The theme greed is always shown in the book “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. The author shows it in so many ways, for example when the author says “Oh, please don’t, boys; I swear I won’t ever tell!”. This shows greed because he wants to take the bad guys boat to capture the men. Another quote that shows greed in the book is “There was trouble ‘bout something and then a lawsuit to settle it; And the suit went agin one of the men, and so he up and shot the man that won the suit…” After this happened Miss Sophia Grangerford is going to marry Harney Shepherdson and the two families both fight each other blaming the other family and this caused a lot of greed and violence.
A theme quite common in literature is pursuit of wealth and riches. In the short story unit there was one short story, one book, and one movie that all shared the same theme: The Necklace, The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Of Mice and Men. The problem in The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant was based off of Mme. Loisel’s pursuit of wealth and riches.
For instance, The Huntsman made a deal with the Evil Queen that she'll bring back his dead wife back if he brings back the prisoner that escaped into the dark forest back to her. This shows greed because he just wants his wife's live with him because to him it doesn't matter who he has to kill or capture to get his wife back. Secondly, In Washington Irving's “ The Devil and Tom Walker” Tom Walker's wife displays her greed by hiding useless things that are mostly used by the husband and the wife lie eggs but she hides it. For instance, “At length she determined to drive the bargain on her own account… to keep all the gain to herself .”
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a testimony to the difference between greed and ambition, good and evil, and right and wrong. The story shows that when one becomes obsessed with power, they will often resort to methods of manipulation and retaliation to achieve their desired outcome. In the case of Macbeth, he is approached by the Three Witches who inform him that he will one day become Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland. Additionally, they inform Macbeth’s comrade Banquo that his sons will one day be kings.
“Fraud is the daughter of greed” -Jonathan Gash In the book, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, there is a variety of characters that show several emotions. One of these emotions includes greed. Greed causes terrible things. Greed is a feeling or emotion that motivates people to go to extreme lengths, this is shown when in the book, Hugo kidnaps a girl, Barrymore wants to leave with all of Sir Charles money, and L.L. begs for money from Sir Charles.
Three examples of greed and its effects are shown in the stories of “The Necklace”, “Civil Peace”, and “The Golden Touch”. The short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant tells the story of a woman, named Mathilde, who borrows a very expensive necklace, ends up losing it, and spends 10 years of her life repaying the debt it took to buy a new one, only to find out the original was fake and not expensive at all. This alone states the extent at which we will go to replace materialistic items. The lady had been part of the middle class, living comfortably, and even had a maid and a cook.
Greed is a very risky aspect in life it’s a win-lose situation most of the time. William Shakespeare shows a wonderful example of this in his play “Macbeth.” In this play Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a mindset that Macbeth deserves to be King. In order to do this they have to find a way to “overthrow” Duncan, the current King. Lady Macbeth is so determined that her husband would make an amazing king, but the way they come along to get Macbeth his royal spot is not so amazing.
In the Avarice she was driven by her wants. Gatsby and Madame Loisel are both the same. This shows that greed is a very strong power and you have to be careful. Make sure you think about what you need before you want. Shopping is fun, but vegetables are not.
Is greed in everyone? When we become extremely greedy it never ends up being positive, Shakespeare's Macbeth does a good job demonstrating how greed leads to someone's corruption or downfall. It starts when Macbeth goes to see the three witches. The witches tell him one day he will be king of Scotland by saying, “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.53) Here the witches are telling Macbeth his prophecy that’ll come in the future.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, greed and suffering reveal the devastating results of acquiring power. The greed of Macbeth and his wife earned them what they desired; however the more they gained, the more they’d suffer. And although they are both to blame, Lady Macbeth is truly the one who started their bloody journey to royalty. Upon hearing the witches’ prophecy of his fate, saying “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”,Macbeth sends a letter to his wife.
Greed for power has always been evil and even made a saint turn into a demon. As the quote goes “All power tends to corrupt and an absolute power corrupts absolutely” (unquote), which is true not only in the fictitious stories but also in real life and Shakespeare, th9e greatest writer ever known, has always been in habit of making fictitious character come alive and Macbeth is no exception to the rule. The character of Macbeth has two sides, one which is wholesome while other been dubious. He symbolized great ambition but went overboard and in the process not only became corrupt but also became a killer. Macbeth reflects great strength but within he has his own weakness and thus good over took evil resulting in its downfall and finally his own death.
Greed is shown in early time periods through literature such as various writings of Chaucer, but these stories can also represent those who are a stark contrast to the avarice filled characters previously mentioned. These selfless characters provide better understanding for the true meaning behind greed by exhibiting what greed is not. It is not selfless actions done to help others. It is not an honest man working hard for his livelihood. It is not one's actions resulting in a positive impact on another person.
In the " The Black Ships Before Troy" , Three godesses, Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite were greedy for a golden apple and to be claimed the fairest. So the goddesses offered Paris(a shepard/prince) gifts if he claimed one of them the fairest but Aphrodite offered to get Paris a beautiful wife as fair as herself and Paris being greedy accepted and chose Aphrodite. Then as an outcome started a war all because of their greed for a small golden apple. Another example is that in this story greed even lead to killing. "
Human nature causes people to desire more than what one already has. However, after desiring material items, people realize the foolishness in their greed. In “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Mathilde Loisel, who lives in France during the 1880s, attempts to transform her ordinary life into one of luxury. She attends a reception with her friend Madame Forestier's diamond necklace, but after losing it, she works to buy a new necklace, only to later discover the necklace she lost is fake. Through this experience, Mathilde learns to be content with what she has, and as a result, she realizes the flaws in her character.
He also demonstrates through his characters a human touch. The characters that are victimized are viewed with understanding and sympathy. The story of ‘The Necklace’ is about a lady called Mrs. Loisel who was born into a family with very normal social status. She settled for a life of mediocracy by marrying a minor clerk in the ministry of education.
