I did a good deed today. I helped a man pick up some things he had dropped in the street; and it got me thinking a bit about the characters in my novel. The main protagonist is a young girl and the novel follows her life from her birth to middle age. I wondered what good deeds my characters would do if they were real and had existed. Would the girl- I'll tell you her name, it's Margaret-what good deeds would or could Margaret do? Who would she do them for? Why would she do them?
Why do people do good deeds in the first place? For me, it was the way I was brought up, it is natural for me to help people, I like helping people it's a big part of who I am and what I do. I also do good deeds because it is the right thing to do or at least that is what I believe, and I think it would have been rude and selfish to have walked passed the gentleman without helping.
I remember watching an episode of 'friends' where this very subject was explored by two of the main characters Joey and Phoebe. In the episode they discussed the role played by selfishness when doing a good deed. For me not to have helped would have made me selfish, but was I being selfish by helping. One of the advantages of doing a good deed is that it makes you the person feel good about doing something for another. Did I help the gentleman just for the sake of helping or did I help him to make me feel good? And if I only did it to help me feel good, does that mean I am selfish?
After I picked up the lighter which had dropped to the floor, I handed it back to the man. He thanked me, and I said 'it was nothing, it happens to all of us'. I was downplaying the thanks I had received from him. Was this modesty pure and innocent or again was it part of that same selfishness making me feel even better? I admit that if our positions had switched and he was the one helping me I would have been grateful and would have acted in the same way.
On a personal note I have recently broken my left wrist, and have had two operations to repair bones and tendons and my scars are clear to be seen. Maybe this gentleman thanked me so enthusiastically out of guilt and pity, because he thought I felt it was expected that I should help him despite my limited mobility?
Do we also have high expectations of people in helping others and does this differ from country to country? I broke my wrist in the simplest way possible. I fell down a high kerb in Kusadasi, Turkey and landed awkwardly on my wrist. At the time I felt like I was screaming for help for ages, and felt ignored by the people around me who didn't come to my rescue, or that's how I perceived it at the time. Now this could just be me, after all I speak no Turkish whatsoever, and few people had any English over there, so this could have just been the language barrier, but it still took time for anyone to react.
Political correctness also plays a part in all this, are people more afraid to help now than ever before? In case they get sued or accused of anything (more in the case of a child than me as I'm in my mid twenties), or are put at risk of diseases which people are afraid of eg. Aids.
I can't answer any of these questions and I don't even know if anyone is reading this, but if anyone is reading this- What do you think? Is a good deed a good deed after all? please feel free to use the comments below.
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