Integrity Essay
Se-Hoon Kim
The Ideal Man of Integrity
Integrity is the adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; and honesty. It is being able to do right in all situations, no matter what the cost. Numerous people in history have shown their own integrity through heroic acts, sacrifices, and movements including Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus, Mother Teresa, and many other important figures. Examples can also be found in literary works. More specifically, in short stories including the characters Doodle, from The Scarlet Ibis, Jerry, from Through the Tunnel, and Madame Loisel, from The Necklace. The ideal man of integrity is one who stays honest, kind, and faithful to the protection and goodness of man.
Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr., and Abraham Lincoln are all martyrs, people who have died for the salvation and goodness of others. These people in history have been extremely important and have affected many people’s lives. Their main purposes were to unite people into equality and give hope to those who live in hardship. All three of these inspirational figures were able to obtain these through their deaths. Jesus died when he was crucified by the Romans; Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a shooting; Abraham Lincoln was also assassinated by a shooting. Their deaths were not from a wrong-doing, but it was from them showing to the public what they believed in. They all knew that death was waiting at their door yet they went on doing what they believed to be right.
Background and family significantly shapes the moral and ethical values of humans. A man born from a southern family will most likely have the same accent, customs, and personalities of the people in the south. Family and community profile the personality of each person giving every man a unique and special character. However, the most important values that people learn from their families and communities are the values of human life. Children always learn that bullying is bad, gossiping is bad, and fighting is bad. Even though people know morally that these acts are debased, they still do these actions. Just like in school, people are taught moral values but these lessons do not get into their head and they commit crimes. Few people are able to rise up and speak their opinion on what is right or wrong because they are afraid of the crowd, but those who do have courage and valor. Just like Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus, being able to state one’s own opinion about an issue based on his moral and ethical values defines what integrity really is.
Several examples of non-integral characters are also present in the short stories. In “The Lottery”, Tessie Hutchinson, dies on account of the people of the village. Even though she sacrificed her life and could be looked upon as a martyr, she died with fear and strived to preserve her own life by shouting, “It isn’t fair. It isn’t right.” She was acting in a selfish and egocentric way but she also knew that her death would benefit the village and her family. The village people stoned her regardless of her cries. Also in “The Scarlet Ibis”, the narrator’s only motive for the progress of Doodle’s physical activity was for his own pride and praise. His purpose for Doodle’s success ultimately led to his brother’s death. Although these characters performed acts of integrity, there mindset was not ethical or moral causing them to be dropped from the category of people of integrity.
This quote from the short story shows the moral principles that Madame Loisel has. "I brought you another one just like it. And for the last ten years we have been paying for it. You realize it wasn't easy for us; we had no money. . . . Well, it's paid for at last, and I'm glad indeed." She does all she can to return the jewel so that she repays back what she borrowed and lost. However, if she was honest to her friend and told her that she had lost the jewels, she would have known that the diamonds were replications. Madame Loisel would not have had to go through the trouble of paying off the necklace for ten years. Being honest is one of the definitions of integrity and this character was not able to show this trait.
Doodle from The Scarlet Ibis was a physically weak and helpless boy. Amidst all these hardships, he was still able to find happiness and hope even from his imperfections. He trusted in his family to take care of him and tried his best to follow other people’s command. His determination to be able to overcome his physical disabilities was an act of integrity. Being integral does not necessarily mean being brave and doing heroic acts. Moreover, it is about being kind, generous, humble, and making others happy. The actions that Doodle took to walk were for the pride and joy of his family and especially his brother. He wanted to become like the school kids and do the activities that they do. In actuality, Doodle was first a disappointment to the family and filled people with sorrow at the sight of him. However, when he was able to first walk, his whole family was jovial and filled with felicity. “There wasn't a sound as Doodle walked slowly across the room and sat down at the table. Then Mama began to cry and ran over to him, hugging him and kissing him. Daddy hugged him, too.”
In the short story “Through the Tunnel”, Jerry had met swimmers at a beach. He had envied the fact that they were able to swim through the tunnel so he set a new goal for himself. “He would do it if it killed him, he said defiantly to himself.” His determination and perseverance to be able to swim through rock tunnel was above all else. He would do anything, including sacrificing his own life, to swim through the tunnel. It took Jerry several days in order for him to strengthen his lungs to go through tunnel. He wanted to be like the other boys and do what they do. After swimming through tunnel, he felt accomplished and successful. Determination and perseverance is another important factor for a man of integrity.
All the characters from the short stories show characteristics of an integral but none of them is the ideal person of integrity. All these characters had flaws starting from their personality and their motive for their actions. Courage, compassion, intelligence, humbleness, strength, perseverance, and leadership are all the characteristics that truly define what a man of integrity is and each of the characters in the story have only a few of these characteristics within them. A person of integrity has all these characteristics and moral values. Family and community have a big effect on shaping these people. Their values originate on what the values of their families were which is why person of integrity can be interpreted differently for different families. But going with the examples from the short stories and inspirational figures of history, the ideal man of integrity can be summed up in one phrase: A man of integrity is one who is able to be morally correct, courageous, and bring others around them happiness.
The Ideal Man of Integrity
Integrity is the adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; and honesty. It is being able to do right in all situations, no matter what the cost. Numerous people in history have shown their own integrity through heroic acts, sacrifices, and movements including Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus, Mother Teresa, and many other important figures. Examples can also be found in literary works. More specifically, in short stories including the characters Doodle, from The Scarlet Ibis, Jerry, from Through the Tunnel, and Madame Loisel, from The Necklace. The ideal man of integrity is one who stays honest, kind, and faithful to the protection and goodness of man.
Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr., and Abraham Lincoln are all martyrs, people who have died for the salvation and goodness of others. These people in history have been extremely important and have affected many people’s lives. Their main purposes were to unite people into equality and give hope to those who live in hardship. All three of these inspirational figures were able to obtain these through their deaths. Jesus died when he was crucified by the Romans; Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a shooting; Abraham Lincoln was also assassinated by a shooting. Their deaths were not from a wrong-doing, but it was from them showing to the public what they believed in. They all knew that death was waiting at their door yet they went on doing what they believed to be right.
Background and family significantly shapes the moral and ethical values of humans. A man born from a southern family will most likely have the same accent, customs, and personalities of the people in the south. Family and community profile the personality of each person giving every man a unique and special character. However, the most important values that people learn from their families and communities are the values of human life. Children always learn that bullying is bad, gossiping is bad, and fighting is bad. Even though people know morally that these acts are debased, they still do these actions. Just like in school, people are taught moral values but these lessons do not get into their head and they commit crimes. Few people are able to rise up and speak their opinion on what is right or wrong because they are afraid of the crowd, but those who do have courage and valor. Just like Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus, being able to state one’s own opinion about an issue based on his moral and ethical values defines what integrity really is.
Several examples of non-integral characters are also present in the short stories. In “The Lottery”, Tessie Hutchinson, dies on account of the people of the village. Even though she sacrificed her life and could be looked upon as a martyr, she died with fear and strived to preserve her own life by shouting, “It isn’t fair. It isn’t right.” She was acting in a selfish and egocentric way but she also knew that her death would benefit the village and her family. The village people stoned her regardless of her cries. Also in “The Scarlet Ibis”, the narrator’s only motive for the progress of Doodle’s physical activity was for his own pride and praise. His purpose for Doodle’s success ultimately led to his brother’s death. Although these characters performed acts of integrity, there mindset was not ethical or moral causing them to be dropped from the category of people of integrity.
This quote from the short story shows the moral principles that Madame Loisel has. "I brought you another one just like it. And for the last ten years we have been paying for it. You realize it wasn't easy for us; we had no money. . . . Well, it's paid for at last, and I'm glad indeed." She does all she can to return the jewel so that she repays back what she borrowed and lost. However, if she was honest to her friend and told her that she had lost the jewels, she would have known that the diamonds were replications. Madame Loisel would not have had to go through the trouble of paying off the necklace for ten years. Being honest is one of the definitions of integrity and this character was not able to show this trait.
Doodle from The Scarlet Ibis was a physically weak and helpless boy. Amidst all these hardships, he was still able to find happiness and hope even from his imperfections. He trusted in his family to take care of him and tried his best to follow other people’s command. His determination to be able to overcome his physical disabilities was an act of integrity. Being integral does not necessarily mean being brave and doing heroic acts. Moreover, it is about being kind, generous, humble, and making others happy. The actions that Doodle took to walk were for the pride and joy of his family and especially his brother. He wanted to become like the school kids and do the activities that they do. In actuality, Doodle was first a disappointment to the family and filled people with sorrow at the sight of him. However, when he was able to first walk, his whole family was jovial and filled with felicity. “There wasn't a sound as Doodle walked slowly across the room and sat down at the table. Then Mama began to cry and ran over to him, hugging him and kissing him. Daddy hugged him, too.”
In the short story “Through the Tunnel”, Jerry had met swimmers at a beach. He had envied the fact that they were able to swim through the tunnel so he set a new goal for himself. “He would do it if it killed him, he said defiantly to himself.” His determination and perseverance to be able to swim through rock tunnel was above all else. He would do anything, including sacrificing his own life, to swim through the tunnel. It took Jerry several days in order for him to strengthen his lungs to go through tunnel. He wanted to be like the other boys and do what they do. After swimming through tunnel, he felt accomplished and successful. Determination and perseverance is another important factor for a man of integrity.
All the characters from the short stories show characteristics of an integral but none of them is the ideal person of integrity. All these characters had flaws starting from their personality and their motive for their actions. Courage, compassion, intelligence, humbleness, strength, perseverance, and leadership are all the characteristics that truly define what a man of integrity is and each of the characters in the story have only a few of these characteristics within them. A person of integrity has all these characteristics and moral values. Family and community have a big effect on shaping these people. Their values originate on what the values of their families were which is why person of integrity can be interpreted differently for different families. But going with the examples from the short stories and inspirational figures of history, the ideal man of integrity can be summed up in one phrase: A man of integrity is one who is able to be morally correct, courageous, and bring others around them happiness.
THE PREPARATION
The following documents below were used for the preparation for the integrity essay. In each page, we were asked to individually write each part of the essay. In the first page, I took notes on how to write paragraphs from the BedFord handbook. Also in the first page, I brainstormed several thesis statements that could be used for the essay and chose the best one suited for the topic. The second and third pages were clusters of PPE's that were used to help us generate our paragraphs. After I put my thoughts into these PPE's, I put together all the components adding clever transitional statements. The last page helped us for the citations. This part helped a lot in the process of forming the essay as it outlined my basic thoughts. During the rough draft, I was able to write with ease only adding a few touches here and there.
ROUGH DRAFT
During the rough draft phase of my writing, I had many flaws that needed to be fixed and many grammar issues. However, this is natural as it was the first time typing the essay up. Incorporating all the grammar skills and vocabulary we learned was a struggle but it helped in making my essay much better. The above documents of the preparation for the essay helped a lot in the making of the rough draft and it gave me a stable structure that I could keep adding to. This part of the process was probably the hardest for me as I had to make it formal and try my best to make it "perfect" before it was given to be peer edited. Of course, this was one of my last-minute/late night writings. (The markings on the paper were due to the peer editing. I could not locate the file with the rough draft without markings so this is all that I have)
PEER EDIT
This was the document used to grade our peers on their writings. In this I was graded by Michael Clare. Pretty much the only big things that I had to change was my title and my in-text citations (because I didn't have any). Peer editing was key in the process of making the essay as it gave me help on writing the essay with a brain other than mine. With this type of help, I can locate mistakes that I would never have located myself. I personally feel that peer-editing is extremely important in writing essays. In the future, I will strive to get whatever peer help there is even if it is not a mandatory peer editing assignment.
REFLECTION
The process that I went through to create this essay is shown on this page. There was a lot of work that went into this process and it helped to make my final draft a success. We went through a planning process which helped us to form a thesis, PPE's with several details and a final conclusion. The planning process helped to make a strong structure so that we could add more details and vocabulary to the essay. Then, after the rough draft, we went through a peer editing process. I believe that the peer-editing part helped me a whole lot in finalizing the essay. However, this was another one of the assignments that was hard, solely because I procrastinated and pushed it back a lot resulting in late nights with little sleep.
I liked this essay particularly because I could express my feelings without being judged in any way. However, it was very hard to find men of integrity in literature mostly because of the ambiguity of the definition of integrity. I accomplished this task through brainstorming with the planning process, and with the help of a peer. I was very satisfied and jovial with the grade that I received for this assignment (95/100). But I know I could have done much better on the writing.
Analyzing each character's actions and there motives for these actions was difficult but i was able to pull it off. Doing this tested my abilities and I discovered that I was capable of doing many more things with my writing. Also I tried hard to incorporate the many literary terms in the writing. Writing about integrity helped me to learn more about the meaning of integrity and understand it better. Before the assignment, I honestly did not know what integrity meant but after, I was confident on what it was and I was able to elaborate with details on the meaning.
I would like to be able to incorporate more vocabulary and higher level or grammar. Sometimes, my writings are not clear and as I keep learning, I want to be able to make my writing clear and to the point to the reader. For example, I may go off topic or not finish a thought in my writing. I would like to have better diction so that I can be more detailed in what I am writing.
The process that I went through to create this essay is shown on this page. There was a lot of work that went into this process and it helped to make my final draft a success. We went through a planning process which helped us to form a thesis, PPE's with several details and a final conclusion. The planning process helped to make a strong structure so that we could add more details and vocabulary to the essay. Then, after the rough draft, we went through a peer editing process. I believe that the peer-editing part helped me a whole lot in finalizing the essay. However, this was another one of the assignments that was hard, solely because I procrastinated and pushed it back a lot resulting in late nights with little sleep.
I liked this essay particularly because I could express my feelings without being judged in any way. However, it was very hard to find men of integrity in literature mostly because of the ambiguity of the definition of integrity. I accomplished this task through brainstorming with the planning process, and with the help of a peer. I was very satisfied and jovial with the grade that I received for this assignment (95/100). But I know I could have done much better on the writing.
Analyzing each character's actions and there motives for these actions was difficult but i was able to pull it off. Doing this tested my abilities and I discovered that I was capable of doing many more things with my writing. Also I tried hard to incorporate the many literary terms in the writing. Writing about integrity helped me to learn more about the meaning of integrity and understand it better. Before the assignment, I honestly did not know what integrity meant but after, I was confident on what it was and I was able to elaborate with details on the meaning.
I would like to be able to incorporate more vocabulary and higher level or grammar. Sometimes, my writings are not clear and as I keep learning, I want to be able to make my writing clear and to the point to the reader. For example, I may go off topic or not finish a thought in my writing. I would like to have better diction so that I can be more detailed in what I am writing.