Integrity Essay Final

Eric Fuhs
1/15/14
A-2
A Person of Integrity
There are many types of people in the world of different personalities. An important part
of someones personality is whether or not they have integrity. A persons stature is greatly
affected by the degree or how much integrity they have. The definition of integrity will be
analyzed with examples from William Goldings Lord of The Flies, various short stories, and the
life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). A person of integrity is one that demonstrates positive
qualities and has the traits of honesty, character, and has morally correct principles.
A person of integrity is one who demonstrates honesty. Honesty is being truthful and not
constructing a fable in the name of protecting oneself. A person that demonstrates this is Ralph
from William Goldings Lord of the Flies. Ralph says weve got to make smoke up there or die
(Golding 81). Ralph is being honest to the others about the reality of the situation that they are in.
He is not saying some fantasy story about to comfort himself or the others he is being straight
forward and truthful. On the opposite side of the spectrum is the antagonist Jack Merridew who
is not so honest. He claims wholl join my tribe and have fun (Golding, 150). This is a
constriction that Jack created in a propaganda effort to have the other boys join. Unless ones idea
of fun is killing others Jack is lying and not having integrity. To be a person of integrity one has
to be honest and tell the truth.
In addition, a person of integrity is one who has good character. Character is defined by
your principles and who you truly are. Presidents have a notable reputation which is almost
completely comprised of their character. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is known by his
winning smile, powerful words, and confident manner (Schuman, 7). His character, known by
many is what got him the presidency. When people vote they (hopefully) choose a person with
integrity which entails having a good character and being that he was elected successful he must
have had good character. Character can also be based on ones principles. A person
demonstrating this is Jerry from Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing, he struggled on in the
darkness between lapses of unconsciousness (Lessing, 4). Jerry is demonstrating a principle of
perseverance and working through tough times. He doing this allows for perseverance to be
added to his character or what defines him. A good character leads to people liking and
admiring you due to the principles or qualities that you express. This did not occur in the case of
Mrs. Emily in the short story A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner. Throughout the story her
stubbornness led to people not really liking and thinking that she was no use to the town and they
ended up creating a strong disgust. If it was not for her dying people would have gone on not
liking her due to her bad character. This practically eliminates her from being a person of
integrity. Overall, the character of a person can go a long way to defining someone as a person of
integrity.
The deepest tier of qualities for a person of integrity is principles. Principles go even
deeper than character into describing a person. Principles are what a person will and will not due
even in the toughest of times. A leaders principles are directed to helping others and what they
will due for them and what they will not due for them. A person with strong principles is
Franklin Delano Roosevelt who demonstrated them during his New Deal in the time of the
Great Depression. The principle was that he WILL help the people impacted by the disaster and
stop at nothing to fix what happened. This is what had him build a good character as a strong
worker because he didnt just sit on his hands and watched people suffer. On the other hand Mr.
Summers from Shirley Jacksons The Lottery did the opposite and had bad ethical principles.
He led the principle of I will kill others in the name of a superstition by a crazy old man. This
is not ethically correct due to its lack of respect for human life and that does not demonstrate a
person of integrity. On that note in order for one to be a person of integrity they need to have
positive principles to set a good example. In The Lord of The Flies by William Golding shows
the contrast perfectly between Jack and Ralph. Ralph is the one to make all of his efforts to
everyones survival on the island while Jack is all to have fun and kill a few people while hes at
it. Ralph demonstrates integrity by being a strong positive influence for others. People with
Integrity shape to be great leaders due to the qualities within them and Ralph demonstrates that.
Principles are important to a person of integrity because of is the founding qualities of who a
person really is.
Although, there are some instances where one does not follow the text book definition of
integrity but acts in the essence of integrity. This means that someone may lie which is against
integrity but they do it for the greater good. Lying about a precious item to a thief so they cannot
steal it still is an action of integrity. A president such as FDR would take similar actions as this.
If an event that the public is not aware about takes place and it is better for them not to know in
the interest of their safety the president still has integrity if they do not inform them. The safety
would be endangered if knowing a piece of information would be putting a target on their backs.
The president would have acted with integrity due to his character and principles of keeping the
public safe. That is really the only way to bypass the text book definition of integrity by my
understanding. One cannot have bad principles or character and still have integrity. If one broke
the basics of integrity multiple times with bad intentions then one would not have integrity what
so ever and bad actions would be a part of ones character. There is an exception to the definition
of integrity that still follows the essence of integrity, if it has good intentions.
A person of integrity demonstrates three main qualities of honesty, character, and good
moral principles. Said person has explicitly demonstrated these traits within their daily life to
earn the title of a person with integrity. These types of people can be found everywhere, in real
life, and in literature. A person of integrity strives to be the best they can be modeling these
traits. Do you?

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