A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Happiness Project By Gretchen Rubin

Synthesis Essay In the Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin mentions if money can buy happiness and she discusses how it can bring you happiness. One example that she claims money made her happy is when she had back pain from picking up her daughter the wrong way when her daughter was in the crib. After a month of suffering, she finally went to go see a physical therapist that made it all go away in just two sessions. (16). Unlike most people who would not spend money on a physical therapist or can’t would not have experienced that kind of happiness money can buy. So, this is one of the reasons why she argued that money can buy you happiness. Rubin posted a blog about her new resolution and how she was going to splurge on buying new things,

She discusses that sometimes when you are not happy, you decide to go shopping to seek the happiness you need, but afterwards when you get home that happiness goes away and suddenly “the quick fix of happiness turns into a longer-lasting unhappiness.” (173).

Per a research study in the United States, Rubin mentions that 49 percent of people with an income of over $100,000 dollars were very happy, so this is saying that over half of the people are not happy? Well that just proves that money can’t buy happiness. The people who make a lot of money usually compares themselves to other peers who make more money, therefore leaving them unhappy.

C.S. Lewis discusses in the Pursuing Happiness book on how he agrees with the Dalai lama about happiness. When Lewis explained how Mr. A left Mrs. A for another woman he pursued his own happiness which led to Mrs. A committing suicide. (227). So just like the Dalai Lama mentioned, you should try to avoid the temptations of lust because some of the desires you have will become unreasonable and most of the time leads to disasters and eventually you end up being unhappy.

A and the other woman had a right to be happy, but if their happiness caused a death, did they have the right to be happy? It’s like having a right to be six feet tall when you’re not, or having a rich father when you don’t, somethings just aren’t a right to happiness. Society gives you the right to have freedom, but not to hurt someone, if the law allows you to cheat on your spouse then where does that leave happiness at? In my opinion I don’t think they should have a right to happiness because that leaves them just along the lines of a person who has committed a crime and no society should be built on that kind of foundation. (228).

To conclude my thoughts in this essay, Gretchen Rubin sees happiness in both positive and negative ways. She has discovered both sides of what can make you happy and what cannot make you happy. Although, she is a rich person herself she is a human being just like each and every one of us and I am glad she viewed both sides of this