1. Livia- Character Essay
"No matter how little something is worth, do not waste it." This is a quote from my 84-year-old grandfather. When I enter my grandfather's house I can still feel the lively spirit of my grandfather. Despite his old age, he is as healthy and active as any man in my family. He has a calm temperament, bright, round eyes and a big, but fine-looking nose. Because of his life-long experience coping with adversity, he is a very frugal man who doesn't waste his money. He never throws away his belongings until people cannot define what it is. Even though he is a wealthy man, he is very wise in using money.
My grandfather doesn't like buying new things. He has a pair of broken glasses, which he attached, together with tape so he can still use them. When the sole of his shoe wears out, he rips off the bottom of one of my grandmother's shoes, which she doesn't wear anymore, and attaches it to his shoe so he won't need to buy a new one. If you go to his house, you can find all sorts of antiques because he never throws away his possessions. His belongings which are new are things his children have given him. My father gave him a new television set because his was too old, and I bought him a walkman because his portable walkman was also too old. He never goes out to spend his money on things he already has, no matter how old it is. At first I was very surprised at what he did, but now I am used to it.
My grandfather was born in a very wealthy family. His father had a job which involved holding ritual ceremonies for the king's ancestors, a very important event at that time. When grandfather was young he lived in a 76-room house, which sat next to the king's royal palace. He had over 20 servants that served his family. Grandfather said, when he was a boy, he got everything he wanted. He ate oatmeal, which was very rare and expensive at that time because it was a foreign product. Also, he had clothes that were made of valuable silk, and his family had the money to afford him to send to a university, an expense that was difficult to bear for many families.
But happiness is the same height as man." ... In Zorba the Greek, however, Zorba is always the most joyful man in any scene, constantly dancing and smiling. ... I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. ... And all that is required to feel that here and now is happiness is a simple, frugal heart. ... While Confucius" theory that happiness is found neither above nor below man is mostly valid, it is not that simple. ...
Here the reader is offered an insight into Foster's practical lifestyle and the frugal ways in which he chooses to lead his life. This leads the reader to believe that Foster is poor, but Vonnegut soon turns this idea on its head when the reader learns that Foster has actually inherited quite a large amount of money and clearly lives this frugal lifestyle by choice. ... Horace argues that man believes money defines one's worth and this is inherently evil as it creates nothing but problems. ... Horace uses not only satire, but also humor to explore the absurdity of man's obsessio...
The Plowman is the brother of another character in the book and is a good and helpful Christian man. The second Character the Miller is very dishonest man who is selfish. ... He is described by Chaucer as a rich man whose only goal is to increase his profits. ... " Fit to be stewards of both rent and land of any lord in England who would stand upon his own and lives in manner good, in honor, debtless, or live as frugally as he might desire; these men were able to have help ed a shire in any case that ever might befall; And yet this Manciple outguessed them all.... The Plowman being a hard...
harles Dickens' classic novel, A Christmas Carol, is the story of a bitter old man. ... Scrooge's clerk at his firm was a happy, but poor, man named Cratchit. Though Cratchit always did his work, and never asked for much, Scrooge remained frugal with his money and never cut him a break. ... Scrooge didn't have many friends as a child, and as a result became the horrible cruel man that he was. ...
"Man is the only creature that consumes with out producing. ... "Remove man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and over work is abolished forever (19)." ... Napoleon himself in the end even says, "The truest happiest happiness lay in working hard and living frugally (118)." ...
I lived happily with Herbert and his wife, and lived frugally, and paid my debts, and maintained a constant correspondence with Biddy and Joe." (Dickens 480) This passage shows how Pip's character develops from the ungrateful poor boy he is in the beginning of the novel to the honest, frugal, and content man he is in the end. ...
"Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings" (Proverbs 22:29). This verse from the Bible describes Max Weber's argument of the relationship between business and religion. He basically describes the way Calvinism, a doctrine of the Protestant religion, had effects on capit...
Each man possessed a wisdom that surpassed the times they lived in, but is still evident in today's society. ... Frugal men, Thoreau and Franklin believed that you should not waste things. In specific Ben Franklin believed that one should not waste time, and that one should wake up early in order to get a head start on the day, " Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." ... Finally, each man believed that people should practice chastity. ...