The morality of Christian tradition and its application to real-life problems has always been the platform for debate. People look for the solution in God but often get entangled with the common practical reasons for it. The characters of David Foster Wallace’s short story Good People also deal with such a dilemma in the face of an unplanned pregnancy. The main character Lane started questioning his wrongs and goods in the light of his morality and Christian faith since both Lane and Sheri were brought up religious. The sensitive issue of pregnancy has undoubtedly led to the character questioning what he has become. The situation they are put in made them question many aspects of their lives, including love, family, religion, and life path. Only after hours of reminiscing and reflecting on one’s feelings and beliefs, the question that was bothering Lane get resolved. Even though it may go against one’s personal beliefs or even faith in contradicting questions, Lane recognized that people could be good at staying honest after coming through denial, doubt, realization, and acceptance stages.
When faced with the problem of pregnancy, hardly anyone can make a coherent decision at once. Lane was unable at first to confront his thoughts and express his feelings, which made him freeze. He was literally “very still and immobile and looking past the bank at the downed tree” (Wallace 66). Lane’s practical paralyzation did not only make Sherri uncomfortable about the situation but also put Lane in the initial stage of questioning his own quality of being a good person. Lane was “desperate to be good people, to still be able to feel he was good” (Wallace 66). Lane’s inability to support Sherri and come to a decision only made him feel worse.
Lane’s initial response to the problem was denial. “An image of himself on a train, waving mechanically to something that got smaller and smaller as the train pulled away” (Wallace 66). The imagery of Lane picturing himself, leaving on the train, and waving symbolizes his initial denial of the problem and thinking of leaving his girlfriend behind. The realization of this contradicts Lane’s desire to be good and forces him to reevaluate the feelings towards Sheri to resolve it (Hering 21). The Christian beliefs that were brought up in Lane ran counter the fact that Sheri wanted to have an abortion. A good person’s definition through the religious values of a good Christian got questioned and made Lane reconsider what a good person really is.
The reflection of a good person’s values inevitably led to remembering Christian considerations of Hell and Heaven. The explanation is seemingly apparent from the religious point of view, with good people going to heaven and bad ones to hell. Lane rarely before thought of damnation in hell for his deeds because “it did not speak to his spirit,” but now the concerns have started to come (Wallace 15). However, when the issue of pregnancy arose, it became increasingly difficult to make a decision, which is considered right from a Christian point of view.
The duality of views led to an escalating doubt of oneself. When faced with a complicated situation making the moral decision becomes challenging. Lane considered the opposites, battled the conflicting thoughts, which he feared would make him a hypocrite. “He might be somewhat of a hypocrite … which would be a far graver sin than the appointment” (Wallace 66). Lane was fearful of becoming a hypocrite and a liar because of his silence and doubts. He considered hypocrisy a sin and thus was fearful of communicating with Sheri.
Not only being a hypocrite to Sheri but questioning God made Lane think he is not a proper Christian. “He was starting to believe that he might not be serious in his faith,” and this caused an internal struggle. Lane could not identify what was right and struggled from an inside battle (Frantzen 261). The battle then grew outside as he reevaluated his relationship with Sheri and examined their love’s authenticity. Questioning one’s faith also made Lane confused about his identity and goodness because of Christianity being its core component.
In the train of thought from questioning one’s relationship to faith, Lane recognized he was worried about the wrong thing. He was caught up in considering his feelings for Sheri and what could be called true love when instead, the most important thing was to stay honest. He realized that he “was not a hypocrite, just broken and split off like all men” (Wallace 66). Despite getting out of God’s way briefly, he found a moment of grace and saw the situation crystal clear. Lane found the courage, to tell the truth. He realized that the only way to be considered a good person is by being honest with oneself and Sheri, even if it may not be the most pleasant truth.
In the end, religion did not give apparent answers to Lane in finding truth, peace, and acceptance. It was only doubt and reflection that allowed Lane to come to a revelation of honesty and courage. Lane confessed that it “never once in all the long week’s thinking and division had even so much as occurred” to him what love actually is (Wallace 66). He realized how afraid he was and what truth really meant. Lane became aware that he needed “to pray for was not even love but simple courage” (Wallace 66). The courage to take responsibility despite the prejudices of society and religion in all its honesty. Lane’s desire to be good finally came in line with his own ideas of himself despite a particular religion (Primak 43). He found out the simple truth of being capable of being right in finding the bravery, to be honest with Sheri.
Over the course of the story, the setting and the internal dialogues get overviewed from the third person. The narration revolves around the theme of pregnancy with the focus on Lane’s feelings (Mays 31). He was frustrated, doubtful, and fearful in his growth as a person regardless of his religious upbringing. The growth is noticed in the character’s ability to find the fault, accept it, and change one’s behavior. It may be considered a stage of coming of age, accompanied by a reevaluation of one’s faith and identity. Both Sheri and Lane had to come up with a serious decision in a state of uncertainty about their future and no direction from religion. Honesty became the guiding principle in a character’s life, which created guidance out of the light of religion.
Works Cited
Frantzen, Mikkel Krause. “Finding the Unlovable Object Lovable: Empathy and Depression in David Foster Wallace.” Studies in American Fiction, vol. 45, no. 2, 2018, pp. 259-279.
Hering, David. David Foster Wallace: Fiction and Form. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2016.
Mays, Kelly. Norton Introduction to Literature: Shorter (13th) Edition Revised. W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.
Primak, Shoshana. “The Existential Philosophy of David Foster Wallace.” 2020.
Wallace, David Foster. “Good People.” New Yorker Magazine Incorporated, 2007, p. 66.
Wallace, David Foster. The David Foster Wallace Reader. Little, Brown, 2014.