When their morals are clouded by greed, people often make rash decisions and betray those closest to them in order to succeed in their final goal. In both The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the themes of greed and betrayal were used to expose the consequences, either good or bad, to falling into greediness and deceit. The authors used the theme of greed in their respective novels to portray how greed can drive people into actions that are ultimately self-destructive. Dashiell Hammett and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used the theme of betrayal to explore how people can rationalize their dubious actions through believing that the ends justify the means; the means being the betrayal and the ends being the final goal. In The Maltese Falcon, the author expressed greed through both the protagonist and the antagonist. The protagonist, Detective Sam Spade, unexpectedly seems to succumb to the temptation of greed when accepting a veiled bribe from Brigid O’Shaunessy. Spade takes …show more content…
Brigid’s bribe to remain silent despite his suspicion that Brigid is involved in unethical behavior. Spade’s acceptance of the bribe is unexpected for several reasons. The reader might expect the protagonist in the novel to be the “good guy” and therefore not susceptible to dishonorably accepting a bribe. Spade continues to accept money from Brigid without repaying her the help she asked for until Spade’s assistant and good friend, Effie, warns him that if he continues to take money from Miss O'Shaughnessy without offering help, Effie would lose all respect for him. This would not only make Spade a less respected detective, but also without the support of a secretary and good friend. The antagonist in The Maltese Falcon, Brigid O'Shaughnessy, succumbed to the temptation of greed when killing Spade’s business partner, Miles Archer. Brigid did not want to share the profits from the sale of the Maltese falcon with her boyfriend, Floyd Thursby. To eliminate Thursby from the race to the figurine, she went to Sam Spade with a fabricated story used to get the detective to follow Thursby. She assumed that this would scare Thursby into leaving the chase. Archer volunteered to follow Brigid and Thursby that night, but Thursby did not fall into Brigid’s trap. In a state of panic, Brigid used a revolver stolen from Thursby to shoot Archer in a nearby alley. She then had a plan to frame this on Thursby to get him jailed. However, Thursby was killed later that night. Brigid’s greed-driven actions ultimately led to her own self-destruction, as she was convicted for murder and placed in jail by the end of the story. Conversely, in The Hound of the Baskervilles, the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, associated the theme of greed mainly with the price of the Baskerville Estate.
Sir Henry Baskerville gave into his greed when moving to the Baskerville estate from Canada. Henry gives up his presumably safe and secure life to collect his great amount of inheritance at the moor on which the Baskerville castle lies. Even though he was well-aware of the dangers that came with the moor, he still decided to go to the Baskerville estate to collect his large sum of inheritance. Before Henry traveled to the manor, he received a telegram saying “As you value your life or your reason, keep away from the moor.” Henry disregarded this telegram, as he traveled to the moor the next day. In this instance, Sir Henry Baskerville valued the wealth that he acquired over his own life. Without Sherlock Holmes on the case, Henry’s greed would have led to his sudden
death. Like Sir Henry Baskerville, Jack Stapleton, is a greatly greedy character in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Although he appears as a meer butterfly catcher who lives on the moor, Stapleton is actually a distant heir to the Baskervilles fortune. To be able to assert his claim to the Baskerville estate, the other, more closely related heirs have to die off. In order to speed up the process, Stapleton exploited an old legend about a large hound to kill off the men who are ahead of him in the line of succession of the Baskerville estate. This soon lead to his demise, as he was unsuccessful in killing off the last Baskerville he would need to, Henry Baskerville. In both The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Maltese Falcon, the authors used the theme of greed to explore how it can drive people into performing actions that are ultimately self-destructive. They conveyed that when one prioritizes their greed over the more important aspects of their life, it can lead to their demise. Another theme used by the authors is the theme of betrayal. In The Maltese Falcon, betrayal was explored through the interactions of the various characters. When detective Sam Spade sent Brigid O’Shaunessy off to jail, Spade betrayed Brigid’s trust. Throughout the novel, Spade and Brigid worked up an intimate relationship. Through this relationship, the detective gained both Brigid’s trust and her love. Although there seemed to be sexual tension between the two characters for the duration of the novel, it is unclear to the reader whether or not there is any emotional connection. At the end of the novel, while Brigid tried to use their sexual relations to her advantage to keep her out of jail, Spade’s sense of ethics outweighed his prior experiences. As a result, Brigid was sent to court, charged with the murder of Miles Archer. While Spade uses betrayals and lies, he ultimately does so for justice. Gutman also betrays someone close to him, but in his case, he ultimately does so for personal gain. When Gutman allows his “son” to be used as a scapegoat for the various murders committed in the story, Gutman performs maybe the largest betrayal in the entire book. Not only would Wilmer have to sit in jail for a certain amount of time, but he would also be given a death sentence for murder. Gutman knows this when he betrays Wilmer, thus condemning Wilmer to death. Gutman betrays Wilmer, who is “like a son to him,” in pursuit of the Maltese falcon figurine and the wealth that is associated with it. At the finale of the novel, however, Wilmer gets Gutman back for his betrayal by shooting and ultimately killing him. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, the theme of betrayal is avidly explored through the character Mr. Stapleton. Mr. Stapleton lived on the moor with his “sister” as a humble farmer, all the while plotting to inherit the Baskerville riches . Stapleton betrays his community, that he is a mere humble butterfly chaser and not a distant heir to Baskerville Hall. He betrays the trust of his wife (whom he had publicly introduced as his sister), using her as part of his scheme to obtain the Baskerville wealth. Stapleton betrays the trust of his mistress, leading her on that he would marry this lonely single lady. When Stapleton betrayed many people who were close to him, he hoped that the greater gain of the Baskerville inheritance would make up for it. The betrayals were a large part of Stapleton’s grand scheme to become the next wealthy Baskerville. Sherlock Holmes himself also betrays his best friend, Watson, by pretending to be back in London when Sherlock was indeed hiding out in the moor. Sherlock explains to Watson after his deceit is discovered, that early on Sherlock knows that the crime is motivated by greed and who the murderer is. However, Sherlock feels he had to betray both his partner Watson, and his client for that matter, in order to obtain the necessary proof to support his conclusion about the crime. Thus, the novel’s protagonist is shown to have the additional trait of deceitfulness. In both books, two characters heavily betrayed others in order to succeed in their final goal. For Sherlock Holmes and Sam Spade, the goal was justice in the name of the law, but for Stapleton and Gutman, the goal was personal gain in the means of money. The reader is left with the dilemma about whether or not the ends justifies the means. The themes of greed and betrayal were greatly used in The Maltese Falcon and The Hound of the Baskervilles to convey deeper meanings and morals. Both Dashiell Hammett and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used the theme of greed to convey how greed can drive people into performing actions that are ultimately self-destructive. For some characters in each novel, the consequence for their greed was death, whereas other characters caught their greed before it could get the best of them. The theme of betrayal, on the other hand, was used to explore that betrayal is a very common human weakness used for both good and bad purposes. The characters in both The Maltese Falcon and The Hound of the Baskervilles used the “ends justify the means” mentality to justify their misdeeds. The authors succeeded in exposing the ramifications of greed and betrayal through their characters.
Greed has influenced human behavior for thousands of years. It is perfectly natural to covet objects or to pine for a promotion. Almost everyone wishes they were wealthier or owned a nicer house. Society has learned to accept these forms of greed because they are a common thread throughout civilization. But, on occasion, greed can transform and twist people into inhumane monsters. In The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas depicts this transformation taking place in the character of Danglars. The story begins with young, highly-ambitious Danglars as a ship’s accountant. He complains to the ship’s owner about Dantes, the first-mate, in an attempt to advance himself. Danglars also writes a letter that accuses Dantes of being a
“Greed is so destructive. It destroys everything” Eartha Kitt (BrainyQuote). F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is about a man named Gatsby, who is trying to regain the love of a girl who he used to date to get back together with him. Gatsby’s only problem is that Daisy, the girl he is in love with is married to Tom. The story is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway, Daisy’s second cousin, once removed, and Gatsby’s friend. This allows the reader to know about Tom’s secret relationship with Myrtle Wilson and also allows the readers insight into Gatsby. According to Dictionary.com greed is “excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions”(Dictionary.com). Gatsby tries to get Daisy to fall in love with him, even though she is married to Tom. Gatsby throws elaborate parties that last all weekend in the hopes that Daisy will attend one. Greed is a major villain in The Great Gatsby through Gatsby’s chasing of Daisy, Myrtle’s cheating, and people using Gatsby simply for his wealth.
Money can cause people to act selfish and arrogant, especially when they have so much money they do noteven know what to spend it on. In the novel,
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.
And so greed exists in the modern periods, saturating its two of its most famous novels and a theme of two of its most famous authors, portraying as all evil as caused by greed, illustrating the true cynicism of the era.
In Dashiell Hammet’s The Maltese Falcon, the "black bird" serves as a crucial link connecting Sam Spade and Brigid O’ Shaughnessy. The black bird functions as the structural bond of Spade and Brigid’s relationship because it represents their greed and desire for wealth. Hammet points out that the Brigid’s greed for the bird causes her to utilize detective Spade as a tool: "Help me, Mr. Spade. Help me because I need help so badly, and because if you don’t where will I find anyone who can, no matter how willing?" (Hammet 35). This quotation illustrates Brigid’s submissiveness and dependency on Mr. Spade to help her. But later she becomes the dominant figure when she utilizes her monetary wealth to her advantage: “She opened handbag with nervous fingers and put two hundred-dollar bills on Spade’s desk” (Hammett 9). Spade admits his greed when he says, he only “believed [Brigid’s] two hundred dollars” (Hammett 33) and not her story. The narrator illustrates how Spade views money as an adequate payment for his time. Spade and Brigid represent both the real black bird and the fake black bird because of their faulty façade, which cover up their true personalities.
In Candide, by Voltaire, Candide struggles through a world torn by constant bloodshed and crime. As he travels, he and other characters are deceived, injured, and abused by the world around him. Voltaire’s Candide reveals another side of human beings’ hearts as he portrays humanity’s hamartias as greed, lust, and religion.
The concept of greed, which was previously centered on consumption, is currently associated with material accumulation and seen as a self-conscious material vice (Robertson 2001, p. 76). Further analysis singles out several types of greed for money and possessions: greed as service and obedience to wealth, greed as love and devotion to wealth, greed as trusting in wealth (Rosner 2007, p. 11). The characters of The Great Gatsby portray all of the aforementioned types of greed. For instance early in the story Gatsby becomes aware of “the youth and m...
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
The love of money is the root of all evil, a statement that has proved itself true through the centuries. Loving money traps us, as human beings. It is not a bad thing to enjoy what money can do; however, the love of money is a wasted effort that can put all in grave peril. It is at our advantage that we have the ability to choose whether we ‘want’ to fall into that trap. Unfortunately, that choice is difficult since society associates one’s character with wealth and financial management. The mishaps, deaths, and hardships that occur from the beginning of the tale are the result of deliberate deception for personal gain. In Treasure Island, greed sends the characters on a voyage. Robert Louis Stevenson makes a social commentary on the role that money has come to play in our society.
Greed, the desire to obtain your wants, can influence anyone’s actions. People who are filled with greed will do whatever they see necessary to get their goal. Artemis Fowl, the main character in Eoin Colfer’s novel Artemis Fowl, is a prime example of how someone fueled by greed is influenced, for the twelve-year-old criminal mastermind takes drastic measure in order to get the gold he seeks.
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.
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson travel to Dartmoor, England to solve yet another mystery. This time they must determine who’s responsible for Sir Charles’ death, and if the legend of the monstrous hound is a reality. Throughout the novel, the author develops the theme of greed is a powerful motivator through Hugo and Stapleton, both characters wanting power and feeding off their own avarice, whether that means abduction or murder.
Firstly talking about how excessive wealth can make character selfish. In the movie Daisy Buchanan is one such character, she is a character who gives more importance to money. She always thinks of her and not for other, taking an example from one of the scene in movie itself
Greed, being a key human condition, has shaped society from the very start. In fact, some scholars believe that greed was the first major milestone of human success, when the first human wondered why he/she had to scrounge around for necessities; it is a part of being human to be greedy. Wanting a new car, to be loved by another, or to desire the feeling of well doing when feeding the needy, these are all factions of greed...