In the memoir "Us and Them" by David Sedaris, he explains a story about him as a child, but subtly hints at the fact that greed can rule one's mind to affect how they act towards others and how they portray their lifestyle. After moving multiple times, Sedaris moves to a suburban neighborhood that has specifically interesting neighbors, the Tomkeys. They do not own a television and that interests him, he thinks because they have no television they are not as equipped as the other people and are behind on jokes and news. He begins watching them to figure out what exactly they do instead of watch television. After his neighbors purchase a boat they were gone almost every weekend, including Halloween. On November first the Tomkeys return from their trip and are described in very last minute costumes and they go trick-or-treating. Sedaris is mortified that they would expect he would give the candy he worked so hard for the night before. After that night of 'begging', as he describes it, he loses all interest in the Tomkeys and from there finds them unfortunate. Sedaris explains his story, but slightly states that greed can blind a person of manners, can blind a person of how they see others, and how seeing your own greed can hide it in others.
The style of the text really speaks about how one person can be exceptionally materialistic and just forget manners when being asked to give something of their own to someone else, especially if that someone else is different than you. When the Tomkeys are trick-or-treating on November first and ask for candy, Sedaris's mother asks him and his sisters to retrieve the candy so they can give some to the Tomkeys. He knows that she does not truly mean candy that is left over from the night before but their candy. The candy they worked for and earned while they were trick-or-treating on Halloween. He was outraged his mother would even assume he would give them his candy.
