Many people have had many different kinds and types of values become instilled in them from their childhood when their parents taught them the difference from right and wrong and the correct way to treat one another. For me, one of the most important values in life is honesty, and further within honesty, is trust. Without the value of honesty, people would not be able to effectively communicate with one another or have any type of meaningful relationship without honesty and the trust that comes along with honesty. These same values are often the subject and message of authors in their own literary works. Stories such as A Raisin in the Sun and A Doll’s House portray the values of honesty and trust through the context of the story and help to further explore the importance of these values in life.
The word honest, according the Merriam Webster Dictionary, is defined as being “free from fraud or deception” (Honest). The value of being honest is one of the first values I was taught by my mother during my childhood as it is critical to be honest with your mother so that she can help and trust you in what you are doing. Being honest allows for trust to form. Trust is defined as “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something” (Trust).
Both of these values are extremely important in not only forming relationships with peers, coworkers, friends, family and significant others, but also to maintain and grow in those relationships. Without honesty, there is no true communication between two or more people as they are not about to believe what one another is saying. Without trust, there is no basis or foundation for relationships between people. If there is no trust in a relationship, then it is almost impossible to have a successful relationship. When honesty is present in a relationship that means that there is no lying, cheating, or theft. Along with honesty, there are many different attributes to being truthful like integrity, truthfulness, and straight forwardness. The combination of these that are embedded in honesty and trust allow for a good relationship to form with people and are good qualities to have.
Many of the stories that we have read in class illustrate the effects of not having honesty, the importance of being honest, and trust between people. Both A Raisin in the Sun and A Doll’s House illustrate the value of honesty and trust throughout their stories. Characters in both of the stories struggle with being honest. In addition, Antigone illustrates what happens when there is a lack of honesty and trust between family members.
In A Doll’s House, the characters struggle with being honest with their significant other such as with Nora and Trovald. In the story Nora borrows money from a guy named Krogstad and Nora never tells him that she borrowed money from him. Later on in the story Trovald fires Krogstad. When he finds out that he has been fired he goes straight for Nora and he tries to black mail her by saying he is going to tell her husband that she borrowed money from him. This ultimately results in Nora having a moment in which she realizes she has not been honest with her husband or herself. She has not only lied to her husband about the money but has also been lying to herself.
As a result of this lack of honesty, the couple is left with no sense of trust or honesty between each other. In addition, Nora realizes that not being honest has prevented her from discovering her own independence and personality. As a result, Nora cannot image continuing to live this way with Torvald after years of dishonesty and now they do not have trust.
These scenes in A Doll’s House illustrate the large role honesty plays in every one’s lives. It is extremely important that people use it to build relationships with your parents, brothers, sisters, coworkers and bosses and maintain that honesty because once it is broken the trust is lost and the relationship is hard to put back together. Honesty is necessary to have trust so therefore honesty is the foundation of any healthy relationship.
Trust can be seen as an important aspect in the play A Raisin in the Sun. Mama has a trust in her family that is based on honesty and loyalty. Even despite the problems the family faces both economically and socially, Mama continues to trust in her children, daughter-in-law, and grandchild. Further, she trusts in their future and does not give up on their goals. This trust that she had motivated her to purchase a home that was located in an all-white neighborhood. Further, throughout the story, Mama and the family members learn to not only how to trust in one another but also in themselves.
Trust can be specifically seen when Mama allows Walter to control the rest of the insurance money. She tells him that after Beneatha is finished with medical school the remainder of the money is his to do with it whatever he wants. In this scene, the leftover insurance money that will give Walter financial independence illustrates her trust in him and her belief that he will do good things with the money.
Finally, trust and honesty are seen as an important aspect of the family dynamic in Antigone. Rather, the lack of trust can be seen when Creon goes against his family when he decides to sentence Antigone to death when he went against his law.
As it can be seen in these many literary works, honesty and trust is fundamental in relationships. Without these values, the characters are unable to have a solid relationship such as the case with Nora in A Doll’s House. Further, the trust that is seen in A Raisin the Sun allows for the family to coexist and is fundamental in all of the characters improving their lives. Mama’s trust in her family does not fade and she allows for her family members to grow and become independent because of her trust in them. And finally, the lack of trust and honesty in Antigone illustrates the horrible effects of betraying a family’s trust. The value of honesty allows people to be able to effectively communicate with one another and have and maintain meaningful relationships with one another and have the trust that comes along with honesty.
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