Neil Gaiman’s book, “Ocean At The End Of The Lane,” is a dystopian novel narrating the childhood of a man [the narrator]. The seven year old version of the man recalls his past, where crazy magical things happened. In the book, Neil Gaiman explores how money holds the power to alter interactions with friends and family, change it’s own value and peoples personalities.
A particular scene in “Ocean At The End Of The Lane” teaches that the greed and paranoia money causes can lead to conflict between people. One example of this is when an argument breaks out between a couple. The husband accuses his wife of doing illegal things when he sees her purse stashed with money, but the wife claims she doesn’t know where it all came from.This causes tension and paranoia between the two, and the trust in his wife is diminished.
In reality, all this money had been put in her purse without her knowledge or consent by Ursula Monkton, who the Hemstocks call “a flea”, the antagonist of the story. “Something’s [the ‘flea’] causing trouble. It’s giving people money. In their dreams and in real life.” Ursula Monkton believed that the principal reason everyone was unhappy because of money problems. Now, some may argue “everyone wants money ,” and it is what gives them happiness. But as evidenced above, this is not always the case.
Ursula Monkton’s decision to give money to the people, assuming it would resolve all their problems, wasn’t very realistic. Despite her seemingly good intentions, the real problem was the fact that she gave them the money and more so, anonymously. This is significant because the characters and their relationships with each other begin to fall apart with this unknown source of wealth, creating further problems.
The book also has evidence pertaining to how we base our dreams in anticipation of wealth and how these dreams fall like dominoes when things don’t work out as expected. One such example of this is when the main character is told that he’d won the premium bonds, a competition all babies are entered in when they’re born. He becomes greedy and ambitious; “I already knew what I was going to do with it. I would buy a place I could go be alone, like a bat cave with a hidden entrance.” When he is informed that he’d won only 25 pounds, he is disappointed and alters his dreams accordingly.
Money, especially the lack of it, can overpower you with negative emotions like sadness and jealousy. Taken as a whole, the smallest issues can occasionally turn into the biggest arguments relating to money, as is evidenced in conflict in relationships. Being in control of money can make you take drastic measures to keep it in your possession; “A lady in that house has gone mad. [...] She has money in the mattress. Now she won’t get out of bed, in case someone takes it from her.” This shows how money changes it’s own value depending on who possesses it. The lady in that house obviously didn’t have much money before the “anonymous” source gave it to her. That money meant so much to her. If compared to someone very rich, these measures wouldn’t have been taken to keep it in possession.
Some may argue that while this may be true, money can also make people happy, if you let it. Depending on how it is used, money can make powerful changes in the world. Instead of letting money get in the way with people and things, it can be used for a better purpose. It gives people the ability and power to make a difference in lives and give back to society by creating a livelihood through job opportunities.
In conclusion, having money allows us to function more easily in the world, provide comfort in our lives and in the lives of others. However, because attachment to money is based on fear, it always creates insecurity. The desire to have more money, and thereby feel more secure, never ends. Security can never come from money alone. Some of the people who have the most money are also the most insecure. Therefore, it is all about creating the optimal balance.
A particular scene in “Ocean At The End Of The Lane” teaches that the greed and paranoia money causes can lead to conflict between people. One example of this is when an argument breaks out between a couple. The husband accuses his wife of doing illegal things when he sees her purse stashed with money, but the wife claims she doesn’t know where it all came from.This causes tension and paranoia between the two, and the trust in his wife is diminished.
In reality, all this money had been put in her purse without her knowledge or consent by Ursula Monkton, who the Hemstocks call “a flea”, the antagonist of the story. “Something’s [the ‘flea’] causing trouble. It’s giving people money. In their dreams and in real life.” Ursula Monkton believed that the principal reason everyone was unhappy because of money problems. Now, some may argue “everyone wants money ,” and it is what gives them happiness. But as evidenced above, this is not always the case.
Ursula Monkton’s decision to give money to the people, assuming it would resolve all their problems, wasn’t very realistic. Despite her seemingly good intentions, the real problem was the fact that she gave them the money and more so, anonymously. This is significant because the characters and their relationships with each other begin to fall apart with this unknown source of wealth, creating further problems.
The book also has evidence pertaining to how we base our dreams in anticipation of wealth and how these dreams fall like dominoes when things don’t work out as expected. One such example of this is when the main character is told that he’d won the premium bonds, a competition all babies are entered in when they’re born. He becomes greedy and ambitious; “I already knew what I was going to do with it. I would buy a place I could go be alone, like a bat cave with a hidden entrance.” When he is informed that he’d won only 25 pounds, he is disappointed and alters his dreams accordingly.
Money, especially the lack of it, can overpower you with negative emotions like sadness and jealousy. Taken as a whole, the smallest issues can occasionally turn into the biggest arguments relating to money, as is evidenced in conflict in relationships. Being in control of money can make you take drastic measures to keep it in your possession; “A lady in that house has gone mad. [...] She has money in the mattress. Now she won’t get out of bed, in case someone takes it from her.” This shows how money changes it’s own value depending on who possesses it. The lady in that house obviously didn’t have much money before the “anonymous” source gave it to her. That money meant so much to her. If compared to someone very rich, these measures wouldn’t have been taken to keep it in possession.
Some may argue that while this may be true, money can also make people happy, if you let it. Depending on how it is used, money can make powerful changes in the world. Instead of letting money get in the way with people and things, it can be used for a better purpose. It gives people the ability and power to make a difference in lives and give back to society by creating a livelihood through job opportunities.
In conclusion, having money allows us to function more easily in the world, provide comfort in our lives and in the lives of others. However, because attachment to money is based on fear, it always creates insecurity. The desire to have more money, and thereby feel more secure, never ends. Security can never come from money alone. Some of the people who have the most money are also the most insecure. Therefore, it is all about creating the optimal balance.
By Ananya
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