Morality in the Step Not Taken

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Morality in “the Step not Taken” by Paul D’Angelo Paul D’Angelo addresses an interesting subject in “The Step not Taken,” through his own personnel monomyth he presents the moral question of whether it is morally right to ignore the obvious suffering of another human being. The story begins with a man entering an elevator with a “junior executive” looking man in an office building, just a normal day with nothing unusual. Just as in the first stage of the monomyth all seems normal with no warning to the approach of a challenge; “then it happened.....I was astonished to see the young man drop his briefcase and burst into tears,” the main character, has now been faced with his quest. Has in true city tradition he ignores the crying man and leaves the elevator, which is his initial refusal. This point in the story signifies the transition from an external journey to an internal struggle of the protagonist. The man’s conscience now appears as the benevolent guide causing him to dwell on his initial decision to do nothing; now he has accepted the quest: to determine what the correct actions were in that situation. The struggle now begins; there are so many scenarios and unanswered questions that can never be answered because of one decision. “What could have possibly overwhelmed him to such an extent that he was unable to keep from crying out,” people do not burst out sobbing for nothing especially not in public; “did he have an incurable disease,” the thousands of possibilities that could have massed themselves to bring this human being to his breaking point will never be known. Paul had even been reassured that his actions were right by others, but you must fight basic instinct to ignore another human that is suffering, it is unnatural. It is this that leads him to his epiphany: “I should have given him the opportunity to unload his sadness onto my
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