Across books · Theme
Greed and Corruption
Greed drives the actions of Ebenezer Balfour, Captain Hoseason, and others, leading to kidnapping, murder, and exploitation, highlighting the corrupting influence of money and power.
Greed and Corruption appears as a literary theme in 9 works in the BetterReads curated set. Each book develops the idea in its own plot, voice, and historical moment — the links below open the book-scoped theme guide beside the text.
Greed drives the actions of Ebenezer Balfour, Captain Hoseason, and others, leading to kidnapping, murder, and exploitation, highlighting the corrupting influence of money and power.
The pursuit of wealth drives the plot, from the Chuzzlewit family's scheming over inheritance to Jonas's involvement in a fraudulent insurance company, exposing how money corrupts human relationships and morals.
Characters like Peter Chatfield and the false Squire are driven by avarice, stealing estate valuables, embezzling bank funds, and plotting to secure hidden gold, revealing how greed corrupts loyalty and leads to criminal schemes.
Characters like Bankhead, Hornswoggle, and various criminals scheme to steal or exploit Sills' invention for personal profit, highlighting how greed drives unethical behavior and conflict.
Sir Daniel Brackley embodies the theme of greed, using legal manipulation, extortion, and violence to seize land and wealth, highlighting the moral decay of the powerful.
The pursuit of the valuable Phillimore pearls drives the plot, revealing how wealth corrupts individuals like P.J. Madden and his associates, leading to blackmail, conspiracy, and murder.
In each book
kidnapped
Greed drives the actions of Ebenezer Balfour, Captain Hoseason, and others, leading to kidnapping, murder, and exploitation, highlighting the corrupting influence of money and power.
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Martin Chuzzlewit
The pursuit of wealth drives the plot, from the Chuzzlewit family's scheming over inheritance to Jonas's involvement in a fraudulent insurance company, exposing how money corrupts human relationships and morals.
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Scarhaven Keep
Characters like Peter Chatfield and the false Squire are driven by avarice, stealing estate valuables, embezzling bank funds, and plotting to secure hidden gold, revealing how greed corrupts loyalty and leads to criminal
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Short Science Fiction
Characters like Bankhead, Hornswoggle, and various criminals scheme to steal or exploit Sills' invention for personal profit, highlighting how greed drives unethical behavior and conflict.
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The Chinese Parrot
The pursuit of the valuable Phillimore pearls drives the plot, revealing how wealth corrupts individuals like P.J. Madden and his associates, leading to blackmail, conspiracy, and murder.
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The Golden Triangle
The pursuit of hidden gold drives much of the conflict, revealing how avarice corrupts relationships and leads to murder, betrayal, and moral decay.
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The Maltese Falcon
The relentless pursuit of the jewel-encrusted falcon drives characters to murder, betrayal, and moral compromise, showing how greed corrupts all human relationships and leads to inevitable destruction.
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The Vicomte de Bragelonne
The avarice of Cardinal Mazarin and the financial corruption of Superintendent Fouquet are critiqued, showing how wealth and greed corrupt individuals and the state, leading to downfall and imprisonment.
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the_black_arrow
Sir Daniel Brackley embodies the theme of greed, using legal manipulation, extortion, and violence to seize land and wealth, highlighting the moral decay of the powerful.
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