Sam Woo

B3
1/16/14
Person of Integrity Essay
As the human history continually challenges the meaning of integrity, debates continue
on what makes a person a person of integrity. Society sees integrity as an honored characteristic
to have but the ways to have integrity are interpreted differently by people who come from
different backgrounds. Short stories and historical figures have given the basis on what the
meaning of integrity is. A person of integrity has consistency in his/her beliefs under peer
pressure, respectfulness to others, and willingness to help others without expecting returns.
The consistency in beliefs under peer pressure is a vital a tribute in being a person of
integrity. Robert E. Lees actions during the Civil War are an example of the consistency. During
the Civil War, many generals and Mr. Lincoln urged him to stay in the Union. Although he was
under pressure among the military community of the Union, he resigned to stay true to his beliefs.
His loyalty to his state and his family were not swayed even with the pressure. The consistency
in beliefs can be in literature too. In the Lord of the Flies, Ralphs actions show consistency in
beliefs even when he is under peer pressure. When Jacks group separated from the original
group, they are in a frenzy of celebrating the beast and gives up the idea of democracy and
rescue. Although majority of the boys joins Jack, Ralph knows that Democracy is right and that
rescue is a priority. Ralph shows integrity by being resolute about his beliefs. One person who is
not consistent in beliefs is Mrs. Mallard from The Story of an hour. The whole time when she is
married to her husband, she is pressured to love him. But when she receives the news that her
husband died, she feels joy soon after. This shows her inconsistency and her swaying in
accordance with the male-dominated societys idea. A person of integrity should always be
consistent in beliefs even when he/she is under pressure.
Sam Woo
B3
1/16/14
A person of integrity has respectfulness to others. General Lee showed respect during his
campaign in the Civil War. When he went to Appomattox court house to surrender, he did not
show contempt to his enemies. He wore proper clothing and brought a ceremonial sword to show
that he had lost. This shows he that respected the political and social views of the Union. Literary
work also presents characters that are respectful to other no matter who they are. In the Lord of
the Flies, Ralph shows respectfulness to his peers. During many meeting, the boys often laugh at
Piggy and do let him reason with them even though he has the conch. But Ralph saw this
exclusion and helped Piggy speak his opinion on the issues. Ralph showed respectfulness to
Piggys idea and his rights to speak just like the other boys. One person who does not show
respect is John in the short story The Yellow Wallpaper. Throughout the story the main
characters struggle with depression but John, the husband, does not respect her diagnosis of the
disease due to the fact that he does not know a solution to the disease but he is supposed to know
as a man of the family. He makes her stay in a room thinking she was wrong about the disease
but in the end she goes insane. John was not respectful of her depression and if he had not
refused to recognize her problem, the main character would have not gone insane. In order to be
a person of integrity, respectfulness to others no matter who they are is needed.
A person of integrity has a trait of willingness to help others without expecting return.
Robert E. Lee shows this trait through his actions. When he signed up to be a general of the
South, he risked everything that he owned. He did not expect a reward for the decision he made.
This shows his willingness to help defend his fellow Virginians and his family while not
expecting return for his loyalty. The trait of willingness in helping others without return is also
present in the Catholic Church. As Catholics, parishioners believe charity is part of living
gratefully. The parishioners give out food and money to the poor regions of the world. Also they
Sam Woo
B3
1/16/14
give housing to the homeless and help the orphans. In November, Saint Gregory life teen group
went up to the Eastern shore and repaired the houses of the poor Mexican families. These good
deeds were not done so that the parishioners could get popularity or money. These examples
show the willingness in helping others a person of integrity should have.
There are many ways a person can define integrity and determine a person who has it.
One may make an argument that a person of integrity should be respectful at certain times.
Many people would say that Adolf Hitler would not deserve the respect due to his horrific
actions. But one has to think about the background information and all that influenced him. His
actions were disagreeable but his ambitions and his goal to save the German people must be
respected. Someone could also say that consistency under any pressure might be sometimes
wrong. The southerner whites consistently lived with slavery. Many can say that these people
were evil but the fact that they stayed with their beliefs because they were raised with it shows a
trait of a person of integrity.
The meaning of integrity and a person of integrity will inevitably change as society
progresses. The society will change the meanings but the basic traits which are consistency in
beliefs under peer pressure, respectfulness to others no matter who they are, and the willingness
to help others without expecting return will continue to be included in the different standards a
person has to achieve to be a person of integrity. Maintaining integrity in certain situations will
be hard, but without pain there will be no gain in life.