According to Sheri Fink, “The moral values, ethical codes and laws that guide our choices are...important to help us navigate the confusing and disorienting time of a disaster.” Although ethics and morals are important in everyday life, they become of greater importance during a time of difficulty. In the book, The Lifeboat, by Charlotte Rogan, the morals of Grace Winter reflect the value of doing what is good for the entire community, no matter the consequences of doing so, which contradicts the ethics of her society due to the illegality of murder. The action of the fight between herself and the boat’s self deployed captain, Mr. Hardie, represents a moral dilemma because Grace is conflicted with the ethicality of killing him. Based on her
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Immediately after the prompt to grab the captain, Grace returns the enmity towards Hardie and attacks. While Grace is strangling Hardie, Mrs. Grant instructs her further on her method of attack. “Squeeze harder, dear,” Mrs. Grant intervenes while Grace has Hardie by the neck (192). Because Grace follows all instruction she is given without a second thought about them, it reveals that she does not typically think on her own accord, but rather, allows herself to acquiesce other people’s wishes and intentions. Mrs. Grant and Hannah both control Grace’s motivation due the fact that the overall stress of her situation shades her moral compass. By living in a society lacking ethical rules and standards, Grace adapts her values to defend her unethical behavior as a means of protection and self defense. However, these motivations come in second to the values placed behind …show more content…
Because she believes in the overall good of people, Grace allows Hardie one final chance to make amends before the fight breaks out, which he directly ignores. After throwing Hardie overboard, Grace writes about her reasoning for doing so. Grace writes, “...Hannah made a show of busy concern for the other occupants of the boat- after all, we had just killed someone for them…” (194). Grace truly feels that she committed the crime for the benefit of the other passengers, therefore showing that she values the safety of the larger population, and allowed that moral value to influence her decision to participate in the action. The values and morals shown in actions and behavior are two key factors of what truly makes a person human. By holding on to her original morals involving safety, Grace allows herself to forget the ethics of her past society. Her moral dilemma was that in order to protect the majority, she had to forget her values, finally leading to the loss of her
Immediately after the prompt to grab the captain, Grace returns the enmity towards Hardie and attacks. While Grace is strangling Hardie, Mrs. Grant instructs her further on her method of attack. “Squeeze harder, dear,” Mrs. Grant intervenes while Grace has Hardie by the neck (192). Because Grace follows all instruction she is given without a second thought about them, it reveals that she does not typically think on her own accord, but rather, allows herself to acquiesce other people’s wishes and intentions. Mrs. Grant and Hannah both control Grace’s motivation due the fact that the overall stress of her situation shades her moral compass. By living in a society lacking ethical rules and standards, Grace adapts her values to defend her unethical behavior as a means of protection and self defense. However, these motivations come in second to the values placed behind …show more content…
Because she believes in the overall good of people, Grace allows Hardie one final chance to make amends before the fight breaks out, which he directly ignores. After throwing Hardie overboard, Grace writes about her reasoning for doing so. Grace writes, “...Hannah made a show of busy concern for the other occupants of the boat- after all, we had just killed someone for them…” (194). Grace truly feels that she committed the crime for the benefit of the other passengers, therefore showing that she values the safety of the larger population, and allowed that moral value to influence her decision to participate in the action. The values and morals shown in actions and behavior are two key factors of what truly makes a person human. By holding on to her original morals involving safety, Grace allows herself to forget the ethics of her past society. Her moral dilemma was that in order to protect the majority, she had to forget her values, finally leading to the loss of her