Are rich children always happier than those who come from poorer families (Argumentative Essay)

He attracted stares from crowds of wide-eyed students, Keith, whom I always looked upon with admiration. He drove up to the school gate in a Rolls Royce, with a chauffeur at the wheel. We all came to look, and even the teachers stopped to take a peek. We all thought he was the luckiest person in the world, and obviously we thought he was happier than all of us.

Keith belonged to a family which was a major shareholder “Panasonic”, and like other privileged children that were born in rich families, he lived a life of luxury. He was always first to get the newest models of “Hot wheels” and train sets. Everyone thought he was happy and fortunate, but I eventually learnt that these children aren’t as happy as we think they are.

Keith would come into class with his Nike bottle, North-face bag and Timberland shoes each morning. Crowds of eager classmates swarmed him, to use, to grab, and to even just touch them. Stories would then come out from the mouths of jealous classmates; about how Keith is given new spoon with each mouthful of food and about how he lives in a house of gold. To be stereotyped isn’t easy, especially for Keith, who was a single child of his parents and needed friends. This eventually creates a wall between the rich and the poor, creating social tension, leaving the rich isolated and unhappy.

At break time, Keith would sit away from everyone. He would open his lunch box, and then bring out a cold sausage, 2 bars of chocolate and a packet of apple juice, while the others brought out plain bread to eat. When he topped the class for Math, the teacher awarded him with a packet of “Fruit Plus” sweets. He gave it out to the rest of the class. I then realised that these richer children have too much, so they don’t desire for anything. Perhaps he never wished for sweets or other delicacies (or so we thought they were), something that we rarely got, only as a prize for getting good grades. To crave for something and the joy of getting it. For the richer children, it was something they would never experience.

After school, Keith would be waiting for his chauffeur at the guardhouse, watching us play basketball. We laughed and screamed in joy, but Keith knew full well that he could play the same thing as us once he got home to his Wii. We knew it too, but by playing alone by his Wii, could he really be as happy? One would think that with the newest toys, games and technology, he would be happy, but obviously he would never experience the delight of playing with peers.

I would sometimes look back and remember, Keith’s emotionless face as he received the “Fruit Plus” sweets from our teacher. Although being rich gave him a more comfortable life than us, it definitely did not make him happier.