The Importance Of Personal Value In Literature

It’s hard to define the attributes of a character without analyzing, to some degree at least, the character’s personal values or systems of belief. The core of a person’s identity rests in the orientation of their moral compass, whether the person is real or merely fictional, and thus is an important identifier of their internal and external struggles, joys, and motivations. In order to properly depict a character, or even a work of literature as a whole, one must first familiarize themselves with factors such as when the work was written, when it is set, and the specific values of the work’s key characters. Just as it is easier to judge a person’s character based on their actions rather than their words, that which is valued by a specific character is more easily determined by the things which the character is willing to sacrifice, rather than the things which they earn by any other means. By making a conscious sacrifice, no matter the true value of the items or ideals in question, one automatically creates a list of items or ideals that are worth preserving, and those that can be done without for the sake of something more important. This metaphorical list, and more specifically, the order in which items or ideas would fall on this list, helps to truly explain the character of a certain person, and what makes up their moral values. This idea of the influence of sacrifice on personal value is a common theme throughout many different works of literature, including William