Eternally Internally Altruistic

Animals are born with the ability to care for themselves, and must do so to pass on their genetics and keep their species alive. This is the basic law of nature, for the survival of the fittest to dominate the genetic pool, to reign supreme over their predators while subsequently hunting their prey relentlessly. This is true for most animals but not all. Humanity has tipped the scales and allowed for the species to move past the most basic law of nature. Species have become domesticated, technology has been discovered, and humans no longer sit in the delicate balance of hunter vs. gatherer. Altruism, the defining characteristic of humanity has prevailed and has been a core feature of the human race, even when we didn’t have a consistent struggle of resources to survive amongst each other.. Of course there have been outliers and undeniable violence within the historic path to humanities greatness but the motivations have all been consistent with the general theme of self sacrifice for another person’s gain. 

The definition of altruism is “ when we act to promote someone else’s welfare, even at a risk or cost to ourselves,” as defined by (Berkeley.edu). Helping others can often come at the detriment of oneself. May it be bodily harm, or simply taking on a role where you burden yourself with extra work for the betterment of another person, many people find themselves in positions where they put in more than they get out. One perfect example of this dichotomy is the boy and his father in the post-apocalyptic novel, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. In McCarthy’s novel, the father travels with his young son who has no tangible skills necessary to survive, but through their incredible moments of mental strength and ability to work together, the two prevail time and time again, and when things seem hopeless the two fight on with days of walking without food or water. They come across unknown entities or people on the road, and act deliberately according to the situation. By the end of the novel they have gone through so much together that they see each other as equals, but the father still protects his son. As the the man brings his so walking around abandoned houses when suddenly, “In an upper window of the house he could see a man drawing a bow on them and he pushed the boy’s head down and tried to cover him with his body. He heard the dull thwang of the bowstring and felt a sharp hot pain in his leg.”  (McCarthy 263). The way the man specifically tries to shield the boy ‘with his body,’ shows that the man had no intention of making sure that the arrow would not hit him. All the man cared about was that the boy was safe, no matter the cost, no matter the outcome. Although he never says it, nothing is more important to the man than the boy. His actions speak for him, and are more significant than just saying or demanding that the boy must be kept safe. This is especially true because the boy is dependent on the man to survive, and has proven thus far that he will not make it long in their world shrouded by ash. However the man is not thinking about it that far, the man only takes the immediate sacrifice in front of him. This is also compounded largely by the man’s dying state, as he coughs uncontrollably any time that he is able. He is already sure of his death, and has no desire to prolong or comfort his own being. This desire to look death, pain, and struggle in the face for the sake of others’ well being is not just a defining trait present in the father. His son, although at time won’t even speak to his father, carries a conspicuously similar ideology similar to his fathers

This desire to look death, pain, and struggle in the face for the sake of others’ well being is not just a defining trait present in the father.

Earlier in the novel, the man and his son run into a delirious and suspicious older man traveling the road behind them. The two are at first confused, scared, and unwilling to stop, however; after the two figure out that the man is weak and disabled, they decide to stop and talk to him. The man does nothing but lie to the two by giving them a false name and trying to deceive them on his age in an attempt to make him appear older and weaker than he truly is. Despite this, the two decide to give him food, and once they split ways, the old man only known as Ely refuses to show any signs of gratitude towards the two. The two knew that they would have little food in the future, but then all went on. When he looked back the old man had set out with his cane, tapping his way, dwindling slowly on the road behind them like some storybook peddler from an antique time, dark and bent and spider thin and soon to vanish forever. The boy never looked back at all.” (McCarthy 174). Here, the boy especially had made the decision to give him food, and despite the resentment Ely had given them back, he still felt as if his decision was the correct one. The way ‘The boy never looked back at all,’ shows that he had no regrets in his decision to take away from their own rations to give to a man in need, whom they would never encounter again. The boy shows signs of true altruism, by sacrificing his own future stability and resources for the betterment of a completely unrelated man. One person giving to another is universal, as it is not only evident across multiple examples, but across different authors and genres.

The Road, is post-apocalyptic fiction and includes no real characters, but The Things They Carried is a retelling of short stories by Tim O’Brien. These stories follow one of the most hostile, vile, and destructive experiences of all time, Vietnam. The Vietnam war took the lives of roughly two million across both Vietnam and the United States of America. Many would believe that nothing surrounding such a devastating war would ever include an Altruistic character, but this idea would be false. Before O’Brien was shipped to war, he wanted to escape across to the Canadian border to avoid being drafted by the United States. This became one of the most difficult things that he had ever had the opportunity of doing. By escaping, he would be leaving everything he ever knew behind, and would be immediately barred from being a citizen of the United States indefinitely. Such a traitorous act could hypothetically be condoned by an American citizen, as aiding in the act of draft dodging could mean legal repercussions for the party involved. Elroy, an elderly gentleman running a bed and breakfast, completely went against this ideology, as he selflessly gave his hotel, food, and time to a young O’Brien in exchange for a minimal amount of unskilled labor. Elroy went as far as to bring O’Brien out on a boat, within sight of the Canadian border, only for O’Brien to go through a last minute change where he decided that he was going to be cowardice by participating in the war. Once they returned inland, Elroy said still wanted to do more, as “He took four fifties out of his pocket and laid them on the table. ‘Call it even,’ he said,” (O’Brien 51). Elroy had no intention of bargaining with O’Brien, and even after everything Elroy had given, he still wanted to repay him for his labor. Elroy could have been selfish, knowing that the food O’Brien ate, space and time he took up, were all worth more than what O’Brien had to offer. With all of this in mind, Elroy said “call it even,” as Elroy’s only intention was to leave O’Brien with more than what Tim really deserved, because it was simply what Elroy felt was right to do in his altruistic mind. This is not the only time where people in morally difficult situations make altruistic decisions with legally damaging repercussions. 

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby himself runs into a moral dilemma that leaves him in an awful position in comparison to the person he tries to save. Gatsby is in love, and will do anything to ensure his beloved Daisy will be safe no matter what. While Gatsby was driving home with Daisy, after being caught in an affair, the worst had happened. While Daisy was behind the wheel, she accidentally hit a woman. While retelling the story to his dear friend Nick Cathoway, he says “‘Don’t tell me, old sport.’ He winced, ‘Anyhow-Daisy stepped on it, I tried to make her stop, but she couldn’t, so I pulled on the emergency brake. Then she fell over into my lap and I drove on.’” (Fitzgerald 89). Gatsby wanting not to hear about the poor woman he hurt, but more importantly pulling the emergency break and taking responsibility, shows that Gatsby wanted nothing more than to ensure the safety and benefit of everyone around him. Gatsby wanted to become the savior not only for Daisy, but for Mrs. Wilson when he says ‘don’t tell me,’ and winces. Gatsby was an unfortunate man put in an unfortunate position, and did what he thought was best for everyone but made the active decision to keep himself vulnerable. Many might claim that Gatsby should have stopped the car and turned around, it was far more likely that Daisy, overcome with grief, would not have let Gatsby take the fall for him the way he did later in the book. Gatsby proved himself as an altruistic and self sacrificing lover.

Human beings have hearts, and not just a physical heart, but an emotional one as well. Elroy, the father-son duo, and Gatsby, display when they acted in the interest of another person. Whether it was to protect a loved one before themselves, or to ensure that someone in need was taken care of; all of these people displayed that they have the ability to put someone else in front of them. They all pass on their gift of kindness no matter what their personal circumstances are, or may be in their immediate future. A gift of responsibility for another over themselves, true altruism.

Works Cited

“Altruism Definition | What Is Altruism.” Greater Good Science Center, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/altruism/definition. Accessed 12 May 2022.

Fitzgerald, Scott F. The Great Gatsby. Amazon, 1925.

McCarthy, Cormac. The road. Vintage Books, 2006.O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.