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Characteristics Of Good People

Decent Essays

The first book I read in English class this year was The World According to Garp, a book known for its forward thinking and provocative material. During a conversation in class, a question arose about Garp, Jenny, and the other main characters: are they good people? Writers often portray main characters as flawed, yet ultimately ethnically good human beings; however Garp and Co constantly walk a moral line. My conclusion: no, they were not good people, but they weren’t horrible people either.
If I were to ask people on the street if they considered themselves to be a good person, I am almost positive most people would say yes. Nevertheless, the fact remains that statistically people are predominantly average human beings. Still, I do think it says something that people, in general, want to be kind-hearted. They want to help people in need, or stand up for animal rights. They speak out against discrimination, or stick up for a friend. Sometimes, yes, people harbor selfish incentives; nonetheless, a good deed is still a good deed.
Defining a good person is difficult because I don’t want to put constraints around it. To be morally good, to me at least, a person needs to try to be moral, by whatever standards fit his/her own definition. He/she also needs to understand the personality traits that set him/her back, and in doing so, he/she can make an effort to remedy them.
With such a vague definition, it is tough to ask specific questions. A potential question could be what

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