Lane As A Dynamic Character In Good People By David Foster Wallace

To have a dynamic character, some sort of change must occur in the pages of the text. The change does not have to be extreme nor completely life-altering. In “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, there may be hesitance to consider the protagonist, Lane, as a changing character. However, to say he is the same person at the end of the story is both bold and untrue. In fact, the understanding of Lane as a character relies heavily on the epiphany he has at the end of the story which leads to a major change within him, thus altering the way Lane is viewed as a dynamic character and how the story comes to a conclusion. As the short story begins, the scene opens to a young couple: Lane and Sherri. Told in the third person limited narrative,

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. However, an epiphany strikes Lane at the climax of the story and forces readers to completely reevaluate former inkings of his

Not only would the abortion go against her religion, but so would carrying a child out of wedlock. This knowledge affects Lane’s previous state of mind as he begins questioning his own stance in the relationship. In these last few lines of the story, he is internally battling his own moral dilemma; “Why is he so sure he doesn’t love her?...What would even Jesus do?...What if he was just afraid…?” (pg. 155) Lane is considering his own worth as a human being. His religious beliefs have him looking to Jesus for answers. Is he a good person? Will he make the right decision? What decision is the right one? In the very last line of this story, these questions are answered. Through a change of heart, Lane realizes the right thing to do is what he believes to be the right thing to do. He realizes his hesitance towards Sheri and their future, as he states his own fault in his prayer. This whole time he was praying to his God, searching for a sign he and Sheri would not be damned to have an abortion. In actuality he wonders, “if what to pray for was not even love but simple courage, to meet both her eyes as she says it and trust his heart.” (pg. 155) This alone stands as evidence of some change happening inside of Lane. As a reader, it may not be clear what this change ends up being, but for the purpose of the conclusion Lane is not the same character first introduced