
The message that when you essentially have everything, you end up with nothing has echoed across time. Materialism is a controlling force in the lives of people, which unfortunately takes over the life you were given, and transforms it into a life led by evil intentions and impure actions. For my first example of a life completely led by materialistic ideals, I will talk about the relationship that Mrs Faust had to material objects and the idea that she spends her whole life trying to fit in only to end up alone. Mrs Faust stayed in a loveless relationship her entire middle age life for the material goods it provided for her, only to watch her husband get “taken away by the devil” for the horrible things he had done, and live out the rest of her life with nothing but money and a big empty house. For my second example I will be writing about Marge from The Simpsons episode “Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield” where Marge not only obsesses over one material object the entire episode, but ends up not fitting in with the greedy upper class crowd she was trying to blend in with anyway. Obviously, Marge has not always been obsessed with trivial material goods as we see her to be a smart wife and mother throughout the episodes, but this one dress, and this one group of people leaves her blind to everything else. For my final example, I will talk about The Minimalists and their list of all the destructive things materialism does to your life. This source is bringing up the ideas that materialism is not some far away topic in the minds of academics, but a true issue plaguing the people who walk this earth right now. They bring up the idea that being a materialistic person destroys most aspects of your life like your health, relationships, finances and your creativity. Using these three different examples, I will show how all of these different characters and people demonstrate how materialism ruins the life you were meant to live and changes the person we were created to be into a nearly unrecognizable and cold object exactly like the ones we worship.

According to the website “AllAboutPhilosophy” the definition of materialism is more simple than one might think, but drives home to importance of this plague we call a materialistic lifestyle. 

“Materialism, at its simpler level, involves the focus on material "things" as opposed to that which is spiritual or intellectual in nature… therefore, we may become distracted from spiritual or intellectual pursuits by material possessions, but this is frequently where problems occur. We become obsessed by a desire to obtain them, or simply frustrated by the need to maintain them” (allaboutphilosophy). 

Not only do they agree that materialism makes us blind to those around us, it also keeps us distracted from what is really important in hopes of drawing you further and further from reality. The theory found on their website also states that “Materialism can refer to a doctrine that material success and progress are the highest values in life” (allaboutphilosophy).

 As further explained by authors Lee and Ahn in their paper titled “Anti-Consumption, materialism and consumerism”, it is clear that there are many logistical concerns that come along with materialistic values and habits. This paper compares materialistic values with anti-consumption values. Side by side, it shows just how different the two are, and how much better off people would be if their lives did not revolve around a materialistic set of ideals. The most basic principle discovered when looking at the effects of materialism in life was that materialistic consumption is all about personal concern and self-centered attributes. While an anti-consumption outlook on life can reduce stress caused by a cluttered lifestyle and that those who limit their consumption take more time to be conscious of their actions, and thoughts. There truly are no good things that come with leading a life driven by materialism. 

In an article entitled “Can we Declutter our way to Christ: The Allure of Living with Less”, the author, Kate Shellnutt describes the recent growth in the minimalist movement by tracking the trend of materialism back almost 100 years. She points out that since the 1900’s people have become more materialistic, homes have gotten bigger only to hold our growing amount of possessions, but to what worth? She references shows like Hoarders and Storage Wars that highlight the element of attachment we as people have to material possessions we literally do not even use. This is where Shellnut drives home the lessons everyone needs to learn about living with less based on Christianity and the teaching of Jesus. Ironically, the word and scripture of Jesus has clearly been around well before the 1900’s, and is just now being brought to light as a clear source why people need to adapt minimalistic lifestyles. The teaching of Jesus basically tells us that minimalism is the key to true happiness, and that to find joy we must strip our lives to the simplest of things to appreciate what really keeps us standing. After all, Jesus says, “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15, ESV). Jesus offers us a guideline by which to live our life and be happy while doing it. Why hasn’t everyone taken him up on his age old offer and opened their eyes to the uselessness of clutter that we hopelessly search for joy in?

The website “be more with less” and its article entitled “woman can be minimalists too” includes personal stories that are great examples as to why letting go of materialism will only improve your life and the lives of those around you. The author, Courtney Carver make many suggestions for how one can start to let go of their materialistic ideals and embrace minimalism. She suggests that it is never too late to change, and once she started letting go of some of the possessions weighing her down, she has never felt better. From her personal story of shifting away from a materialistic life she says, “Minimalism didn’t ask me to neglect my family or responsibilities, but it did invite me to consider what I really needed to be happy, to raise my daughter, and to nurture my marriage” (Carver). While materialism ruins personal relationships, minimalism does the exact opposite. Many people want to believe that material items bring you closer to those around you by increasing your “popularity” or making you more appealing. However, it does the exact opposite. Material good only put a literal and figurative space between you and the people around you making it harder and harder for people to connect on a personal level, and ultimately destroying relationships and leaving the material obsessed person alone with the objects that drove everyone else away.

It is abundantly clear that materialism has a negative effect on everyone and everything and a world without materialism would be a better place. I will be arguing that the people/ characters in various poems, television shows and currents social movements depict the negative effects of materialism on personal relationships and social well being in the rest of my paper. While doing this, they also shed light on what a life without materialism looks like, and helps open the reader/viewer's eyes to why materialism is an extra burden to bear.

The age-old idea of materialism has only gotten worse as the years go by. With all of the new technology, money and physical objects that rule our world, materialism has only become more widespread. It is no longer only a select group of people who are obsessed with materialism, it is everyone. Now, it is time to ask yourself - can anything good come out of materialism? It seems that materialism occupies one’s life so much, that it is the only thing you have time for. Everyone knows materialism exists; yet no one ever seems to change. It might be harder to see the negative effects materialism has on your life, but it is not hard to pick up on the negative connotation that different mediums of social expression give materialism. From television shows that started in the 1980’s to blogs being written at this very moment in time, the adverse effects of materialism have never changed. It essentially destroys everything it comes in contact with. If we ever want to change our materialistic society we first have to recognize its detriments and then its solutions. I have found that the poem Mrs Faust, the television show The Simpsons, and the blog The Minimalist take us on a journey through those steps and bring us out on the other side (a more positive side).

It is evident in the poem “Mrs Faust” by Carol Ann Duffy that Mrs Faust led a life completely predetermined by materialistic ideals.  Mrs Faust enters a loveless relationship because he has a drive for money. He provides them with things like, “Fast cars. A boat with sails./ A second home in Whales./ The latest toys- computers,/ mobile phones” (Duffy 11-14). However, as the poem goes on, the Fausts are only separated more and more as they go on trips around the world and are completely focused on becoming better and richer. As Mr Faust’s dying day finally comes he admits that (the devil)  “He’s on his was/ to take away/ what’s owed,/ reap what I sowed./…I’ve sold my soul” (Duffy 87-90). He has sold his soul to the devil to replace all the objects he accumulated in life. Even though her husband it dead, Mrs Faust is not even phased. She continues on with her life and is even happy because all of her husband’s possessions were left to her. She is old, becomes sick, pays for herself to get better and is still alone even with all the things she has. She comes to realize that in the end, The clever, cunning, callous bastard didn’t have a soul to sell. her husband didn’t even have a soul. Materialistic items replaced it. This begs the question, is a life filled with material possessions ever worth it? The relationship that the Fausts had to material objects left no room for other, real relationship in their lives. It may seem nice to be surrounded with superficial things, but we do this to put on a facade that we are important. When in all reality, leaving behind family, positive relationships, and making a difference in the world is what really matters. Nothing is ever worth giving away your soul, which is essentially the most important thing you were ever given.

It might even be worse to become a materialistic person in the middle of your life, because not only do you destroy your future, but your past as well. This is what happened to Marge in The Simpsons episode “Scenes From the Class Struggle in Springfield”. Marge is obsessed with the idea of fitting in with an old high school acquaintance that is a member of a prestigious country club. Marge starts out by buying an expensive new dress (even though she worries about its effects on their family budget) and now the members of the club think that the Simpson family has money. Marge is so intent on fitting in with these women that she becomes so focused on herself and her appearance she pushes her family away. She yells at her daughter Lisa when she is trying to get ready, and ignores her family while they are at the country club. Homer says to his kids “Let’s go sit in the car until your mom’s done fitting in” (The Simpsons). The rest of Marge’s family knows that they are not materialistic people, but Marge is so convinced that the upper class is better and therefore her and her family no longer relate. Marge tells Lisa that the rich are better than them, and even says to her family “We can’t afford a single slip up, they need to like us” (The Simpsons). She basically is asking her family to pretend to be people they aren’t to fit in with this upper class crowd. The ironic thing is, is that even though Marge might be convincing herself she wants to be like these people, she still does not relate to them because her life is almost free of materialistic ideals. 

In the end of the episode Marge tells her family that she does not want them to be themselves so they can become members of the country club. It is almost immediately after this statement that she realizes what the greed for money, friends and possessions has done to her. She knows that she has not always been like this, and her eyes are opened to see that she has a family who loves and cares for her no matter what she wears or who her friends are. This is the perfect example of what materialism does you a person. It can change you from a loving mother and wife to a greedy, fake person who is only concerned with themselves. In a matter of days Marge abandoned who she was to fit in with a greedy upper class crowd, whom she ended up leaving in the end. If only one simple dress left Marge blind to her own personal values, imagine what a life full of material possessions can do to a person.

It is obvious that the negative aspects of a materialistic lifestyle have been expressed through the characters of various poems and television shows, but they are also documented by people just like us living in the real world. Materialism is not some un-researched topic in the minds of academic; it is a real problem that plagues people all over the world in their daily lives. On a website called “The Minimalist” two men write about all things dealing with materialism and minimalism. One specific article they have is about the definition of minimalism, and what outcomes it has for your life. They say that “Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom” (The Minimalists). Also, that “Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom” (The Minimalists). If this is what minimalism is, this is exactly what materialism isn’t. If The Minimalist are saying that minimalism can help you find freedom, they are essentially saying that materialism imprisons you and traps you from ever finding the freedom of a happy life. Materialism holds you back from all the important things in life. Even though people may feel that material possessions give them more access to things, they are not important things. It does not matter if you have the biggest house if you have no one to fill it, it does not matter if you have 10 cars but no where to go. 

 At the end of this article the author included a list of all of the things minimalism has helped them achieve. They said that minimalism helped them “Eliminate discontent, reclaim time, live in the moment, pursue passions, experience real freedom, create more, consume less, focus on health, grow as individuals, rid themselves of excess stuff and discover a purpose in life” (The Minimalists). These are all of the things that materialism takes away from you. Materialism doesn’t add anything positive to your life. It wastes your time, and it draws the focus away from everything that should be most important to you. If you do not have time, freedom, health or a purpose in life then what do you have?

Again, I want to drive home the truth that materialism takes over any positivity in your life and covers it with superficial, tangible things. When you think you essentially have everything, you end up with nothing. Materialism is a hard driving force that exists in everyone’s lives, and until you are able to remove the blinders from your eyes, you will always be shutting out the things in your life that are meant to make you human just like Mrs Faust, or forgetting leaving those things behind just like Marge. Until you can take the advice of people like the minimalists and actually remove the clutter to see past the disposable material goods, you will always leave true happiness in the background.
