Answer and Explanation:
In the short story "Condensed Milk", by Varlam Shalamov, the main motivations for the protagonist's actions are hunger and revenge.
Having been taken as a prisoner to a Gulag, the protagonist is sick and starving. When he is offered an opportunity to escape, he says he will agree to the plan if he is given a can of condensed milk. At this point, hunger is the motivation he reveals:
Envy, like all our feelings, had been dulled and weakened by hunger.
I fell asleep and in my ragged hungry dreams saw Shestakov’s can of condensed milk, a monstrous can with a sky-blue label.
Once he receives a couple of cans and drink their contents, the protagonist backs off, saying he is not going to escape after all. At this point, his motivation is revenge:
It was, of course, a weak, worthless act of vengeance just like all my feelings.
He know the escape plan is a trap, so he deceives Shestakov by pretending to be a part of it only to get the condensed milk.
NOTE: I know the question asks for only 2 - 3 sentences, but I felt the need to offer some context. Feel free to edit this answer.
