The concept of goodness is deeply embedded in society's perception of morality and influences our actions, decisions, and relationships. The pursuit of good is often portrayed as a noble endeavor, but in reality, it can be fraught with difficulty and complexity. Paul Maliszewski's stories explore this theme in depth, featuring characters who grapple with the concept of goodness, sometimes succeeding, but more often failing. Although the characters strive to embody goodness in their actions and decisions, they often fall short of this ideal. The theme of the pursuit of the good and the struggle to achieve it is common to various philosophical teachings, religious texts, and literary and artistic works. Good has been the subject of philosophical …show more content…
In the film "Gattaca," directed by Andrew Niccol, characters must cope with the struggle between societal expectations and personal aspirations, navigating a world where genetic perfection determines one's worth. Vincent Freeman, portrayed by Ethan Hawke, exemplifies resilience and determination as he strives to overcome genetic discrimination to pursue his dream of space exploration. Despite being labeled an "invalid" due to his inferior genetic makeup, Vincent refuses to succumb to societal constraints, declaring, "There is no gene for the human spirit" (Niccol, 1997). His tenacious pursuit of excellence and his refusal to accept limitations imposed by his genetic profile embody the theme of perseverance in the face of adversity. Conversely, Jerome Eugene Morrow, played by Jude Law, takes on the consequences of succumbing to societal pressure and failing to live up to the ideal genetic standard. Jerome, once a promising athlete, becomes paralyzed in an accident, leading him to adopt a facade of genetic perfection through Vincent's …show more content…
Through Vincent and Jerome, "Gattaca" explores the complexities of identity, morality, and the innate human desire to transcend limitations, accentuating characters who either fail at conforming to societal standards of genetic perfection or who strive against all odds to be true to themselves. The narratives of Paul Maliszewski's "Okay" and "Prayer for an Answer When an Answer Eludes," as well as the film "Gattaca," explore the intricate nature of human morality and the ongoing battle to do what is right. Through the characters of Dorie, her fiancé, and Vincent in "Gattaca," we are presented with individuals who are dealing with their own flaws while simultaneously striving to maintain their moral compass. These characters exist in a world that is filled with obstacles, where societal expectations often clash with personal desires. Dorie's fiancé struggles with the limitations imposed on him by his upbringing, as he tries to come to terms with his parents' shortcomings while seeking forgiveness and understanding. Similarly, Vincent in "Gattaca" challenges societal norms and discrimination as he relentlessly pursues his dreams despite facing various
Since the beginning of time, fairy tales, stories and legends have shared a common theme where good and evil are played against each other. In the story of “Beowulf”, translated by, “Burton Raffel”, there is a hero who plays as a good character, and there is also a demon who rules the dark side. The hero Beowulf, agrees to take a journey to conquer the evil monster Grendel. But when Beowulf is trying to defeat the beast, Grendel fights back, causing integrity and generosity to vanish. The common theme in various tales like in Beowulf is, good vs. evil.
A good story is one that isn't demanding, that proceeds from A to B, and above all doesn't remind us of the bad times, the cardboard patches we used to wear in our shoes, the failed farms, the way people you love just up and die. It tells us instead that hard work and perseverance can overcome all obstacles; it tells lie after lie, and the happy ending is the happiest lie of all. (85)
On the surface, O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find appears innocent enough in its content. But as the reader becomes more and more involved in the symbolic underpinnings that embody the story, it is quite clear that there is a distinctive flavor of evil versus Christianity. In fact, it has been argued that the extent to which O'Connor utilizes the central theme of Christianity is as a subtle, symbolic plot to convert her readers, whom she had envisioned as nonbelievers. By demonstrating to her audience all the good that comes from faith, along with all the bad that merely begets more evil, it was her intention to enlighten her readership down the right path.
Gattaca is an American science fiction (sci-fi) film directed by Andrew Niccol in the year 1997. The society of this story, people are divided into two races they comprise of the Valid, which are born with superior genes, and the Invalid which are born naturally with normal genes, they are also seen as inferior to Valid. The protagonist of the film, Vincent, born as an invalid is granted the identity of Valid from Jerome, who is half paralyzed to fight against discrimination in the civilization and fulfilling his dream. The director uses bars as significant symbolic as barriers which represents how discrimination affects people on a society. In the earlier scenes of the film Vincent is seen in the shower, there are some bars which represent that Vincent is trapped in the discrimination of society. In the middle of the film, Vincent and Irene, who is valid coworker with Vincent but has a minor heart condition are covered with bars. It represents the discrimination affects everyone. In
This story contains an almost equal balance of good and evil, though it also raises questions of what is truly good. It blurs the line between good and selfish or thoughtless. Characters’ actions sometimes appear impure, but in the long run, are good.
Through the analysis of characters and their actions, the novel Grendel suggests society has adopted good and evil’s unequal relationship for meaningfulness in life. The modern society is built on the opposite forces of nature and that evil must be challenged although good prevails it. However, evil and good is subjective which makes the true struggle between good and evil. Moreover, our every day actions are differentiated between good and evil acts. Unfortunately, while this occurs, good and evil will never be a black and white concept.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Possibility of Evil.” Literature Reading, Reacting, Writing. Kirszner, Laurie. Mandell Stephen. 4th edition. Sea Harbor: Harcourt College Publishers. 2001. 463-474
At some point in their lifetime, a person obtains possession over a power they have not had once before. This single source could range anywhere from being able to choose a morning outfit to having three magical wishes. The power could come from within or an outside source, and how they use it determines what they perceive to world to be. From here, their morals become tested on whether to use this authority for selfish reasons or to do what is right. Good vs. evil dates back to the biblical literary figures, Adam and Eve, along with the “tree of bad and good” (Schachter 73). With many different versions of this encounter, the theme remains the same. In W.W. Jacobs’ short story “The Monkey’s Paw,” the narrator uses symbolism through parts of the setting, reiterating numbers, and objects that relate to biblical aspects as well as known morals.
One can see that man has proven his innate goodness time and time again, and will continue to do so. Therefore, it is clear that man is innately good. Humanity has shown its goodness through invention, selflessness and inspiration, which has effectively influenced the course of history, and there is no doubt that these qualities will continue to affect future generations. Though Golding was a skeptic of these qualities, and believed that man is inherently evil, it is impossible to ignore the actions that man’s goodness creates. This lends hope to the idea that, perhaps, newspaper reporters will have fewer articles to write about crime and death, and more articles about selflessness, invention and inspiration.
In Flannery O’Connor’s stories, “Good Country People”, “Everything that Rises Must Converge”, ”A Good Man is Hard to Find”, and “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, there are many similar characters and situations. Few, if any of the characters are likeable, and most of them are grotesque. Two of the stories have characters that view themselves as superior in one way or another to those around them, and in some cases these characters experience a downfall, illustrating the old proverb, “Pride goeth before a fall” (King James Bible ,Proverbs 16:18). Two of the stories include a character that has some type of disability, three of the stories showcase a very turbulent relationship between a parent and child, and three of the stories contain a character that could easily be described as evil.
The theme of good vs evil manifests itself in human nature. What is considered to be evil usually varies for different people. The one similarity is that evil harms others. Parallel to this idea is the one common conception of goodness and that it betters others’ lives. Short stories often prove this. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the evil is the town’s people killing one person and the goodness is their kind side that hesitates to do so. In this example the evil unfortunately wins. Contradicting this story is Sherman Alexie’s “A Good Story” where the protagonist defends his people from the frightful stereotypes they possess. John Newton refers to it as “A residual politics of recovered authenticity… (Newton).” The story’s purpose is
General Science is a study involving biology, chemistry, physics and environmental sciences. Students from Year 7 to Year 10 are introduced to these various disciplines to gain general knowledge about science and can later be develop into deeper concepts. Science is not just fat laboratory coats, Einstein’s equations, mixing chemicals, massive space shuttles, or peeking through microscopes but involves critical thinking, analysing data and apply understandings in the natural world to solve real problems. Science is an approach of learning what make this world and how things work decades ago, how they work today, and how they are expected to work in forthcoming years. Some of the social justice issues hidden behind science can cause major consequences. For example, in low income communities of colour there has been excessive supply of toxic and waste discharging from industries disrupting the nature and causing heavy pollution.
of whether or not mankind is good or evil, illustrating the characters’ understandings of human
As children, we hear many stories about the interactions between good and evil. Since each story or fable have different characters, the description of evil and good are different from one another. The good character will have different characteristic compared to evil one.
The film ‘Gattaca’ touches on the idea of perfection through the character Vincent who is played by Ethan Hawke. Vincent is a man who was born with many disabilities in his body and therefore he is not perfect and eligible to be part of society’s higher ups. It is said that he has a one percent chance of living to pass the age of 30, but Vincent later states that he is ‘10,100 beats overdue.’ This could mean that although the science in the time set in the film is very advanced, it is not always accurate.