Greed. The desire for more and the one thing that keeps the economies of today running. We are constantly being bombarded with images of things that we can attain that once we possess them we are supposed to make us feel happier and more fulfilled than ever before. Greed is an insatiable need for more, where more is never enough. Greed can never be satisfied, once you attain your hearts desire another desire takes it's place. Greed is self-serving and destructive. Neighbours are no longer friends but rivals in a competition. Family members are no longer loved ones but obstacles in the quest for the newest, brightest and best.. Greed is like a whirlpool, it keeps drawing victims nearer it's center and in due time as the center is reached the force pulls victims under and destroys them. The story "The Necklace" written by Guy De Maupassant clearly illustrates the destructive capacity of greed. He uses character, setting and irony to paint a picture of the consequences that result as greed infiltrates the very soul of a being.
             The author Guy De Maupassant, uses the character of Mathilde Loisel to depict the many characteristics of greed. He describes her as being a "pretty and charming girl...that fate had blundered over her... [born] into a family of artisans"(691). Due to her families lack of position in society Mathilde Loisel lets herself be married off to a man she considers entirely beneath her. In her mind she has grandiose visions of how her life should be, surrounded by Oriental tapestries, vast salons, priceless ornaments and charming rooms created for parties with famous friends. In reality she lives with her husband in a modest and unpretentious home with "mean walls, worn chairs and ugly curtains"(691). Mathilde badly wants to be a part of the upper class and "suffers endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury"(691). Her greed causes her to be a lonely woman who has trouble maintaining fri...