Response to William Hazlitt's "On the Want of Money"

     William Hazlitt is a 19th century author that wrote the essay, "On the Want of Money". With this piece being only three sentences long, Hazlitt picked his words carefully in order to develop his claim. In the beginning, Hazlitt states that, "...one cannot get on well in the world without money". However, as he develops his essay, Hazlitt argues that although having money is essential for survival, it can also ruin lives as it forces people to abandon their morals in search for more wealth. Specifically, Hazlitt uses words such as despised, rejected, doubted, precarious, irksome, and laborious to describe the life without money. By using these words that have negative connotations, Hazlitt is trying to portray the hardships of a life without money. This is relatable to many as most people are not rich and must work hard in order to survive. In contrast, Hazlitt also explains the hardships of a life with wealth. For example, he states, "...and quit the world without any one's asking after your will". Ultimately, Hazlitt is saying that having too much money will only cause people to truly care about that money. Thus, they will only care and be nice until they get what they want and when they do, they will leave. This portrays the extent people go through to achieve more wealth and prosperity and shows how miserable a life with money is, being only surrounded by people who are attracted to money. Nevertheless, although this piece was written in the 19th century, many aspects of it still remain true to this day. As having money is often associated with having a stable and prosperous job, many people often go into fields they have no interest in, in order to earn more. All in all, it is clear that money impacts everyone's life in one way or another; as it is even strong enough to change a person's views and morals.