Abstract

If one takes a stroll down a metropolitan city, one is sure to see women carrying handbags worth quite a few thousand dollars or men driving the most lavish of cars. Present day society consists of a consumerist world that is constantly seeking validation through material items, affirmations, or any outside entity that does not fulfill the soul. Instead, the possession of these sought out desires creates fleeing feelings of satisfaction that fulfills the ego temporarily. This feeling of greed then controls the entire mind, and every action thereafter is an effect of the sin. Unfortunately, the consistent cycle of the desire for greed is due to society persistently marketing to people through the “biggest and best” product advertisements, social media, etc. The unpleasant feeling of never having enough is a feeling so common; society does not condemn it. It rather provides a by-the-minute news outlet and feeds its users through creations such as “news feeds”, renewing the cycle daily. It is through the use of constant streaming at the touch of a button that greed has become a sin that effects so much of the population. Once one allows for greed to consume them, one permits for his or her body to become the feeding ground upon which all other sins will engulf.

Thesis: Greed is the tree that stems into all other branches of the deadly sins, as the desire and need to acquire someone else’s possessions or situations can create feelings of gluttony, envy, anger, lust, sloth, and pride.

The falling of leaves always summoned for the falling of hearts. Willow Spruce was a town famous for its frequent love stories, with most residents experiencing heartbreak come summer time. It was a common occurrence among the youth of the town, but not for Maple. You see, Maple Willow was a woman with ambition. She never let anyone get in her way, and always held her ground whenever she felt as if someone was taking advantage of her. Maple believed humility was her greatest asset and maintained it at all costs. She had no time for love, especially since she was entering her senior year of college. The beginning of fall was the start of a new semester and new scholarly experiences, not the start of a love affair.
The first morning of the semester, Maple sat under a massive tree in the university’s field and appreciated the beautiful day around her. The tree above shaded her with hovering branches and bright emerald leaves, swaying effortlessly in the breeze. She admired the simplicity of the tree’s life, then her mind went straight to all she had to accomplish for the rest of the day: buying textbooks, organizing notes, and emailing professors. Maple gathered her things knowing she had to get started right away. She jumped up hastily and rushed to her first class of the day: Sociology. Taking the elective was enjoyable to her; learning about people and their conquests for love was absolutely trivial to her. As the professor went over the syllabus, one topic struck out to her: “Love & Greed”. Maple stared at the word love, confused by its relation to anything other than being unproductive. “Excuse me professor,” Maple interjects, “How do these topics relate?” Before the professor could answer, a deep voice coos, “Love makes you crave more.” Maple whips her head around, searching for a face to the voice that took command of the room. A man with shining blue eyes and slicked back black hair raises his head, staring straight into the eyes of Maple. She rolls her eyes at his apparent confidence, and turns her head back towards the professor. “We’ll pick up the discussion regarding that topic when we reach its place within the syllabus timeline,” the professor declares. “Have a beautiful rest of your day.”
The class disperses, and Maple begins to make her way back to her spot underneath the tree before her next class. “I take it you’ve never been in love then,” speaks a familiar voice from behind. Maple turns to find the same man from her last class walking up to her. He struts over to her, with a swagger as obvious as his out-of-place clothes. He wore a light blue pressed button down shirt with the initials C.H. embroidered on the pocket in such a way you’d feel like you were speaking to a company executive. His navy dress pants covered his shoes just enough so that they still shined just as bright as his smile. Maple reacted as she always does with men: drawing her guard up. “That seems like a trivial concept to me.” “Ah. The girl who’s a challenge. I always did love a challenge.” Maple stares at him with disbelief. Did this man really believe that he could treat her as if she was a prize to be won in a game that she never would play? Before she could spit out her words, the man’s smirk turns into a laugh. “I was obviously kidding. My name is Chase. Chase Hawthorn.”
She cocks her head and turns her body away from him. “Come on, at least tell me your name.” Almost reluctantly, she flatly says, “Maple Willow.” “I see we already have something in common,” he smiles. “Our last names are the names of trees.” Maple offers a half-smile, amused at his attempt to flirt with her. “Does that mean that you chase trees?” she says wryly. Chase grins, lowering his head to meet her gaze. “Something like that. How does a coffee sound? We can discuss more types of trees if you like. Or maybe talk about the interesting class we have ahead of us.” Maple stares at his feet. She isn’t used to getting asked out on dates. But was this a date? Or maybe it was a set up to use as a term paper for the class? She pondered on that last topic for a bit. Could this be the perfect learning experience to write the award winning term paper of her college career?
“I love trees. Why not?” she smiles. He looks at her with a puzzled look. “I didn’t think it would be that easy. What’s the catch?” “Nothing at all. There’s a Pete’s Coffee on campus. Let’s head over right now.” Maple gathers her things once more, and they walk side by side over to the coffee shop on the other side of campus. “So tell me about yourself, Maple,” he says casually. “Why don’t you go first? You were the one who was interested in this date,” she says dryly. Chase throws his head back to the sky and laughs. “You’re very straight forward. I like that.” Maple stares blankly ahead, wondering if this decision was a waste of her time. “Well,” he continues, “I work for my father’s company, Hawthorn Liquors. He’s urged me to take charge ever since I became 18 years old. I became the C.F.O. of the company, and I plan on taking the company to the next level.” Maple turns to stare him in the eyes, surprised at his ambition. “Then how do you have time to know if love makes you crave more?” she genuinely asks. He stares softly into her eyes and kindly tells her “Love adds color to a life of work and no play.” As they approach the coffee shop, Chase grabs a seat for Maple and scoots her in. He gets up to order a coffee, and Maple attempts to rise up. “No, no. I’ll surprise you,” he grins. She hesitates, and sits back down. A few minutes pass, and he makes his way back over to her. “So, what about you, Maple? You seem like a girl who has it all figured out.” Maple chuckles, “I like to think that I do, but I don’t. Not yet at least. I’m still figuring myself out in the process of getting my career straight. Do you really know everything that you want in life?” “I want to be able to live a life where I can afford the best of everything. The best cars, the best homes, the best everything.” Maple’s heart beats faster, and her nerves begin to kick in. She never liked a person that didn’t possess any humility. She brushed off these feelings, and instead admired his incredibly chiseled jawline, blinding smile, and piercing blue eyes. Chase lifts his arm and rests his chin on his knuckle, staring into Maple’s eyes.
“You seem like an interesting girl, Maple Willow.” Maple blushes and smiles down as she notices his gold and diamond studded Rolex. He extends his arm towards her, resting his hand less than an inch away from hers. Maple hesitates, immediately feeling the warm sensation that she recognized as lust. She refused to let it overtake her, and pulled her hand away. Chase’s eyes widen before he tells her with a stern tone, “You know Maple, I am a man who gets what he wants.” Maple squints at him, again in disbelief at the audacity of his words. “I can’t do this. This is not me. And you’re not the type of guy I would even think about seeing,” she says as she hastily retrieves her things. Chase jumps up, appalled at her rejection. “No one rejects me! Do you know who I am? I own this city!” Amazed at his sudden anger, Maple whips around and briskly walks out of the coffee shop, walking faster with each step she takes. She attempts to calm her nerves and makes her way back over to the hovering tree for a feeling of security. Maple’s tears stream down her face, as her first attempt at talking to a guy out of interest failed. She thinks to herself of his greedy nature, and instantly reminds herself that those are not her virtues. “How could a man be so greedy?” she whispers through her tears. She stares up at the tree behind her; amazed at the simple life they live. They don’t need anything but the sun and water to live, even with large, hovering branches. When a tree begins to want more than just the necessary to live and allows greed to consume it whole, it feels prideful of its emerald green leaves and colossal branches, and angry when it cannot attain the extra things that make the tree feel better temporarily. The tree will notice the greener leaves on other trees, and begin to feel the anger overtake it. The feelings of anger add an extra weight to each branch, destroying the inherent beauty of the tree. The branches eventually give in, unable to keep up with such a lifestyle the tree wishes to keep. Maple is grateful it’s the season of fall, as she can always brush off her leaves and renew herself from the experiences she does not wish to take part of.

Bibliography
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