Many people in the world begin as hard working people who become prosperous due to their hard work, but then lose their way as they get held up in the great abundance they possess. Literature has numerous ways of showing the lessons that can be taught from those who were once wealthy.Throughout One Thousand and One Nights, characters that were once deprived become rich and successful, which caused those characters to become greedy, envied by others, and eventually meet their downfall. Characters who were once unfortunate in One Thousand and One Nights revealed characteristics of greed and hate as they became efficacious. Characters in One Thousand and One Nights became rich because of a strike of luck or hard work. As they reach their …show more content…
highest point in life they began to become greedy and neglect their own. ”My father died, and left to us three thousand pieces of gold...They therefore consulted together to kill me, and take my wealth” (Lane 65). When the brothers became rich they decided to use their money on themselves by taking trips and traveling. As they ran out of money they visited their third brother who had saved all the money and was doing well. The brothers who spent the money saw his wealthy life and decided to kill him for his money. The brothers expressed voracious feelings. ”I married to one of the wealthiest men of the age, who, when I had lived with him a year, died, and I inherited from him eighty thousand pieces of gold... I made for myself ten suits of clothing, each of the value of a thousand pieces of gold” (Lane 169). The woman is greedy because she really wanted wealth and she became wealthy because of her husband's death. She did not work hard to get her money; she was just very lucky she inherited her husband's money. When surrounding neighbors viewed the greediness of the characters they got a negative perspective of them and it lead the characters to become envied. As the characters become victorious others began to envy them for their merchandise and lifestyle. Once the characters experience their new life that is filled with wealth and happiness, it brings jealousy among the poor as they see the rich spending money on close, unimportant trips and other useless objects. “At this period, I unexpectedly had occasion to journey to a certain city, and went thither with a great stock of merchandise...during my absence, she transformed the youth above mentioned into a calf; and his mother, into a cow” (Lane 60). The wife begins to feel envy for her husband and his great merchandise, she transforms the son and lover into animals out of jealousy. The son and lover are both transformed into calves and enchantment becomes a powerful tool that many could use for revenge., However the wife of in this story uses enchantment out of jealousy. “My brothers envied me my wealth, and the abundance of my merchandise” (Lane 64). The brothers envied him for becoming very successful. Throughout chapter one the characters who became rich were brothers who had received some money from their father. The smart brother saved all his money while the others carelessly spend it. As the smart brother began to have a wealthy lifestyle the others became jealous of not only his wealth, but also his wife. The jealousy towards the wealthy brothers leads to negative outcomes. Another example of jealousy in One Thousand and One Nights is when a man becomes jealous of his neighbor. ”He acquired great esteem, people repairing to him from every quarter, placing firm reliance upon his sanctity; and his fame reached the ears of his envious neighbor...the envier pushed the envied man into this well, without the knowledge of any one, and went his way, imagining that he had killed him” (Lane 146). A man is very jealous of how rich his neighbor is so he decides to move away and start his own business. As the neighbor who was once jealous becomes rich, other people around him become aware of his good life. His own neighbor who happens to come by one day to see his business begins to envy him. The neighbor acted kindly towards him and then attempted to kill him for his money. The neighbor who was once the envious figure becomes the victim of another envious person. Examples being envious towards others are found in real life too. People all over the world envy people for their money, clothes, or beauty. Being desired by others of their wealthy lifestyle had a negative impact on what the character's future would hold for them. Everything good always comes to an end, as did the wealthy lifestyle of the triumphant characters.
The envy and greed that the charterers experienced led them to become hated, and resented. Consequences such as death, or transformation are suffered because of their greedy and envious actions. ”My father died, and left to us three thousand pieces of gold. And for every piece of gold we gained ten. My brothers therefore consulted together to kill me because they were envious of me... I found these two dogs tied up. And my wife told me …these are thy brothers” (Lane …show more content…
65). The wife of the wise brother does everything to save her husband from the killing of his two own brothers.
She asks for help and gets the two brothers trying to attack her husband transformed into dogs. The wise brother pity's his brothers and decides to take care of the dogs. The brothers who were once rich are transformed to dogs because of their greedy actions. Just like in Literature greedy actions can cause you to have consequences in the real world like the lost of a friendship or a marriage. While the envious brothers were turned into dogs, other victims in one thousand and one nights had a different destiny. ” I inherited from him eighty thousand pieces of gold... I made for myself ten suits of clothing, each of the value of a thousand pieces of gold…. he commanded the slaves to strip off my vest…he beat me upon my back and my sides until I became insensible from the violence of the blows, and despaired of my life” (Lane 173). The woman in chapter three gets married to a man who unfortunately dies and leaves her all his money. The woman suffers the consequences of being rich and getting taken advantage. When someone is wealthy they are sometimes seen as a resource instead of a person. All the characters got to enjoy their happy fulfilled life but they unfortunately ended up having consequences that contribute to their
downfall. One thousand and One Nights shows characters that started out poor, but became rich and successful. Having a wealthy life caused the characters to become greedy, envied by others, and eventually meet their downfall. All the examples in One Thousand and One Nights displayed the greediness that the characters portrayed and the jealousy they received. As the successful characters reached the greatest point in their life, they got to enjoy the fantasy but the jealousy and greediness that came with having a wealthy life contributed to the end of their great fantasy.
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
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,
He has an idea to be rich, and he wants it fast. Being nine year old, he starts out looking for jobs in his neighborhood. After doing two jobs, he earns a nickel, a quarter and two peaches. He has money, and he can do whatever he wants. So with a friend and his sister, they go swimming. Money, to him at this age, affects him greatly already. From his own family, he learns that without money, they'll always be poor and working class. He has the need to be higher in social class and he wants to be like rich people.
Gatsby and Greed In this day and age, money is a very important asset to have. One needs to have at least enough to live on, though great amounts are preferable. In The Great Gatsby, by Thomas F. Fitzgerald, having a large amount of money is not enough. It is also the way you acquire the money that matters.
He meets Natalia who is a middle aged epileptic who expresses to him a story of anguish that starts in her childhood, when she was hurt by a poisonous tick, and then takes its descending turn after a wicked gypsy woman traps and possibly even kills her husband. Natalia exclaims that it is her epilepsy that is causing her to poor. Her children are no longer with her and were taken from her, or have possibly died, and or have been deserted. Natalia has trouble realizing what her illness is and is not capable to effectively clarify her illness to others. The meaning of poor as well as in other situations in life is because of the absence of guidance. Individuals should be able to recognize their own surroundings, and be capable to change their lifestyle on what will make them happy. Some people consider themselves rich even though they do not have much, and other poor when they have everything. People for the most part live life beyond their needs. It is unfortunate how people will get depressed for the smallest reasons, and others who are more financially restricted wish they could have their problems instead of their
“Oh, it was a mistake.” People always say that and a large number of people don’t learn from their mistakes. Same mistakes keep happening even though the world keeps on saying I promise. People just let things happen because they are selfish and full of greed. There is a book called “Night”. This book shows the greed and selfishness which leads to a disaster that will hurt millions of people. The question is why is it important for young people today to read Night? The answer is we should learn the mistakes from the past and take it seriously and take actions not only by saying I will not do it again. We should succor the victim of oppression and tyranny by being on their side and do what is right. I believe repeating the past is the worst thing you can do.
Hamartia is a fatal flaw leading to a person’s downfall. The desire for wealth rose greatly during the 1920s after World War I. The standard of living increased in the twenties due to new technology that allowed a greater ability to manufacture and distribute goods (Amidon Lusted). During this time America experienced “the greatest economic expansion in its history” (Gross). Mass production was possible through the assembly line, which allowed for products to be produced faster and more efficiently (Amidon Lusted). Along with mass production, advertisements of the time attracted Americans to buy more products and in order to buy more products, more money was needed (Amidon Lusted).
...nt in their life down to their lowest point, and even their deaths. Pride and greed brought down two significant characters from literature, as well as Napoleon in early nineteenth century, showing that the fatal flaws are timeless.
Poverty on social conditions affects everyone in every part of the world, no matter if they are rich or poor. First of all, everyone is divided into some sort of social class. The most known classes are the economic classes- the lower class, the middle class, and the higher class. The lower class goes through arduous labor all day and night to earn decent amounts of money to provide for themselves and their families. Most likely, they are the only source of income for the entire family. The higher class works hard to keep up or raise their high social status. They also work hard so they don’t loss their social rank, which permits them to hold a higher power over the middle and lower classes. Similarities of decisions made by characters in these two literary works will analyzed to understand the meaning behind the actions and influences of the social classes on each other.
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 upper class men had all the wealth in the world at the tips of their fingers while the lower classes didn’t have two pennies to rub together. “… The rich should share with the poor, especially those rich persons who had acquired their property from trade or had otherwise won it from the poor.” (#8) The favoritism is eye-catching, it says that the nobles had won the land from the peasants but stereotypically upper classes have had the land in their family for generations. The trade among the people was unfair to the farmhands. The farmhands fashioned the land and “they were supposed to be brothers with one another” (#8) they should have the right to property and not have to just work it for the lords. On the contrary the upper class “purchased this right for a considerable sum of money… [if the peasants want to be released from their duties to us, nobles, then] the peasants shall pay us a reasonable amount of money.” (#4) Until the sharecroppers started attacking the nobles they “looked on, unaware that misfortune was creeping up on [the peasants]” (#11) Instead of the peasants adopting and modifying their way of life they challenged the nobles to a war and lost. A total amount of the souls that were consumed by the sinful acts of the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants was 100,000.
When a person becomes trapped in a situation that stems from an individual with greater authority, being manipulative can be a very promising method to escape. The Thousand and One Nights does a very good job of being a good example of someone in this situation that uses stories within a story to capture encapsulate the attention of the reader. Despite the many little stories that go into the text, the main story behind it all is about a king named King Shahrayar and how he goes insane after catching his wife having sexual relations with a slave. After he sees this happen, he realizes that he can never trust any woman again and none of them are trustworthy. By expressing his views on women, he decides to marry a different woman every night, then the next morning have them killed by beheading. This is an ongoing event that brings death to most of the women in the village. Soon after, the king’s Vizier’s daughter, Shahrazad, came up with a brilliant idea that will end up saving her fellow countrywomen and hopefully keep the king from murdering so many innocent people. Her method behind all this is by telling the kind a different story every night that leaves him on a cliffhanger, making him curious enough to keep her alive for another day to continue her story. Shahrazad keeps herself spared from the king because of her cunning, and compassionate personality.
The Plot of the novel, is based on the fact that the newly rich, (those who
Wealth is the abundance of valuable material possessions as well as riches that acts as an agent of destruction of the characters in a literary work. The early 1900 's were embodied with a fixation of acquiring wealth to pursue happiness and success. This perceived concept enforces the ability of wealth to depict one 's status and create a misleading definition of one 's life. Through exposing this idea prominently in the art of writing, F. Scott Fitzgerald brings emphasis to the deceitful identity that money brings about to an individual. Therefore, through passages such as “ 'Her voice is full of money '... That was it. I 'd never understand before. It was full of money – that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals ' song of it... high in a white palace the king 's daughter, the golden girl..” (Fitzgerald 115), the novel The Great Gatsby evidently applies the concept that wealth has the ability to emphasize the hierarchy of power, reveal moral emptiness, and manifest the idea of materialism that was pervasive in the Jazz Age.
With the five characters listed and analyzed the motif is “Not all that glitters is gold.” Even though the three characters had happiness and wealth, deep inside they were miserable. Yet the last two were considered the noble, trustworthy, and loving characters.