Green is Greed

Although most will argue that money is not the most important thing in the world, it touches everything that is. The more money you make, the more people you can help and the bigger impact you will have as exemplified by “nothing” getting in the way of Mama’s money being put towards Beneatha’s education to be a doctor. Correspondingly, Walter’s obsession with the check drives him “crazy”. This is symbolic of the damaging effects greed and desire can have on a person. This is also seen in The great Gatsby through Gatsby’s incessant desire for the American dream. Money is the key not only to “success” as in The Great Gatsby, but also the key to being able to aid others in A Raisin in the Sun.  The character’s necessity of money is much reflected in today’s society as well. Our society depends upon wealth in order to prosper. I would classify it as something close to oxygen on the “gotta have it” scale. But to measure real wealth, how much would you be worth as a person if you lost all your money? Ignoring what would be the majorly affected factors such as the necessities, would you still go out of your way to help others? I once read about a homeless man who lived on the streets in New York. When he found spare change on the ground, instead of saving it for himself, he used it pay off other’s parking meters so that they would not receive a ticket. So in terms of real wealth, how much value do you have?