Crack-Some-Laughs

Are The Rich Happy?

 Leacock, Stephen. “Are the Rich Happy.” About.com. The New York  Times Company, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.

 Written by Stephen Leacock, this essay examines the rich and          whether they are happy.  Referring to personal experience and things   he´s perceived, Leacock criticizes what the rich consider problems.  He mentions that when they lose a servant, it’s a tragedy, and  examining their problems he tries to figure out whether they are  content. Leacock doesn´t clarify if he believes the rich are happy but  it easy to infer that because most concentrate on money issues, they  end up bitter. Even though the essay is not dynamic, there´s a lot of narration, and it´s a perfect example of an important literary device: sarcasm. Stephen portrays his opinion using sarcasm, it all depends on whether the reader gets it or not, but the sarcasm used and some irony is what makes the text worthwhile. Also because he uses personal experiences, the reader gets more engaged in the text and this helps him gain credibility.