The Appeal of Hunting for Cash
A favorite story throughout history is the tale of quest for cash, or treasure of some sort. From time immemorial, we have been entertained by tales of bold men who go in search of finding cash now, rather than sitting around and waiting for the cash to come to them. Of course, the stories we are talking about are not those of a businessman finding new methods of achieving wealth. No, we are speaking of those stories in which one or more people go on a search for someone or something else's cash, in the hopes of finding a free means to wealth now, rather than working hard for years and years.Admittedly, not then or now is the usual means of the people of these stories a socially acceptable way of achieving free cash. For as long as these particular brand of stories have been told, the listeners have fully understood that the protagonists are not actually behaving in a noble manner. When the actual quest is not for the assistance of others, but rather for a quick and free means of getting cash in the here and now, at the expense of another, it is quite apparent that the listeners are actually rooting for a thief of some kind. Yet we continue to be intrigued and entertained by such tales. Why is this?
Perhaps it is a case of simple empathy. Maybe it is that we as the audience understand the protagonist's desire for the quick and easy acquisition of cash now, free of the burdens associated with daily toil. Part of us would love to find a way to free ourselves of the humdrum of the day to day, and what could be better than to go on an adventurous quest. Not simply any quest, however, but one in which we not only don't have to be somewhere day in and day out, but are also entering into a compact that has the potential of providing us with a large pile of cash right now, not spread out over a number of years and a multitude of paychecks.
The fantasy of such stories is wonderfully entertaining, but few are foolish enough to actually see them as an actual means of acquiring cash in large quantities right now. Perhaps we are missing the main point of the importance of such stories, however. Maybe the real lesson to find behind such tales is not what the protagonist is going after, in this case, effort-free cash, but rather, the decision to take a chance on a dream. It could be that we aren't impressed or admiring of what they are going after, but that these tales tell of those who were willing to risk their comfort in exchange for giving themselves up to the quest for their dreams in the here and now, rather than waiting for that 'someday' to take a chance.
Other articles of interest: