Critical Analysis Of David Foster Wallace's 'Good People'

If kids never take risks, they won 't be very successful in life in general. To stand out, you need to take risks, and playing it safe doesn 't always work. Also, the statement, "Trust in general has eroded, and parents have sought to control more closely what they can: their children," (page 5). People now are nowhere close to people in the 1970 's. They are just not as close with each other.

“Good People” explores human nature and the topic of hypocrisy, as the two characters are devoted Christians, but are dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. Lane Dean thinks of the option of an abortion, but as a Christian it is seemed as sinful and he does not want to go to Hell. Lane Dean struggles with this mindset and what the future might hold for them. Both of the couple are in college, Dean is getting an accounting business degree, and Fisher is in the nursing

Dean Jr. is the main character desperate to be a good person. Lane’s inability to confront and express his feelings about Sheri’s pregnancy, makes him seem a coward meaning Lane must change the way he thinks in the light of her pregnancy, hoping this will make him a good person. To begin with, throughout the story, Wallace focuses on Lane’s feelings, thoughts, and values. Lane is a nineteen-year-old college student studying accounting and business. He is in a relationship with Sheri because he likes being with her and talking with her.

In Playing God on No Sleep, Anna Quindlen argues that motherhood can be difficult and overwhelming, because of the belief that God made mothers because He could not be everywhere. Quindlen is able to empathize and articulate why many mothers feel the need to be relived of the duties of motherhood. Quindlen believes “…[mothers are] meant to be all things to small people… (2001). However, she continues to insist that it is difficult to “be al things”, because of factors of being overwhelmed, stressed; and not having the opportunity to vent to friends, because more than likely they are experiencing the same stressors. She suggests that weight of motherhood was spread around families and towns, possibly reducing some of the added stressors of

“We often cannot control the fate of our career and family,” (Slaughter). Ms. Slaughter says, the main problem women face when trying to balance a career and a family is trying to pursue our self-interest in a world in which others are pursuing theirs. The impulse to put others first. Discrimination against care giving harms women, African Americans, gays and stay-at-home fathers.

Travis Bradberry once stated, “Everyone knows that life isn't fair. Saying it's not fair suggests that you think life is supposed to be fair, which makes you look immature and naive.” Things don’t always go the way people want them to and sometimes they do not want to accept that. The characters in William Goldman’s novel, The Princess Bride, face difficult trials, where they nearly die in most of them. Additionally, none of the characters get a happy ending. Goldman develops the theme, “life isn’t fair” by providing details from his own life, explaining the complicated relationship between the characters Westley and Buttercup, and describing the situations the characters were in to save Princess Buttercup.

While there are numerous examples of conflict throughout Bless Me, Ultima, the most prominent examples are the “Man vs. Self” conflicts Antonio faces. One such conflict—a multifaceted struggle that ultimately becomes one of the most prominent in the novel—concerns his religious beliefs. Antonio’s mother is a devout Catholic and raises her children to be followers of the religion as well, but Antonio struggles with the concept of the all-powerful God and the fact that such a God would punish good people while forgiving those whom Antonio deemed “evil,” and at one point thinks that perhaps God does not help him because He is “too busy in heaven to worry or care about” Antonio and his friends and family (187). Antonio also doubts that God truly is all-powerful, as He couldn’t alleviate the Téllez family’s curse, and He could save neither Lupito nor Narciso, and therefore thinks it “doesn’t seem right” that He has “the right to send you to hell or heaven when you died.” (236) Yet despite his doubts, some part of Antonio clings to his upbringing and what his mother taught him, as he is seen desperately clinging to his religious beliefs, such as when he restrains himself from seeking too much knowledge despite his curiosity, for fear that he might commit “the original sin of Adam and Eve” (197).

Is there a lack of freedom in stability or a lack of stability in freedom? In the novel Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio’s coming of age is challenged domestically by the father/mother tension of freedom versus stability through their parental expectations. Generally in life, children seek to please their parents in everything they do. It is often conflicting parental expectations that send a child into an overwhelming state of distress wondering why they try so hard to attain the standards of both but inevitably end up disappointing one or the other. Maria and Gabriel are prime examples of parents that are completely disconnected from their family as a whole but most importantly detached from their son due to their unwillingness to compromise.

There is also the darkness of the room there is also shades of grey in there that brings up the controversy in gun violence. The whole situation has not been resolved, nobody can come to an agreement when it comes to gun violence so the shade of grey makes the resemblance to the disagreement of the situation. All the emotions that the PSA is portraying are very persuasive towards parents around the country for the reason that it makes them want the best for their children. Parents around the country want to make sure their children are in a safe environment so they could acquire their education and succeed in life. This PSA is great to persuade parents to vote against guns so they make the community safer for their children.

David was taught to believe in the same things but he does not understand where it is coming from. Thus, David is struggling to understand the meanings behind these sayings. This community has taught children from the day they were born to believe that even a slight difference is bad. It shows the cruelty of the society because they have only one world view and do not think any other views are considered right. It is due to their ignorance towards acceptance that they are creating more trouble.

Lia’s parents also don’t understand that some medications will make Lia feel sick and this language barrier between the family and doctors is extremely complicated to deal with, both sides are concerned with Lia’s health, but they are unable to communicate with each other effectively. This part of the book is very significant to the whole book because without this language barrier, almost all the problems would be resolved. This theme continues in the book once the Lee’s get Lia back and they believed she was returned damaged but both sides cannot communicate and can’t figure out why things are happening. The language barrier also prevented the doctors from figuring out that the parents are trying to help in their own way by buying things that Hmong believe will heal the body. The doctors didn’t know for sure if the parents were serious or not.

This resentment towards their culture most likely stems from the strict rules their parents enforce and the urge the girls feel to “fit in” with American teenagers. Regardless of the efforts to blend into American culture, the girls realize that they do not seem to fully fit the mold of either culture. Specifically in “The Rudy Elmenhurst Story”, Yolanda states that “I saw what a cold, lonely life awaited me in this country. I would never find someone who would understand my peculiar mix of Catholicism and agnosticism, Hispanic and American styles.” (99). This passage is a pivotal moment in Yolanda’s life because it establishes the moment when love no longer has the same meaning as it did before.

In this case, we can clearly see the abuse of patient autonomy of the two children because of their parents. The neglect of medical treatment for a common infection would be on parallel for murder if this case did not involve religious evidence to support the parents. The case itself is a difficulty. First, children under the age of 18 legal authority are given to the parents (this also includes patient autonomy). Then, the parents are part of a religious group that doesn’t allow the use of modern medicine.

I find the fact that personhood laws could be so easily twisted to criminalize poor and minority women incredibly frustrating. However, after reading the third chapter of “Reconstructing Motherhood”, I have found myself questioning some of my pro-choice beliefs. Landsman writes “…within the culture there are gradations of personhood, with (dis)ability a criterion for determining a child’s level of personhood…” (Landsman, 2009). I think this is something that the general public never really considers. As stated in the book, many of the pro-choice use disability as an argument in the case for abortion (Landsman, 2009).

When it comes to birth order the bond between a child and their parents is incredibly important. The main problem with the research isn’t with the finding but with the methods. Ultimately all families are different and trying to find multiple subjects with the same variables to see if all of the outcomes are the same is utterly impossible. Variables such as size, income, hometown, education, religion, ethnicity and many more. As much as we would like to settle this debate entirely it just isn 't