Greed can best be defined as excessive desire for something. Honestly, I feel that greed is something we were born with. It can range from wanting money, materialistic things, or people. We are encouraged to be the best in what we do, so when something or someone is ahead of our state, its in our instinct to have jealousy. Greed is displayed in the stories we read, Grendel and The Pardoner. One of the examples of each would be the mention of Cain and Abel. Cain had killed his brother because of jealousy towards his sacrifice compared to his. In The Pardoner, the pardoner sells fake merchandise that claims to be "holy" to peasants. His sole purpose is to get money from people and takes advantage of his audiences lack of knowledge.
Like mentioned before, I feel that greed is something we were all born as. It is our inclination to want things from other people that we can't have. In today's world, we see many examples of greed taking over people. Examples would be big corporations, rich taking advantage of the poor, and government. When one attains something, there would always be a brief period of satisfaction before wanting something else. This causes an endless cycle of greed. We can't always get rid of our need to want things, but we can always attempt to be more satisfactory with the things that are provided and possess. If not, timeless greed would make a person feel miserable, sense of unaccomplished, and the need to want more. We should all be happy with the things we have.
I don't think you are completely incorrect in your logic, but if you think someone is born with greed, do they just know how to take money/possession from someone and they don't think about repercussions?
ReplyDeleteHowever, I really like your thought that we need to value our things more before we get greedy. How do you think we could improve that in society? Could it be our technological advancements that could be propelling our thoughts of always the newest and best thing out there?
I agree that greed is a major theme in the stories we read. I really liked how you backed it up with examples and they were very accurate. But is greed something we are born with or something we learn? Greed and jealousy is probably in us all but it might not be a genetic thing. I think your representation of greed is very good, and it is something that almost anyone can relate to.
ReplyDeleteI do with agree with your point of being happy with what we have, and I think that's where the entire concept of being grateful plays in. But rather than being "born with greed", maybe greed something we learn as we grow, and as our society advances. If you were isolated from all of the technology and everyday desires, and you were kept in solitude would you still be greedy? Perhaps it isn't being born with greed, but instead it's being exposed to objects that helps one develop the trait.
ReplyDeleteI tend to disagree with you, a child cannot be inherently greedy. A child learns how to be greedy while they are developing as a way to get what they want. This learned behavior carries over into adult life when it is then applied to new situations.
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