David Foster Wallace deals with culture and its religious side in Good People, written in 2007. Although one might assume that he himself is a religious person, his characters stand out for their acceptance of Christianity and its values. The story describes the journey of growing up as a young man entering a relationship and experiencing all kinds of difficulties and contradictions. The character is torn between religious dogmas and life lessons but later comes to understand himself and to be ready to lead an independent life free of imposed ideas. Through the prism of Christianity, Wallace reveals themes of love, responsibility, family values, and the difficulties of separation and growing up.
The theme of love, in general, plays an important role in Wallace’s work; it is shown through the prism of Christianity, through some denominations that preach unconditional love. The main character, Lane, is trying to understand whether he can experience the love proposed and described by religion to the woman. He asks himself the following question: “Why is one kind of love any different?” (Wallace). Unconditional love, which he used to associate with family values and blood kinship, is the protagonist to romantic relationships. The latter subsequently showed that it is not possible to build a healthy relationship on principles derived from an infantile past. Although Lane seems to be torn by the end of the story, Wallace seems to have resolved this particular conflict by asking why one kind of love is different from another.
The cultural divide between religious and non-religious people is evident in one person when they find themselves in a situation where their religious values are at odds with worldly wisdom. This is what happens to two young people trying to decide whether or not to abort. Instead of arguing about what they want, they focus on the discrepancy between what they want and what God wants, and, in the case of the protagonist, they believe in God (Nast). Changing his attitude towards life and relationships, the young man does not change his devotedness to Christianity, which is revealed by the author within the story.
The concept of responsibility in an interpersonal relationship is closely tied to religion. However, Wallace also suggests that people’s decisions are strongly influenced by strategies of manipulation. The girl fears losing face and bluntly tells Lane, “I know you don’t love me” (Wallace). The reader wonders how simple the decision-making process and responsibility for one’s actions would be if not influenced by social and religious prejudices.
Another important theme is family values. The main character is not ready to start a family, but religion implies that there is no other way out in this situation. In addition, Wallace emphasizes that “the decision not to have an abortion is difficult if you only consider societal traditions” (Wallace). When religion is then added, the pressure becomes even more palpable (Nast). Religion is another ethical problem. On the one hand, pregnancy is an excuse to start a family. On the other hand, the fateful decision to start a family should not be made by chance.
Finally, the author touches on elementary independence and adulthood. Lane says that at 19, the hero is not yet ready to start his own family. This issue is also approached from a religious perspective. Instead of admitting that he is afraid to make decisions in such adult matters, Lane looks for other “religiously acceptable excuses” (Wallace). By the end of Wallace’s novel, however, the reader can see some room for improvement. Even if Lane’s education and upbringing have influenced his decisions, he at least seems willing to admit that he is lost and frightened. At the same time, Lane’s fable does not seem to be purely biblical. If so, he must understand that he is being punished, and Lane can only be understood as a state of uncertainty and indecision that is not an integral part of the transition to adulthood (Nast). Thus, in Wallace’s novel Good People one can observe several stages of adulthood.
The hero is initially stunned by the news and tries to find the right solution. His first step is to base his decision on what the church and society have taught him. His first reaction is denial, which leads to flight (Spurr 20). Later, Lane realizes that the problem is not miraculously solved, and he gathers the courage to admit that he has lost. Lane’s decision-making process is not yet complete, but the protagonist is forced to rethink his ideas about the politics of morality.
Thus, the reader will find that some of the moral and ethical questions David Foster Wallace raises in this story go deeper than they first appear. There is a great deal of attention paid to religion in Good People, but the main issue clearly stated in the story is adults. Wallace uses the prism of culture and religion to show the importance of making one’s choices, no matter how complicated or ethically ambiguous they may be.
Works Cited
Kakutani, Michiko. “Maximized Revenue, Minimized Existence.” The New York Times. Web.
Nast, Condé. “John Jeremiah Sullivan Reviews David Foster Wallace’s Last Novel, ‘the Pale King.’” GQ. Web.
Spurr, David. Architecture and Modern Literature. University of Michigan Press, 2017.
Wallace, David Foster. “Good People.” The New Yorker, 2017. Web.