P3+SLyons


 * Right vs. Wrong**

Throughout a person’s life they are forced to make tough, split second, moral decisions. It is difficult to tell what is the right and wrong choice. Many works such as The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, Civil Disobedience, by Henry Thoreau, The Ways We Lie, by Stephanie Ericsson, and On Dumpster Diving, by Lars Eighner give examples of moral decisions that people face and what most people do. These readings show that it is the decision a person makes is formulated through the person’s needs, their troubles, and their interpretations of right and wrong.

The Grapes of Wrath has many examples of people making moral decisions based on their perception of right and wrong. This novel outlines the struggles that lower class America had during the great depression in the 1920’s and 30’s. In this book people are forced to quickly make decisions that they would usually get a long time to make. An example of this is with the owners of land. These owners have to debate whether to kick people out of their homes or continue to not make money. “The owner men sat in their cars and explained. You know the land is poor. You’ve scrabbled at it long enough…you’ll have to get off the land.” (Ch. 5). The owners were forced to make a decision that, even though morally wrong, was best for themselves. This shows that many people disregard morals when they are threatened with the loss of possessions of money. Another example of this is with the brokers. The brokers bought all of the farmers’ possessions for barely anything. "Some bought a pint a pint and drank it fast to make the impact hard and stunning. But they didn't laugh and they didn't dance. They didn't sing or pick the guitars. They walked back to the farms, hands in pockets, and heads down, shoes kicking the red dust up." (Ch. 9). The farmers were ripped off and they knew it so they had to drink their problems away. The brokers knew that the farmers were out of job, home, and money so they took advantage of them by buying their things from a small price. The brokers in this situation made an immoral decision when they took advantage of the farmers. This again shows that some people do not do the right thing when put in difficult situations; they just help themselves. These people view that the “right” thing to do is to help themselves stay alive.

In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck gives other examples of people who believe the right thing is to help themselves. One of the ways he shows this is with farmers that are being paid to mow down others’ homes and fields so that they will leave. “The tractors came over the roads and into the fields, great crawlers moving like insects, having the incredible strength of insects.” (Ch. 5). This shows that to stay alive and to get money people forced their friends out of their farms. This would be considered morally wrong to most but during this time it was thought to be the right thing to do. Another example of people taking advantage of others is in the case of the car salesmen. “Cheap transportation, three trailers. '27 Ford, clean. Checked cars, guaranteed cars. Free radio. Car with 100 gallons of gas free. Come in and look. Used Cars. No overhead." (Ch. 7). These car salesmen are pulling in possible buyers so that they can rip them off. Finally, Steinbeck shows that people most often make bad choices in hard times by describing the border patrol. -"Ever hear of the border patrol on the California line? Police form Los Angeles-stopped you bastards, turned you back." (Ch. 12). The border patrol in California was turning back travelers to keep the jobs for the locals. These locals would then help the border patrol because they got rid of the farmers that are moving in. This shows that most of the time people believe that what helps them is the right thing to do.

“Civil Disobedience”, by Henry Thoreau, illuminates a view on how right and wrong are decided. “Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience?” (Part 1). Thoreau shows that he believes the majority decides what is right and wrong on the government level. He believes that the consciences of the people in office should decide. “All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it.” (Part 1). Thoreau shows how people do the morally wrong thing just as often as the right thing. He is saying that voting is a moral decision and that “betting accompanies it” because it is uncertain whether the voter will do the morally right or wrong thing. This shows that people don’t always do what is morally right.

Stephanie Ericsson shows how we do the morally wrong thing almost every day. She shows a common practice among people in her work, The Ways We Lie. She shows how by lying we are doing a bad thing and that we get used to it. “Four lies in the course of a day, none of which I felt the least bit guilty about.” (Ericson). Ericson shows that we lie so much that we become immune to the guilt of doing something wrong. This shows that people do morally wrong things on an almost daily basis. People also do morally wrong things by using stereotypes and derogatory names. On Dumpster Diving, by Lars Eighner, shows that people use these stereotypes incorrectly. "I have heard people, evidently meaning to be polite, use the word foraging, but I prefer to reserve that word for gathering nuts and berries and such, which I do also according to the season and the opportunity." (Eighner). This shows how people who don’t understand the lifestyle of the person they are talking about often use stereotyping which is usually derogatory and offends the person. This shows that morally wrong acts take place on a daily basis.

The interpretation of right and wrong is up to the individual. This view usually changes depending on the person’s mood and the situation they are placed in. Many times people decide to do the morally wrong thing because it is usually beneficial to themselves.

slyons Per.3