Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines a need as “a physiological or psychological requirement for the well-being of an organism”. On the contrary, a want is defined as “something wanted; a desire”. In many situations, the line between these two words is blurred. People are unsure of what they want versus what they need. This can lead to problems in people's lives and an imbalance between what someone may want compared to what someone actually needs. The effects of greed are often portrayed in literature and can show both the positive and negative sides of materialism. Readers can use what they learn from literature to determine the difference between a want and a need and to see the possible comforts and anxieties that can come with excessive …show more content…
It can have the complete opposite result of what they think their wealth will bring them. For example, in “The Necklace”, by Guy de Maupassant, the main character, Mathilde, is an extremely greedy woman. She goes to the lengths of borrowing what she assumes to be an extremely expensive necklace from a friend of hers and ends up losing it because of her carelessness. This causes her to come “to know the awful life of the poverty-stricken”, but “she resigned herself to it with unexpected fortitude” knowing that “the crushing debt had to be paid” (Maupassant 100). If Mathilde had never been so worried about appearing rich, then this never would have happened to her. By making her main focus in life be on wealth and material possessions, she brought this horrible tragedy onto her and her husband, creating an abundance of problems for them. Similar to this, in “King Midas”, by Howard Moss, Midas had once been a very greedy selfish man. He is granted a wish to have everything he touches turn to gold, but when he receives this and realizes that everything he actually cares about is turning into gold, including his pets and daughter, he greatly regrets his wish. He says that he “rather would be blind than see this world All affluent in yellow, bought and sold” (Moss 9 - 10). Before, this would have been his dream come true, but after seeing how much his greed took over his life and destroyed the things he actually loved, he realized the horrible mistake he had made. If he had realized earlier that the people in his life really are the most important thing to him, then this never would have happened to him and he would not have had to deal with these terrible results. Another piece that relates to this is also from The Great Gatsby. Here, when talking about two of the main characters, Tom and Daisy
“I rather would be blind than then see this world in yellow, and bought and sold by kings that hammer roses into gold.” (King Midas Pg.462 Para.10) Many think that if they got what they wanted they would be happy, but if the world was all based on malterlistic things and everyone got what they wanted there would be chaos and no feelings just want and people would do crazy things to get what they want. Now a day’s people mistake malterlistic things for happiness. “The necklace”, “Ads may spur unhappy kids to embrace materialism”, And “Thrill of the chase” illustrates examples of materialism and show some base their happiness on it.
Wealth has both a good and a bad side. It can change the life of a person for the better or worse, and that is clearly shown in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Wealth affects the lives of the characters of Their Eyes Were Watching God very differently than the characters of The Great Gatsby. Janie’s wealth came about, mainly, from her failed relationships.
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,
Groucho Marx once said” While money can’t buy you happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.” People pretend to lose sight of what’s important. In the short story, “the Necklace” the women Mathilde Loisel feels a burden of her poverty and imagines a more extravagant existence. In “In La Riconada” all the gold was taken. The other short story, “King Midas”, was about a king who wished everything he touched turned into gold.
If asked, “what is the most important thing a person needs?” one of the most prevalent answer would be money. However, do people think about the negative influence money has on them. In the short story “El Tonto Del Barrio,” the author, José Armas uses characterization, irony, and symbolism to show how money makes people greedy for more.
Have you ever wanted something, an item or material so badly that you would do anything or give up anything for it? Well, guess what? Materials are not a necessary thing in your life. Materialism is ruining people's lives to the point where it is their occupation. In today’s society materialism take part in every person’s life, no matter where they are from or what social class they are.
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...
...times they feel they need to be set aside to achieve what they were setting out for. Daisy, Gatsby, and Tom had all interloped within someone's life - a place where they had to business being. Gatsby failed to understand that he couldn’t make Daisy fall in love with him. Even if she did, he would not have had the power he was looking for anyways – Daisy would. Although Daisy appeared to be the foolish character, she knew what she had done wrong and used her feelings as a way to hide how she really felt. Tom failed to achieve happiness because he felt as if he always needed something more to grasp on to. Without the journey each character took, none of them would have realized what made them into who they were, even if they didn’t completely understand it themselves. Happiness was to be content, and in a time of endless possibilities, the impossible has been found.
Gatsby hasn’t just lost his morals but also his sense of family because he has created such an elaborate illusion. Catherine scrutinizes the couples of the story, "Neither of them can stand the person they're married to" (Fitzgerald pg 37). The marriage had become very weak when Daisy "had told [Gatsby] that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded" (Fitzgerald, pg 125). More than his morals, Gatsby loses all sense of family, his wealth has metaphorically become it. He relies on his money rather than a family to bring comfort and security to his life. Gatsby takes advantage of his wealth to replace his deteriorated spirit and emotions. As a result of shallow family relationships, all love for that matter becomes based on social status.
A common moral says that money is the root of all evil. Although Ray Bradbury might not fully agree with this, he does think materialistic possessions can be harmful when used in excess. Bradbury, writes in “The Veldt” about two spoiled children who only see the value of material things and ignore the harms. Their dependence upon technology eventually leads them to commit a horrific crime. Ray Bradbury uses allusion, irony and setting to show the harms of relying on materialistic possessions.
All that glitters is not gold. A lesson Mathilde Loisel had learned during her journey of discovering the greed. Greed is a curse that blocks people’s vision from seeing the realistic value of things...
Values are spread all around the world, and many people’s values differ. These can lead to people being judged, or indirectly characterized by other people. In “The Necklace” Mme. Loisel is a beautiful woman with a decent life, and a husband that loves her, and only wants to make her happy. She is not rich but she makes it along, she insists of a better, wealthier life. When her husband gets her invited to a ball, she feels the need for a brand new fancy dress and tons of jewelry. When the couple realizes they cannot afford jewelry as well, they search out to borrow her friend, Mme. Forestiers’ necklace. She comes to notice she no longer has the necklace on when she leaves the ball. This later troubles her, as she has to work for a long time to collect enough money to buy a new necklace. This story describes the relationship between a couple, who have different dreams, and how desires can revamp your life. Guy de Maupassant, the author of “The Necklace” uses literary devices to prove people come before materialistic items.
Telling the truth will always prevent future conflicts. Author Guy De Maupassant who lived from 1850 to 1893 proves in the story of “The Necklace,” that no matter how bad a situation is, speaking with the truth is always best. Now, this author does not prove this theme directly. Instead, throughout various situations in the story the main characters are faced with a long-term conflict because decisions were not made with honesty. Mathilde and Loisel who is her husband, who works as a clerk at the Ministry of Public Instructions, were both faced with a conflict that could have been prevented. For instance, Mathilde asked her friend Mme. Forestier if she could borrow a beautiful piece of jewelry for a ball event her husband Loisel had been invited to. Unfortunately, Mathilde loses the borrowed necklace and suggest that since it belongs to her rich friend it was worth more than what they could ever afford. Mathilde and Loisel decide to not tell Mme. Forestier about the lost necklace and instead they buy her a similar one. However, the one they buy is worth a lot more than what the lost necklace was worth. They both end up working multiple jobs for 10 years in order to pay off the necklace. The moral of this story is that everyone should always speak with the truth, because Mathilde and Loisel could have avoided this conflict if only they had told Mme. Forestier about the lost necklace. Many factors such as lying, desiring other’s valuables, and being so attentive to what people might think, is a good way that a situation like Mathilde’s could have been avoided.
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...
This is a thought-provoking book about the pursuit of material goods. Kasser is not a preacher, but a scientist. He presents his evidence carefully, and concludes that materialism is a game not worth playing even on its own terms of promoting human happiness.