A common question arises in philosophy: are people born good or evil? Many believe that humans have an innate desire to exclude minorities and discriminate against people different from them. Although discriminatory trends are prevalent in society, who’s to say whether it is an inborn or an externally imposed tendency? In her short story “Brownies” ZZ Packer intersperses exposition to show that people are not inherently racist but become this way as a result of experience and communal self-reinforcement; as children lose their innocence, so too do they lose their tolerance. Racism is a learned attribute.
People often say that your childhood is the most important part of your life, and it is the part of one’s life that affects them the most. In Ellen Foster, by Kaye Gibbons, Ellen is forced to become independent as a result of a challenging childhood, that also affects her view of others and herself. Her father 's actions had a large impact on Ellen’s quickly developing independence, while the loss of her mother and grandmother exposed her to people who influenced the way she viewed others and herself. Ellen displayed independence when she was given the responsibility of tasks her father began to abandon.
Who you grow up to be, inspires what you will achieve. Margaret Atwood was very different from kids her age, she loved to write and explore the world rather than play with dolls. Her knowledge as she grew up helped her become a wise and profound writer. The way she lived and who she became because of how different her life was from other children’s made her want to achieve the most. Nature was one major thing that changed her life in a good way.
Every so often, we take for granted those who are important in our lives. Sometimes, we can ignore those who we think will always be there. The fact it, one day, they won’t. The poem “Abuelito Who” by Sandra Cisneros and the folktale “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson” retold by Leo Tolstoy are two examples of this important lesson. However their different genres, change in characters, and mood give a contrasting interpretation of their essential message.
For an extreme example, a terrorist thinks he is doing the right thing by setting off a bomb. Many situations in life can put into action inherent good, and many people will channel this good. Inherent good can be difficult to explain, but many examples can explain it in great detail. Nobody is born with the intention of being a bad person. Sometimes people believe that the evil people in the world have always been bad, but that is incorrect.
The stories “Abuela Invents the Zero” and “A Celebration of Grandfathers” follow the past of a very nice, thoughtful man by the name of Rudolfo Anaya, and the present day of a rude, unthoughtful girl by the name of Constancia. Both of these stories give very different points of views in terms of character personality and respect towards their elders. To begin, both of the stories are based off of the relationship between a grandparent and their grandchild. In “Abuela Invents the Zero”, Constancia’s grandmother went on her first trip to America. She went to America between September and March because the story explained that she wanted to see the snow in America before she died.
Let’s face it, individuals are brought to the decision each day to be good or evil. A person's actions can affect others in several different ways. I believe that any person can be good, evil and that the environment around us shape us to be either good or evil. Therefore, humans are not born evil, their evil choices determine who they are as a person and here is why. Look at it this way, if someone is being
Life experiences shape people’s values all the time. These experiences change their live’s. How can life experiences shape a person’s values? In the stories, Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott, and, "Abuela Invents the Zero," written by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the characters endured life experiences that shaped there values, even though the characters lived many years apart and very different lives.
There will always be a controversy amongst the human race whether or not humans are innately good. If so, then the influence of society plays a major role on maintaining one’s good will. The theme humans are innately good is evident in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein through the actions and character development of the creature. Initially, the creature is innately good even though his creator abandons him, he continuously proves to be good through is acts of kindness and generosity, although, he is corrupted by rejection from society and his creator, turning him into a real monster. The creature holds onto his innocence and remains good even after being abandoned by the one person he is supposed to depend on as his teacher and caregiver, Victor
That is why I stated in my thesis statement that people are for the most part inherently good. Influences, events, and other people leave an impact and can affect people negatively. But it is also true, that in some cases, people truly are inherently
Charles W. Chestnutt’s the Passing of Grandison is a tale that sheds light on southern slavery in a time where a movement to free slaves was a rebellious act. The author uses specific locations and dialogue to portray the reality of the era. The theme of the story is addressed through the acts of both of the main characters. On one end, Dick’s determination and courage is driven by a hidden motive that benefits himself; while Grandison’s courage and determination are led by his hidden motive to concur opportunity for himself and his family. Ironically, both men address the topic of what a man is willing to do for the person or people he loves, but the initial reasoning behind the both of the similar yet differing situations leads to a very unexpected outcome.
There are even those who can be both at the same time, they are good to their loved ones and evil towards their enemies. There are many different cases and it will never really come down to one explanation. People that are good can change due to events that happen in their lives. They are fighting with themselves on whether they want to do good or evil but in the end chose evil, “If Fernandez 2 someone’s evil, it can’t be blamed on inborn capacities. We all have a heart of conscience, a heart of reverence and a heart of right and wrong” (Mencius 80).
Jean Jaques Rousseau was partially correct in his statement that all are born good, however, society creates images of bad people. Man is born evil because of his desire for possession and hunger for power, shown throughout current events and recent news. The absence of guidance shows that man does not need bad influence in order to be bad, but needs good influence to be good. The book Lord of the Flies by William Golding illustrates the characteristics of evil very well. Golding illustrates the chaos on the island through the actions of the boys and their digression from civilization.
The understanding that some people are good or bad widespread all over the world.” The evil comes from human history and continue until today” and even today this statement has existed. Moreover, when people want to explain why people do some evil acts, the discussion often end with words like “people initially are born evil”. However, some other people argued that people are born good. Because of these many critics has debates such as: are people born bad, good or just like naked board without any morality.
The Great Grandfather of the Prince of the Hamsters’ Greatest Realm began his story of a long time ago event.