It can be argued whether money does more harm than good. Money allows us to live comfortable lives, but it can also cause purses to be stolen and banks to be robbed. In an excerpt from "On the Want of Money," William Hazlitt believes that although money is a necessity, surrounding your life around money can make it problematic. Hazlitt uses rhetorical strategies to further his claim that money can be a mental weight. He uses pathos to make the reader rethink their life. He says, "to be in want of it is to pass through life with little credit or pleasure; it is to live out of the world or to be despised if you come into it." This elicits feelings of depression and sadness.The reader may think, "Am I wasting my life because it is surrounded by money?" or "Is money ruining my relationships?" Because of money, people are unhappy with their lives. Hazlitt also uses diction effectively to explain himself. He says, "to be a burden to your relations, or unable to do anything for them; to be ashamed to venture into crowds." Words like burden and ashamed have connotative meanings. By using words that have negative connotations, they illustrate the feelings of failure people may experience because they struggle with money. Hazlitt also incorporates imagery. Towards the end of the essay, he paints a life that is ruled by money. The person will grow to be “dissatisfied with every one” but mostly with themselves. People will “crowd around your coffin, and raise a monument at a considerable expense, and after a lapse of time, to commemorate your genius and your misfortunes!” This shows that greed takes over your life, causing it to crumble, and suggests that your death won’t even matter much. Money is good if there is a balance, but too much of can be dangerous.
