Consuming Greed

             The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz written by Mordecai Richler is set in the Jewish Ghetto area during the Great Depression. The entire story took place in Montreal. Duddy Kravitz is the main character, and he shows a characteristic found in all humans, greed. It is part of human nature that a person is hungry for power, never satisfied by what they already have and always wanting more. Greed may be a great motivator but it can also lead a person to self-defeat by disobeying the principles of being human. Duddy Kravitz shows his greed to readers by robbing a group of people that helped him, selling his late uncle's furniture and stealing from Virgil, one of Duddy's close friends, to reach his own dream which is to get land of his own. .
             Greed is at its greatest height when it includes money. When Duddy Kravitz works at Rubin's Hotel, Lac des Sables, in Ste. Agathe des Monts, he is tricked into acting as banker for a rigged roulette game, where he ends up losing more than three hundred dollars. Duddy Kravitz runs away from the resort from shame but, when he returns he finds that Irwin, the main swindler, has returned the money he has lost. After he receives the money from Irwin he is greeted by Mr. Cohen, one the guests, who says that a hundred and forty-two contributors have donated $500. He gladly accepts the money even though he realizes that it is morally incorrect. This example shows that the greed for money darkens the sense of a person's morality.
             The desire to achieve his dream causes Duddy to forget all his principles and advice from family. When Duddy's Uncle Benjy, passes away he bequeaths to Duddy his estate, under the condition that he is not allowed to sell it but when Duddy must come up with $4,500, Duddy ends up selling all of his uncle's antique furniture leaving the home bare. To Yvette, his girlfriend, it is terrible but in Duddy's corrupted mind it is what he must do to go on living.