2017/08/01

Money Cannot Buy Love and Happiness/ Rhee So Hyun/ ISS2017

Money cannot buy love and happiness

Cristina Garcia's short story "Tito's Good-bye" describes the last seconds of a man's life in the instant he is hit with a massive heart attack. Tito tries to reminisce about his past during his last few seconds and wonders where he went wrong with his relationship with his family. Though Tito has earned a small fortune from desperate immigrants, the story shows us that money inevitably cannot buy love and happiness.

Tito is described as a masculine man who reminds me of the men who appear in "The Godfather". Although Tito is rich and successful in his business, he leads a rather sad and pitiful life, which is highlighted during his last seconds of his life. Tito, like the majority of the people, loves money and believes that money is equivalent to happiness. To pursue his love for money, he has forsaken his family. He has given up his relationships with his wife, daughter, son, brothers and sister. Instead, he focuses on trying to earn even more money, even going as far as sending his secretory home early to save on her pay.

However, it is clear that money did not bring Tito love and happiness in the end as he can be seen regretting his life decisions during his last few seconds. Money has not given him a moment for "the luxury of nostalgia", for remembering his mother's cheek, his father's hands, or his daughter's childhood dance. Money did not give him the time to help save the desperate immigrants, call his brothers and sister, or make his estranged wife happy. In his futile attempt during his last seconds, Tito is only able to utter the word "Coño" which is ironic and sad at the same time. His dead body is only to be found after a couple of days by his mistress and none of his family members showed up at his funeral. Through this story, we are able to learn that money cannot bring love and happiness and that family ties are truly the most important thing in life. The story also taught me to treasure and cherish my family members now as no one can tell when someone might have a heart attack and pass on.

Everyone loves money and many of us often equate money as happiness, much like Tito. However, this is a very dangerous misunderstanding as money does not bring us love and happiness. Money does make life easier and more enjoyable, however, if there is no one around you to share such happiness with, it is truly pointless. 

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