Good People, Bad Decisions

The short story is set at a park by a lake. “They were up on a picnic table at that park by the lake, by the edge of the lake, with part of a downed tree in the shallows half hidden by the bank.”1 The downed tree sets the mood to be sad and dark. We also learn that the main characters Lane A. Dean, Jr. and his girlfriend Sheri Fisher are sitting very still on the picnic table2, which tells us that the atmosphere is quite intense. It does not say for how long they sit by the lake, but it says that the right sides of their faces get shaded so it can be assumed that they sit there for a while.3

   In "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor, the masked truth is reflected unequivocally through the reality in the story, its equal counterpart. For every good or evil thing, there is an antagonist or opposing force. Each character has a duplicate personality mirrored in someone else in the story.

He too abandons his morals; illegally earning the money that he believes will win back the heart of his lost love Daisy. When they had a love affair long ago, she wouldn't marry him because of his financial standing. The details of his business are sketchy, when asked he usually ignores the question. Tom though, after some investigating finds the true nature of his profession.

The piece titled Retrieved Reformation proves that anyone can become someone else. Jimmy Valentine, a former robber in the piece Retrieved Reformation, is walking down a sidewalk and sees a woman named Annabel, and thinks, “He looked into her eyes, forgot who he was, and became another man.” Jimmy Valentine can be easily changed into another person. He wanted to become a different person because he wanted to impress Annabel. Ralph Spencer, Jimmy Valentine, a changed man, in the story Retrieved Reformation starts a shoe business and “remained in Elmore, prospered and secured a good run of trade.” Ralph Spence, Jimmy Valentine, a changed man, is easily changed. He changed into another person to settle down and start a family, with Annabel, and

Trying to make ends meet, he turns to selling drugs. By the time Jimmy finds love ones more and decides to settle down tragedy occurs. Trying to escaping from a drug bust at a friend’s house his attempts end up with a conviction for murder. Due to his illiteracy, Jimmy couldn’t read the false accusations he never committed.

David Foster Wallace’s “Good People,” is a very touching, powerful story about a young, unwed, Christian couple facing an extremely difficult decision and the moral and religious implications that may result. As the story begins, we are allowed into the head of Lane Dean, a college student, as he sits on a park bench with his girlfriend, Sheri. Lane and Sheri find themselves faced with an unplanned pregnancy, which causes them to battle with several moral and religious dilemmas. Both of them are devout Christians who have built their moral beliefs upon God and their religious upbringing. Although torn Sheri schedules an abortion, which weighs on Lane deeply. Lane, frozen in fear and not having the courage to freely talk to Sheri about

(Jimmy was only five years old ). As a child not raised in a nuclear family, Jimmy was disregarded by his mom and dad which shape his adulthood. Jimmy would only solve his problem by relocating to a new place to fit him, however, all of his attempts only lead his into trouble. At the beginning, Jimmy set most of his time in an orphanage, later in a detention center, and eventually spend a few years  in

Good people do bad things. Doing a bad thing does not make someone a monster. For example, if a young boy was raised in the ghetto where he and his family never had enough to eat he might have to steal to get for his family. Even though he has done something illegal and immoral that does not make him a bad person. He was just doing what he had to do to get his family food to eat. Even if he kills someone in the process of sealing the food it does not make him a monster. This kid just made a bad choice in an awful situation but he made the choice for the right reason, to feed his family. Victor Frankenstein’s creation, the “monster”, was not all bad. The made some bad choices because of how he was created and how he was treated by Victor after he was created.

The thief lives morally. Jimmy Valentine was sent to jail for committing robbery, but was released early because he had friends on the outside. He then robbed some more banks and went into hiding in a small town named Elmore where he met Miss Annabel Adams and became Ralph D. Spencer. In one year Ralph had created a shoe store and gotten engaged to Miss Annabel. Jimmy was dedicated to living a moral life for the following reasons, he showed compassion, he was honest, and he was selfless.

Jimmy had been troubled throughout his life especially during his childhood. His parents didn’t love him; his teachers didn’t think much of him, and the girl of his dreams was involved in child porn. At one part of the novel Jimmy asked his mother if he could get a cat and she replied, “No, Jimmy, you cannot have a cat. We’ve been over this before. Cats might carry diseases that would be bad for the pigoons.” Jimmy did not seem to get the love that he should from his parents but seemed to get through it. Atwood never really explained what the importance was to Oryx being in child pornography and wonder why that was even put in the novel. Problems continue for Jimmy even until the end of the story where he fights to survive when he believes that he is the only one left. It seemed that Jimmy wasn’t as good as Crake and couldn’t live up to Crake’s expectations as he went to a mediocre school and Crake went to a prestigious school.

3rd quarter performance event by:Jmercy People can change drastically in a split second. Jimmy Valentine was a safe cracker stealing people’s money. Jimmy was caught by Ben Price a detective. Jimmy quickly got out of jail and changed his life when Jimmy got out, Jimmy became a good man. Jimmy Valentine was trying to lead a moral life because Jimmy demonstrated compassion, responsibility, and honesty.

Convict, a person found guilty of a criminal offence and severing a sentence of imprisonment. Jimmy Valentine, a ex-convict master thief that got out of jail and stated his streak of robbing banks. Soon he goes to the town of Elmore, here Jimmy falls in love with a girl named Annabel Adams. Because of this his love for Annabel he changes his name to Ralph Spencer and stayed in town, but the detective Ben Price soon tracked him down but after he sees the new Jimmy Spencer he lets him go. During the story Jimmy Valentine moral compass changed, for the better because of his honesty, compassion and courage.

O. Henry’s short story, “A Retrieved Reformation,” shows a man’s journey through rehabilitation. In the story, Jimmy Valentine is in jail for robbery. Then is allowed to leave in hope he has finally learned from his past mistakes and will stop robbing people to get what he desires. When Jimmy leaves, he robs many more banks but does not get caught. Jimmy then goes to a small town so the cops won’t be able to find him, and the town has a train station for him to make a quick getaway. When Jimmy first arrives to the town, he sees a lovely woman named Annabel Adams and everything changes. He knows she won’t like him if he keeps acting like his old self so, he decides he will finally change for the better. He changes his name to Ralph Spencer and starts acting totally different. This short story demonstrates change and how you affect people every day whether you realize it or not.

Once paroled, Jean Valjean discovers the bishop of Digne along his path. The bishop takes him in and gives him a place to stay along food. Jean Valjean decides to steal the bishops silverware. When the bishop discovers that Jean Valjean has stolen his silver he shows him mercy and tells him kindly, “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to what is evil, but to what is good. I have bought your soul to save it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God”. This explains the importance of forgiveness and ultimately helps Jean Valjean understand that taking vengeance upon Javert, the inspector that sentenced him to hard labor, is not the answer.

To start off, “Say, Billy, I’ve quit,”(O. Henry, pg. 4). This quote represents Jimmy finally realizing that he has become a good person. Valentine was smart enough to see that his old life wasn’t working out. The best thing for him was to change, and that’s what he did. Next, Valentine was never going to rob again. Jimmy loved his new family so much that he didn’t want to disappoint them. If he were to rob again, he would lose his new blissful life. Before Valentines new life there was nothing to lose, but there was now. To sum it up, Ralph was giving his old robbing tools away. Ralph wrote a letter to an old friend saying that he was a new person. If someone gives up something worth $1,000, that means they want to let go of their past. There are many things to give up in life, it can lead to tremendous