In fear of what the future may bring, some rely on their religious values to keep them afloat and provide them with comfort during their dark times. In David Foster Wallace’s short story “Good People,” Lane and Sheri, a young couple, face the initiation into adulthood as they struggle with their religious identity while grappling with an unexpected pregnancy. As devout Christians, Lane and Sheri initially turn to their faith for comfort and guidance. Still, they soon realize that their individual beliefs and values are at odds with each other and with their religious community/family. The struggle to balance personal desire with a religious affiliation is a common theme in initiation stories, as one must decide to abandon all that one has …show more content…
As a 19-year-old college student Lane justifiably feels terrified at the thought of becoming a teen father before having landed a stable job and even before finishing his freshman year. Lane's contemplation of abortion, despite knowing it is a sin, demonstrates the struggle of balancing personal desires with religious affiliation. This internal struggle is depicted in the following quote, where Wallace dives into the motions of religious guilt that Lane is experiencing “He was starting to believe he may not be serious in his faith. That he might be somewhat of a hypocrite. He was desperate to be good people, to still be able to feel he was good.” (Wallace 234). As a devout Christian, Lane is starting to doubt his faith, while being desperate to still feel that he is a good person. The realization that everything he had been taught may be wrong causes Lane to spiral mentally, questioning the strict teachings of the church and going against the will of God. Through Lane's conflicting emotions, Wallace portrays the complex process of initiation into adulthood and the struggle to find one's personal moral …show more content…
As Lane enters a new morally ambiguous ground, Wallace reveals Lane’s conflicting thoughts and motivations, which are clouded by his manipulative thinking, this is evident in the following quote: “He felt this way, knowing he was trying to say things to get her to open up and say enough back that he could see her and read he heart and know what to say to get her to go through with it. He knew this without admitting to himself that this was what he wanted, for it would make him a hypocrite and a liar.” (Wallace 235). To rid himself of the personal guilt of going against his truth, Lane runs away from his problems by thrusting them all upon Sheri who is in the same predicament as Lane as she too is a Christian who does not know what the best plan forward may be. Through the description of Lane’s internal monologue, Wallace reveals that Lane knows he is being a hypocrite by forcing a decision on someone that he would not want to make himself. Spiritually Lane knows it is wrong to feel this way, thus he subtly forces this idea onto Sheri in an attempt to rid himself of any sin because how could he be in the wrong if he never directly told her to go through with an
When Mary Call Luther sees a Missus Connell driving up her driveway to inspect upon her family’s lives, she expects the worst until Devola points out an element to her. “Look,” said Devola. “Look Mary Call. She’s changed her mind. She’s turning around.
David Foster Wallace’s “Good People,” tells the story of a young couple troubled by the consequences of their sins, and are forced to reflect on what their decision must be—a decision that should circumvent tainting their image in the eyes of God. The short story is set at a park that overlooks a lake, the couple is sitting at a picnic table, frozen and distraught by their situation. The described setting (warm, springtime, and green) paints the mood as welcoming. The characters’ names are Lane Dean Jr., an accountant and business major working at UPS, and Sheri Fisher, a nursing major. The two hadn’t known each other in high school but had met in a ministry at their junior college.
In their memoirs Blankets and Foreskin’s Lament, Craig Thompson and Shalom Auslander express feelings of discontent towards the religions they grew up in: Christianity and Judaism. While Thompson becomes disillusioned with Christianity, Auslander’s view of his religious upbringing is negative from the start. Ultimately, Thompson and Auslander’s reasons for leaving their traditions both stem from personal and familial experiences within their religious community. The main difference between Thompson and Auslander’s experiences with their religions is that Thompson before becoming disillusioned with Christianity had been enamored with it..
Many may believe that reading a book about religion would be challenging to accomplish for someone who is not religious. But those people have never read Anne Lamott’s, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith. If one were to ask non-religious college students to read a book by a random author about spirituality and “Finding God” through conversion, they would most likely roll their eyes and bear through it. In Lamott’s series of essays, one does not have to “suffer through the readings” because her writing style is one of a kind. She has strategically chosen every word because she is aware of how important her spiritual experiences are to so many people, religious or not.
Due to these circumstances, Lane comes to terms with himself and admits he doesn’t love Sheri or
Lane’s reading of his girlfriend, because he “has been given to read her heart,” shows she is having a harder time deciding the fate of her unborn child. The narrator writes, “she would say she cannot do it…That she will carry this and have it; she has to,” (pg. 154). This is the point in the story where the rising action takes a major leap towards the climax. Lane’s choice in this decision has yet to falter leading one to believe he will remain a static character throughout the ending.
To explain this further, he walks her through what the request would have resulted in. The situation, in his eyes, is that he was asked to “solicit a great man, to whom [he] never spoke, for a young person whom [he] had never seen, upon a supposition which [he] had no means of knowing true.” He does this to show that he is willing to share his perspective and that he respects her enough to walk her through it, instead of blatantly saying no without any reason. The mother’s request is logically reasoned inductively to be irrational, leaving him no possible reason or possible procedure to accomplish the task at hand. While it may not have been this extreme, Johnson effectively and logically convinces the mother that she made a mistake in drafting such a letter.
In the beginning of “Good People”, Lane Dean Jr seems to be the average christian male, until he gets his girlfriend pregnant. This unplanned pregnancy is an utter shock to both
“Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury imputes many powerful yet relevant messages. One of those being the topic of abortion. In Bradbury’s world the value of human life is valued so little while in our world it is valued so greatly. “Fahrenheit 451” should continue to be taught in schools because of the relevant topic of abortion, in Fahrenheit life isn’t valued as it should be, the case of Roe vs. Wade is a very relevant subject in our world, and many people in Fahrenheit don’t want children so they take for granted their abortion rights.
Not only does the story line express their internal conflicts about abortion, but also where they stand within their own faith. Dean struggles to understand his faith, while Sheri knows that within her faith she should not abort the child but love it instead (162). Throughout David Foster Wallace’s short story, “Good People” readers are able characterize Dean and his spirituality through the pace and narration of the novel. The story follows a steady pace, ensuring that the reader truly understands how Dean feels while sitting at that picnic table.
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
Craig is now coming to the time where he needs to decide what direction to go in his life. Arnet states that “emerging adulthood is a period for identity exploration in the area of love, work, and worldviews. ”(473) This is where I am going to address how Craigs christian religion was forced upon Craig. Craig never got to experience that maybe his religious values were different.
Abortion Abortion is one of the most talked about issues right now. Everyone seems to have an opinion, a strong one. This is still a debate, even though in 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that the procedure is a fundamental right in the case Roe v. Wade (Abortion ProCon.org, 1). Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before you have gone full term, which means that the embryo cannot survive on its own.
The young woman's father does not approve of her chosen one, and sends her away to separate them. Line 21 to 28 describe the couple's suffering, but unlike Jane Reynolds, the young woman remains faithful to her
Consequently getting pregnant from him, Claire did not know what to do and with the tension of being