I’m writing a story. The basic plot is that a guy (Vince) steals something because he really needs the money. (He has a sick dying mom, 2 daughters, and his wife just died….poor Vince!) However, in the second half of the story you see how it affected the person who got stolen from. My original idea was to have Vince be a mover, on his last day of the job, and steal a small broach because the house was very big and he didn’t think it would be missed. But as it turns out, the house was someone’s great aunt’s house that had just died. That broach was very sentimental to her and she gets very upset. (Sorry guys, I know that summary was a little long.)
Anyway, I asked some people what they thought of it and I got a LOT of different feedback. Some people think it’s unsympathetic to steal something, and think he should steal money instead. OR steal an object, but give it to his daughter as a gift or something so he doesn’t have to pawn it and get caught. Or maybe steal an appliance of some sort that he can directly use (i.e. a bed, blender, make-up, etc). Though it would be hard to make a big deal out of a blender being stolen…
So my question is; Do you think stealing money or an object is more sympathize-able ? (Obviously stealing is wrong – but for story purposes.) What should Vince do with the object? (sell it for money, give it as a gift, or use it?) Any other opinions? Thanks!