Themes of Industry, Greed, and Individual
Industry, greed, and individual have been concepts that have been realized in the American literature and proven to be contributing to the American dream; throughout the American lives, the narratives and experiences brought about. These factors contributed to the American horror after most of the events in the literature resulted in adverse outcomes. The essay will expound on the interconnection of industry, greed, and individual, how the ideas have been able to create the American dream and American horror in different measures, and how the authors consider the themes.
The themes of greed, industry, and individual generally expose the nature of the works that individuals do and what they reflect directly in their lives. “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “Bartleby the Scrivener” texts show clearly the individual relationship between these theme concerns of greed, industry, and individual. In the fall of the House of Usher, Usher’sUsher family is left isolated, with only two family members remaining. All of the rest have died, and the two are entirely in isolation. The author witnesses as the two die as he escapes. Bartleby the Scrivener, a lawyer by profession, also dies in isolation, who previously was a perfect lawyer who performed his duties diligently.
Bartleby the Scrivener is an individual lawyer who previously worked so well, with an excellent reputation in his work industry, in matters of law. At first, he produces good work, but as time goes by, he cannot even proofread his work by simply saying, “I prefer not to.” As time goes by, he does fewer and lesser jobs, eventually resulting in doing none. The individual theme is brought about when Bartleby refuses the narrator’s offer when he tells him to come and live with him. Bartleby goes on to decline food, and at the end of it all, he succumbs to starvation. The theme. The literary work shows how an individual’s concept can lead to the single hurting of the culprit in the act. The industry in which Bartleby works has made him relate directly to the individual effects that are shown in what Bartleby faces, which leads to mental loneliness.
It is also witnessed in “The House of Usher” when the Usher family is left in complete isolation. Industrial development occurred after securing the different resources, and after independence, there was a rapid growth of the sector. Most of the settlers were driven by greed and individualism as they greedily grabbed supplies from the indigenous groups in the region. They did it for their gain as they sought to satisfy their industries and develop their original homeland as some of the resources were being taken back to their motherland. Industry, greed, and individualism concepts within the literature relate directly. The people performed their acts of obtaining wealth by working on the different sectors, exploiting the available resources, and using the cheap labor provided by the black slaves sold to them.
The American dream was contributed to by the acts of industrialization, agreed, and individualism. Due to resiliency, the Americans can be given independence after the many types of hardships they faced under the exploitation. In ‘To the Memory of the Brave Americans’ second stanza, first line and last line, “…if in this wreck of ruin, they can yet be thought to claim a tear…the friends of freedom slumber…” the author shows how the individuals involved in freedom fighting perish but leave the freedom for the rest of the country. The American dream is described briefly in the two short pieces of literature. The narrators are proving that working in any industry needs protection and guidance whenever they need help to avoid such scenarios as the death of Bartleby. This contributed positively to the American dream. Woolman, a businessman, preached against the economic exploitation that the natives and slaves were undergoing. This led to a movement that led to the stop of slavery, which has been witnessed in the two readings. Industry, greed, and individualism wholly contributed to the steer-wheeling of the American dream in direct and indirect ways. Through greed, people become much dedicated to their work, greed to perform their best, giving clear direction that the American dream could take in order for it to be achieved. It is then proved that the American nation is full of compromised dreams which have been unified by the ideas of individualism, self-reliance, and industrialization.
Due to greed and individualism, people are dying in the process. As witnessed by the Usher family, all of the family members are living in torment and isolation, a house with large and lofty. They have been living alone while being tormented by spirits. The two remaining eventually die after the narrator sees something like a dragon in the house. The themes are viewed to be leading them to the American Horror. The industry, even if viewed as the place where the individuals work and attain their dreams, always leads to the mental disturbance to the individuals, which leads to them to their grave easily. Also, Bartleby has been affected greatly by the industry in which he works. The nature of work seems to be affecting him negatively and this has led to the decline of his efficiency in the way he works, leading to the loss of work that he experiences. The Usher Family shows how the themes are contributing to the American Horror when they finally die in a terrifying situation, forcing the narrator who had come to their aid escape the house.
Work cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. The fall of the house of Usher. Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing, 2019.