Examples Of Greed In There Will Be Blood
The Results of Greed Staged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, There Will Be Blood is a film about a power-hungry oilman’s immense greed for money and what he is willing to do to make his fortune. There Will Be Blood was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and first premiered on December 26th, 2007. Upon learning the town of Little Boston is rich in oil, Daniel Plainview makes a proposition to benefit the town and its citizens in return for drilling the ocean of oil beneath the town. After he begins drilling the oil, there is a horrific gas explosion that permanently deafens his adoptive son, H.W. Instead of taking care of H.W., Daniel watches the oil well burn. Throughout the movie, a money-grubbing priest known as Eli Sunday consistently
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badgers Daniel for money, and makes him look like a fool during the baptism he had to receive in exchange for the agreement to build an oil pipeline along Bandy’s tract. Greed for revenge against Eli results in him tricking and murdering the ignorant priest. In the film, There Will Be Blood, Daniel’s vast greed drives him to pitch false promises to the people of Little Boston in exchange for the oil located beneath the town, however, this results in a horrific explosion that makes Daniel choose between his adoptive son and his oil well, and Daniel seeks his revenge against the town priest who has annoyed and made Daniel look foolish since he bought the Sunday Ranch, Eli Sunday.
In the beginning of the movie, Daniel, a successfully rising oilman is informed of the ocean of oil beneath the town of Little Boston that “seeps through the ground”, and greedily persuades the residents to let him mine the oil in exchange for several promises he will not honor. Paul Sunday, a resident of Little Boston, informs Daniel of the oil beneath the town: “If I told you I knew a place that had oil, where land could be bought cheaply, what do you think that would be worth?” After their meeting, Daniel, being the cunning businessman he is, and his adopted son travel to Little Boston and find Paul’s claims of oil to be true. Daniel swiftly purchases the Sunday Ranch and talks to the town’s real estate agent about the surrounding land, inquiring, “Can everything around here be got?” Daniel’s greed for wealth and success has spread beyond the Sunday Ranch; he wants to purchase all of the oil rich land of Little Boston. A town meeting is held, during which Daniel promises the citizens of Little Boston “New roads, agriculture, employment, [and] education” and that “…this community of yours will not only survive, it will flourish” if oil is found and successfully drilled from the town and surrounding land of Little Boston. However, Daniel is not a man of his word and does not keep the promises he has made. Even though Daniel can persuade the people of Little Boston to let him drill the land for oil, there will be irreversible consequences for his greed. One fateful day, while drilling for the oil that would make Daniel’s fortune, a devastating gas explosion occurs, and Daniel’s greed is manifested yet again. H.W. is lying on a platform above the drill, watching the men work. Suddenly, the man guiding the drill begins to yell, “Gas, gas gas!” as the drill shakes violently, followed by the deafening explosion that throws the platform boards H.W. is lying on back. At this point, the only noise that can be heard from the film is white noise, indicating H.W. has been deafened. Daniel runs to the oil derrick to retrieve H.W. and take him to the mess hall where he can be evaluated. Daniel repeatedly asks, “Where does it hurt you?”, and for several seconds H.W. does not reply. When he does reply, he states, “I can’t hear my voice.” Another explosion can be heard from the oil well as a fire erupts, and Daniel tells his deafened son, “I have to go deal with this now. You wait here for me, you wait here for me. I’ll be back, I’ll be back in a minute. You wait here!” As Daniel attempts to part from H.W.’s grasp, H.W. repeatedly shouts, “Don’t leave!” Instead of taking care of the terrified child, Daniel leaves him with an employee so he can watch the oil well, and all the time and money invested in said oil well, burn. Watching the oil well burn together, Fletcher Hamilton inquires, “[Is] H.W. okay?”, and Daniel absently replies, “No he isn’t”. Daniel continues to watch the oil derrick burn while Fletcher quickly leaves to attend to H.W. Daniel realizes H.W. needs immediate medical attention yet his greed envelops him, and he watches the oil well burn. Shortly after the accident, Eli Sunday visits Daniel and asks, “When do we get our money, Daniel?”, without offering words of condolence for H.W.’s condition. Eli has been an annoyance to Daniel since he purchased the Sunday Ranch. Now Daniel’s greed extends to seeking revenge for all the times Eli has badgered him for money, and for making Daniel out as a fool during the baptism he was forced to receive in exchange for William Bandy’s tract. At the end of There Will Be Blood, Daniel exhibits his greed for revenge against Eli by cleverly tricking and murdering the ignorant priest. Daniel has the wealth he so greedily worked for, but he has yet to get his revenge against Eli. One day, Eli visits Daniel at his mansion with a proposition. He informs Daniel he has the chance to drill William Bandy’s tract, the grandson of the William Bandy Daniel originally met with to discuss drilling the tract for oil. Daniel acts as though this proposition is a terrific thought, but has one condition for Eli: “I’d like you to tell me that you are and have been a false prophet. And that God is a superstition.” At first, Eli declines Daniel’s sole condition for his proposition, claiming it is a lie. But, Eli is as greedy as Daniel, and with much encouragement from Daniel shouts, “I am a false prophet! God is a superstition!” several times. Eli, the priest of Little Boston, has denounced God for over $100,000; Eli has chosen money over his faith, and his important position within the community. Calmly, Daniel states, “Those areas have been drilled.” Daniel has finally sought his revenge against Eli by tricking him into denouncing God, and his faith, for money. After realizing he has been tricked, Eli begins telling Daniel he is “in desperate times” and needs the $5,000 Daniel promised but never paid him. Daniel informs Eli he is not the chosen one, that it “’Twas Paul who was chosen.” Daniel gets angry when Eli begins to cry and beg for the promised money, and tries to attack Eli, eventually bludgeoning him with a wooden bowling pin. Shortly after Eli was murdered, Daniel’s butler enters the room to see what all the commotion was. The scene ends with Daniel stating, “I’m finished.” Daniel realizes he has given up everything he worked so greedily for because he was caught after murdering Eli. In the film, There Will Be Blood, Daniel’s vast greed drives him to pitch false promises to the people of Little Boston in exchange for the oil located beneath the town, however, this results in a horrific explosion that makes Daniel choose between his adoptive son and his oil well, and Daniel seeks his revenge against the town priest who has annoyed and made Daniel look foolish since he bought the Sunday Ranch, Eli Sunday.
Daniel promises the people of Little Boston “New roads, agriculture, employment, education”, and that the community would flourish under the wealth the oil well would produce. However, Daniel is too greedy to keep his pledges to the people of Little Boston. Likewise, Daniel was too greedy to put H.W. first when the explosion at Mary’s Well Number One deafened him. Instead of attending to his adoptive son, Daniel watched the well burn. All throughout the movie, Eli annoyed Daniel for money, and made him look foolish. Blinded by his greed, Daniel tricked Eli into denouncing God, then bludgeoned him to death. Daniel’s immense greed got him what he wanted from the beginning, his fortune. But, to earn his fortune, he lied to many people, especially to the townspeople of Little Boston, committed murder, and severed all ties with the one person he truly cared about, his adopted son,
H.W.
badgers Daniel for money, and makes him look like a fool during the baptism he had to receive in exchange for the agreement to build an oil pipeline along Bandy’s tract. Greed for revenge against Eli results in him tricking and murdering the ignorant priest. In the film, There Will Be Blood, Daniel’s vast greed drives him to pitch false promises to the people of Little Boston in exchange for the oil located beneath the town, however, this results in a horrific explosion that makes Daniel choose between his adoptive son and his oil well, and Daniel seeks his revenge against the town priest who has annoyed and made Daniel look foolish since he bought the Sunday Ranch, Eli Sunday.
In the beginning of the movie, Daniel, a successfully rising oilman is informed of the ocean of oil beneath the town of Little Boston that “seeps through the ground”, and greedily persuades the residents to let him mine the oil in exchange for several promises he will not honor. Paul Sunday, a resident of Little Boston, informs Daniel of the oil beneath the town: “If I told you I knew a place that had oil, where land could be bought cheaply, what do you think that would be worth?” After their meeting, Daniel, being the cunning businessman he is, and his adopted son travel to Little Boston and find Paul’s claims of oil to be true. Daniel swiftly purchases the Sunday Ranch and talks to the town’s real estate agent about the surrounding land, inquiring, “Can everything around here be got?” Daniel’s greed for wealth and success has spread beyond the Sunday Ranch; he wants to purchase all of the oil rich land of Little Boston. A town meeting is held, during which Daniel promises the citizens of Little Boston “New roads, agriculture, employment, [and] education” and that “…this community of yours will not only survive, it will flourish” if oil is found and successfully drilled from the town and surrounding land of Little Boston. However, Daniel is not a man of his word and does not keep the promises he has made. Even though Daniel can persuade the people of Little Boston to let him drill the land for oil, there will be irreversible consequences for his greed. One fateful day, while drilling for the oil that would make Daniel’s fortune, a devastating gas explosion occurs, and Daniel’s greed is manifested yet again. H.W. is lying on a platform above the drill, watching the men work. Suddenly, the man guiding the drill begins to yell, “Gas, gas gas!” as the drill shakes violently, followed by the deafening explosion that throws the platform boards H.W. is lying on back. At this point, the only noise that can be heard from the film is white noise, indicating H.W. has been deafened. Daniel runs to the oil derrick to retrieve H.W. and take him to the mess hall where he can be evaluated. Daniel repeatedly asks, “Where does it hurt you?”, and for several seconds H.W. does not reply. When he does reply, he states, “I can’t hear my voice.” Another explosion can be heard from the oil well as a fire erupts, and Daniel tells his deafened son, “I have to go deal with this now. You wait here for me, you wait here for me. I’ll be back, I’ll be back in a minute. You wait here!” As Daniel attempts to part from H.W.’s grasp, H.W. repeatedly shouts, “Don’t leave!” Instead of taking care of the terrified child, Daniel leaves him with an employee so he can watch the oil well, and all the time and money invested in said oil well, burn. Watching the oil well burn together, Fletcher Hamilton inquires, “[Is] H.W. okay?”, and Daniel absently replies, “No he isn’t”. Daniel continues to watch the oil derrick burn while Fletcher quickly leaves to attend to H.W. Daniel realizes H.W. needs immediate medical attention yet his greed envelops him, and he watches the oil well burn. Shortly after the accident, Eli Sunday visits Daniel and asks, “When do we get our money, Daniel?”, without offering words of condolence for H.W.’s condition. Eli has been an annoyance to Daniel since he purchased the Sunday Ranch. Now Daniel’s greed extends to seeking revenge for all the times Eli has badgered him for money, and for making Daniel out as a fool during the baptism he was forced to receive in exchange for William Bandy’s tract. At the end of There Will Be Blood, Daniel exhibits his greed for revenge against Eli by cleverly tricking and murdering the ignorant priest. Daniel has the wealth he so greedily worked for, but he has yet to get his revenge against Eli. One day, Eli visits Daniel at his mansion with a proposition. He informs Daniel he has the chance to drill William Bandy’s tract, the grandson of the William Bandy Daniel originally met with to discuss drilling the tract for oil. Daniel acts as though this proposition is a terrific thought, but has one condition for Eli: “I’d like you to tell me that you are and have been a false prophet. And that God is a superstition.” At first, Eli declines Daniel’s sole condition for his proposition, claiming it is a lie. But, Eli is as greedy as Daniel, and with much encouragement from Daniel shouts, “I am a false prophet! God is a superstition!” several times. Eli, the priest of Little Boston, has denounced God for over $100,000; Eli has chosen money over his faith, and his important position within the community. Calmly, Daniel states, “Those areas have been drilled.” Daniel has finally sought his revenge against Eli by tricking him into denouncing God, and his faith, for money. After realizing he has been tricked, Eli begins telling Daniel he is “in desperate times” and needs the $5,000 Daniel promised but never paid him. Daniel informs Eli he is not the chosen one, that it “’Twas Paul who was chosen.” Daniel gets angry when Eli begins to cry and beg for the promised money, and tries to attack Eli, eventually bludgeoning him with a wooden bowling pin. Shortly after Eli was murdered, Daniel’s butler enters the room to see what all the commotion was. The scene ends with Daniel stating, “I’m finished.” Daniel realizes he has given up everything he worked so greedily for because he was caught after murdering Eli. In the film, There Will Be Blood, Daniel’s vast greed drives him to pitch false promises to the people of Little Boston in exchange for the oil located beneath the town, however, this results in a horrific explosion that makes Daniel choose between his adoptive son and his oil well, and Daniel seeks his revenge against the town priest who has annoyed and made Daniel look foolish since he bought the Sunday Ranch, Eli Sunday.
Daniel promises the people of Little Boston “New roads, agriculture, employment, education”, and that the community would flourish under the wealth the oil well would produce. However, Daniel is too greedy to keep his pledges to the people of Little Boston. Likewise, Daniel was too greedy to put H.W. first when the explosion at Mary’s Well Number One deafened him. Instead of attending to his adoptive son, Daniel watched the well burn. All throughout the movie, Eli annoyed Daniel for money, and made him look foolish. Blinded by his greed, Daniel tricked Eli into denouncing God, then bludgeoned him to death. Daniel’s immense greed got him what he wanted from the beginning, his fortune. But, to earn his fortune, he lied to many people, especially to the townspeople of Little Boston, committed murder, and severed all ties with the one person he truly cared about, his adopted son,
H.W.