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Greed In A Short Story

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Short story: Analysis Essay. The short story addresses the issues of “othering” and greed in our society and the world as a whole. It is based on the words of R. Eric saying that if one lets greed grow stronger than the compassion one has for others, there will be suffering (not only upon the victims of the greedy but ultimately upon the greedy themselves). These are the words that Professor Baobab, a character in the story, reiterates to Bernie (the main character) when asked why he helped him. This essay aims to discuss the literary contents of the short story; give underlying meanings, explain phrases and put into context anything that might have otherwise been taken out of context. The story starts off with a rather dramatic description of Bernie. This is done to show that all issues start with a small seed; the societies we live in have fixed ideas on what kind of physical appearance and or other characteristics are deemed acceptable and if one does not fit the harshly structured criteria then they are instantly “othered”. Many studies have shown that when a person grows up being bullied (physically, emotionally, psychologically etc.), they build up a lot of hurt and anger inside, develop a low self-esteem and more dangerously-they are most likely to become the bully. When they finally do find the love that they had been deprived of, they tend to abuse it because they do not know how to deal with love and acceptance; they become greedy and want more and more of it.

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