Happiness is a feeling of well-being, contentment and satisfaction. It's a kind of feeling. Happiness is subjective and difficult to measure. The interpretation of happiness varies from person to person. Many factors can affect a person's happiness. For example, our thoughts, our health, our environment and our living conditions, family harmony, social relationships etc. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayThis essay aims to determine whether environment and living conditions are the main factors affecting a person's happiness. From the three selected stories (a. “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka b. “The Boy Who Drew Cats” (a Japanese folk tale) c. “The Standard of Living” by Dorothy Parker), it illustrates that money cannot buy happiness because happiness comes from the satisfaction of our ability to be content with life. Therefore, we must remain persistent and continue moving towards our dreams even if we live in poor environment and living conditions. Achievement and success can bring us happiness and satisfaction rather than materialistic conditions. The theme of the story of “The Standard of Living” is the conflicts between illusion and reality. Through the two young girls in the story, Annabel and Midge, it demonstrates the lifestyles of materialism. Annabel and Midge were close friends. They worked in the same office in America as a stenographer. Annabel had invented a new game. The game won them a million dollars and they wanted to buy a pearl necklace that cost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. They tended to do something similar to what rich people do. Both girls were obsessed with money. Their dream was not only to become a millionaire but also to climb the ladder of the upper social classes. Unfortunately, it was just an illusion. The story of “The Boy Who Drew Cats” was about a boy, the son of a poor farmer. His parents decided to send him to the village temple to train as a priest. The boy learned quickly and was very obedient in most things except one: drawing cats whenever and wherever he could. The old priest eventually sent the boy away with the advice to encourage him to become an artist rather than a priest. The boy, instead of returning home, went to the neighboring village where there was a large temple. He didn't know that the temple was closed because of the appearance of a goblin rat. He saw a big white screen and started drawing cats. Finally, his cats killed the goblin rat. Subsequently, the boy became a famous artist. Although the story of "The Boy Who Drew Cats" is a fictional folk tale, it illustrates the concept that poor environment and living conditions cannot stop a dream. The little boy continued to pursue his dream even in a poor environment. His dream came true. He became a famous artist. Happiness comes from satisfaction in one's ability to become an artist. On the contrary, the two young girls in the story of “The Standard of Living” lived only in imagination and believed that materialism would bring them happiness. Girls would not be able to achieve what they want if they continue to imagine and without making efforts to change their lives. In the contemporary world, some students, from vulnerable families, have neither money nor additional resources to learn or follow tutoring classes. Despite a poor environment and living conditions, they remain.