Driven by Greed The Night of the Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton, tells the story of Harry Powell and the trouble he causes when he goes to a town after discovering that there is money hidden there. The main focus of the movie are his interactions with John and Pearl, the children who know where the money is hidden. Harry Powell is motivated by greed. It is shown that Powell is motivated by greed when, in an earlier part of the movie, he is trying to convince Ben Harper to give up the location of the money that Harper had gotten after robbing a bank. After learning that his cell mate, Ben Harper, robbed a bank and hid the money Powell wants to find out where it is hidden. In the beginning of the scene, Harper is murmuring in his sleep. …show more content…
Powell tries unsuccessfully to quietly coax the location of the money out of Harper while he is sleeping. When Harper wakes up, Powell continues trying to get the location by saying what he could do with the money. Powell also hints that God may be willing to forgive Harper if he would only give up the secret of where the money is. In this scene he demonstrates that he is not above manipulating people in order to find the money and he will say whatever it takes to get the money while also trying to hide his greed from others. This motivation is shown again when Powell goes to find Willa, Ben Harper’s widow, to figure out if she knows where the money is.
After arriving in town, he finds Willa and manages to get close to her. Powell mentions that he knew her husband before he died, but hides the fact that he was also in prison by saying that he was the prison’s preacher, and that he had recently resigned. Determined to find the money he marries Willa, even after realizing that she doesn’t know where the money is, in the hopes that she will somehow lead him closer to finding the money. Soon after he marries her, Powell finds out that her children, John and Pearl, know where the money is. When Willa realizes why Powell married her, he kills her to hide his true motivation from the other townspeople and then continues to act as though he cares about her children because he knows that they know where the money is …show more content…
hidden. This motivation is also shown when Powell goes after John and Pearl when they go off down the river in a boat trying to get away from him.
After Powell threatens John, Pearl tells him that the money is hidden in her doll. Before he can get it the kids manage to escape and lock him in the cellar. He breaks down the door and chases the children down to the boat where they start off down the river. Driven by greed, Powell kills a man and steals a horse to follow them, and in the movie, it is hinted that Powell does not sleep while he’s trying to catch up to John and Pearl, which further emphasizes his greed and how badly he wants to have the money. Later, when the children are at Rachel’s house, he finds them and initially tries to convince her that he is their father. When John says that Powell is not their father and Rachel chooses to believe him, Powell decides to sit outside her house during the night in the hopes that he will have the chance to get the money. Even with Rachel keeping watch with a gun close by, he goes inside the house because he’s so determined to get the
money. Harry Powell’s actions throughout The Night of the Hunter are driven by his greed and the determination he has in finding the money. Throughout the movie Powell demonstrates that he is willing to do whatever it takes to get the money. In the last half of the movie, when Pearl and John lock Powell in the cellar, he calls out to them saying, “Chill-dren? The only reason I wanted that money is so's you could have it” (Agee). Even with Jack and Pearl trying to get away as quickly as possible, even after it’s obvious that they know what he is trying to do, Powell still tries to convince them to give him the money. Powell does not care who he hurts or how he gets the money, all he’s focused on throughout the movie is getting the money.
A year passes without any incidents and senior patiently waiting, knowing was once again junior’s mischief was upon them. Senior gets a call from Miss Daisy Windsor, her complaint about Junior was very sever and she had to speak with Lawrence Senior as soon as possible about his sons actions. Senior walked in and his flashy gold watch and diamond ring blinded Miss Daisy. She implied that he was a very wealthy man. She looked inside his eyes and saw dollar signs. Lawrence writes a check for his sons actions and a little more. He then walks out a very happy man. They had a deep connection and Senior realized he made a big mistake knowing he betrayed Mrs. Lawrence. The affair continued for 3 years. Mrs. Lawrence never found out, never even expected the
wife. Tom would hide money and so would his wife. In both of the stories
In many ways, he made his kids’ lives harder than it already was. He was always drunk and spending their money on himself. Rex was also always running from authority. This was one of the reasons they moved around so much. One summer Rose Mary decided to go back to school to get her teaching certification again and leaves Jeannette in charge of the money. After only a week Jeannette has given Rex $30 after being guilted into it. Rex swindles a man in a game of pool and wins back the $30; he does this by using Jeannette as a distraction. After this experience Jeannette feels betrayed and used by her father. When Jeannette explains to her father that the “creep attacked [her] when [she] was upstairs” her dad shrugs it off by saying “I knew you could handle yourself.” (213) After Lori and Rose Mary got home from being away for the summer, Lori and Jeannette decide to start saving money so they can leave their parents and move to New York. One-day Jeannette comes home to find out that their piggy bank had been broken into and all the money was taken. Later they realize that Rex had taken the money and when they confront him about it, he denies it. Out of the four kids, Jeannette was closest to her father, but by the time she moved to New York she didn’t want anything to do with him or her mother. Many events that happened with her father were very hard, but made her stronger and more of an independent woman. Her father
Most of the story Night takes place in a concentration camp, so cruelty is going to be normal for the prisoners at the camp. The point of this essay is to give examples of how cruelty is a theme in the story Night.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s story “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” exposes the greed and selfishness of humans. Marquez expresses Elisenda and Pelayo’s hatred for people on their land who want to catch a glimpse of the angel when he says “Her spine twisted from sweeping up so much market trash, then got the idea of fencing in the yard and charging five cents admission to see the angel.” The inconveniences that the angel has caused drove them to use him and make money off of him by turning him into a giant spectacle. Despite the fact that the angel is not unusual the townspeople treat him as if he was a zoo animal as they “Burned his side with a hot iron.” This sends a message that people often ignore the fact that their actions have the power to create miserable situations for others.
.... Maloney would leave to be with the other women. This thought though, became a reality for Mary Maloney. Mary Maloney has testified to happening to “stumble across” a will, which mentioned Mary Maloney receiving three quarters of Patrick’s fortune if he were to pass away. Being the wife a detective, Mary Maloney new how to plot a scene. First she would murder Patrick, receive his fortune to care for the unborn child, never have to face him again after he said to her face that he loved another women and had been having affairs with her. Secondly, she would need to dispose of the murder weapon secretly, and create an alibi that would testify for Ms. Maloney. Thirdly, pretend that it was all a dream and that it never happened. Sadly, it was an incredibly easy task for a clever woman such as herself. How is it that money is what shapes our world but also destroys it?
Sources exhibit examples of greed that result in impoverished conditions for all circumstances of life. Greed is evident through the actions of social groups, and at the individual level. Selfishness would not benefit the good in life if it is expected to gain and not be expected to lose. Gluttony is evident in today's social environment just as much as it was years ago, whether it be using someone for self purpose, exploitation, damaging relationships, creating wars and oppression, destroying nature, countless other evils and many live without the necessities that we take for granted.
The aspect of greed shows itself as the heart of the many immoral acts committed by fictional characters and real people. From Adam and Eve’s betrayal to Macbeth’s collapse portrays what greed can produce as a result: destruction. Whether it destroys one’s health, it inherently portrays as a force to the path of corruption. The Pardoner, from The Canterbury Tales, defines greed’s purpose. This includes how greed pulls them to degeneration. No matter how subtle the fall, it still brings to distasteful events for the characters from The Importance of Being Earnest. Although the characters differ, their obsessions with their immoral acts decline their personalities. Thus, the authors portray the characters’ greed, as a pernicious force that drives
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a famous play written by the English playwright William Shakespeare. The play was written in 1606 during the reign of James I. The play talks about how a military general, Macbeth, rises to power after killing King Duncan. The Story revolves around how Macbeth’s actions change after he heard the prophecies from the 3 witches. Greed becomes Macbeth’s guide after he listens to the witches, and since he wasn’t fully content with his given position, he is easily manipulated by his wife. The central question to this play is to what extent power (or the lack of power) affects individuals and/or relationships. And how do the decisions and actions of people reveal their personalities? .
Everyone knows that evil can be devastating, especially to someone who foolishly embraces it. Most people would wonder why anyone would embrace evil. The answer is simple though; sometimes, evil does not appear as what it really is. Often, it actually appears enchanting, showing you the alluring side while hiding the darker side.
The realization that his lover had not only left him without a single word, but had only months later been knocked up and engaged to wed, sent Bill into a maddened outrage. He confronted Beatrice outside of the church where she, her soon to be husband, and all of his family were having a wedding rehersal...
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare illustrates how greed for power and wealth can result in the destruction of oneself as well as others. The play's central character, Macbeth is not happy as a high-ranking thane - leading him to assassinate Duncan to become King, while unknowingly dooming himself. Throughout the play many examples are evident of Macbeth's unquenchable thirst for power.
Macbeth's destiny and his lust for power, confirmed by the Three Witches and Lady Macbeth, leads to destruction. Every act that Macbeth commits effects the kingdom as a whole. Macbeth's indecisiveness and his understanding of success cause this destruction. This lust for power leads Macbeth, as it would all men, to an evil that exist in everyone. It is his destiny to fail.
Once inside, he heads for the upstairs. When he reaches the second floor, he finds the door to the master bedroom and enters to find the jewelry he had come for. John takes the watches, bracelets, necklaces, and rings and stuffs them into a small duffle bag. He quickly turns and when he exits the bedroom is confronted by a teenage girl, who he knows to be the daughter of the home owner. John makes a quick decision and hits the girl in the head with the pry bar and she falls to the floor.
and the way in which he shows both love and evil. The use of short,