“Greed makes a man blind and foolish, and makes him an easy prey for death.” (Rumi) To be unsatisfied with one’s lifestyle will lead to one striving for superficial means such as money or power. It may seem tempting to one if they were given the opportunity to have wish come true, or a glimpse into their future, but nothing comes without consequences. In the short story Monkeys
Paw by W.W Jacobs and the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the characters strive to alter their destiny through supernatural means which ultimately leads to greed developing within the characters, fate being tampered with for personal gain, and the downfall of major characters within both stories. In both texts, the main characters lived average lives; …show more content…
The characters in the stories were not grateful for the lives they lived, and consequently lusted for more after supernatural forced were introduced. Both forms of text display what greed and lust for materialistic things can do to a person. In Shakespeare’s play, the three witches gave Macbeth the ability to receive knowledge about his near future in the form of three prophecies. “All hail, Macbeth...thane of Glamis… thane of Cawdor!... that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.49-51). The weird sisters were inherently evil with the intention of misleading Macbeth. Using his own ambition against him caused him to develop a sense of greed. Similarly, in Jacob’s short story, evil is used in the form of a mummified monkey’s paw to sway the mindset of the main characters and have them become avaricious. The White family lived a comfortable lifestyle, however, Mr.White disliked the place his family lived in. When an old friend visited and brought a token from his travels, the family jumped at the opportunity to change their life around for the better. “Why, we're going to be rich, and famous, and happy!” The thought of being able to have anything in the world clouded the judgement of the family, which made them wish for things they did not need despite knowing there would be