As humanity evolved, both
socially and culturally, money has become an important part of people’s lives.
One often finds him or herself in the pursuit of it – to have money means to
have a place to live in, food to eat, and access to most, if not all, necessities
of life. In his essay “On the Want of Money” William Hazlitt, a
nineteenth-century English author, developed an analysis of money and how
people’s lives revolve around it. He has little appraise of money in the essay,
and holds a negative position in its regard. With the use of with the use of
diction, humorous tone, and syntactic strategies, Hazlitt argues that it does
not matter whether one does or does not have money – in both scenarios, the
person will end up unhappy and distressed.
Diction plays an
important role in the development of Hazlitt’s position on money. Words
with negative associations tied to them are used all throughout the
essay. Words such as “scrutinized”, “neglect”, “thrall” and “exile” serve
the purpose of evoking feelings of sadness and vulnerability in the audience,
and since these words are describing money, money itself becomes something
negative.
To develop his position
on money, Hazlitt maintains a humorous tone throughout the essay.
Hazlitt makes several
joking expressions, “to marry your landlady” and “return home with a liver
complaint”. Such use of humor connects Hazlitt with his audience, and as he
proceeds with his argument – the want of money controls people’s lives and
eventually makes them end up in sorrow and regret – it is taken more seriously.
In "On the Want of
Money" , Hazlitt created one long, extended sentence that reaches for over
40 lines. In this single sentence, he describes one effect of money after
the next without slowing down or stopping. Such syntax is symbolic for the
struggle that people face when pursuing wealth – one obstacle after the next,
the negative effects of money, sorrow, disappointment, regret, keep piling up
as the time goes on, and it seems as if there is no end to it.
