In the novel, The Rise of Silas Lapham, by William Dean Howells, the character of Silas Lapham is a very wealthy man. He gains his wealth by finding a new paint source in his own yard. He then becomes very wealthy from his new discovery and obtains more money than he can deal with. Along with the money Silas gains a sense of self pride, which comes with being rich. Due to his pride, Silas becomes selfish and conceited, as if he rules the world. He spends his money ruthlessly on things just because he likes them, or because he thinks it would impress others. There comes a time when Silas is no longer on top of the world, and his life starts to go downhill and he gets caught in the web of misfortune. As his motives change from selfish to caring Silas is able to find hope when all seems lost.
Silas is never satisfied. Though he has everything that he could possibly need or want, he still wants more. His greed is shown when his wife, Mrs. Lapham, reminds him, ‘“No you had better face the truth, Silas. It was no chance at all. You crowded him out. A man that had saved you! No, you had got greedy, Silas. You had made your paint your god, and you couldn’t bear to let anybody else share in its blessings”’ (47). Silas is not content with his power in his business, so he forces his partner, Mr. Rogers, to buy out and leave the business. This allows Silas to have the entire profit from the paint, as well as all of the credit for the successful business. Silas puts his desires before the needs of Mr. Rogers. He does not think about Mr. Rogers not having a job, or any way to provide for his family. Instead he just thinks about how he will benefit from Rogers’s loss. Also Lapham expresses his selfishness to Tom Corey when he joins Lapham’s bus...
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...cts him, but how it affects the people who buy it as well. Though selling the land would make him wealthy, he puts his care for others before his own desire. Silas starts to become satisfied with want he has, and does not feel a constant need for more.
When Silas’s motives behind his actions begin to change from greedy to giving, is when he is able to discover true happiness. As Silas’s desire for his material wealth becomes stronger than his desire for happiness, Silas loses sight of himself. He becomes selfish and stuck up, which is so far from his true self. It takes the loss of the material things that were blinding him for him to see what the real source of his happiness is, which is his family. Once he is able to once again discover that happiness, Silas is able to rediscover himself. He is able to lose his ego and regain the kindness which he had once lost.
Silas’ self-sacrifice is the main cause to his true happiness. His morals also played a vital role in the novel causing him to realize he does not need material things in life to be happy. By the end of the story he moves back to the farm and goes back to be a normal person once again. He no longer feels the need of acceptance from everyone because he doesn’t need to change who is in order to fit in.
Walter's dreams are to be the head of his family, have a respectable job, and to one day own a liquor store. Throughout the play, he struggles to gain support of his dreams. "Man says to his woman says: I got me a dream. His woman says: Eat your eggs. Man says: Ive got to take hold of this here world, woman will say: Eat your eggs and go to work." (Act.1 Sc.1). Walter tries to talk to Ruth about his dreams, but she doesn't pay him any mind. She doesn't, because she thinks that he would not be able to make much of his dreams a reality, so long as they are Black and poor. Walter depends on the remainder of the 10,000 dollars that mama received, to fulfill his dreams of owning the liquor store. Mama is very wise and old fashioned, and she doesn't see fit to invest he husband's money in something as harmful as liquor. Walter, who only thinks on money, the grass the reason for his mother not initially giving him the money. Not only did Beneatha show no interest in his dreams, so did his mom. To Walter, Mama " butchered up a dream of his."(act. 2 sc.2). Walter, whose dreams are oppressed from lack of both physical and financial support, ultimately causes him to lose contr...
Jane Eyre, written in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte, relates a tale of tragedy, mystery, and gothic romance. Covering the multiple issues of England in that time, Bronte writes of orphan treatment, social class, and Britain’s controversial law of prohibiting divorce in all circumstances. Orphaned at a young age and unwanted by her guardian Mrs. Reed, Jane searches for higher prospects in education at Lowood, eventually earning a position as a governess at Thornfield. Complications disrupt her life, when she becomes engaged to her employer, Mr. Rochester, and soon after discovers that he is already married to a lunatic. Leaving Thornfield, Jane finds a home with St. John and his two sisters. Eventually, she returns to her former employer, discovering Thornfield in ashes, Mrs. Rochester dead, and Mr. Rochester blind and free from wedlock. Flooded with motifs, Jane’s continual struggles between her passions and responsibility prevail as the main theme of Bronte’s entrancing narrative.
Once a person acquires a bit of wealth, their socioeconomic position changes drastically. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is a reckless,partying rich man who lies about his past. In a Raisin in the Sun, Walter acquires a bit of family wealth and makes an unwise investment that cost him everything.
This book is called The Great Gatsby. The character that I chose from this book is Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby an extremely rich man who lives in a giant mansion. His home is located on the West Egg and is “rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season.” (9). Jay Gatsby was born in Minnesota and had two very poor farming parents. His real name was James Gatz but his good friend Dan Cody gave him the name Jay Gatsby. Dan Cody also taught Gatsby everything about being wealthy. When Dan Cody died Gatsby inherited a small amount of his wealth. About this time Gatsby became intimate and fell in love with Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby then had to leave for war and when he returned he was sent to Oxford. Gatsby then spent the rest of his money to go and visit Daisy in Louisville but he had then learned that Daisy had given up on Gatsby. She had married a rich man named Tom. This is when Gatsby realized that the only way that he could win Daisy over was to become wealthy so he promised himself that he would become rich. Gatsby then meets his mentor Meyer Wolfsheim. His mentor Meyer Wolfsheim is the person who is responsible for Gatsby’s wealth. He helps Gatsby become a millionaire by helping him in illegal activities such as bootlegging. This is where Jay Gatsby’s tragic flaw begins. After he finds out that Daisy married Tom because he was rich he figures that he needs to be rich in order to have her so he begins to become a millionaire just for Daisy. Everything he does after this point is all for Daisy Buchanan. Saturday night Gatsby throws a very extravagant party were all of his so called friends come to. At his parties Gatsby does not drink or party at all. He just sits around and waits for his lost love Daisy. This is Jay Gatsby’s tragic flaw. He is obsessed and everything that he does and has ever done revolves around Daisy Buchanan.
Essentially this play can be regarded as the mid-life crisis of Walter Lee Younger, passionate for his family, ambitious, and bursting with energy and dreams. Walter cares about his family, and he hopes that buying the liquor store will being a brighter future to Travis, ?And-and I?ll say, all right son-it?s your seventeenth birthday, what is it you?ve decided?...Just tell me where you want to go to school and you?ll go. Just tell me, what it is you want to be ? and you?ll be it.?(Hansberry 109). Walter Lee, shackled by poverty and prejudice, and obsessed with his own sense of success, which he felt, would be the end of all of his social and economic problems. The dreams he had gave him a great sense of pride and self-satisfaction. Unfortunately Walter had to learn a hard lesson in life; pride and greed will eventually lead to unhappiness.
Even after Gatsby does achieve his dream of prosperity, he is left unsatisfied always wanting something more. “He talked about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy” (110). Gatsby remains dissatisfied with what his life has become; instead of attempting to change it, he tries to relive the past through Daisy. In addition, earning his money untruthfully leaves Gatsby with a feeling of discontent since he cannot pride himself in hard work by means of earning it. The material possessions in Gatsby’s life bring him temporary happiness and satisfaction unaware that Daisy will fulfill the void of eternal longing for love. Humanity views material possessions as a symbol of wealth despite the many other ways an individual can be wealthy. This corrupted view reveals why Gatsby could not be content and accept his past as a part of him. In the passage of time, Gatsby continuously strives for his dream unaware that it has already passed, symbolic for the realization that one can’t relive the past. “‘You can’t relive the past.’ ‘Can’t relive the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” (110). Despite the fact that he was poor in Louisville, Gatsby was rich in love and experienced genuine contentment. For the duration of his life, Gatsby
As a young man, Jay Gatsby was poor with nothing but his love for Daisy. He had attempted to woe her, but a stronger attraction to money led her to marry another man. This did not stop Gatsby’s goal of winning this woman for himself though, and he decided to improve his life anyway he could until he could measure up to Daisy’s standards. He eventually gained connections in what would seem to be the wrong places, but these gave him the opportunity he needed to "get rich quick." Gatsby’s enormous desire for Daisy controlled his life to the point that he did not even question the immorality of the dealings that he involved himself in to acquire wealth. Eventually though, he was able to afford a "castle" in a location where he could pursue Daisy effectively. His life ambition had successfully moved him to the top of the "new money" class of society, but he lacked the education of how to promote his wealth properly. Despite the way that Gatsby flaunted his money, he did catch Daisy’s attention. A chaotic affair followed for a while until Daisy was overcome by pressures from Gatsby to leave her husband and by the realization that she belonged to "old money" and a more proper society.
In fact, Dunstan is the main reason why greed is an issue. He steals Silas’s life earnings from weaving so that he can run away. “Do we not wile away moments of inanity or fatigued waiting by repeating some trivial movement or sound, until the repetition has bred a want, which is incipient habit? That will help us to understand how the love of accumulating money grows an absorbing passion in men whose imaginations, even in the very beginning of their hoard, showed them no purpose beyond it” (Eliot 24). This quote explains that one’s desire for money is not obtained from the want to pursue a rich life, rather from obtaining wealth and wanting more. This fits Dunstan because he comes from an upper class family, but he finds the greed in his heart to want more. Molly is another character that is filled with this sin. She makes efforts to put herself and her baby in danger just so that she can confront Godfrey in order to obtain money. Similarly, both of these characters end up dying which is a consequence for their greed. Another very prominent deadly sin in this novel is envy which is portrayed by Godfrey and Nancy. They both are in despair that Silas is raising Eppie after all of these years of Godfrey knowing she is his child. At this point, they make an attempt to reconcile with Silas in order to take Eppie back. They become envious of the parenting Silas got to do and wish to have her back as their
... love and happiness of one’s family. Walter changes from being self-centered to self-less. He gives up his dream of having a liquor store when Willy Harris runs away with the money. Walter does that so the Younger family can fill their lives with joy and do not have to struggle anymore. This is the biggest sacrifice that Walter makes for the family. This theme also applies to everyday life. Many people sacrifice their wishes and dreams that they have, so they could help their family through tough times and always keep a smile on their faces. Love, sacrifice, and happiness is a part of everyday life.
After an unfortunate series of events that shaped Silas into a withdrawn and jaded soul, he cannot trust anyone or anything beyond the guineas in front of him. For example, Silas conducts day-by-day activities "in solitude . . . [and] his life [is] reduced to the mere functions of weaving and hoarding." These menial tasks engage Silas' mind and keep him from thinking about his troubles and worries. In addition, by placing value on money and weaving, he convinces himself that there is little time to "[seek] man or woman, save for the purposes of his calling or in order to supply himself with necessaries." As a result of his hermit-like behavior, Silas becomes a lonely and depressed outcast of his community. Moreover, Silas judges his happiness by "his guineas rising in the iron pot, [while] his life narrow[s] and harden[s] itself more and more into a mere pulsation of desire and satisfaction." This cycle thrusts him further into an impenetrable state of mind that will seemingly be his downfall if he continues in this manner. Fortunately for Silas, a life-changing event causes him to reevaluate his miserly goals and aspirations.
In the beginning of the play, Walter is foolish and quarrelsome, with his heart set on becoming affluent. As he grasps how hard work his father worked and how hard his family works, he reasons that living by his standards is more important than gaining wealth, and he stops feeling resentful towards them. This play highlights how many members of society focus more on making money than living by their ethical
Silas starts the story as a popular man from Lantern Yard as he is a regular attendee to church and is well respected. He is referred to as ‘Master Marner’. His best friend is William Dane. William frames Silas for a crime he did not commit. People in the village start to accuse Silas of the theft of the dead Deacon’s money. The way this church were organised in those days meant that it was down to pure luck to decide whether Silas was guilty or not. This was the main reason why lots were picked to decide Silas’ fate. He was a firm believer in God and was adamant that he would be cleared. “I can say nothing. God will clear me” (Chapter 1 page 12). Despite his solid belief, Silas was falsely found guilty and he had to leave his place of birth. The author, due to her different beliefs, portrayed this as if to say that it wasn’t up to God to decide your fate, but up to you to decide your own fate. However, contrary to this, his prayers did come true later on in his life, but in the form of a baby.
Characters play a major role in developing the theme of The Death of the Hired Man. Warren holds a grudge throughout the story, finding it difficult to accept Silas, an old friend back into his life. He argues with his wife that Silas