Rather have something or be something? Or have you ever thought about the difference between having and being? In reality, having and being are two completely different things and the aim of this article will be to provide evidence of the differences. Throughout this article, many different short stories and poems will be referenced in order to adequately describe the meaning of having or being. Some of them include My Last Duchess, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, Everyday Use and The Destroyers. The remaining part of this article will describe the differences between having or being defined by examples from short stories and poems that have been analyzed. Before continuing the discussion on the differences between having and being, this section of the article will define each term. The term asset is something that you own or own. It is a possession that one contains in oneself or on oneself. In addition, the term having can give rise to feelings of happiness or pleasure. Additionally, there are unique identifying words that describe the asset. These include the I-this, the mechanistic, the conformist, and the objects. These are all words that describe and give meaning to the term have. Now that we understand what having is, let's describe being. Being is defined as living as something. Being is an act of presence and does not necessarily matter. Furthermore, being is defined as someone or something that is generic in its own way. Identifying words that describe being include I-thou, organic, uniqueness, and presences. Now that the meaning of both terms is understood, the next and remaining part of the article will provide examples of short stories and poems. As stated before the middle of the article......he does she doesn't necessarily want the quilt, but she wants to follow the legacy and ideas behind the quilt. The quilt has a feeling of white heritage from a black tradition. It's the opposite of Dee where she just wants to own the quilt, but Maggie actually wants to be the quilt in a sense. Maggie wants to use the quilt like her grandmother and follow the same principles as her family. These two scenarios show and display the difference between having and being. It's just that this story, the quilt was a possession that Dee had to have, but Maggie wanted to be the quilt and follow her traditions. In summary, all these literary works illustrate the difference between having and being. Each story shows it in a different way, but ultimately there is a clear difference between having and being, whether objects, possessions, feelings or traditions..