Greeds Negative Consequences
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Greeds Negative Consequences
In both “The Long Shot” by Nicholas Blake and “A Very Desirable Residence” by P.D.
James, terrible crimes are committed in the name of greed. In one case there is a murder and the
framing of an innocent man. In the other case there is a set-up where a man is wrongfully
imprisoned and stripped of his freedoms. However, both cases ultimately lead to the demise of
the culprit. This teaches the reader that greed will have its negative consequences.
In “The Long Shot” Hector and Diana kill Gervase for monetary gain. They want to inherit
Gervases fortune that would not be given to them even in the event of Gervases death. Because
of this, the couple cold- heartedly killed him by poisoning his beverage while at the same time,
pointing the blame at his son. The son who would in fact become rich from his fathers written
will (343).
The married couple was actually looked at as a team by Mr. Strangway even before he knew
that they were co-conspirators in the murder. Blake writes: “They gave one, more than any other
couple I ever met, the impression of being a team, of physical and mental co-ordination” (335).
This alluded to the fact that they were going to work as a team to try and pull off the murder and
frame Henry. Diana had the ambitiousness and Hector had the energy to commit the crime (335).
The plan for the murder was to poison Gervase and make it look like it was done by his son,
Hector. They did this by putting prussic acid in Gervases ginger-beer. Diana distracted Henry
while Hector put the poison in Gervases drink (339). Henry was thought to be the only person to
have contact with the ginger-beer. By doing this, they hoped that people would assume Henry
committed the murder to receive his inheritance. Also, so that Henry would be put in prison and
not be allowed to accept the inheritance which would allow Hector to become next in line (343). So through the plan they were able to kill Gervase and shortly place the blame on Henry.
However, Mr.Strangeway quickly realizes the couples involvement in the murder and their
motive.
Hector and Diana were figured out by Detective Strangeway. He realized that they had killed
Gervase for his money:
“In that case, Nigel, you silly ass. What would be the point of my killing Gervase?” Hector
was blushing, yet triumphant, like a boy making a decisive point in a school debate.
“None. Unless you did it in such a way as to incriminate Henry. He would be hanged for
your crime, and Gervases fortune in due course would pass to you. And, I must say, if
Henry didnt commit the murder, someone took great pains to make it look like he did
(344).
Also, because Henry would get all of his fathers money in case of his death, they tried to frame
him to make it look like he killed his father for his inheritance (343). Its ironic, how they killed
someone in an attempt to get rich but now they will go to prison and have nothing. They will no
longer be able to travel Europe in their Bentley (335). They will also have with them forever, the
guilt of killing Gervase. In “A Very Desirable Residence,” the culprit was not figured out and did
not do prison time. Despite this, he left himself susceptible to the same fate as the man he had
set-up.
In “A Very Desirable Residence” the narrator and Mrs. Vinson think up a plot to set-up Mr.
Vinson. Unlike “The Long Shot,” nobody would be killed. However, Mr. Vinson would be put in
prison for the attempted murder of his wife. The narrator and Mrs. Vinson came up with a plot to
make it look as if Mr. Vinson had tried to kill his wife. By doing this, it would allow the narrator
and Mrs. Vinson to get married. It was the narrators goal to live in the big, beautiful Georgian
house that was inherited by Mrs. Vinson.
Unlike the married couple in “The Long Shot,” Mr. and Mrs. Vinson did not have a healthy
marriage. Mr. Vinson was very easily irritated by his wife. He didnt want to hear about her daily
routine as a domestic caretaker (510). This could