“You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.” This quote by Audrey Hepburn adds truth to the idea that an individual can reveal what they believe to be valuable qualities in a member of society through their judgements of their peers; if they say a person spending all day sleeping on a couch is good member of society, then you know that that individual values selfishness and unproductiveness over the opposite. Through voicing their opinion, an individual discloses their belief on what is the right or wrong way to act in any situation, but if their actions do not reveal that same moral code, then that individual lacks personal integrity. Personal integrity is always having your speech
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Ristovski’s water bottles behind, even though beforehand, he had already decided he believed doing so was against his morals. At the beginning of the novel, Kenan establishes that he understands within himself what he believes is right and he’s able to act in accordance with that belief. Even though he doesn’t like Mrs.Ristovski and doesn’t think he should have to get water for her in the bottles she gives him, he does so anyway because “he made her a promise”(31) and “no person he would want to be would”(31) refuse her. This illustrates that Kenan based his action of going to get water for her on his belief that doing otherwise would be wrong of him because it would break his promise. In this instance, Kenan is acting with personal integrity because his actions and thoughts are both based on the same values of moral honesty. Later in the novel he admits to himself that “he has no idea why he keeps bringing Mrs.Ristovski water”(120) because he has “broken promises to others”(120) before. Kenan no longer knows his own reasoning behind what he believes is right and wrong anymore, so he cannot act with his morals. What leads him to question his motivation behind his morals is his constant focus on his inability to act courageously, mostly in comparison to his friend …show more content…
After making the decision to leave Mrs. Ristovski’s water bottles behind, Kenan is brought face-to-face with three major signs of corruption in the outdoor market place, which make him refocus on what he believes is wrong. The first is the black market, when he “understands what happen to his washing machine”(205). People outside of the city bought the washing machine that he sold in order to get money to survive. Kenan believes that those individuals “are accomplices in the destruction of his city”(205), and that they are doing something wrong. He then witness a man in a black Mercedes make a deal with a driver over water, water that he previously thought was going to people that actually needed it. Kenan gets so angry over what he sees that “all he wants to do is put his hands around his throat(206)”. This action emphasizes how upset Kenan and how wrong he perceives the corrupt actions of some men in the city. Lastly, he watches his friend Ismet have to give way three cigarette packs, which were his pay from the army, in order to get food that should have been given away free anyway. All of these combined,
Ristovski’s water bottles behind, even though beforehand, he had already decided he believed doing so was against his morals. At the beginning of the novel, Kenan establishes that he understands within himself what he believes is right and he’s able to act in accordance with that belief. Even though he doesn’t like Mrs.Ristovski and doesn’t think he should have to get water for her in the bottles she gives him, he does so anyway because “he made her a promise”(31) and “no person he would want to be would”(31) refuse her. This illustrates that Kenan based his action of going to get water for her on his belief that doing otherwise would be wrong of him because it would break his promise. In this instance, Kenan is acting with personal integrity because his actions and thoughts are both based on the same values of moral honesty. Later in the novel he admits to himself that “he has no idea why he keeps bringing Mrs.Ristovski water”(120) because he has “broken promises to others”(120) before. Kenan no longer knows his own reasoning behind what he believes is right and wrong anymore, so he cannot act with his morals. What leads him to question his motivation behind his morals is his constant focus on his inability to act courageously, mostly in comparison to his friend …show more content…
After making the decision to leave Mrs. Ristovski’s water bottles behind, Kenan is brought face-to-face with three major signs of corruption in the outdoor market place, which make him refocus on what he believes is wrong. The first is the black market, when he “understands what happen to his washing machine”(205). People outside of the city bought the washing machine that he sold in order to get money to survive. Kenan believes that those individuals “are accomplices in the destruction of his city”(205), and that they are doing something wrong. He then witness a man in a black Mercedes make a deal with a driver over water, water that he previously thought was going to people that actually needed it. Kenan gets so angry over what he sees that “all he wants to do is put his hands around his throat(206)”. This action emphasizes how upset Kenan and how wrong he perceives the corrupt actions of some men in the city. Lastly, he watches his friend Ismet have to give way three cigarette packs, which were his pay from the army, in order to get food that should have been given away free anyway. All of these combined,