Examples Of Greed In Popular Mechanics By Raymond Carver

The Oxford Dictionary explains greed as, “[I]ntense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food” (Ostler, 258). Humans are no strangers to greed. In small amounts, it is healthy and needed to be successful. However, once greed gets to a certain point, it can take over a person’s feelings and behaviors. Raymond Carver gives a sinister example of the consequences of greed in his short story “Popular Mechanics”. To provide scientific evidence, many studies have been done to try to understand the effects of greed on a person. There are many modern day examples of tragedies that have occurred due to greed. One example of this is the Menendez brothers and how they murdered their parents for their fourteen million dollar estate. Greed is a mental illness that in unhealthy amounts can alter a person’s behavior and feelings.
Raymond Carver’s “Popular Mechanics” is a prime example of how greed can influence a person’s behaviors and cause a loss of common sense. The parents of a young child get in a serious verbal fight at first. Within the first few lines, Carver sets the mood by describing the environment and sluggish weather. He writes,“[C]ars slushed by on the street outside, where it was getting dark. But it was getting dark on the inside too” (Carver, 123). This can refer to the house from which this story took place, or refer to the parents getting dark on the inside as well emotionally. Carver does not give the father or the baby any names. From this, the characters can be

understood as archetypes. The father and the child can be considered universal, and for most people they can be relatable. “Popular Mechanic” deals with the process of conflict rather than the actual resolution of the conflict. In the story it does not focus on the ending, but it goes into detail about how the mother and father resolved their conflict.
The rising action consumes most of the short story. The father of the child is packing his belongings into a suitcase while the mother is making things worse by letting her emotions get the best of her. She proceeds to repeat herself and tells the father, “[S]on of a bitch! I’m glad you’re leaving” (123). What starts out as a verbal conflict, soon turns physical later on. Greed becomes a main part of this equation in the next few paragraphs Carver writes. The mother eventually leaves the father to finish his packing, and goes into the kitchen. She is holding their child at this point in the story. While in the middle of leaving, the father walks into the kitchen and demands he takes the child with him and that he can have someone come get the child’s stuff at a later time. The mother disagrees, and the conflict recommences. One thing leads to another, and soon the mother and father take part in a physical battle over the child. While in the midst of the struggle, the child is screaming. The father, now prying the mother’s hands from the baby, neglects the fact that he is harming the child. After a strenuous battle, Carver ends the short story with the chilling line, “[I]n this manner, the issue was decided” (125). The child is being referred to as the issue, and it can be interpreted that the child dies due to the parents tug-of-war. This story demonstrates the consequences of greed. Both the mother and the father are so full of greed, that they put the child in harms way to try to accomplish what they want. Ultimately, neither of the parents get the child. They were so consumed in doing whatever they had to get their way, that they lost sight of what is best for everyone in this situation. There is not a lot of insight on the parents as characters, but it is safe to assume their intentions were not to kill the child. However, from their greed and selfishness, their common sense seemed to vanish and they were left with the consequences of their poor behavior. What started out as a predictable custody fight over a child, soon turned into an unpredictable ending.“Popular Mechanics” supports the claim that greed influences behavior because of the two parents physically killing their child over their own selfishness.
The most common form of greed and selfishness lives through money. Granted money is a necessity to live a decently comfortable life in most cases, people will go to extremes to acquire more money than the next person. Along with excessive amounts of money comes self entitlement. When a person reaches a certain mindset or level of greed, the illness starts to take over and alter their behaviors. Greed and wealth go hand-in-hand. It is a natural part of human behavior to have a little characteristic of greed. The definition of greed is to collect and obtain resources. However, greed and wealth can dull the compassion in people. An online article written by Daisy Grewal on the scientificamerican.com says, “Berkeley psychologists Paul Piff and Dacher Keltner ran several studies looking at whether social class (as measured by wealth, occupational prestige, and education) influences how much we care about the feelings of others”. In one of the studies mentioned, they took people and let them watch two videos. “One video showed somebody explaining how to build a patio. The other showed children who were suffering from cancer. After watching the videos, participants indicated how much compassion they felt while watching either video. Social class was measured by asking participants questions about their family’s level of income and education. The results of the study showed that participants on the lower end of the spectrum, with less income and education, were more likely to report feeling compassion while watching the video of the cancer patients. In addition, their heart rates slowed down while watching the cancer video—a response that is associated with paying greater attention to the feelings and motivations of others”. This proves there is a definite connect that lies between wealth and compassion. This supports the claim that greed is a mental illness that can influence a person’s feeling. The wealthier people tested in the experiment on average felt less compassion with regard to those with little wealth.
In a periodical from the British Journal of Psychology, it says “The insatiable desire for more may even cause people to behave in immoral ways.

Greed has for example, been related to corporate fraud, which has resulted in the downfall of large corporations including Enron and Tyco. People also mentioned features that were related to superiority. It is likely that because greed is related to superiority they also think they can behave more selfishly”( Seuntjens,

520).
Greed is an illness that cannot be cured with drugs or injections. It quickly becomes part of a person and imprints itself into their character. Greed is not a desirable characteristic of many people. Another great example of how greed can influence a person’s thoughts and behaviors, is the Menendez brothers. At this point in history, everyone has a set of parents. Whether someone might know them or not, humans have one mother and one father. Traditionally, people prioritize and value family significantly. With that being said, why did the Menendez brothers murder their parents? Greed could be the answer. Brothers Erik and Lyle shot and successfully killed their parents on August 20, 1989. An article on people.com says, “Prosecutors said the brutal slayings were part of a larger scheme to get the Menendez parents’ $14 million estate. But the brothers claimed, in detail, that they acted in self-defense after years of abuse. A jury disagreed and convicted them both of first-degree murder, sending them to prison for life.” Throughout the trails, it was argued that they had been abused for many years by their parents. Erik and Lyle’s defense team justified the parricide by elaborating on the idea that their mental damage led to them to escape the abuse by killing Jose and Kitty Menendez. However, this can be argued. One possibility is the brother lied about the abuse, but even if they were not lying, the murder is still not justified. Kathleen Heide in “Understanding Parricide : When Sons and Daughters Kill Parents” wrote, “In fact, as discussed in Chapter 1, the development of “antisocial personality disorder” is often rooted in early and pervasive childhood maltreatment. Evidence indicates that histories of childhood abuse and neglect are often found in those diagnosed as psychopathic. Put another way, the Menendez brothers could have been abused and still have killed their parents for the money” (Heide, 145). Whether Erik and Lyle were abused or not, the brothers were completely motivated by greed. Because of their own wants and personal needs, they decided that killing their parents was morally okay in order for them to get the fourteen million dollar estate. Greed had altered their idea of common sense so strongly that to them murder was acceptable. More often than not, people love their parents dearly. But for the Menendez brothers, their parents were just a source of money that they hastily wanted to obtain.
Greed is a complex type of mental illness that can affect people’s actions and feelings. When people have an unhealthy amount of greed, there can be consequences. “Popular Mechanics” demonstrates how greed can blur the lines of common sense. Both of the parents would not intentionally kill or hurt the baby, but because if their own personal wants, they are left with a serious consequence. To reinforce the idea that greed is a mental illness, studies have been recorded. In one study, the results had shown that people with substantially more wealth exhibited less compassion. And lastly, a great example of greed affecting behavior is the Menendez brothers. Their need for money and the estate their parents owned, dulled their common sense and led to them to commit parricide.