Main Character Switcharoo And Existential Pondering
A break from my usual short story post. I'd love some feedback here.
This morning, I was journaling and working through some internal motivations for the main character in part two of the duology I’m working on. I wondered, is “goodness,” and “doing the right thing,” something innate to humans?
Obviously, we all do bad things throughout our lives, even if we’re good people. We can’t help it. We’re human. But were we really gifted some sort of universal knowledge at birth, or is everything, and I mean literally fucking everything, learned through our interactions with other humans and the natural world around us? And if that is so, is nature not God? Are we not standing on a fractured, spiraling chunk of the broader “miracle” that so many are searching for in an apparition?
It seems to me that we know nothing. All humans have evolved in societies to some degree or another and within those societies, we have learned how others’ actions make us feel, and how our actions make them feel, and we’ve asked ourselves how we should act toward others in accordance with how we would like to be treated in return. Also, the size of our societal group, history, and geographical location plays a huge role in our values, and what we consider right and wrong.
This makes me wonder, if we were born outside of society, with no guidance, would we automatically be brain bashing savages, taking what suits us and caring not about how our actions affect others? Me thinks, yes, to a degree, however, the brain bashing would be tempered only by fear of what another might do to us in turn, which brings us right back to the beginning of human interaction and fear governing our “ideals.” If this is so, is “God,” not simply within all of us, far more primal than we’d like to believe, and not out there in the heavens wagging a finger at us when we piss on the rug?
I struggle to see any evidence that we’re born with an internal compass. Do you have any thoughts on this? I’d love to hear it.
While we’re here and since this is the whole reason I walked this path today, I have a question to the community about my WIP:
In my journaling journey this morning, or “Journaley,” (Jesus, I’m sorry). The main character I’ve been developing for book two is not the same main character from book one. They are from the same timeline and coexist in each story, but after writing the first book, I fell in love with another very important character, felt her story needed to be told through her eyes, and decided I wanted to tell the rest of this linear tale from her point of view.
Have you ever seen this done in a series before? Do you know of any examples? Do you think it would work? Is it a dumpster fire of an idea? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
That is all. Thank you.
I pretty much side with you on the philosophical discussion here - we are not born with an innate moral compass. But I do think we are a very social species which makes some form of altruism something I think we’d always need to create/maintain (and not just to avoid head bashing, though that’s a compelling reason lol).
“Selfless” acts (like helping others at the inconvenience of ourselves) create community which is ultimately necessary for our survival. But our being social also means we are molded by the rules of the group. So I do think in a brutal, selfish society, humans will get in line. Create a society that prioritizes community, and we’ve got a different story there.
Definitely given me a lot to chew on. As for your story, love the idea of picking up from a different character’s POV. I don’t think I’ve seen that yet in anything I’ve read, but it’s something I’d be enthusiastic about if I came across it. It’s a cool idea!
The one that immediately springs to mind is Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was such a good character that Joss Whedon expanded her character. I'm into this. If it's a good character, people will be excited about it.