In my opinion, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, a book written by Mordecai Richler, is ultimately about money. Simcha Kravitz, Duddy’s grandfather, would tell Duddy as a child that “a man without land is nobody.” These words encouraged him to live his life in a manner in which he would do anything he could in order to obtain the land that a “nobody” would not possess. But Duddy does not solely focus his desires on land; instead, his goals are set on wealth in general. In order to acquire wealth, Duddy engages in acts of dishonesty and deceit. He does this by exploiting the weaknesses of his friends, such as Virgil Roseboro and Yvette Durelle, while completely disregarding the fact that by doing this, his dignity and self-respect will diminish. Duddy scams Virgil by taking his bootlegged pinball machines in exchange for a job and truck that does not even exceed its costs. Moreover, Duddy indirectly deteriorates the relationship Yvette had with her family due to the fact that her boyfriend, Duddy, is Jewish, and basically uses her as a device of sexual pleasure. She, like Virgil, is nothing more than a tool Duddy will use in order to achieve his goals of land ownership. In addition to this behaviour, Duddy was incredibly manipulative when it came down to him conning the Cohen family into purchasing the poor quality bar-mitzvah film that have been produced by his firm. Afterwards, he becomes a rogue that demonstrates absolute dishonesty towards his customers as a method of obtaining more money. Duddy should have acted in a more honest manner and aimed for the betterment of his business reputation, but instead, he disregards his business ethics and centralizes his goals strictly on the money that he earns. The m... ... middle of paper ... ...m to obtain land, and it was his father who told him stories of a man who gambled in order to achieve wealth. Survival was not something that was strived for in this book, as each character possessed the essentials required to survive. Both Duddy Kravitz and Jerry Dingleman did not worry about the sustainment of their mere survival; instead, they worried solely about living lives of luxury. While it may seem as if in the end the book was ultimately about land, I think that the land was merely something that Duddy used to show off the money he possessed. If it had not been for his grandfather, he still would have pursued the obtainment of money just for the sake of being wealthy. Duddy Kravitz was a powerful symbol that expressed man’s desire to obtain money, and man’s capabilities of going through any means possible in order to obtain the money they desire.
Coming from someone in such a position at that point in Duddy's life, a statement like "a man without land is nothing", has a particularly strong effect. The words themselves are very blunt and closed to interpretation. He wasn't simply telling him it would be nice to own property, his grandfather was telling him he will never have amounted to anything in his eyes, unless he owns land. A message that strong coming from a figure with so much influence on a boy like Duddy can have a very monumental impression. It is clear that Duddy did, in fact, take these words to heart, as he is constantly involved in get-rich-quick schemes, starting when he is still in school. This preoccupation would eventually be Duddy's downfall.
Duddy was not born into money, his father, Max, was a taxi driver, and pulled in a low income. Max’s brother, Benjy had money and always played favourites with Duddy’s brother, Lennie by giving him money and opportunities. Duddy always had to struggle for his money, and in one his many struggles he borrows his father’s taxi cab, which is his only source of income, but does not return it for three days. He was delivering pin ball machines that he had sold. When he returns he finds his father is furious at him just taking off with the cab without permission. “They found Max at Eddy’s, and he was furious, ‘who do you think you are?,’ he said ‘that you can run off with my car for three days? Just like that.’” (Richler, 213). Duddy has a way of burning bridges with the people that he most needs, he only thinks of himself, and has no consideration for the feelings of others, even those who does not want to hurt the most. Duddy’s grandfather, also known as the Zeyda, is Duddy’s mentor and the only person Duddy really looks up to, and the one he does not want to hurt, but ends up hurting him the worst. “‘Yvette came to see me.’…. ’she told me what you did,’ Simcha said, ‘And I don’t want a farm here.’ …. ‘I can see what you have planned for me, Duddel. You’ll be good to me. You’d give me everything I wanted.
In the documents titled, William Graham Sumner on Social Darwinism and Andrew Carnegie Explains the Gospel of Wealth, Sumner and Carnegie both analyze their perspective on the idea on “social darwinism.” To begin with, both documents argue differently about wealth, poverty and their consequences. Sumner is a supporter of social darwinism. In the aspects of wealth and poverty he believes that the wealthy are those with more capital and rewards from nature, while the poor are “those who have inherited disease and depraved appetites, or have been brought up in vice and ignorance, or have themselves yielded to vice, extravagance, idleness, and imprudence” (Sumner, 36). The consequences of Sumner’s views on wealth and poverty is that they both contribute to the idea of inequality and how it is not likely for the poor to be of equal status with the wealthy. Furthermore, Carnegie views wealth and poverty as a reciprocative relation. He does not necessarily state that the wealthy and poor are equal, but he believes that the wealthy are the ones who “should use their wisdom, experiences, and wealth as stewards for the poor” (textbook, 489). Ultimately, the consequences of
He emphasizes his limited resources he had when he arrived in Philadelphia to bring more significance in his accomplishments and his success. His accomplishments in business and as a public-spirited citizen shows his readers that it is possible to succeed with a certain work ethic. He came to Philadelphia with just change in his pocket. Throughout his autobiography he explained how he built himself up while, as he explains, many of his friends were lazy. This shows how he is trying to depict a certain behavior that he believes will make oneself
From this novel, the reader can learn more about the economic system, and how it is applied to life. The reader is able to enjoy the narrative along with learn the principles that are introduced by Roberts.
“Money can’t buy happiness” is a saying that is often used to make one understand that there is more to life than wealth and money. Jay Gatsby was a man of many qualities some of which are good and bad. Throughout the book of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we learn of his past and discover the true qualities of Jay Gatsby. Starting from the bottom, with little money, we learn of why Gatsby struggled so hard all his life to become wealthy and what his true goal in life was. When reading this story, the true reasons behind Gatsby’s illegal actions reveal themselves and readers can learn a great life lesson from this story and the actions the characters take. Readers can see through Gatsby’s contradictions of actions and thoughts that illustrate the theme of the story, along with his static characteristics, that all humans are complex beings and that humans cannot be defined as good or bad.
During the time in our country's history called the roaring twenties, society had a new obsession, money. Just shortly after the great depression, people's focus now fell on wealth and success in the economic realm. Many Americans would stop at nothing to become rich and money was the new factor in separation of classes within society. Wealth was a direct reflection of how successful a person really was and now became what many people strived to be, to be rich. Wealth became the new stable in the "American dream" that people yearned and chased after all their lives. In the novel entitled the great Gatsby, the ideals of the so called American dream became skewed, as a result of the greediness and desires of the main characters to become rich and wealthy. These character placed throughout the novel emphasize the true value money has on a persons place in society making wealth a state of mind.
To paraphrase Robert Burns-"The best laid plans of mice and men go awry". This is a bleak statement and it is at the centre of the novel's action. George and Lennie have the dream of owning their own ranch and living a free independent life; they would be self-reliant and most of all they would be safe from a harsh and hostile world. Other characters in the book also try to buy into their dream ie, Candy and Crooks. Ultimately, the dream unravels and like a Greek Tragedy, the ending is terrible but also predictable.
This novel depicts greed on several occasions through out the novel. One example of this is when Gatsby is left twenty five thousand dollars by Dan Cody as a legacy, but from what one is led to believe Ella Kaye refused to let
In conclusion, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel shows us the true meaning of the American Dream and its sad demise by the wealthy and power-hungry. His work in the death of James Gatz in his novel portrays the end of the American Dream. Gatz, although born poor, was one of the few, if not only boy that worked his way up into wealth. He followed his only hope and dream, bore consequences and learned from morals. The death of himself was caused by his blindness of Daisy’s only need, wealth. He died living his American Dream a dream he thought and carried along with him up until his last.
Silicon Valley, California, is home to 250,000 millionaires, a staggering number, indeed. But just what does it mean to be rich? This paper examines one of the most powerful forces in the universe: wealth. Merriam Webster defines wealth as all property that has a money value or exchangeable value. Most people think of wealth as cash.
It tells a story about two traveling ranch workers, George and Lennie, trying to earn enough money to buy their own ranch. As it is set in 1930s America, it provides an insight into The Great Depression, encompassing themes of racism, loneliness, prejudice against the mentally ill, and the struggle for personal independence. The book can be a parallel of what many people were going through at the time. Also it touches on how skewed the American Dream could be or if it even existed at all. There were many themes that encompassed this novel and really represented what the United States was going through at the time.
Even though this book has many concerns, the purpose behind it is something that every student should be able to read. The overall objective is supposed to give the readers a reality check. The lesson at the end was to inform them that being rich will not make them happy. Also, to live a fulfilled life you need love and real friends. This lesson is better to learn at a young age so you will know how to prevent it rather than wait till it's already too
There is a famous saying that “money is the root of all evil,” however in the case of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, money is the root of all society. A Marxist analysis of The Great Gatsby reveals that society built their very foundation upon money. The power of wealth in the world of Gatsby is evident in the novel’s relationships, materialistic lifestyles, and the representation of the American Dream.
In The Visit the author Friedrich Durrenmatt revolves around the theme of the corruption of money because it plays an important part in the progression of the story. Friedrich Durrenmatt is using Claire, a powerful billionairess to show how money can affect behavior, moral principles and politics. Claire gives the people of Güllen a big decision to make in exchange for money and the choices they are given leads them to commit murder. Claire is able to manipulate an entire town and play with the law because of her wealth. Durrenmatt shows the toll money takes on society.