Authors employ qualities of motivations and characteristics similar to those of the antagonists in their novels in order to relate the situation to the reader through the common traits observed in human nature. In the novels Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, each author attributes the qualities of jealousy, manipulation, and questionable sanity to the antagonists in their composition. Through this depiction of conventional subjects, the authors are able to convey that when people are motivated by greed for power, they will always be defeated by those who are motivated by honorable means. In Goose Girl and Water for Elephants, Selia and August's motivations stem from their envy of the main characters and their desire for power, which ultimately leads to their demise. Selia, Princess Ani's lady-in-waiting, murders members of the royal guard and attempts to kill the princess in order to usurp her identity. Envy and resentment consume Selia, causing her to conspire against the kingdom and disregard the lives of others by almost starting a war to hide her true identity. August's actions in Water For Elephants are fueled by his jealousy of the relationship that develops between Marlena and Jacob. August, out of his desire to create the best circus and control Marlena, mistreats her and the animals, while killing crew members he could not pay. Selia and August have no moral conscience and do not value the lives of others. Both characters are portrayed as ruthless and cruel human beings with charm and allure. This fixation on power and desire leads to the deaths of Selia and August at the end of the novels by horrific measures. The author, through the triumph of the middle of the article......ruen shows the reader that no matter whether the antagonist possesses a marginal excuse, the antagonist still cannot prosper with dishonorable intentions. Hale, Gruen, and Miller depict the antagonists in their compositions with qualities of jealousy, manipulation, and questionable sanity in order to convey messages applicable to the reality in the reader's life. The authors are able to make readers understand that through despicable intentions, a person can never succeed or grow. The common expression that "cheaters never prosper" is manifested through the triumph of the virtuous characters and the ruination of the antagonists' plot. Gruen, Sara. Water for the elephants. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin, 2006. Print.2. Hale, Shannon. The Girl with the Goose. New York: Bloomsbury, 2003. Print.3. Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin, 1976. Print.