LOGO The Richer the Poorer Dorothy West v

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LOGO The Richer, the Poorer Dorothy West

LOGO The Richer, the Poorer Dorothy West

v Warming-up Discussion § A wise man once said that happiness is somewhere between

v Warming-up Discussion § A wise man once said that happiness is somewhere between too much and too little. Do you agree? § What’s your idea about happiness?

v About the author: Dorothy West § Novelist, short story writer, editor, and journalist

v About the author: Dorothy West § Novelist, short story writer, editor, and journalist Dorothy West died August 16, 1998, at the age of 91. Her death was mourned by many as the passing of the last living member of the Harlem Renaissance, but that extraordinary outburst of African-American artistry only marked the beginning of her career. West continued to write for another seven decades, and her essays and fiction attest to the fact that she was a writer who traveled the distance, exploring with dignity, insight, and elegance the important issues of race, color, and class within the African-American community.

§ Born in Boston on June 2, 1901, Dorothy West was the only child

§ Born in Boston on June 2, 1901, Dorothy West was the only child of Isaac Christopher West, a freed slave turned successful businessman, and Rachel Pease Benson, one of 22 children. West wrote her first story at the age of seven; by the time she was fourteen, she had won several writing competitions sponsored by the Boston Post. Wider recognition followed in 1926 when her story "The Typewriter" tied for second place with a story by Zora Neale Hurston in a contest sponsored by the New York–based Opportunity, a journal published by the National Urban League. West and her cousin, the poet Helene Johnson, had recently moved to Harlem and begun to meet other young, gifted, black writers, including Langston Hughes, who called West "The Kid"; Countee Cullen, who later proposed to her; Hurston, whose apartment West rented; and the novelist Wallace Thurman.

§ West's principal contribution to the Harlem Renaissance was as publisher of the magazine

§ West's principal contribution to the Harlem Renaissance was as publisher of the magazine Challenge, which she founded in 1934 with her savings of $40, and its successor New Challenge. These magazines were among the first to provide a forum for realistic portrayals(描绘)of African Americans in literature, publishing Richard Wright's groundbreaking (making new discoveries, using new methods etc) essay "Blueprint for Negro Writing, " together with works by Margaret Walker and Ralph Ellison. Both magazines quickly folded for lack of financial support, however. West then worked for the WPA Federal Writers Program until the mid-1940 s, when she settled on Martha's Vineyard(葡萄园). It was there that she wrote her first novel, The Living Is Easy, published in 1948. This autobiographical novel was critically well received, and West wrote a second novel, but no publisher accepted it. Two generations were to pass before West's fiction found a new audience. In the interim(过渡时期), she returned to journalism, writing primarily for the Vineyard Gazette.

§ The Feminist Press brought The Living Is Easy back into print in 1982.

§ The Feminist Press brought The Living Is Easy back into print in 1982. Her next work of fiction was not published until many years later, however, after Jacqueline Onassis, then an editor at Doubleday and a neighbor of West's on the Vineyard, encouraged her to complete The Wedding. Finally published in 1995, the novel was so well received that Doubleday published The Richer, the Poorer, a collection of short stories and reminiscences, the same year. Oprah Winfrey's production company aired a two-part miniseries of The Wedding earlier this year.

§ West never married, nor did she have children. Her legacy(遗赠物)is her writing and

§ West never married, nor did she have children. Her legacy(遗赠物)is her writing and her role in paving the way for other African-American women writers. Maya Angelou, Bebe Moore Campbell, Rita Dove, Nikki Giovanni, Terry Mc. Millan, Toni Morrison, Gloria Naylor, Ntozake Shange, and Alice Walker are part of a tradition; their accomplishments can be partly credited (归于)to their sisters who defied(挑战) the odds(不平等) and put words on paper when this century was young.

Background Information v Gypsies § A nomadic people believed to have originated in India

Background Information v Gypsies § A nomadic people believed to have originated in India in the 14 th century who later moved westward first to Egypt, then to North Africa and later throughout Europe and North America. They have been traditionally treated with little kindness wherever they went. Many European gypsies were killed by the Nazis during the Second World War. However the gypsies have inspired many musicians, artists and writers with their great tradition of folklores (民��� ), legends and songs as well as their unique way of life featured by independence and mobility.

Lifestyles in America v Lost Generation迷惘的一代 § A group of expatriate(移居国外的) American writers residing

Lifestyles in America v Lost Generation迷惘的一代 § A group of expatriate(移居国外的) American writers residing primarily in Paris during the 1920 s and 1930 s. The group never formed a cohesive literary movement, but it consisted of many influential American writers, including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Carlos Williams, Thornton Wilder, Archibald Mac. Leish, and Hart Crane.

§ The group was given its name by the American writer Gertrude Stein, who,

§ The group was given its name by the American writer Gertrude Stein, who, in a conversation with Hemingway, used an expression she had heard from a garage manager, une géneration perdue (“a lost generation”), to refer to expatriate Americans bitter about (痛苦于. . . ) their World War I (1914 -1918) experiences and disillusioned (使人梦想破灭) with American society. Hemingway later used the phrase as an epigraph (引言, 格言) for his novel The Sun Also Rises (1926).

v Beat Generation 美国二战后出生的, 服饰奇特, 行为乖僻的一代 § The beat generation is a group of

v Beat Generation 美国二战后出生的, 服饰奇特, 行为乖僻的一代 § The beat generation is a group of American writers of the 1950 s whose writing expressed profound dissatisfaction with contemporary American society and endorsed (�可 ) an alternative set of values. The term sometimes is used to refer to those who embraced the ideas of these writers. The Beat Generation's best-known figures were writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, who met as students at Columbia University in the 1940 s, and San Francisco-based poet and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights Bookstore, in the North Beach section of San Francisco, became a center of Beat culture and remained an enduring symbol of alternative literature into the 1990 s. Another center of Beat activity was New York City’s East Village, where Ginsberg made his home.

v Hippie 嬉皮士 § Hippie, member of a youth movement of the late 1960

v Hippie 嬉皮士 § Hippie, member of a youth movement of the late 1960 s that was characterized by nonviolent anarchy (无政府状� ), concern for the environment, and rejection of Western materialism. Also known as flower power, the hippie movement originated in San Francisco, California. The hippies formed a politically outspoken ( 坦率直言的), antiwar, artistically prolific (多�的 ) counterculture (反正 �文化 ) in North America and Europe. Their colorful psychedelic ( 迷幻的) style was inspired by drugs such as the hallucinogen Lysergic Acid Diethylamid (LSD) (麦角奶二乙基酸胺(一种迷幻药)). This style emerged in fashion, graphic (�画的 ) art, and music by bands such as Love, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Pink Floyd.

v Pink Floyd § The British rock group Pink Floyd, left to right, Roger

v Pink Floyd § The British rock group Pink Floyd, left to right, Roger Waters, Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright, was formed in London, England, in 1965. In 1968 British guitarist David Gilmour joined the band, with Barrett leaving soon after. One of the group’s most successful albums was Dark Side of the Moon, from 1973, which spent 15 years as one of the top 200 albums in the United States.

v Yuppie 雅皮士 § Yuppies are thought to be more conservative than the preceding

v Yuppie 雅皮士 § Yuppies are thought to be more conservative than the preceding hippie generation. Yuppies tend to value material goods (especially trendy new things). In particular this can apply to their stocks, imported automobiles, development houses, and technological gadgets(小器具), particularly cell phones.

§ Unfortunately, the fast paced pursuit of these material goods has unintended consequences. Usually

§ Unfortunately, the fast paced pursuit of these material goods has unintended consequences. Usually in a hurry, they seek convenience goods and services. Being “time poor”, their family relations can become difficult to sustain. Maintaining their way of life is mentally exhausting. Sometimes, they will move every few years to where their job goes, straining(损 伤)their family. The fast-paced lifestyle has been termed a rat race(令人疲惫,常常是充满竞争性的活动或日常安排).

While-reading tasks v Explaining the title: § The Richer, the Poorer § How can

While-reading tasks v Explaining the title: § The Richer, the Poorer § How can the richer be the poorer?

While-reading tasks v Identify the structure of the essay: § Part I. Introduction (1

While-reading tasks v Identify the structure of the essay: § Part I. Introduction (1 -9): Lottie’s life. § Part II. The body (10 -20): Bess’s life experiences. § Part III. The conclusion (21 -34): Reunion of the sisters.

While-reading tasks Detailed analysis of the text. v Over the years Bess had lived

While-reading tasks Detailed analysis of the text. v Over the years Bess had lived each day as if there were no others. § Over the years in spite of her sister’s urge to prepare for her old age, Bess seized every minute to enjoy herself as if she would die the next day.

While-reading tasks v Lottie had a bank account that had never grown lean. -1

While-reading tasks v Lottie had a bank account that had never grown lean. -1 § Lottie always had quite a sum of money deposited in the bank. § Lean (adj. ): small in amount or quality;

While-reading tasks v Bess had the clothes on her back, and the rest of

While-reading tasks v Bess had the clothes on her back, and the rest of her worldly possessions in an old suitcase. 1 § All that Bess had to her name was the clothes she was wearing and an old suitcase that contained all her other belongings/all the other things she owned. § One’s worldly possessions/goods: things a person owns. § Worldly: of the material world.

While-reading tasks v Lottie had hated being a child, seeing her parents constantly worrying

While-reading tasks v Lottie had hated being a child, seeing her parents constantly worrying about money. Bess had never seemed to notice. 2 • Seeing her parents constantly worrying about money: a present participle phrase, used as an adverbial of reason explaining why she hated being a child. • Lottie knew that her parents were always worrying about money, and she knew what it felt like to lack it, so she wanted to grow old enough to earn money. But Bess never seemed to notice her parents’ worries and cares.

While-reading tasks v She looked after babies, she ran errands for the old. 3

While-reading tasks v She looked after babies, she ran errands for the old. 3 • go on/run errands for sb. : to go somewhere for other people to take a message, to buy sth. , to deliver goods, etc. • She earned some money by babysitting and going shopping, etc. for old people.

While-reading tasks v She never touched a penny of her money, though her child’s

While-reading tasks v She never touched a penny of her money, though her child’s mouth watered for ice cream and candy. 4 • water: v. to form or let out water or watery liquid, esp. tears or saliva (唾液). • She never spent a penny of what she had earned on ice cream and candy, though as a child, she wanted very much to have them.

While-reading tasks v When the dimes began to add up to dollars, she lost

While-reading tasks v When the dimes began to add up to dollars, she lost her taste for sweets. 4 • add up to: to amount to, to make a total amount of. • In the U. S. and Canada, a dime is a coin worth ten cents. Other coins that are commonly used are quarter, worth 25 cents, nickel, 5 cents, penny, one cent. There also coins worth 50 cents and 100 cents that are called half dollar and dollar. • When her savings grew considerably, she was too old to want ice cream and candy and more.

While-reading tasks v By the time she was twelve, she was clerking after school

While-reading tasks v By the time she was twelve, she was clerking after school in a small variety store. 5 • clerk: v. to keep records or accounts, or to do general office work. • Variety store: a shop which sells many different kinds of goods, often at low prices. • At age 12, she was already keeping accounts in a small variety store after school.

While-reading tasks v She decided to keep her money for clothes. When she entered

While-reading tasks v She decided to keep her money for clothes. When she entered high school, she would wear a wardrobe that no one else would be able to match. 5 • wardrobe: a collection of clothes esp. of one person or for one activity. • She decided to keep her money to buy clothes when she started high school. Then no other girls in her school would have more and better clothes to wear than she did

While-reading tasks v But her freshman year found her unable to indulge this fantasy,

While-reading tasks v But her freshman year found her unable to indulge this fantasy, particularly when her admiring instructors advised her to think seriously of college. 6 • Freshman year: a student’s first year at high school, college or university. • But in her first year at high school, she found that she couldn’t allow herself to spend her money on clothes. She thought of going to college, especially when her favorite teachers advised her to do so.

While-reading tasks v She made her choice easily. A job in hand was worth

While-reading tasks v She made her choice easily. A job in hand was worth two in the future. 9 • Easily: without doubt/hesitation. • a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush: it is better to be content with what one has than to risk losing everything by being too greedy 一鸟在手, 胜於二鸟在 林(最好满足於现有的, 以免因贪心而失去一切) • She made her choice without any doubt. To have a promising job now was surely far more worthwhile than going to college.

While-reading tasks v Lottie expected to be settled with a home and family while

While-reading tasks v Lottie expected to be settled with a home and family while Bess was still waiting for Harry to earn enough money to buy a marriage license. 10 • Marriage license: an official document which people must get before they are allowed to marry. • With her savings in the bank, Lottie wanted to get married and settled down for a comfortable life while Bess’s boyfriend couldn’t even earn enough money to get a marriage license.

While-reading tasks v Two or three times she was halfway persuaded, but to give

While-reading tasks v Two or three times she was halfway persuaded, but to give up a job that paid well for a homemaking job that paid nothing was a risk she was incapable of taking. 11 • Two or three times, urged by others, she thought seriously about marrying. But she didn’t because that would mean she had to give up a well-paying job and become a housewife/ homemaker who didn’t get paid for all the work she did. This was something she couldn’t make herself accept.

While-reading tasks v She and Harry lived like Gypsies, with Harry playing in second-rate

While-reading tasks v She and Harry lived like Gypsies, with Harry playing in second-rate bands all over the country, even getting himself and Bess stranded in Europe. 12 • Get stranded: be left in a difficult or helpless position. • Bess and Harry never settled down. To make a living, Harry played in second-rate bands all over the country. Once Harry and Bess were left extremely helpless in Europe, and they didn’t even have money enough to return home.

While-reading tasks v They were often in rags and never in riches. 12 •

While-reading tasks v They were often in rags and never in riches. 12 • in rags: wearing very old worn-out clothes. • Riches: valuable or beautiful possessions and large amount of money. • They were often poor and never had much money.

While-reading tasks v Bess grieved because she had no child, not having sense enough

While-reading tasks v Bess grieved because she had no child, not having sense enough to know she was better off without them. 13 • sense: good and especially practical understanding and judgement to do sth. , often used in the phrase “have the sense to do sth. ”. • be better off: to live more easily and conveniently. • Bess felt sorry that she had no children. She was not sensible and practical enough to know that with children, their conditions would have been worse still.

While-reading tasks v Very likely she would have dumped them on Lottie’s doorstep. 13

While-reading tasks v Very likely she would have dumped them on Lottie’s doorstep. 13 • dump sth. /sb. on sb. : informal. To get rid of sth. /sb. or leave them for someone else to deal with. • If she had children, she would very probably have left them with Lottie.

While-reading tasks v That Lottie had a doorstep was only because her boss, having

While-reading tasks v That Lottie had a doorstep was only because her boss, having bought a second house, offered Lottie his first house at a price so low and terms so reasonable that it would have been like losing money to refuse. 14 • When Lottie’s boss bought a new house, he offered his old house at a very low price and very generous terms, which made Lottie think that it would be foolish not to accept this offer. So it was because her boss’s kindness that Lottie now had a home of her own. (Probably the terms were to pay the house over a long period of time. ) • terms: the stated conditions concerning payment, prices, etc.

While-reading tasks • a doorstep: refers to a house. In English, a part of

While-reading tasks • a doorstep: refers to a house. In English, a part of an object is often used to stand for the whole. – Wheel: a car – Engine: a vehicle that pulls a train • Parts of the body, esp. in colloquial English, are sometimes used to refer to a particular type of people. – Mind: an intelligent person – Hand: a person who does physical work – Big mouth: a person who talks too much or too loudly; someone who tells secrets

While-reading tasks – Loudmouth: a person who talks too much or too loudly. –

While-reading tasks – Loudmouth: a person who talks too much or too loudly. – Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (ashand for sailor ), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer ), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin ), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket ), or the material for the thing from which it is made (as steel for sword ). 举隅法, 提喻法:一种修辞方法,以局部代表整体(如用手 代表 水手 ),以整体代表局部(如用 法律 代表 警官 ),以 特殊代表一般(如用 直柄剃刀 代表 杀人者 ),以一般 代表特殊(如用 贼 代表 扒手 ),或用原材料代表用该 材料制造的东西(如用 钢 代表 剑 )

While-reading tasks v She thought she lived frugally in her middle years so that

While-reading tasks v She thought she lived frugally in her middle years so that she could live in comfort when she most needed peace of mind. 16 • in middle years: in middle age. • In comfort: in the state of having a pleasant life, with everything that you need. • Peace of mind: the state of being without worries; calmness. • She thought that in order to live a comfortable life without having to worry about money when she was old, she should save as much as she could in middle age, and that was what she did.

v She knew she would have to redo that room, too, and went about

v She knew she would have to redo that room, too, and went about doing it eagerly. 22 • redo (a room): to fix and decorate it. • Go about sth. /doing sth. : to start working on sth. • She decided to paint everything, and replace the mattress, the carpet and curtains, etc. And she began to work at it with great enthusiasm.

v At night she slept like a child after a long and happy day

v At night she slept like a child after a long and happy day of playing house: 24 • sleep like a child/baby: sleep soundly • play house: a children’s game in which children pretend to be mom and dad housekeeping. Here it is used figuratively to show that Lottie enjoyed working on her house as children enjoy playing games.

v Passing her gleaming mirrors, at first with vague awareness, then with painful clarity,

v Passing her gleaming mirrors, at first with vague awareness, then with painful clarity, Lottie saw herself as others saw her, and couldn’t stand the sight. 25 • When she walked past her shiny mirrors, Lottie noticed, at first dimly, then clearly, how old and worn she looked. She came to know, painfully, exactly how she looked to others. She disliked her appearance and couldn’t bring herself to look into the mirrors any more.

v She went on a spending spree from the specialty shops to beauty salon,

v She went on a spending spree from the specialty shops to beauty salon, emerging transformed into a woman who believed in miracles. 26 • specialty shop: a shop that sells particularly fine or excellent goods. • Beauty salon/parlor: a place where women are given beauty treatment for the face, hair, nails, etc. • Then she began visiting specialty shops and beauty salons, spending money lavishly and wastefully to improve her looks. She marveled at result and came to believe that impossible could happen if a person set her mind on it.

v At the lavish table, top-heavy with turkey, Bess said, “I’ll take light and

v At the lavish table, top-heavy with turkey, Bess said, “I’ll take light and dark both, ” with no marveling at the size of the bird, or that there was turkey for two elderly women, one of them too poor to buy her own bread. 29 • top-heavy: not properly balance because of too much weight at the top, here the word indicates that the turkey is too big and lavish a dish for two old ladies. • Light: white meat, the very light-colored meat from some part of a cooked bird, such as the breast. • Dark: dark meat, the darker meat from some part of a cooked bird, such as that of the leg. • On the dining table was a lot of food; the main dish was a turkey. Bess said, “I’ll take both white meat and dark meat. ” Though she was penniless and couldn’t even buy her own bread, she didn’t seem to be impressed by the big turkey prepared just for two old ladies.

v With the glow of good food in her stomach, Bess began to tell

v With the glow of good food in her stomach, Bess began to tell stories. 30 • glow: warm feeling. • After the good dinner, Bess’s spirits returned and she began to tell her sister about her life over the years.

v They were rich with places and people, most of them lowly, all of

v They were rich with places and people, most of them lowly, all of them magnificent. 30 § She and Harry had been to many places and met a lot of people, who were wonderful men and women, though most of them belonged to low social classes. § Lowly: low in social class.

v Her face reflected the joys and sorrows of her remembering, and above all,

v Her face reflected the joys and sorrows of her remembering, and above all, the love she lived by that enhanced the poorest place, the humblest person. 30 • above all: most important of all • the love she lived by: the love that she maintained life with. 她借以维持生命的爱情 • Live by: =live on; to keep oneself alive (with food, money, work, etc. ) • As she talked, Lottie could see that the year she had lived with Harry was full of both joys and sorrows, and that the most important thing was his love for her. This love had made the poorest place a paradise and the second-rate horn player, her husband, a perfect man to her.

v Tomorrow she would see the room as it really liked, and Lottie as

v Tomorrow she would see the room as it really liked, and Lottie as she really looked, and the warmed-over turkey in its second-day glory. 31 • warm over: t reheat previously cooked food. • Glory: beauty; splendour. 美丽; 壮丽 – the countryside in all its glory 气象万千的郊野. • Lottie thought that tomorrow Bess would notice how nice the room was, how smart she looked and how inviting the big turkey was when the remaining part was warmed over and put on the table again.

v She said, ”That’s enough about me. How have the years used you? ”

v She said, ”That’s enough about me. How have the years used you? ” 32 § Use sb. : to treat a person in a stated way, e. g. • She thought that she had been ill used. § She said, “I’ve talked enough about myself. How have you been over the years? ”

v I saved for them. I forgot the best of them would go without

v I saved for them. I forgot the best of them would go without my ever spending a day or a dollar enjoying them. 33 § I had been saving up for the years to come. I never spent a day or a dollar enjoying life. Now my best years have gone, never to return. v That’s my life story, a life never lived. Now it’s too near the end to try. 33 § That’s what I’ve done. I’ve never had the joys, or the sorrows, that life offers. It’s just been an existence, not a life. Now I’m too old to learn how to live. § The end: (euphemism) a person’s death

v Don’t count the years that are left us. At our time of life

v Don’t count the years that are left us. At our time of life it’s the days that count. 34 • Don’t try to figure out how many years we’re going to live. At out age, we must live in terms of days, not years, and spend each day joyfully. • The first count: to say the number, to calculate the total number of. • The second count: to be important or to have value.

v You’ve too much catching up to do to waste a minute of a

v You’ve too much catching up to do to waste a minute of a waking hour feeling sorry for yourself. 34 • You’ve got to do too many things to make up for what you’ve missed in life, so you shouldn’t waste a minute on self-pity. • Waste sth. (in) doing sth. /on sth. : to use more of sth. Than necessary or useful, e. g. – You’ve just wasting your time trying to talk him out of the idea. • Waking hours: the hours when you are not sleeping.

v I know I’m too old to kick up my heels, but I’m going

v I know I’m too old to kick up my heels, but I’m going to let you show me how. 34 • kick up one’s heels: (in Am. E. , informal)to be relaxed and enjoy oneself. But in Br. E. It means to have nothing to do while waiting for sb. /sth. • I know I’m too old to change my way of life and learn to enjoy myself, but I hope you’ll teach me how.

v If I land on my head, I guess it won’t matter. I feel

v If I land on my head, I guess it won’t matter. I feel giddy already, and I like it. 34 • land on one’s head: to result in an unpleasant situation. • Feel giddy: to feel so happy and excited that one can’t behave normally. • I’m determined to start a new life at any cost. I feel happy and excited already, and I like the feeling.

Post-reading tasks v Review the structure of the essay § Part I. Introduction (1

Post-reading tasks v Review the structure of the essay § Part I. Introduction (1 -9): Lottie’s life. § Part II. The body (10 -20): Bess’s life experiences. § Part III. The conclusion (21 -34): Reunion of the sisters.

Writing skills v Comparison-contrast § The story is a good example of comparison and

Writing skills v Comparison-contrast § The story is a good example of comparison and contrast. It concentrates on the differences of the two sisters’ lifestyles and experiences from childhood to old age. The focus is on Lottie’s life while Bess’s is briefly touched upon in contrast. The story opens with the two sisters’ contrasting financial conditions in old age. Then point-to-point method of organization is employed. One aspect of Lottie’s, usually narrated in detail, is followed by a brief account of the same aspect of Bess’s. The climax is their reunion in old age, when they, for the first time, seem to share similar opinion on life.

v Point of View § The story is written from Lottie’s point of view.

v Point of View § The story is written from Lottie’s point of view. Much of the space is devoted to description of Lottie’s opinions, views and reflections. The reader can enter her mind and learn what goes on there. So when we read such descriptions, we should not be satisfied with their surface meaning but should go deeper and find out what they imply.

v The Use of Both Formal and Informal Expressions § We find informal words

v The Use of Both Formal and Informal Expressions § We find informal words and expressions are used alongside formal ones. But toward the end of the story when Lottie’s lifestyle of “all work and no play” begin to change, she speaks in a very colloquial style. Her speech at the end of the story is a good example. But in the first half of the story and much of the second when Lottie is working wholeheartedly to prepare for her old age, the writer uses more formal words and expressions

Discussion v Make a comparison Between Lottie & Bess § Lottie: has one simple

Discussion v Make a comparison Between Lottie & Bess § Lottie: has one simple aim in life: to work hard, save hard, and prepare for her old age. She tried hard to earn money even when she was a little girl. She looked after babies, ran errands for the old, worked as a clerk after school in a store, and finally got a job in a restaurant. She never stopped working and she never spent money if she could help it. She never married and lived all alone. Now when she reached her sixties, she had a house, a bank account, but she obviously had not enjoyed life.

§ Bess: Lottie’s sister, was a entirely different story. She liked to go outside

§ Bess: Lottie’s sister, was a entirely different story. She liked to go outside & play when she was a child. She never worried about the future. She married young to a second-rate horn player. They were always poor and lived like Gypsies. But they loved each other and obviously enjoyed life. By the time she reached her sixties, she had lost her husband she had no children and she had nothing in the world she could call her own. But she had no regret about her life.

v When the two sisters met at their old age, the contrast was very

v When the two sisters met at their old age, the contrast was very interesting. Lottie had a house and money in the bank, but had no fun in life whereas her sister had a lot of fun in life but had no house, no money, no property of any kind except the shirt on her back. And it was the rich sister Lottie who envied the poor sister Bess. § Who is richer and who is poorer? § Would you rather be Lottie, who has not much fun in life, but is financially secure in her old age or Bess, who has had a full exciting life but is alone and penniless at the same age, or neither of them? How should we spend our life? A wise man once said that happiness is somewhere between too much and too little. Do you agree?

v Discussion: What is happiness? § What are the component factors of happiness? •

v Discussion: What is happiness? § What are the component factors of happiness? • Worldly possessions – – • • • House Car Bankbook … Love Health Blood tie friendship …