Dione 1

Jack Dione

Professor Beadle

ENGL 115

17 September 2019

Is Happiness for Sale?

​It seems dystopian that happiness is evidently the easiest emotion to profit off of. ​Nearly

every commercial for any household item, department store, or family sized sedan advertises

excessively joyous actors on the brink of euphoria when said product is introduced .​Currently,

mental health is the foremost topic of discussion with an emphasis on happiness, or lack thereof.

Countless authors will attempt to justify or explain how to be happier, why one isn’t happy, or

why unhappiness may be beneficial. In articles such as, “What Suffering Does,” by David

Brooks and in , “How Happy Are You and Why?” by Sonja Lyubromirsky, authors will make

exceptionally convincing arguments using mostly ethos and logos. Although, in the article,

“Living With Less, A lot Less,” Graham Hill uses mostly pathos and logos to clearly make the

most compelling argument because of his relevant personal experiences, his ability to connect

and sympathize with the reader, and his use of credible statistics that truly establish his

argument.

Unlike the majority of articles written about happiness, Hill layers his piece with personal

experiences and events where he realized happiness isn’t a material item. Rather than statistics

and studies the majority of readers will gain significantly less from. The intended audience for an

article focused on happiness is generally readers trying to find happiness, and they tend to
 Dione 2

resonate more with a more personal and relatable author, rather than statistics and diagrams.

Throughout Hill’s article he exercises his ability to connect with the audience ​using​ pathos.

Especially when he goes into detail about his habits and mannerisms, seemingly giving the

audience one-on-one advice, “I have more time and money. Aside from my travel habit - which I

try to keep in check by minimizing trips, combining trips and purchasing carbon offset - I feel

better that my carbon footprint is significantly smaller than my previous super-sized

life,”(Hill311). This method is exceptionally more effective than the arguments of Brooks and

Lyubomirsky because of its relevant appeal to the reader. ​Hill’s personal advice can be easily

digested and put into action by the reader,​ while the data in Lyubomirsky’s article serves more as

background knowledge. The excess amounts of statistics and case studies in Lyubomirsky’s

article actually hurts it effectiveness. Lyubomirsky’s article is significantly longer than Hill’s

because of its inclusion of these studies, but lacks by inefficiently asking the reader to try to

better their lives, instead of offering advice and attempting to help the audience l​ike Hill included

in his article.​ ​It’s evident that ​the concluding sentence of this article clearly sets a defeated theme

for the reader, “(...) you must know that a genuine and abiding happiness is indeed within your

reach, lying within the 40 percent of happiness pie chart that’s yours to

guide,”(Lyubomirsky196). However, Hill’s personal experiences have the ability to uplift the

reader and benefit them personally if they take his advice.​ Along with the inclusion of his

experiences,​ Hill takes a clear stance against consumerism in his article and mentions how

cutting out the excess spending and overall accumulation of material items can improve one’s

mental health, “My life was full of love and adventure and work I cared about. I felt free and

didn’t miss the car and gadgets and house; instead I felt as if I had quit a dead-end
 Dione 3

job,”(Hill311). Hill’s comparison of owning an excess amount of material items to working a

dead-end job clearly shows the mental strain of owning products you don’t need, and shows how

easy it is to change one’s happiness.

Throughout his article, Hill reveals his uplifting personality and becomes someone the

audience can trust and resonate with using pathos. His personal experiences serve less as stories

and more like guides to the reader, showing how simple it can be to substantially improve one’s

mental health. Hill is also a remarkably successful entrepreneur, but​ puts an emphasis on​ how the

lack of material items in his life and time spent with those he loves was the main source of his

happiness. Hill mentions that even once he fell out of love, the mannerisms he picked up have

clearly extended his happiness farther than any material item could, “The relationship with Olga

eventually ended, but my life never looked the same, I live smaller and travel lighter,”(Hill311).

It’s evident that Hill is living a substantially happier life than he was before, not because of the

success of his start-ups or his new belongings, it’s because of the less stress he encounters ​with

the lack of material items in his life​. The content of Hill’s personal experience is relatable to the

majority of his readers, the act of falling out of love is experienced by almost everyone. ​Hill’s

ability to live a minimal but fulfilling life,​ even during times of hardship, shows the reader that

his advice is beneficial at any point in life. He explains how simply getting rid of excess items

and going out and exploring new places can make you significantly happier.​ This information

pushes the audience to feel motivated and change their potentially unhappy lifestyles.​ Hill’s

effective use of pathos clearly outshines Brooks’ excessive use of ethos. Brooks believes that the

lack of happiness builds character and is essential for becoming a well-rounded, sympathetic

individual. Rather than attempting to get out of a rut and rid yourself of potential stressful items
 Dione 4

during a rough patch, you learn from the suffering and come out as an evolved individual, “The

suffering involved in their tasks becomes a fearful gift and very different than that equal other

gift, happiness, conventionally defined,”(Brooks287). Brooks is saying that it is commonly

known that one can gain through happiness, but the act of suffering allows you to gain a

previously unorthodox perspective or understanding of others who have also suffered. Although,

Brooks raises a fair point, it is counter-productive to wallow in suffering in times of hardship.

While suffering does allow one to sympathize with others, it is best to minimize time spent

suffering and throughout his article Hill offers multiple ways better oneself.

Along with the abundance of personal experiences, Hill also uses multiple credible

sources and studies to further his position. Hill’s use of logos clearly differs from Lyumbomirsky

because, Hill uses studies that relate to and consist of regular people. A study from U.C.L.A

called, “Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century,” was included in Hill’s article in order to

show the audience that it was common that while encountering possibly unnecessary personal

belongings, stress levels increase. “(...) researchers at U.C.L.A observed 32 middle-class Los

Angeles families and found that all of the mothers’ stress hormones spiked during the time they

spent dealing with their belongings,”(Hill310). The importance of this study is clear, every single

mother encountered more stress while dealing with some form of personal items. If the time

spent dealing with said objects was contrarily spent spending time with their family or working

on a hobby, they would’ve ​most likely​ had a less stressful day. With less time spent stressing

there is more time for personal growth and happier experiences, ​Hill’s inclusion of this is to

show ​how nearly everybody can get stressed out just by dealing with a material good. Hill also

includes a study from Northwestern University conducted by Galen V. Bodenhausen that found
 Dione 5

out the same mannerisms that take place with a consumer mind-set parallel those in social

disengagement, “In a recent study, the Northwestern University psychologist Galen V.

Bodenhausen linked consumption with aberrant, anti social behavior(...)people show the same

problematic patterns in well-being, including negative affect, and social

disengagement,”(Hill311). Hill includes this study because the link between excess consumerism

and the lack of social interaction is something the majority of the readers were unaware of. Most

people buy unnecessary material goods in order to fit into a certain norm or to own symbols of

wealth, usually under the impression that this will make them feel happy. The result of buying

these irrelevant items is quite the opposite, more time is spent dealing with these “necessities”

rather than enjoying everything else.

As it can be clearly seen, Hill had the most effective method of strengthening and

executing his argument by creating a personal bond with the reader, sharing his experiences that

directly related to his argument while making him a credible source, and using other

distinguished sources to credit is views. While the other authors took a different approach and

had credible arguments, it’s evident that Hill’s method was far more superior.
 Dione 6

Works Cited

Brooks, David. “What Suffering Does”​.Pursuing Happiness,​ edited by Matthew Parfitt and

Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martin’s, 2016. Pp. 284-287. Print.

Lyubomirsky, Sonja. “How Happy Are You and Why?”.​Pursuing Happiness, ​edited by Matthew

Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski;​ Bedford St. Martin’s​, 2016, pp.176-197. Print.

Hill, Graham.​ ​Living With Less, Alot Less.”​Pursuing Happiness, ​edited by Matthew Parfitt and

Dawn Skorczewski; Bedford St. Martin’s, 2016. Pp. 308-313. Print.