All That Glitters Is Not Gold

e book, All That Glitters Is Not Gold, written by Benjamin Ifeanyichukwu Abugu, symbolically portrays deception. It shows that life is fragile and one should be be handled with care. Written in 19 chapters, the 152-page prose analyses the fruitlessness of promiscuity. It highlights how reckless living leads to pain and shame. Essentially, the book depicts the moral decadence of the 21st Century people, who believe in easy life and quick financial benefit. The story revolves round the major characters; Anya and his sister Blossom.Both are children of Gab Uku and Mabel from Egwuonwu who live in Lagos. Their escapades, belief, time and chance like the Biblical saying, are weighed in a balance. Anya and Blossom had lived a wayward live of watching pornographic films and fornicating. â€Å"Their inner conflicts are compounded by the scourge of HIV/AIDS, that currently threatens to destroy the entire population. † While Anya escapes the scourge, his sister falls victim. Former Miss World becomes a shadow of herself and finally dies. Anya, a newspaper reporter, has some bad habits which are controlled by his experiences.He learns from his experiences, illusions, dreams, particularly, his encounter with swindlers and robbery trial arising from his association with bad friends. Anya almost committed suicide when erroneously given a HIV positive result. His fears and conflicts are allayed after the result is corrected. From that moment, he turns a new leave. But Blossom is a former beauty queen and a campus babe. Having lived with her aunty, Eliza and husband, Chief Dike Akukamadu, a business mogul, becomes a sleeping partner to the chief.Aside living a carefree life, she is also a cultist. Her friend, Rose, introduces her to Daughters of Jezebel, the female wing of Red Atlantic cult. The cult was notorious for all manners of indecent appearance on campus, including nudity, which was regarded as the most sacred mark of the sisterhood of Jezebel. Blossom torment st arts after her escapades with Romeo, a sadist, who storms campus on a revenge mission to distribute HIV/AIDS to 50 girls. She and other fun-loving girls fall victims as a result of the dollars of Mr. Romeo.The author uses the third person narrative technique to tell the story. All that glitters is indeed gold. Had Blossom known, she would have lived a better life and she wouldn’t have wasted her beauty, talent and life just as Anya wouldn’t have been swindled. From the objects on the cover page, which sparkle like gold but are not there is a warning for everyone to beware of outward appearance because it is very deceptive as against inward virtues and qualities. The book is didactic. Its lesson is for all to beware and take time to weigh every action.It is thought provoking as many think that worldliness is the best form of living but really, it is not. The book is morally inclined. It is detached and impartial. It lays bare the evils of immorality and allows readers t o make their own judgment. Abugu has also published The Widow And The Wolves aside writing a number of articles published online @ expertscolumn. com. Born in Amachalla, Enugu-Ezike, Igbo-Eze North L. G. A, Enugu State, Abugu is a graduate of English Language from the Lagos State University. All That Glitters is Not Gold The adage â€Å"All that glitters is not gold† cautions us against forming our opinion about objects on the basis of superficial impressions. It also implies that one should try to ascertain the true nature of things and to understand the reality hidden behind their glittering facade. However, love for glamour is deeply embedded in human nature. Taking advantage of this inherent vulnerability of man to glamour, cash rich companies rope in glamorous film and sports personalities to advertise their goods and services.Soap and tooth paste used by charming actresses and dashing sportsmen sell like hot cakes. Companies' sales are boosted and consumers, particularly those of the lower middle classes, forego many necessities of life to have a taste of goodies recommended by their favourite stars. Man would read super hero stories from films and see that those are real and often fell in temptations and believe that those are great but actually those are also men. hose glitters in film s imagines him to be great but actually he is also a man among us.One would expect that our reading of such stories would make us wise and prevent us from falling prey to temptations of outward beauty. But man, weak as he is, never learns from others' experience. He often courts disaster by giving into temptations. We are repeatedly warned and alerted by the wise and the experienced not to take persons and things on their face value. The most innocent masks may hide behind them the most cunning of cheats.But very often even the wise fall prey to tricksters. Even Sita, the consort of Lord Rama, was tempted by the glitter of the golden deer she saw bounding around her forest cottage and requested Rama to bring it for her. Rama earnestly expostulated Sita to forget the deer as it might be a trap of some villain, but she was so charmed by the guiles of the deer that she pressed him to leave the Ashram in search of it. A few minutes later, Sita heard a distress call for help in Rama's vo ice.She, thereupon, requested Lakshman to go and relieve Rama from distress. Lakshman tried to convince Sita that nobody was brave enough to harm the invincible Rama, but Sita was so nervous that she forced Lakshman to leave the Ashram. In his absence, the Rakshasa king Ravana abducted Sita. It later turned out that the golden deer was actually the demon Marichi in disguise sent by Ravana to tempt Sita. Sita's temptation demonstrates the validity of the old saying â€Å"All that glitters is not gold†. All That Glitters is Not Gold The most valuable items in the world, monetary value wise, are the precious gems and metals that the rich and the famous constantly adorn themselves with. Today’s concept of value is based on tangible items that have a corresponding market value. Gold, which is the peg for most currencies in the world, is the universal currency these days. Nothing of value can be purchased, owned or possessed if it does not justify its â€Å"weight in gold†, so to speak. Yet, as the tagline of Mastercard suggests, there are those things that are â€Å"priceless.† In this world, not everything is gold and not everything that resembles something valuable has to glitter. Perhaps a perfect example would be an illustration of a personal experience of mine. I once had an opportunity to witness two lawyers working at their firm in the past. I must admit that I had certain preconceived notions of what I would see at that firm. I expected these senior lawyers to have fancy cars and flashy watches. Yet much to my surprise, they had none of those things.One lawyer regularly commuted to work while the other preferred to ride his bike to work. There were no glittering watches or pieces of jewelry. One of them could not replace his tattered briefcase with something more decent and perhaps functional. I knew from the moment I saw them that there was much more to them than that. As the day went on, I would see that they had a special touch with their clients. The fact that they knew the cases of their respective clients by heart and even the names of their children and family situation made me see them in a different light.They did not charge excessive fees and often just accepted small tokens of appreciation in return. The difference that these lawyers made was even more emphasized by an experience later that day when an opposing lawyer entered their firm. A sports car sped by the office window and anyone could see the person driving the convertible that had its top down. In his mid thirties, this young lawyer entered the firm with a certain air of authority, expecting everyone to recognize him.He had a gold watch would blind the eyes of anyone unfortunate enough to glance at it. He had platinum cuff links on his suit that were adorned with diamonds. Behind him were his assistants who were just as gaudily dressed. It turns out that they represented a large corporation that wanted these two humble lawyers to drop their case against the firm. They were prepared to offer a huge cash settlement in return. I was not surprised when these humble lawyers politely declined the offer and proceeded with the case which they eventually won for their clients.These were lawyers who were in a position to make millions of dollars yet they chose not to and instead devoted their lives to uphold the justice system of the state and of this great country. There was nothing flashy or fancy about the things that they did but I know that they have made a big difference in t his world. This personal experience of mine shows that not everything that glitters is gold; the former lawyer with all the pomp and flash that he had still resorted to underhanded tactics and eventually lost out in the end.There was no substance to this person. There was no value underneath that entire flashy exterior. The two humble lawyers, on the other hand, showed much more than their exterior would suggest. The kindness of their hearts was echoed in their actions and the time they devoted to their clients was something that was certainly worth more than any glittering watch of gold. Not everything that glitters is gold. Not everything that glitters has any value to it.Real value sometimes cannot be judged from the flashy exterior and certainly cannot be equated in today’s currency. It is the acts of kindness and selflessness that give value to things in this world, especially human beings. It is easy to be distracted by something shiny and pretty but one must always rea lize that everything material disappears in the end. All the shine will soon tarnish and fade away. Yet those intangibles that matter will never fade and will always be in the hearts of tho