Analyzing Weiner's The Geography Of Bliss

In The Geography of Bliss, Weiner questions whether the happiness of a country emerges from the abstract ideas or concrete items within itself while traveling through Bhutan, Iceland, Moldova, and America. Throughout his travels, Weiner inquires whether each country’s happiness comes from thoughts or ideas such as compassion, trust, and failure or rather from physical, real items such as wealth. Although Weiner never specifically answers whether happiness in each country arises from the abstract or concrete, he hints, within each chapter, that the happiness of a country comes strictly from abstract ideas alone. During his time in Bhutan and Iceland, Weiner investigates each country’s high level of happiness in relation to their abstract ideas such as compassion, trust, and failure and indicates that the high levels of happiness come from the abstract. In Bhutan, Weiner notices the high level of happiness found within the country and suggests it may be from the compassion and trust of its people. In Bhutan, “there is nothing greater than compassion” (63). The Bhutanese display compassion on a daily basis since it correlates with their philosophy on mortality. Anyone and anything could be related to them so kindness must be shown always making happiness a policy within Bhutan (49). Besides compassion, the Bhutanese’s policy of happiness includes

Even though he never specifically answers his questions, Weiner hints that happiness comes from the abstract alone because Bhutan and Iceland who pride themselves in the abstract are the happier countries in comparison to America and Moldova who focus on the concrete. Through this questioning and investigating, he realizes “what’s on the inside is often more impressive than what’s on the outside” which ultimately allows him to make the suggestions he