Allen Shen

A2 English
Integrity Essay
As the world continues to develop and people become more reliant on materialism, our
traditional roots, principles, and morals slip away. Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher,
believed that humans were inherently evil, greedy, and debased, desiring only money and power;
essentially humans are selfish and have no honor or sense of respect. However, today the
meanings of honor and respect extended to the word integrity. Ones integrity determines his
actions and beliefs as well as ones perspective on others. Integrity has become increasingly
important as more people rely on others for aid, security, and happiness. Integrity is the sense of
moral uprightness and honor for the purpose of bringing peace to the world. Shown through
Abraham Lincolns fight for racial equality, William Goldings The Lord of the Flies, Shirley
Jacksons The Lottery, and my personal encounters, integrity is a trait that everyone needs to
possess.
Integrity isnt about ones honor, but courage to take action in ones home and
community, etc. The meaning of integrity has diffused into meaning one who earns respect and
honor, but truthfully integrity must be gained by actions towards others. Generally integrity must
come from the heart and the willingness to aid others not just because of obligations. Heroes like
Martin Luther King fought for their dreams and passions which they believed in. Also integrity
can be gained by the drive to help others through community service and volunteering on the
weekends. Integrity is a passion and courage of taking actions to help others in need.
As Abraham Lincoln said, Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The
shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. Lincoln was a man of honor in both his
reputation and at heart. Shown by his fight for civil liberties and peace throughout the world,
Lincoln was a man of true integrity. Throughout his life Abraham fought for the union, civil
rights, and the freedom of African Americans, viewpoints that were highly unpopular during the
1800s and period of Reconstruction. Lincoln was known as the wisest man of his century by
Northerners Ulysses S. Grant and George McClellan, as well as political figure Martin Luther
King Jr. With his passage of the Gettysburg address he freed African Americans eventually
culminating with the onslaught of Civil Rights Movement, Freedmans Bureau, and countless
civil rights organizations that continue Lincolns fight. As a reputable and honorable man,
Lincoln was extremely humble even in childhood as a poor boy who worked his way through life
with trust and honor. When Lincoln was younger he lived in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky
under poor conditions. Relying upon his own desire to learn he self-taught himself how to read
and write. His dedication and honor for others gained him the trust of political leaders enabling
him to become a candidate for presidency.
Within the novel Lord of the Flies, loyalty and honor are tested by power and ability
opportunities for dominance. At first the boys were in awe of being free on their own island, but
as they faced the responsibilities of adulthood, most cracked under the pressure. Power on the
island was wrenched back and forth between Ralph and Jack. Initially, Ralph was elected leader
of the boys due to his strong leadership and morals, but power and wealth corrupted Jack,
subsequently creating trouble on the island. Jack an acrid toned boy had the audacity to challenge
and disrupt the order on the island by breaking the boys into a chaotic mess. However Simon and
Piggy were characters in the novel that exemplified integrity consistently throughout their abject
situation with human nature. Simon and Piggy desired peace on the island and faced the local
upright side of conflict through the building of the fire and logic of an unrealistic beast. As the
boys realized their true identity they found the meaning of integrity, honor, and respect.
In the short story The Lottery friendship and family are betrayed for an old tradition of
honoring a new and hopeful year. A group of villagers in a small town gather each year for the
drawing of the lottery. Initially winning a lottery is considered lucky and fortunate; however the
irony in Shirley Jacksons is that winning equals a stoning by the village. Children, men, and
women of each family must stone the victim. Mrs. Hutchinson was the unlucky winner of the
lottery and was stoned as she said It isnt fair, it isnt right, Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and
then they were upon her. Morally unjust Mrs. Hutchinson was stoned to death begging for her
life. Shirley Jacksons lottery shows moral injustice and a lack of integrity throughout the village
as the honor of friendship and love is broken.
Throughout life successes and failures impel me to the person I am today. A moment in
my life I will never forget is the time when I yelled at my grandpa. A victim of colon cancer, my
grandpa found life to be difficult, for he was unable to complete many tasks. As time passed, I
grew further apart from my grandpa. In just a few short months, he passed away, which hurt me
because I realize now that I never seized the opportunity to truly understand him. My grandpa
only visited America once every 6 7 years. Ive only met him once and in that short time I
never connected with him on a deeper level. Throughout my life, the failures Ive encountered
make me stronger, so that I can better understand where my mistakes lie hoping to avoid them in
the future.
The actions, principles, and values we abide by define our personality and character.
Heroes like Abraham Lincoln have shown us the true meaning of integrity. Integrity
demonstrates ones sense of place and moral justice in the world. To create a better environment
for our friends, community, posterity, etc. people must unite to fix current global problems. As
people, we should each help and aid others in the face of a constantly developing world. Reliance
on integrity is crucial for people to understand one another and resolve conflicts.