In lecture, we discussed the question that Richard Wagamese's book asks: Does money have the ability to change someone's quality of life? Previous to reading this book, I had often toyed with that same idea on my own. Whenever things don't go exactly as planned, those of us who have financial limitations often think, 'If only I had more money, everything would be different.' But Wagamese's book questions the truth in those thoughts. The characters in Ragged Company win money through the lottery, but are still unable to let go of their previous experiences, struggles and burdens. This reminded me of an episode of Oprah that I once saw about a homeless person who was give $100,000 by a documentary filmmaker. The director put the money in a briefcase in a dumpster where the homeless man was sure to find it, as he made his living at the time by collecting cans. The homeless man was unaware that the money was to be part of the movie he was being filmed for; the director had told him that he was just following him to discover what it was like to be homeless. The man had no idea that he was part of a social experiment to see if money really can change someone's life for the better. Out of no where, family members and old friends who had once abandoned the man and forgotten of his existence wanted a new relationship with him. The man bought these people lavish gifts such as cars and even bought himself a $32,000 truck. Not only did he not know how to handle having so much money, but he could not grow accustomed to living under a roof. Once he had acquired an apartment, he couldn't sleep on a bed, but slept on the floor. Eventually, he was so unwise with his money, despite the financial advisers and therapists available to him free of charge through the director, that he ended up homeless and alone once again. This story demonstrates that money cannot solve all of one's problems. (The link to the story is here http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/95216/a_homeless_man_blows_100000_of_free.html?cat=9)
Although the characters in Ragged Company do not grow fully accustom to having more opportunities either, they eventually learn how to use their talents and skills as trades and give back to the Mission. But the success of the characters is due to something they had that the homeless man in the other story did not - each other. They were a family before they received their windfall and were there for each other despite their social circumstances. They may have been lacking a physical place to live, but they had built a home with their friendship. The company's relationships with each other and with Granite allow them to move past their former lives and use their fortune to reinvent their lives. Regardless of their monetary wealth, as long as they maintained their home with each other, they would continue to be rich in love and companionship.
