Anja Krause
English 222
June 13th 2023
A Matter of Choices
Although we all may begin as innocent, good children, ultimately our choices can determine whether or not we stay on that path of good. In Macbeth the titular character begins as a well respected and admirable Thane, who stands up for good and fights for the king. However, as the play progresses we see that he makes deliberate choices that turn him down a path of evil. Had he not decided to kill King Duncan he would not have spiraled down an endless path of madness that would eventually take him and his wife's lives. Though this is an extreme version of the turn to bad, it can be seen in real life. Many people can stumble down the wrong path for reasons that seem legitimate, but force
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In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch decides to go against what everybody in the town has to say and defends a black man accused of raping a white woman. This shows that the capacity for good is in Atticus as he makes the willing decision to protect someone that no one else will. “What I meant was, if Atticus Finch drank until he was drunk he wouldn’t be as hard as some men are at their best.” (Lee, 46) By choosing to take the path of good he proves that despite the racism in the south there are still people that are willing to go against that common thought and show that defending an innocent person is all that matters, not race. He uses lessons like these to teach his impressionable children, Scout and Jem, who are too young to truly grasp the deep rooted prejudice that people of color had to face every day. By showing them that it is better to fight for what you believe in than to conform to others expectations he proves that he has chosen to be a good and moral person. Taking the extra step to show these children what true good can really be is important because that shapes who they are as people later on in the story. “According to Miss Stephanie Crawford, however, Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat on him, and threatened to kill him. …Miss Stephanie said Atticus didn’t bat an eye, just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and stood there and let Mr. Ewell call him names wild horses could not bring her to repeat.” (Lee, 221) Even in the most trying of situations Atticus chooses not to act in a rash manner. It would have been easy for him to sock Bob Ewell in the jaw right then and there, but instead he chose to take the peaceful route, knowing that engaging with that type of behavior would not get him anywhere. This story was in fact told to Scout