1 Alexis Lapid A Person of Integrity What is a person of integrity? Does integrity matter?

One may say that a person of integrity is one who does the right things even when no one is watching, but another may express it as one with a framework of moral principles. (Webster 362) One may also say that integrity does matter, but another may reject. The definition and idea whether integrity matters or not differs from person to person based on ones own beliefs and experiences. But one thing is certain: Integrity is a trait that no one is born with, but has the potential to acquire. Integrity is an essential asset to the foundation of moral character. By possessing integrity, one also develops traits of responsibility, devotion, and trustworthiness. Responsibility is a trait that those who want to be a person of integrity must learn to acquire. Those who are responsible grasp a moral attitude, which means that he or she is able to distinguish right from wrong and tend to follow the rules. Like Piggy, in Lord of the Flies; he attempts to pursue the rules of the tribe by allowing one to talk when holding the conch, and another thing, we cant have everybody talking at once. Well have to have Hands up like at school. (Golding 78) Those who are responsible take account for his or her own actions rather than blaming someone else. Ralph is not an example of a person of integrity because unlike Ralph who did not apologize for calling Piggy Piggy because he forgets his sensitivity, those who are responsible are considerate and think before he or she acts. One cannot continuously rely on Ralph because he sometimes depends on Piggy for assistance on retrieving the answers. Although Ralph was chosen as chief of the tribe, he merely possesses a satisfactory foundation for being a leader because of his lack of responsibility.

2 Those who are leaders rather than followers are often perceived as devoted to his or her works, which is a necessary trait in becoming a person of integrity. In Animal Farm, Napoleon is dedicated to Animalism and becomes a leader to the other animals in teaching them more about it. Everyday Snowball and Napoleon sent out flights of pigeons whose instructions were to mingle with the other animals on neighboring farms, tell them the story of the Rebellion, and teach them the tune of Beasts of England. (Orwell 27) Leaders often show consideration towards others. Even when pushed aside, he or she continuously stands by ones side, promoting good feelings between others. In the Lord of the Flies, although Ralph neglects Piggy occasionally, Piggy remains close to him and helps him out when needed. When Ralph struggles to build shelters, Piggy is the one who is there to assist him. Another trait that comes with integrity is being principled. Being principled is when one has knowledge of something virtuous or corrupt, and no matter what, one will or will not do. In the Scarlet Ibis, Doodles brother avoids showing concern for him; he is not principled. When the storm approaches, and Doodle falls behind, Doodles brother knows that he should have stopped to help him, but did not. The knowledge that Doodle's and my plans had come to naught was bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened. I ran as fast as I could, leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us. (Hurst) Although Doodles brother does not acquire the traits of a person of integrity, it does not mean he does not have the potential of later developing these traits. Doodles brothers experience of losing Doodle may help him learn and realize that if he could have saved his brother, if he had just did what he knew was morally right, he can later develop the traits needed to become a person of integrity. Another trait in which people of integrity possess is that of trustworthiness. Those who are trustworthy are reliable. In Through the Tunnel, the boy and his mother lack

3 communication. At moments of failure, when he clowned to claim his mother's attention, it was with just this grave, embarrassed inspection that she rewarded him. (Lessing) Although both worry about each other, neither of them tells one another face to face. Persons of integrity possess the quality of being ethical which means being morally correct. He or she also attains honesty, meaning that one is not biased or prejudice one can easily match his or her words with how he or she feels and will tell what need be, even when it hurts. In Marigolds, Lizabeth learns a valuable lesson that will later help her acquire the traits necessary to become a person of integrity. The years have put words to the things I knew in that moment, and as I look back upon it, I know that that moment marked the end of innocence. Innocence involves an unseeing acceptance of things at face value, an ignorance of the area below the surface. In that humiliating moment I looked beyond myself and into the depths of another person. This was the beginning of compassion, and one cannot have both compassion and innocence. (Collier) Although Lizabeth does not directly tell Miss Lottie how sorry she was, she felt change within her that helped her to grow as a person. Responsibility, devotion, and trustworthiness are traits needed to become a person of integrity, which is an essential asset to the foundation of moral character. Although one is not born with integrity, one can develop the traits needed to become a person of integrity through the experiences that help them grow as a person. In the Scarlet Ibis and Marigolds, the characters within the story do not possess the needed traits for a person of integrity. Instead, these characters go through experiences which will later help them to acquire the characteristics needed to become a person of integrity. "I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death." (Hurst) Within the Scarlet Ibis, one can learn that sometimes people lack integrity when ones own pride overcomes them, even when

4 one knows what he or she is doing is wrong. "They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother." (Hurst) In writing, integrity within a character hinders text. This is so because one cannot consistently act with integrity no one is perfect. This makes it harder for the readers to relate to characters within a story if he or she is constantly acting with integrity. Although it is unnecessary for a storys character to have integrity, it is important for the author to have integrity. It is important for the author to possess the traits needed to be a person of integrity because these traits can give us insight into the story, which is why it is important for us to know the authors milieu. Once one learns about the authors life, it becomes easy to connect it to his or her stories and gain a deeper meaning of it.