Topic > The effect that material possessions have on happiness in our lives ." The minimalists in Graham Hill's commentary on the NY Times, Living with Less. A Lot Less, in which he examines the effect material possessions have on happiness in our lives, Hill creates an informative yet aggressive tone through the article with the use of persuasive strategies, Pathos, and Ethos. Using these strategies to convey to the Reader that consuming material goods only leads to bad results and a hoarding problem. It attempts to convince the public that consumerism does not lead to happiness, but to dissatisfaction. Although he uses two persuasive strategies, his argument lacks content in Ethos. Hill fails to explain in any in-depth analysis why America's endless consumption of material goods does not actually lead to increased happiness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayHill begins his commentary piece by explaining his minimalist lifestyle, living in a four hundred and twenty square foot studio apartment, sleeping on a rollaway bed, having very little clothing, and using only two bowls in the house. For the introduction, Hill continues to use Pathos as a persuasive strategy. He describes to the audience how, through a minimalist lifestyle, he became wealthy and describes a time when he and his partner sold their Internet consulting company for more money than he could have ever imagined. As anyone would, Hill purchased a large house, designer clothes, accessories and lots of gadgets, as well as a nice luxury car. But Hill had reached a point in his life where he had more money to spend than he knew what to do with. He was “filthy rich” at this point in his life. Hill realized that he could and had all the materials one could want, but he was dissatisfied (Hill 309). He uses Pathos effectively in the introduction and afterwards the audience can connect with Hill on an emotional level. Many can identify with him when he describes purchasing material goods but still being dissatisfied with his lifestyle. In the body of his commentary article, Hill abruptly changes his persuasive strategy from Pathos to Ethos. He begins by explaining that he now owns two homes of his own and emphasizes the idea that he was not the only one whose life was filled with excess possessions (Hill 309). It also uses logos citing credible sources and studies that explain that almost everyone uses more space than necessary to live as before. He lists the facts from these studies to explain American waste by saying, “We take up more than 3 times the amount of space per capita than we did 60 years ago… America has a $22 billion personal storage industry due of America's endless consumerism of material goods and experts believe that consumerism plays an important role in pushing our planet to the brink of its inevitable demise.” Hill concludes the body of his article with a rhetorical question: “All this endless consumption translates in a measurable increase in happiness”? While most paragraphs have succeeded in providing credible sources to support his logos-fueled argument, the author fails to explain in depth why the endless consumption of material goods gives part of America does not actually lead to an increase in happiness. In his commentary, Hill returns to his first persuasive strategy, Pathos, connecting with our inner emotions. While Hill talks about how he began to initiate an emotional relationship with a woman. Subsequently the, 2016. 308-312