Character Analysis: Mother In Mannville

This essay is to answer the question: Do I believe Jerry actions were ethical or Unethical in the story Mother in Mannville.
I believe Jerry was ethical because during the story Jerry was showing that he was honest, hardworking and caring. The narrator even talks about how much integrity Jerry has because of how he carries himself and how he does his work. I believe Jerry lies in the end because he might be ashamed of the fact that he has no mother. Also, I believe Jerry may have lied because he starts to care about the narrator and is hurt because she has to leave just like his mother left him. This may have made Jerry feel worst than he did before he meet her.
During the story the narrator talks about Jerry being honest and having “integrity”.

She says “its is honest, but it is more than honesty” when she is talking about Jerry’s character. Also Jerry would not accept money to pay for the broken axe from the narrator but wants to pay for it himself even though he does not have the money. Also, Jerry took very good care of her dog Pat when she was out of town, this showed how responsible he is. Jerry showed how much integrity and character he has in everything that he did for the narrator during her visit to the orphanage.
The story Mother in Mannville shows that even though someone is a good and honest person they can still do something wrong. Jerry was still a good person even after he lied, someone’s pain and situation sometimes makes them make bad choices.
In summary, Mother in Mannville was a great story that made me think about what Jerry may have been going through. Jerry lied about having a mother but I still believe his behavior overall was ethical. Jerry proved that he was a good young man with integrity and character throughout the story. I don’t believe Jerry should be called unethical because he told one lie about having a mother because we don’t know what he was going through.