and ears and they’re beaten up. If they weren’t in such poor condition, I would gladly them with me”. But, Johnny decided he wanted to throw medium sized rocks at them. Poor cats, they haven’t been the same since then. She finished getting her items together. Mrs. Busybody walked outside to the old, raggedy, blue car in the drive way. She started driving and the car started making funny noises. The dusty, slow car broke down in front of a big cabin. This is better than nothing. “At least I’m away from Johnny”, she said with a stupid grin on her…
In summary, Quindlen supports her point of view with examples of American spending habits in the past decades of depression compared to now. She mentions Black Friday and how people become enthralled by cheap bargains (Quindlen 500-501). In Quindlen’s essay, she refers to an accident in which a worker at Walmart was trampled to death by a mob of shoppers and despite the horrific incident people kept shopping (500). With the U.S. depression, Black Friday brings hopes of more money spent, therefore a rise in the markets. The dream of an uplifted economy became unrealistic as people began to realize they could not afford their desirables, not even at a low cost. Today, Americans have an exorbitant amount of credit debt so they can acquire items that they want, without actually paying for them outright, for example, the Chatty Cathy doll Quindlen wanted in her childhood compared to the orange her dad received that had to be paid for (500-501). According to Quindlen, a family having less means they can appreciate possessions more and what they…
Some people live life like it is their last day alive, spending everything. Some other people save every penny they own. Which way of life produces a better life? What should people do with their money? In the fable, “The Ant and the Grasshopper” and the modern fable, “The Richer, the Poorer,” the main characters reflect two opposite views of how to live life.…