Passage Two

This is an extract from an article, written by a doctor, on the subject of jealousy.

The ‘Green-eyed Monster’

There are many reasons why one man might become jealous of another. If he sees a neighbour, a
brother or a sister or even a close friend do better than him in some ways, it is only natural that he
doesn’t always feel like jumping for joy. It is very hard to rejoice in someone else’s riches from a
position of poverty, to congratulate him on getting a good job if you are out of work or to shake him
5 warmly by the hand when he gets offered a place at university whilst you have just failed all your
examinations for the third time. You crave his success. You want what he has.

Jealousy, however, can cause illness, destroy lives or even bring about an early death. Statistics show
that a man who becomes dominated by the success of others will run the risk of dying – on average
– ten years before he might have done had he not been so obsessed by his destructive passion.
10 Shakespeare compared jealousy to a ‘green-eyed monster’ in one of his plays because it is capable
of devouring a person. Expressions such as ‘being eaten up by jealousy’ of becoming ‘green with
envy’ express much the same sentiment. Green is colour associated sickness, and the man who
allows sickness to dominate his life will, undoubtedly, become sick himself.

What is more, a man who resents another, fails to see the good things in his own life. He may not
15 have money, a wonderful job or have achieved outstanding academic success, but he might be
blessed in many other ways. One doctor advised a man who was suffering from this disease of the
mind to write down everything that he had to be grateful for. At first, his patient found this much
too difficult but, eventually, he put pen to paper: good health; lots of good friends; living in a
beautiful country – the list got longer and longer. He was well on his way to being cured.

20 It would be wrong, however, to think that jealousy, in itself, is evil and that a man who suffers from it
is like a murderer or a thief. It is quite normal for an elder sister to be jealous of a younger one, for
example, and the older sister should not be made to feel overwhelmingly guilty about this by her
parents or by anyone else. On the contrary, it is just one of the many passions – such as love, hate,
fear and joy – which make us human beings.

25 The important thing is to acknowledge it, accept it and then get on with life. In this way, it is held in a
healthy balance with other emotions. No one becomes more hated than a jealous man, whereas one
who congratulates another on his success will be looked upon with warmth and affection. Perhaps
some of that once-envied money might even come his way!

Your task :
Summarise the text using P-E-E. While making the summary, consider the following questions that
will help you make a one paragraph summary on the text The ‘Green-eyed Monster’ :

➢ What is the main theme of the text?

➢ What meaning is the writer trying to convey in the text?
➢ How does the opening set the scene for the text as a whole?
➢ Are there any characters/any ideas in the text and, if so, how are they portrayed/conveyed?