How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The Goonies.
Quote #1
MOUTH: Hey, wait a minute, guys. Maybe there's some stuff up there for us. Maybe there's some stuff that we can keep from the oldsiders. Maybe there's some rich stuff.
Here's where the question of greed gets a tad muddied. Usually, when someone gets excited about the thought of unimaginable wealth, and starts seeing emeralds in their eyes, it's because they're money-hungry, or power-hungry, or both. But Mouth and the other Goonies aren't interested in living in a mansion and making it rain. They just want to keep the homes they have now, and preserve their current lifestyle. Not so bad, as greed goes.
Quote #2
BRAND: Look at 'em smiling.
DATA: They can't wait until tomorrow when they foreclose on all the...whatever you call it.
MOUTH: Trash the Goondocks.
BRAND: When they wreck our house I hope they make it a sand trap.
It's a little less hazy when it comes to Mr. Perkins and the country club bunch. No one's worried about those guys making ends meet—we can rest assured they're very well off. So they're not pushing people out of their homes to survive. They're doing it to make more money, to amass more wealth. They have enough, but…it isn't enough.
Quote #3
DATA: Wow! It's a giant piggy bank.
ANDY: We're rich! I don't believe it.
MIKEY: You guys, we found it. We found the gold!
Everyone has that Scrooge McDuck fantasy of diving into a pile of gold (although we don't recommend it…gold doesn't have as much "give" in real life as it does in cartoons).
No matter your reasons for seeking it out, to come across a ship full of treasure has to get your juices flowing. We don't blame these guys, even if their greed-o-meter did register a little higher when they first laid eyes on Willy's ship.
Quote #4
MIKEY: What are you staring at? Load up, anything you can put in your pockets. Except that!
BRAND: Why?
MIKEY: That's Willy's. Save that for Willy. Anything else.
Yup. Here's what Mikey gets that the Fratellis don't—and what distinguishes them from each other in the greed department.
There is so much gold on that ship. Why take Willy's? That poor, murderous pirate went to such lengths to keep everyone from getting to his stash…the least everyone else can do is leave him the handful of coins he's got in his tray. Mikey understands that, and respects it. Mama Fratelli…not so much.
Quote #5
MAMA FRATELLI: Empty your pockets! Come on!
Really, Mama F? You've got an entire ship's worth of gold and jewels…you can't just let the kids have a few pieces? Where are you going to carry all those riches anyway? In your change purse?
But that's the thing about greed. It's not just about wanting to have as much for yourself as possible…it's also about wanting those around you to have nothing. Or, at least, much less than you do. Because if everyone's rich, where's the fun in that…right?