Analysis Essay:
People in the world today are consuming more than what they need. The material needs of current populations are on the rise as a result of lifestyle, economic status and the number of convincing advertisements on the various media outlets. People seem not to be contended with what they have and there is the urgent need to add more to what they already have. Some of these materials that people are obsessed with include electronic appliances, gadgets, toys, clothing and food among many others. It is quite puzzling how people would want to buy more things and yet there are no apparent needs that they aim to satisfy. As a result majority of these goods usually end up in dumpsites as waste. More and more food is ending up in dumpsites while there are millions who still go to bed in hungry stomachs. More goods may mean happiness for many people but this is usually not the case. These goods end up not being used only filling up people’s houses. The one key point that Quindlin, Eighner and Wallace as seen in “Stuff is not Salvation”, “Dumpster Diving” and “Commencement Speech” would agree on is that human beings should possess less of the material goods that many of us have lately become obsessed with and focus more on mental things. The three pieces are against consumerism. It is evident in these literary pieces that the less people consume the better and the happier they are, rather than have plenty that ends up as waste.
In “Stuff is not Salvation”, Anna Quindlin is bemused by the current world’s obsession with material goods that do not make sense in any way. Quindlin poses the question “why in the world did we buy all these?” She cites the example of the worker at Wal-Mart in Valley Stream that was trampled to death by bargain hunters the day after thanksgiving. She further fails to understand how shoppers who were mesmerized by the cheap electronic products and discounted toys kept on shopping way after the announcements to clear the shop were made (Quindlin 1). The addiction to consumption by a majority of the Americans qualifies to be a sickness. It seems that a majority of the Americans cannot to do without the amount of junk they continue to purchase year in year out. It is noted that Americans change their phones not because they are worn out but because they are out-dated. The problem of excessive consumption of these material goods can mainly be attributed to advertising and the various payment systems that have been on the rise including credit cards. In the olden days, goods could only be purchased in cash, but in recent times, there are credit facilities that are aimed at equipping the consumers with these products. Online markets such as eBay have even made the purchasing of these goods simpler. These days even seven year olds can be able to buy themselves as many toys as they want. Where we are headed as a world is a place where there would be a lot of waste being generated which will contribute to environmental problems such as pollution, global warming and climate change.
Quindlin is further puzzled at why people would buy a lot of clothing that they would not use or why there is the need of having flat screen televisions in bedrooms or three cars. She quotes that “If the mall is our temple, then Marc Jacobs is God” She notes that all these stuff does not lead to salvation and yet many people have not realized it. The happiest people, for a fact, are the people that have less of these goods. Quindlin gives the example of a family in Pennsylvania that raises bees for science, for honey and for fun. The mother of that household sates that the less they have makes them appreciate their possessions more. She states for a fact that she can give the story of each item in her household (Quindlin 2). This shows that what they have has got real meaning which many of us are still trying to purchase.
Lars Eighner on “Dumpster Dining” narrates his period in Dumpster Dumping in the three year period he was homeless. He noted that to eat safely from the dumpsters the following three principals were involved: using common sense to evaluate the condition of the food, knowing the dumpsters of a given area, and checking them regularly and always ensure that the question “what was discarded was always answered?” Eighner found out that there was a lot of wastage of food that was taking place. These foods ranged from candy, crackers, pizza and meat among others. Some people would even go to the extent of maliciously contaminating the food they dumped so as to ensure that the dumpster divers got nothing in the end. This dumping of food shows how much people waste the food they buy rather than just buy what is enough for their families or customers for that case. Students in particular, were notorious with the dumping of goods that were in better conditions. This was so especially at the end of the semester, before and after breaks and after big parties. Goods mainly disposed of range from food, drugs, porn and spirits. The main reason for this dumping was because they did not know if these goods had gone bad. These dumping of goods by students mean that students consume more than what they truly need as the excessive goods they have lack real meaning that is why they end up in dumpsters.
As a dumpster diver, Eighner noted that he could have all he wanted to live a comfortable life. He states that “a dumpster diver has the last laugh having to find all he need” (Eighner 2). It is quite puzzling how a dumpsite could end up with goods which are in good condition enough to make a scavenger happy. This could only mean that people are buying more than they actually need leading to most of those goods ending up as waste in dumpsites. Eighner notes that scavenging yield returns in the same proportion to the effort and intelligence brought to bear (Eighner 7). He further notes that the lands are now filled with cities and cities with dumpsters to a point that scavenging has been a modern form of self-reliance. From his experiences in scavenging, Eighner learnt two important lessons (Eighner 9). One, people should take what they can only use and let others go by. Anything that one cannot use or make useful has no value however fine or rare it is. Some things are not worth acquiring. Eighner state that “some things are white elephants that eat up the possessor’s substance” The second lesson is that of the transience of material being. This means that mental things are more valuable than the material things (Eighner 9). These are two valuable lessons that each and every person in the world need to heed.
In his much celebrated commencement speech at Kenyon College, David Foster Wallace talks about the obvious and important realities that are the hardest to see and talk about. The speech is a blunt expression of the mundane and often depressing adult difficulties faced by Americans. Wallace notes that the banal platitudes can have a life or death existence (Wallace 1). Whatever most human beings are most certainly sure of turns out to be a deluded. Most of us rarely talk about our self-centeredness because it is deemed socially wrong while in real sense it is common among us. A person’s ideas are usually the most important even before those of other are communicated to him. It is therefore important for all people to interpret anything form the lens of self. Those people who can adjust their natural default setting are often described as well-adjusted in societies. The same concept applies with regards to consumption of material goods. Wallace laments people’s spending habits especially in shopping where they buy lots of things that sometimes fail to fit in vehicles. The traffic jams are filled with fuel guzzling vehicles that waste gallons of limited oil. People should carry out self-assessments to determine what their needs are truly are and purchase that which will satisfy their needs to avoid wastage. Wallace states that learning how to think is the learning to exercise some control over how and what you think (Wallace 2). This type of control would greatly help one in his/her adult life. It is important for people to be conscious and aware to choose what they pay attention to and learn from experience. There is always a different way of thinking when it comes to situations such as consumption. It is always wise to analyze needs before making a purchase. Wallace states that if you are aware enough to give yourself a choice, then you can choose to look at things differently (Wallace 4). Wallace further states that if you worship money and things, you will not have enough or never feel you have enough (Wallace 5).This is an unconscious form of worship as a result of default settings in a person. People are at the liberty to do most things but they should uphold the freedom that involves attention, discipline, effort and empathy. Using this freedom, people are able to make wise decisions with regards consumption and buy only that that they require.
It is evidently clear in all the texts by Quindlin, Eighner and Wallace that the overconsumption of goods is not a healthy exercise for both the environment and to our well-being. It is often said that the happiest people in the world do not have most of the things, the make the most out of what they have, this should hold true for everyone. People should only use the amounts of goods suitable to meet their needs and nothing more. Quindlin was right in stating ‘Stuff is not Salvation’. It is for a fact that consumerism only adds problems in this world rather than satisfy most of the needs.
Works Cited
Eighner, Lars. Travels with Lizbeth. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. Print.
Quindlen, Anna. "Anna Quindlen: Why Stuff Is Not Salvation." Newsweek. N.p., 12 Dec. 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
http://www.newsweek.com/anna-quindlen-why-stuff-not-salvation-82837
Wallace, David F. This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion About Living a Compassionate Life. New York: Little, Brown, 2009. Print.
