Literature Essay Example: What Motivates People to Do Bad Things?

What makes people do bad things? I believe that people that do bad things always have a reason for doing bad things. I have read three texts that show people doing bad things because of greed, revenge in return for harm, and selfishness. They are called “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson, as well as “Ruthless” by William DeMille, and finally “Lamb To The Slaughter” by Roald Dahl. The three texts give each an example of the reason for doing bad.

To begin with, Richard Matheson gives us an example of doing bad when writing the text “Button, Button”. In the text, Richard writes “If you push the button,” Mr. Steward told him, somewhere in the world someone you don’t know will die. In return for which you will receive a payment of $50,000.” This unknown man allowed a married couple to receive a large amount of money but in return, someone will die. This opportunity gave Norma the motivation to push the button because she will receive $50,000 without making any effort. However, by accepting this offer there is a disadvantage, letting a stranger die. Later in the text, Norma pushes the button because of her main focus, which was having a better life, having money to travel, living in a nicer home, and having children. Even though she valued the relationship that she had with her husband, Arthur, she was more concerned about her needs. The reason for this unexpected result is that Norma was selfish and only thought of her happiness, which led to a devastating outcome.

In addition, “Ruthless” by William DeMille gives us a great example of a person getting revenge for doing him harm. William writes, “Judson Webb loved his personal possessions and became furious if they were touched.” Judson's motivation is possessiveness and an obsession with being in control of what he considers his. His outsized sense of ownership drives his action. In the text, a thief once stole Judson's bourbon; in revenge, Judson poisoned the bourbon to catch the criminal.“He seemed fascinated as he saw the bourbon changing into a deadly drink.” Judson is enraptured with the poison. The thrill of taking a life seemed to excite him, even outside of his need to revenge himself for the theft of the liquor. However, at the end of the text, the act is situationally ironic because Judson has been trying to poison a thief but ends up being poisoned himself. 

Furthermore, “Lamb To The Slaughter” by Roald Dahl shows us that selfishness can lead people to do bad things. In the text, Patrick displays selfishness by putting his own needs before his wife. For example, in the text, it states, “ So there it is’ he added. ‘And I know it’s a tough time to be telling you this but there really shouldn’t be any problem. I hope not, in any case. It wouldn’t be very good for my job.” Patrick sacrifices Mary’s role as a wife through a divorce, although she is pregnant. He mentions that he is worried about his job, displaying selfishness by valuing his needs over the mother of his child. Mary also displays selfishness by allowing revenge to drive her into killing Patrick. At the time Mary was only thinking of her happiness. She did not want Patrick to divorce her because her world revolved around him, she couldn't bear the fact that he was going to leave her and have his own happiness without her being in the picture. Therefore, she killed him to take “revenge”. Mary takes advantage here because she knows now that her husband is gone but with her willingness.

In conclusion, by reading all three short stories I believe that all humans can be motivated into doing bad things, for example, in the texts the characters were motivated to do wrong because of greed, revenge in return for harm, and selfishness. I think that most people don’t mean to do bad but they end up doing bad because that's what looks like the better option for them. No one is exclusively bad, nor is anyone exclusively good. Some are just forced to work harder at suppressing the bad.