In the short story “The Crown” written by Ben Loory, a man with an unknown name is currently employed as a dishwasher. One day while he is performing his work duties, he finds an object in his sink that has no color at all. He is astounded by his findings that he talks to a bus boy for his opinion on what the object could be. The bus boy then hypothesizes that the object could be crown. Even though the story does not reveal the type of the object, the story teaches numerous life lessons such as the effects of greed of attention and the false identity of living in a materialistic world.
The effect of greed for attention is an important theme revealed from this story. In the case of the crown, the trouble began when the dishwasher started wearing the unknown object to make the crown visible. Due to the fact that the dishwasher wanted everyone to know that he had a crown, he painted it gold, a color that signifies good health and wealth. His greed of attention finally paid off. Everyone started talking to him. They would request money, food and even housing. In the eyes of the people, they saw him as a king, the top notch person in their society. At that time, the dishwasher felt like he was on the top of the world. This was his chance to have all the attention he could have ever wanted. However one day the dishwasher decided that the life he was living in, portraying as a king was not suitable for him, so he decided to take of the crown and wash it out. His actions portray that even through he had a greed for attention, in the end, the life he ever wanted was not the best for him.
In conclusion, “The Crown” offers many life lessons. Even though it may be a short story, the meanings behind the story are far much more. Using imagery and figurative language Ben Loory is able to create a story that is unique and