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David Foster Wallace Good People Analysis

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Regardless of age, gender, and race, everyone encounters different problems in his or her daily life. Whether the problems are as simple as getting up in the morning or untangling the headphones, people need to find a solution to solve them. The only thing that matters is what solutions they will seek. In David Foster Wallace’s “Good People,” he narrates a story about two college students, Lane Dean, Jr. and Sheri Fisher, who face a dilemma of choosing between either abortion or keeping their baby. They are torn between these choices because they come from a religious family, in which abortion is illegal and they will become immoral if they decide to have an abortion. Thus, the couple is stuck in a battle between right and wrong as well as good, and evil. As the story proceeds, one will notice Wallace uses various writing techniques to depict his character, Lane Dean, in order to let readers gain a better understanding of him. For instance, he uses a third person point of view to describe Lane’s struggles, feelings, and thoughts. The usage of third person point of view in David Wallace’s “Good People” enables readers to learn Lane Dean’s struggles. At the beginning of the story, Wallace shows that Lane and his …show more content…

By using this point of view to portray how helpless the main character, Lane Dean, feels, readers will learn entering an early parenthood is not always a good option for those who are young and unprepared ones because many problems and questions will arise. In Lane’s scenario, he does not know if he wants to keep the baby at first. Yet, his problems evolve to doubts as he begins to question his goodness, his love to Sheri and his faith in God. Therefore, the important message that readers can receive from “Good People” is: the standards of becoming “a good person” are unknown because everyone has distinct views on what is right or

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“What would even Jesus do?” (Wallace 155). “Good People” is a short story written by, David Foster Wallace about Lane and Sherri, a young religious couple facing the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy. Lane contemplates his feeling towards Sherri and his Christian beliefs. In “Good People” Lane A. Dean Jr. is the main character desperate to be a good person.

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