"The Young King" by Oscar Wilde is the story of the metamorphosis of a young man, through a dreamlike quest, which opens his eyes to the struggle of the hearts of the poor, exploited by the rich and powerful to satisfy their selfish needs. The change that occurs in the Young King reflects the attainment of the virtue called for in Christ's message. The story begins with "the night before the day appointed for his coronation" and the young king, "who is only sixteen years old", sits alone in his opulent chambers adorned with rich and beautiful things. The boy who was bought by a farmer in the forest had a great love and fascination for beauty. Likewise "all rare and expensive material things certainly held a great fascination for him" and his eagerness to procure them had sent merchants to all corners of the globe to procure them. But above all it was the robe he was to wear at his coronation, made of cloth of gold, the "ruby-studded crown and the scepter with its rows and rings of pearls" that mesmerized him. On that quiet night, when midnight struck and he had been "undressed with much ceremony", he fell asleep in the twinkling of an eye and this was the dream he had. He thought he was in a dark and squalid room", admits the hum and noise. of many looms" with many "gaunt figures of weavers bent over the boxes". They were tired but worked hard and relentlessly. "Their faces were famine-worn and their thin hands trembled and trembled." When the young king asks one of the weavers who his master is, the weaver shouts that he is just like him except that his master "wears beautiful clothes" while he himself "goes in rags." The young king reminds him that he was a free-land weaver and was no one's slave. To which the weaver replies that "in war the strong enslave the weak, and in peace the rich enslave the poor." He goes on to talk about how the poor are deprived and exploited by the poor, bringing out the bitter irony of how they "tread the grapes and another drinks the wine". Then he talks about the pain-filled life of these workers. He finally states that the young king wouldn't know because he's not one of them because his "face is too happy.