5 Things The Wolf Of Wall Street Celebrates (And Condemns) About America

2. Happiness

The word has a different definition for everyone, but the Wolf shows us that whatever it may mean to you or me or him, it's definitely temporary. The Wolf stopped doing drugs and sleeping with hookers, but his dependency on them was vital not just to his function, but to be happy and to keep living. When Donnie comes to visit the Wolf on house arrest, he asks him how he's doing after rehab:

"It sucks... I'm so bored I want to kill myself."

In America, it's not life, liberty, and happiness. It's the pursuit that matters. If you're not moving towards happiness in America, you're not moving at all and if you're not moving, you sure aren't living. Unfortunately, there's an end to every pursuit and if the pursuit doesn't kill you, then the boredom will. In the end, the Wolf lost his family, friends, company, and everything he ever worked for because he was never truly happy. However, the Wolf doesn't try to get his wife and kids back - to his credit, he doesn't go back to drugs and hookers, either, though. He goes back to his main addiction: money. In the end, he's back helping regular people like you and me get rich because that's when he was the happiest: pursuing money.