Don Iannone
Money isn’t the devil
Some say it is
It’s a reality of our existence
And can be a resource for good
How we come by it matters, and
How we use it is important
Not a ticket to happiness, and
Many other things are more important
Though, it concerns me
When folks disparage money
Calling it the root of all evil
Saying it doesn’t matter
It also worries me
When people only want money
Don’t care about other people and things
Believing money and life purpose are the same
Our attention manifests the life we have
No more, no less
Same is true with money, and
Everything else in life
If there isn’t enough money in your life
Ask yourself why
Explore your deepest attitude about money
It may be an impoverished one
1.Share your understandings of the power and limitations of material wealth with your partner, and use specific examples to illustrate your points.
2.Try to translate the last stanza of the poem into Chinese.Pay special attention to the metrical form and rhyme scheme of the poem.
Proper Names
Stanhope Gate 斯坦诺普门
Notes
1. American Dream:Itis a national ethos of theUnited Statesin which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success.In the definition of the American Dream byJames Truslow Adamsin 1931, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement”regardless ofsocial classor circumstances of birth.The idea of the American Dream is rooted in theUnited States Declaration of Independencewhich proclaims that “all men are created equal”and that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights”including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.
2. Forsyte Saga:Itis a series of threenovelsand two interludes (intervening episodes) published between 1906 and 1921 byJohn Galsworthy.They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-classBritish family, similar to Galsworthy’s own.Only a few generations removed from their farmer ancestors, the family members are keenly aware of their status as “new money”.The main character, Soames Forsyte, sees himself as a “man of property”by virtue of his ability to accumulate material possessions—but this does not succeed in bringing him pleasure.
3. William Makepeace Thackeray(18 July, 1811-24 December, 1863) :He was an English novelist of the 19th century.He was famous for hissatiricalworks, particularlyVanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.
4. Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero:Itis a novel byWilliam Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1847-1848, satirizingsociety in early 19th-centuryBritain.The book’s title comes fromJohn Bunyan’sallegoricalstory The Pilgrim’s Progress, first published in 1678 and still widely read at the time of Thackeray’s novel.Vanity fair refers to a stop along the pilgrim’s progress: a never-ending fair held in a town called Vanity, which is meant to represent man’s sinful attachment to worldly things.The novel is now considered a classic, and has inspired several film adaptations.
For Fun
Works to Read
1. The Pilgrim’s Progress:It is aChristianallegorywritten byJohn Bunyanand published in February,1678.It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religiousEnglish literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print.
2. Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero :This novel follows the lives of two women, Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley, amid their friends and family.The novel is now considered a classic, and has inspired several film adaptations.In 2003, Vanity Fair was listed on the BBC’s The Big Read poll of the U.K.’s “best-loved novel”.
Movies to See
1. That Forsyte Woman(1949):A 1949 romance film starring Greer Garson, Errol Flynn, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young and Janet Leigh.It is an adaptation of The Man of Property , the first novel in The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy.Walter Plunkett and Arlington Valleswere nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color.
2. The Rules of the Game(1939): It is a French film directed byJean Renoir.The film is acomedy of mannersthat depicts members of upper-class French society and their servants just before the beginning ofWorld War II, showing their moral callousness on the eve of impending destruction.Since then, The Rules of the Game has often been calledone of the greatest films in the history of cinema.Numerous film critics and directors have praised it highly, citing it as an inspiration for their own work.
Song to Enjoy
Vanity Fair
by Mr.Bungle
You’re not human
You’re a miracle
A preacher with an animal’s face
In your sexy
Neon smokescreen
Lie the super salesmen of vanity
Even your shadow worships you
In your jungle solitude
With the orgies of the sacrament
And the seal of flagellants
God saves those who save their skin
From the bondage that we’re in
I’m elated
I could cut you
And remove the sheath of your ignorance
Bless the eunuch
And the Skoptsi
Will you hurt me now and make a million?
Say cheese, baby
We all love you
But it’s a cheap world and you don’t exist...
Slit the fabric of the right now
Spread your legs and wear the crown
Tell me how long, lord, how long?
Till I get my beauty sleep?
Now the hourglass is empty
The moment of my de-sexing
Cut it
Cut it
Cut this cancer from my soul
Now that I’ve made it...
I’m finally naked...