...Greed Is The Root of All Evil Greed is one of the most selfish traits displayed by all humans. It breaks people down and builds others up, but not always in a good way. Greed is displayed by the desire to overcome others for personal gains, even if that means betraying one’s closest friends for personal gain. It is displayed as selfish, overwhelming, and something people have trouble controlling. It has the power to destroy friendships, family, and trust, leaving behind a sense of satisfaction and overwhelming sense of guilt. Although, merely a few do not know what greed is. Greed is the root of all evil as a theme can be found in the fourteenth century poem “The Pardoner’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer and the twentieth century song “Piggies”...
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...Throughout Spoon River Anthology, karma is a major factor in the town which ultimately leads to the demise of many people. Dora Williams is a woman who has a habit of destroying the lives of others. Her greed eventually comes back to bite her. In her epitaph she states, “We went to Rome. He poisoned me, I think,” (Line 20). Dora was heartbroken when Reuben Pantier deceived her. It can later be inferred Dora takes the lives of her many future suitors in order to inherit their fortunes. When Dora grew rich, she married a man by the name of Contessa Navigato. He poisoned her, trying to gain her fortune, and she died nameless. Like Dora, Butch Weldy, a man of many mistakes, has a job at the canning business. His job is to feed the blow-fire, until tragically, one day Butch’s karma blows up in his face. He says, “And my eyes burned crisp like a couple of eggs. For someone left a blow-fire going,” (Lines 13/14). Butch steals from a blind man, and Masters creates irony when the fire blows up in his eyes. It is later revealed that he did not know the person who left the fire going. Butch did many people wrong and they had many reasons to take revenge on him. However, his life was destroyed by someone he didn’t know. Karma is the result of certain characteristics and choices made by greed. Greed and the want to always have more are what motivate the ill-advised choices the people of Spoon River make. Doctor Meyers is a very proud man who accidentally takes the life of Minerva Jones. His wife...
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...Poisoner of Montremos Even before money was invented, humans have always been hungry for riches. Although the main theme in the story of the Poisoner of Montremos is based on greed, what makes this tale especially gothic is the presence of murder, incest and suicide. When the story begins, we are introduced with a case of murder by poisoning. This form of assassination was very common in the middle ages. However, later on we realize the true identity of the killer. What pushes the murderer to kill is greed; one of man’s biggest weakness. The mystery behind the true identity of the assassin is yet another example of dark literature. On the side, it is also worth noticing the gruesome details of the torture scene: “…the joints snapped audibly into their sockets with the elasticity of a bow.” The pain is so amazingly described that even the reader can feel it. Also in the beginning, we are told about Don Juan’s incest crime on his half sister. Nevertheless, the Portuguese insists that he is in no way allied to Josepha and that he is innocent. Even though the subject was never talked about in the older days because it was and is still considered a taboo in most societies, in this tale the act of incest is another major theme. Finally all the complications and deaths cause the father of the poisoned girl to commit suicide. This is yet another topic that was never spoken of during that era, since the church condemns it. These casualties and murders also lead to the breaking...
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...so it is a direct correlation to Butch’s legs being broken. Another distinct instance of karma is in the story of Dora Williams. Dora Williams was driven by material gain to murder her multiple husbands to steal their fortunes. When she got to her third husband, he had the same idea as her, and Dora recollected her thoughts of, “He poisoned me. I think,” (Dora Williams, line 20). Dora got what she deserved, and her husband was left with the fortunes she stole. This is a perfect example of karma getting the better of someone. Dora Williams was heavily influenced by multiple motives, another of which was greed. The last idea which affected the townspeoples’ outcomes was greed, as seen in the story of Dora Williams. Dora was driven by her greed to kill her multiple husbands and steal their riches. She even admits it herself when she pronounces, “they found him dead”. That made me rich,” (Dora Williams, line 5-6). If greed did not take over the actions of Dora Williams, she would never have taken such dreadful actions. The thought of wealth overwhelmed her with acts of greed. In a different kind of example, Minerva Jones’ story can be pointed out how greed led to her downfall. Minerva was an ill-favored looking girl who never got much attention from boys. For that reason, when Butch Weldy, “Capture me after a brutal hunt,” Minerva called it when he pursued her for intimate purposes, “He left me to my fate,” (Minerva Jones, lines 5-6). Minerva was desperate for any form of love, for...
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...Just at the start of the story the Pardoner describes three drunken men that are upset over the fact that their friend has been slain by a mysterious figure named Death. An elderly man tells them Death's location, yet all they find is eight bushels of coins. "Ne lenger thanne after Deeth they soughte", they quicky forgot about their friend and began to plot to take the gold (Chaucer, 321). This quote is important because it offers the audience another example of irony, that is representative of the Pardoner's greed for money. Near the end of the story, these men end up killing each other because of their own greed for the gold. That must be why the Pardoner decided to name the coins "Death". This means that their friend could have also been killed by his own...
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...The witches had planted the seeds of greed and heightened Macbeth's already ambitious personality. In his mind, Macbeth seems quite amused about the prospects of the prophecy, laughing as he goes. At this stage I think that Macbeth doesn't believe in the witches prophecies and dismisses them without a second thought. Macbeth is also highly respected and honoured both by his King and kinsmen. The kinsmen praise Macbeth for his strength and stamina on the battlefield. The bloody captain compares Macbeth to "like valor's minion carved out his passage, till he faced the slave" which is strange as at this stage as his daring and bravery in battle puts him in a good position with the king. However later in the play Macbeth sees it as a curse, as he becomes relentless and murders innocent people. When the Thane of Cawdor is deemed a traitor, the King bestows the title on Macbeth for his loyalty, devotion and bravery in battle. When Angus and Ross arrived with the news of the title The Thane of Cawdor is to be given to Macbeth, his reply to this was the Thane still...
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...For example, Ganim and Tran mention, “ Later it became publicly known that federal law had not been followed. A 2011 study on Flint River found it would have to be treated with the anti-corrosive agent for it to become a safe source for drinking water.” They didn’t pay attention to the health care of their people but only say there own greed blinding them to try to save some money .This greed also didn’t let them see the consequences of the switch in water source.Furthermore, Ganim and Tran calculated along with experts, “ Adding the agent would have cost about $100 a day, and experts say 90% of the problems with Flint’s water could have been avoided.” If instead of trying to save money they would have spent more to have clean water then they could have made the switch to in the long term save...
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...happiness - not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.... The aeroplane and the internet have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men - cries out for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all. Eventually, my voice will reach millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. ..... Citizens! don’t give...
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...ENL1000 Word Count: 553 The tragic, romantic, and at times quite humorous play that is William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is a story of complete lunacy. Prince Hamlets Uncle Claudius kills his father King Hamlet so he could have the throne. After becoming King, Claudius takes the opportunity to become Prince Hamlet's "Uncle Father" by marrying Queen Gertrude (Prince Hamlet’s mother, King Hamlet's easy, now ex-wife) in what seemed like a mere minute after King Hamlet's funeral. Prince Hamlet was told by the ghost of his father that Claudius was his murderer. Hamlet goes mad at the fact that not only was his mother now his "Aunt Mother", and his Uncle was now his "Uncle Father", his dead father appears from the dead telling him to avenge his murder that came at the hands of his now "Uncle Father" aka King Claudius. Hamlet is just as mad (only in love) with Ophelia, who is daughter of Polonius (King Hamlet's ex "right hand man"), whom Hamlet ends up killing during the story. Ophelia ends up killing herself because Hamlet makes her go insane. Hamlet is torn between how he should deal with all of the drama surrounding him. He sort of taunts Claudius with the fact that he knows what he's done to King Hamlet and tries to expose his guilt by directing a performance of how the murdered played out during a pageant. Claudius tries to have Hamlet killed during his return to studying abroad. Hamlet knows that Claudius tries to have him killed and outsmarts him completely. Upon returning...
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...Christopher Columbus was a Spanish explorer who sailed from Europe to North America and is considerably responsible for contributing to the creation of what would later become the United States of America, to the point of having a holiday dedicated to his work as an explorer. Columbus Day is an American holiday which celebrates both establishing of American colonization AND the destruction of a majority of Native Americans. Two reasons why the holiday should be abolished are that Columbus was practically a tyrant to the Natives and that he did not discover the Americas at all. He promoted greed, rape, slavery and was not the true founder of the Americas as they have already been inhabited by living human beings. Christopher Columbus was basically a tyrannical Spaniard who enslaved countless Native Americans and punished them harshly whenever they didn’t do work. He ordered his followers to kidnap and rape many Native American females as young as 9-10 years old. He got his men to set out dogs to feed on the flesh of Native Americans as a way of taking advantage of their constant nudity. One last cruel thing he did was put wooden slats over the tongues of depressed Natives who cried out in...
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...happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio(internet) have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say "Do not despair". The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die [now] liberty will never perish. . . Soldiers: don't give...
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...The amount of have forest slowly decreasing over the years for multiple reasons like paper, space, lumber and forest fires. Well I can’t explain this because to me it doesn’t make any sense to me it’s clearly greed, but I’m confused because it just doesn’t make any sense to...
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...Protest posters have never been recognized as professional design activities. Anyone knows how to get out the scissor and take up a brush as long as they have an urgent point to make and a measure of artistic. My DIY poster sign might be amateur, though that doesn’t mean that it stops working as communication, but it remind me that poster is still a succinct, somewhat popular and powerfully immediate form of public speech. I believe a well-crafted slogan or image is still hard to ignore if one feels strongly about an issue and try to express support or condemnation as persuasively as possible. Animal cruelty is a global issue, and it has to stop. Animals are fighting their lives every day in countries around the world. They are enslaved,...
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...In the world of today, media has become as necessary as food and clothing. It has played significant role in strengthening the society. Media is considered as "mirror" of the modern society, infect, it is the media which shapes our lives. The purpose of the media is to inform people about current, new affairs and to tell about the latest gossip and fashion. It tells about the people who are geographically divided. The role of media has become one way of trading and marketing of products and prejudices. The media claimed to be governed by righteousness and equity, but greed and self-aggrandizement has poisoned its virtues. Media is in charge of information, education, entertainment, and advertising. Society is influenced by media in so many ways. It is the media for the masses that helps them to get information about a lot of things and also to form opinions and make judgments regarding various issues! It is the media which keeps the people updated and informed about what is happening around them and the world. Everyone can draw something from it. Media has had a bad effect on a generation, mainly because; youth is strongly influenced by media. Teenagers and children wish to follow the people, who get recognized and do what they do to get noticed. Sometimes, they focus on bad part of the media and strive to be a part of it. However, many are not succumbed to a life of crime! These are the things which get into Young civilian minds! The media affects people's perspective...
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...obstruction in the path of evilness is innocence. Innocents is found throughout humans as the societal bearings prevent it from being poisoned by greed and darkness. When the boys are first descendant on the island, they behave like children, alternating between enjoying their freedom and expressing profound homesickness and fear. Golding integrated the representation of the slow demolition of innocence through his character Piggy. Piggy’s innocence is shown in the beginning as he attempts to befriend everyone and gives a voice for the powerless littluns. As the dismemberment of the boy’s ideals and the internal struggle of their ethics worsen so does the innocents that they uphold as children. Piggy reflects the negative progress, slapped by Jack his specs fall breaking one of his lenses symbolizing the detrition of clarity as the fine line of innocence is becoming blurry. The boy’s actions only descend from that point on intensifying in atrocity and cruelty, at that rate, it was only a matter of time that innocence was lost as a whole. Piggy’s death was the final trace of innocence that was disintegrated along with the fragments of the conch as order was neither intact. “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” (pg.256) the final straw for all that is genuine. Greed, power hungry, and violent. Man is the bare definition of savage when introduced to desperate means. William Golding apprehended...
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