The first part has one paragraph, i.e. Paragraph 1, which shows that everybody wants happiness but nobody can pin it down exactly.
The second part consists of four paragraphs, from Paragraph 2 to Paragraph 5, which illustrate the commercial drive behind the concept of happiness. While the 18th-century author and social critic Jonathan Swift conceived of happiness as “the state of being well-deceived” means, many Americans believe that their purchasing power can be traded for concrete happiness in terms of beauty and dreams.
The third part consists of four paragraphs, from Paragraph 6 to Paragraph 9. In this part the author uses two extreme definitions as a means to introduce a relatively neutral definition of happiness. From one extreme of the spiritual joy of the Indian holy man to another extreme of greedy materialism, there is a happy medium, similar to Thoreau's practice.
The fourth part is, in fact, the most important part as the author makes his comments on meanings of happiness. This part is made up of four paragraphs, from Paragraph 10 to Paragraph 13. In Paragraph 10, the author points out the gist of happiness, namely, it is an effort-making process. Paragraph 11 presents as supporting evidence the effort-making process in games. In Paragraph 12, evaluation on the Eastern and Western extremes is made. In Paragraph 13, the author restates the effort-making process and answers a question raised in Paragraph 1 by providing her understanding of happiness.
