American Wife Character Traits

AN EXEMPLARY LIFE A person who lives an exemplary life is someone others can look to when identifying ideals they value. This exemplary person is not faultless, but ultimately lives a life others notice and can model their own lives after. When thinking about a person like this, I immediately considered Alice Blackwell, the main character of Curtis Sittenfeld's novel, “American Wife.” Over the summer I read this book multiple times and I realized the tale was so grabbing because of how much I admire Alice’s character. Alice is loosely based on a former First Lady. However, the novel is fiction and most circumstances and events are based purely on Sittenfeld’s imagination. Alice is striking in many ways. She is curious, self-reflective, kind, and generous, which all contribute to her exemplary narrative.
CHARACTERISTIC 1 A curious person is eager to better understand the world. Their curiosity might get them into trouble, especially as a child, but as an adult it prompts them to avoid simply taking things at face value. Rather than accepting other’s anecdotes and opinions as truth, they look for all information before making a judgement. Their curiosity motivates them to people watch, read, and ask questions. In this way, they is able to see issues from many perspectives. The curious person appreciates the …show more content…
She went to elementary school with children from poor farming families who still used outhouses. Alice, coming from a middle class family, made an effort to treat these children with extra respect. As an adult, she regularly donated to charities with causes that promoted literacy and researched AIDS and breast cancer. Later, these became the issues she focused on in her role as First Lady. Because of this generosity, Alice was always reminded of those less fortunate than herself and was able to empathize with them while her husband, who was not known for his generosity, was