The True Measure of a Man
Being a good person is something that everyone strives to do. For most, it is a subconscious thing we do. For others being a good person is a way of life, not just a superficial “look at me and what I do,” but a deep spiritual understanding that everything one does in their daily life is beneficial to others around that person.
For starters, one must define the words good and bad. Dictionary.com’s definition of a good person is “a person who is good to other people.” Its definition for a bad person is “a person who does harm to others.” Both of these are vague so one must venture into the definitions of the words good and bad. The definition found at www.dictionary.com for the word good is, “Socially correct, proper, beneficial to others, valid or effectual under the law, characterized by honesty and fairness.” The definition of bad is, “Not achieving an adequate standard, evil, sinful, unfavorable, having undesirable or negative qualities.” It seems as if the public has determined the meaning of good and bad to be whatever they want it to mean. This paper is going to use good and bad in relation to people; where good is benefiting someone, and bad is hindering someone.
In the story of Robin Hood, Robin begins his life as a law abiding citizen. After his father is killed, the sheriff of Nottingham denies him his father’s place as a ranger. He is coerced into killing a deer in front of a large group of lawmen, making him a criminal. From that point in the story Robin becomes a member of the Sherwood men. These men do not just live in Sherwood Forest; they take a toll from anyone who is passing through the forest. All of these men are deemed outlaws by the local sheriff, and his military. By being pronounced as outlaws, it makes them bad people who break the laws. From a different point of view, they might be outlaws but they chose that life because they were breaking unjust laws. They as a group agreed to break any law they thought was unjust and unfair to the people of England, while pledging full allegiance to the king of England. In a public view these people were bad men, but one who came to know then could see them as good men who wanted the best for England and all of its people.
Being a good man is by no means a small matter. If one were to look at the story of Robin Hood, the sheriff would be someone who most people would agree should be a good and just person. In the story however, he turns out to be one of the worst men in the story. This shows that a man who in the public’s eye is supposed to be a good man can be the worst scoundrel.
In Pirates of the Caribbean, Captain Jack Sparrow is a good man who has chosen a life of piracy. He is a good man for his help in the rescuing of Elizabeth. He did not do it for his own benefit, but for the personal satisfaction that he prevented the slaying of an innocent girl. In the end of the movie, it is said that sometimes an act of piracy is in the best interest of those within a situation. This was referring to Will Turner’s decision to be in league with a pirate, stealing a ship, and springing a man from jail to help rescue Elizabeth. So the true measure of a man in this movie is his actions and how he helps those around him.
A way to measure the goodness of a man is to look at the way he treats the women in his life. If he treats them with respect, then he is a good man. If a man treats the women in his life like they are the scum of the Earth and that they are here to serve him, then his is not a man; he is a beast that needs to be caged.
No matter how one measures the goodness of a man, everyone has their perspective of what a good man is. Two ways to judge a man are: how he treats the women in his life and if he benefits others in his life. As human beings we have something in us that has been ingrained in our minds that we must be perceived as good people. There are few people on the planet these days who are good people. They are the ones who give willingly of their time and money, and are not angry when people ask them for help continuously. The people who seem good but are not are the ones who get angry if people ask for help, and they are also the ones who do acts of service for the image people have of them.