The Influence of Strangers on Moral Development

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The influence of strangers on moral development Comparative essay between Princess and the Goblin and The Lion, the Witch, the Wardrobe Philosopher John Locke once said, “we are like chameleons, we take our hue and the color of our moral character, from those who are around us.” This perspective implies that humans are fairly influenced by the company they keep, even as far as shaping their moral virtues. Assuming this is true, it is very thought provoking to consider the influence strangers may have on one’s moral development due to the inability to predict the stranger’s moral character. This curious thought is often explored within children’s literature. For instance Irene and Curdie from The Princess and The Goblin by George MacDonald and Edmund and Peter in The Lion, and the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, all demonstrate the influence of stranger on the character’s moral position. All the characters are at their most confident state and most self-aware in terms of their attentiveness to social status when they are consciously comparing themselves to whom they have a long-term relationship with. Conversely, they achieve the greatest moral development when interactions with strangers shake their confidence and draw their attention away from themselves, which is facilitated by embracement of their ignorance. This contradicts our usual assumption that it is valuable to achieve confidence and self-awareness in order to increase positive moral development. A line must be drawn between confidence and overconfidence because though the former contributes to a strong character, the latter unequivocally results in ignorance. Mediated by the strangers they meet, both Curdie and Edmund experience a loss of confidence by means of embracing their ignorance. Curdie aims to portray himself as a courageous, brave, and a streetwise miner. These characteristics
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