Can’t always get what we want

You need water when you are thirsty; you need food when you are hungry; you want desert though you are full; you want more deserts because they are good. What you need is controlled by your body and mind, while what you want is from your infinite desire. Needs are so simple that wants always exceed the needs. You can usually get what you need, but you can’t always get what you want. Some internal and external forces will always prevent you from getting what you want, and there are so many of what you want that you can’t get them all. Like “the lost generation” in The Sun Also Rises, their desire prompts them to seek for the meaning of life, but the reality keeps them from getting what they want. However, if you try sometimes well you might find that, in daily life, whether or not you get what you want doesn’t matter. Indeed, what you need is more necessary and useful than what you want.

I once dined in a French restaurant. The waiter introduced their lobster bisque before I ordered food. The recipe salivated me and I hungered for that soup so badly. However, I decided against my desire because of the allergy to nutmeg. The lack of personal capability disallowed me to get what I want; similarly, the impotence of the narrator, Jake Barnes, is insurmountable in his pursuit of manliness. Sitting outside the café in Paris, Jake looks for a prostitute to have dinner with. In his desire, he wants to have affair with the girl, but he pushes her hand away when she tries to touch him. He feels inferior and insecure with his disability. He said to the prostitute: “Certain injuries or imperfections are a subject of merriment while remaining quite serious for the person possessing them”(Hemingway, 35). Jake’s internal problem of impotence not only disables him from getting what he want, but also deprives his confidence and maleness. However, it is the war that wounds him physically and psychologically. The external factor is more fundamental and more impactful to prevent you from getting what you want.

After glancing at the menu, I was ready to order the food. The entrée Surf and Turf was absolutely the top choice. I told the servant that I want that dish, but he said apologetically that they were running out of sirloins. How regrettable and annoying it was to not have the food I wanted! The lost generation would have the same feeling when they realized that the whole society was a lack of value. The characters in the book want to regain their value after the war; Jake wants to be non-materialistic when he returns from the fiesta. However, he wasn’t able to get what he wants because of the external problem. Materialism permeated in France. Jake describes that atmosphere with ironic tone: “Everything is on such a clear financial basis in France. It is the simplest country to live in”(Hemingway, 237). If the external society praises the Money Talk highly, how can the individuals get the modesty that they want? The lack of materials in the restaurant and the loss of value in the society are both the external forces and the reasons for people not getting their wants.

As the substitution to the Surf and Turf, I ordered salmon filet instead. After finishing the entrée, the waiter offered me the desert menu. All the puddings and the cakes sounded amazing and I wanted them all. I was entangled with the choices and asked myself ceaselessly: “What should I get?”. After the war, the lost generation is facing almost the same dilemma as mine. Seeking for love, maleness, identity, aim, and so many other values, it is impossible for them to get all they want at a time. Embroiling themselves in choosing, they are lost. They become numb and unclear what do they want, which leads them to drink, party, and travel aimlessly. They need to know what do they really need.

I ordered a coffee instead of the deserts at the end. It was what I needed for my body and digestion; the deserts that I wanted had no use but bringing me fat. The writer of the book Hemingway, as the part of the lost generation, is clear about his needs. He reveals all the ideas of his generation in his work to awaken people. He also has a unique and simple writing style which he called “iceberg theory”; he only writes about the basic needs of a novel. However, those needs are crucial in presenting what he wants to show. Needs are more important than wants.

Because of my allergy to nutmeg and the restaurant’s exhausted materials, I was unable to get the dishes I wanted. The lack of capability of the characters and the loss of value in the society, the internal and the external factors, also prevent the lost generation from getting what they want. Facing the many choices, both  Hemingway and I chose what we really needed instead of what we wanted. You can’t always get what you want to fulfill your desire, but what you need is enough to satisfy your body and mind. Next time you want something, ask yourself if you really need it.