Abortion In Good People, By David Foster Wallace

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

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

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