Greed in “Desire Under the Elms” Essay Example

that made the land worthless to other people.

In removing the stones from the land, Ephraim Cabot is able to revitalize his farm and thus making it the object of greed for the characters in this play. While Eben felt that these stones and all the work that Ephraim put in clearing out is farm changed him and made him greedy, he still coveted the farm that his father had made and believed that it was rightfully his. This served as the main source of the conflict as Ephraim was also resolute in not letting go of the farm that he worked on for so long and would rather see the farm burn down than let anyone else own it.

Abbie, on the other hand, also felt that the farm was rightfully hers and employed every means that she could to try and gain possession of it, using deceit and lies to further her interests. Peter and Simon are also not spared from the corruption of greed as they too coveted the farm, claiming that the farm would not be as attractive as it is if it were not for the blood and sweat they poured in during the restoration of the farm. These signs of greed, as portrayed by the characters in this play, all reveal the theme that O’Neill wishes to reveal to the audience and that is that “The land is life, and the land is death”.

There is no stronger compulsion that drives people to go against their own sons or wives or even against friends than greed. The human psyche is structured in such a way that

personal survival, fame and glory become things that can never be compromised and never shared. The source of pride, the farm, is the symbol of all of this, a source of life, a source of pride and in the end, the source of all greed. Comparison and Contrast of the characters Eben and Cabot The characters, Eben and Ephraim, are but two sides of the same coin.

There is a saying that an apple does not fall far from the tree and this is precisely what happened in this play. While it may seem that there are not similarities between these two characters, the manifestation of greed through the acts that they were willing to commit in order to own the farm reveals that these two individuals were motivated by the same things, the same base urges and emotions. Ephraim is man who was turned into an emotionless shell by the hard work that he put into the farm.

As remarked by Eben, “An' makin' walls-stone atop o' stone-makin' walls till yer heart's a stone ye heft up out o' the way o' growth onto a stone wall t' wall in yer heart! ” (O'Neill 1069). This shows that Ephraim was turned into a machine that cared only about his work and neither about his children nor his wife. Another darker side of Ephraim is revealed when he marries Abbie, who is many years younger than him, in order to cheat his children out of their inheritance. The manner by which Ephraim forces his children to work in the farm shows this cruel side of his nature.

Eben is no saint by

all accounts as the same greed that drove his father to commit those brutal acts against his children and employ all sorts of machinations just to cheat his children out of their inheritance is reflected in his act of fathering the child of his father’s wife, Abbie. While it is arguable that this was through the clever seduction of Abbie, it still reveals the lengths that Eben would go to keep the farm in his possession. Another striking similarity of these characters is their devotion to the land.

As Ephraim reveals when commenting on the elms, “Ye kin feel it droppin' off the elums, climbin' up the roof, sneakin' down the chimney, pokin' in the corners! They's no peace in houses, they's no rest livin' with folks. Somethin's always livin' with ye. I'll go t' the barn an' rest a spell. ”(O'Neill 1094) This clearly shows the devotion that Ephraim has for the land. Eben manifests the same type of emotion as shown by his attitude that the land should only be his and to nobody else.

It becomes such a driving force for Eben that even the manner by which he describes his girlfriend, “her mouth's wa'm, her arms're wa'm, she smells like a wa'm plowed field, she's purty... ”(O'Neill 1071), shows just how much he cares for the land. As intended by the author, the farm was meant to bring out the best or the worst in people. In the case of Ephraim and Eben, it brought out some of the worst as they committed deeds that only those driven by a strong emotion of greed would do.

The farm

affected the emotions, feelings and outlook of not only these two characters but of the other characters as well. In the final scenes, the author reveals that nobody was in a better position as Ephraim lost his farm and Eben lost his love, Abbie, and the child that he fathered with her. As all tragedies end, this is no different, similar characters placed in different settings and situations revealing that greed does nobody and good and bring out the worst in everyone.