Is Garry a good person?

Use this forum to discuss the July 2021 Book of the month, " Worldlines: A Many Worlds Novel" (Many Worlds, #1)" by Adam Guest
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yomide
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Re: Is Garry a good person?

Post by yomide »

fridamadrid wrote: 07 Jul 2021, 18:11 I don't think people are just good or bad. I think we all have a mix of both goodness and badness inside of us. However, I feel like intention is what really matters, sometimes even more than how the things we actually do turn out, and I don't think wanting to kill someone ever comes from a good place. Of course sometimes we don't want those who hurt us the be the happiest and most successful, but it is certainly not the same as actively imagine ourselves murdering that person.
Yeah yeah! You are right about everyone being good as well as bad. But if we really want to judge Gary's goodness, we should not only consider the finally action, but the initial intention before the action. To be fair on Gary, he didnt have control of what he dreams about. In short he doesn't have control over who appears in his lucid dream. Granted, he had fantasied about hurting her. When he saw Michelle, he thought 'this might be his only chance to hurt her without actually hurting her.' Little did he know he is actually hurting her.
There is no point in trying to please a person who doesn't apreciate me. Besides, why do I have to try and please anyone in the first place?
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Post by KELVIN LANGAT »

No individual is either a decent individual or a terrible individual. They become fortunate or unfortunate relying upon how they respond in precarious circumstance.
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Post by Troy Barnes »

I think that question can only be answered when one considers which line the Gary in question hails from. The blue line Gary had a moderately privileged life and so was a moderately good person, black line Gary had had a horrible life and so was a terrible person filled with bitterness and such. I feel the environment one grows up in determines ones character. So yes, I would say that Gary is a good person.
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Post by Troy Barnes »

I feel its necessary to emphasize the fact that black line Gary was all in all, a terrible person. Yes, he had suffered, yes he was unaware that he was actually taking a life, but the fact is he killed someone and felt no regret for the terrible act. Fantasizing about violence and actually carrying out that violence are two very different things. So I would say that in this worldline Gary was a bad person.
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Post by Archaeoptery »

I would say yes because the way I see it is that other Gary actions can not be placed on him. The black line Gary was the one who did bad and thought about it. The other did nothing of the short. Comparing Garys from different universes and trying to see if in the end Gary is a good person does not cover fully what the roads of the other Grays did.
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Post by yomide »

KELVIN LANGAT wrote: 13 Jul 2021, 06:10 No individual is either a decent individual or a terrible individual. They become fortunate or unfortunate relying upon how they respond in precarious circumstance.
I would not have agreed more. It is the response of an individual that determines whether or not they are good. Given the circumstances, I don't think Gary would have stabbed Michelle if he knew he was actually stabbing her in another worldline. He has being a loving boyfriend and he is loved as well. If he was a bad person, I don't think Sinead would love him so.
There is no point in trying to please a person who doesn't apreciate me. Besides, why do I have to try and please anyone in the first place?
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Post by Fabulous mind »

Well, although Gary did fantasied killing Mitchelle, I honestly don't think it should be what would determine if he was a good or a bad person. One way or another, we have also fantasied about doing something bad, but still it didn't affect our personality, and the fact he felt remorseful after the incident shows his true intentions.
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Post by kdstrack »

The author presents several versions of Gary. This leads us to conclude that Gary's personality has several different facets. I find it difficult to categorize him as a bad person because of this one fantasy. This is only a small portion of his total personality. We all have weaknesses and would be crushed if others judged us based on how we acted (or spoke) on a bad day!
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Post by Eutoc »

We are all an outcome of our experiences. The Gary from the black line isn't a good person for having such a thought. The other Garys aren't outrightly bad because of black line Gary. They might be the same person, but have been shaped differently due to their life experiences. Remember one was involved in a fatal accident while the other wasn't
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Post by Nancy Morara »

Gary was a nice person in the other worldliness to the point of wanting to correct the other Gary in the black line. The fact that there was a chance that the Gary in the black line could be corrected showed that he wasn't that bad come to think of it. We all need a second chance to right our wrongs.
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Post by 6eyed »

I wondered this as well. Personally, I found Gary to be judgmental and, at times, apathetic. The points that especially jumped out to me are when he judges his sisters. Despite Nicki having a passion for photography, he says the field is "too low for her". He is also quick to judge Donna's girlfriend, Freya. It's known that when someone comes out as LGBT, they typically change their appearance because they are finally free to be their true selves and drop the chains of worrying about what other people think. Yet, while Donna is unafraid to dress unusually and does what makes her happy without hurting anyone else, Gary still says she could "Do better". This was especially annoying because, similarly to Donna, I changed the way I looked after I came to terms with my sexuality and gender. I was much happier and no longer hated my own appearance. My mental health substantially changed for the better. Who is Gary to wish for her to hide her authentic self simply because he believes it is better based on some subjective criteria.

Other points that jumped out to me was when he takes the academic placement test at the prison. He wonders how anyone could possibly not know the answers. Some people are born into poverty, Gary, sometimes they don't go to school and work instead.

I can understand the rage and grief he felt after being rejected by Michelle simply because of his injuries in the Black Line. I think he poured all of his negative emotions from the accident into Michelle's reaction. So, in a way, I think it makes sense that he would wish to get back at her in his dream, even if it's not the best way to cope. However, even after he proposes to Sinead, the woman who has stood by him for years, he still wonders if he can kiss Michelle in a lucid dream! Come on, you JUST reassured her that you loved her, AND you know that lucid dreaming affects other wordlines! At one point, after a distraught Sinead asks for his emotional support while her mother's health declines, he says he is "overreacting". This is Black Line Gary, so he's a little more messed up but jeez. You'd think after Sinead stood by him after his injuries, he'd know how to empathize with her struggle.

Don't get me wrong. Read the whole book in about a day. Great book. Gary just annoyed me sometimes.
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Post by Francis Aderogbin »

Firstly, I will like to define what makes up a variant. in my understanding, a variant is defined by all possible parts of a person that could exist. This means, if you are good now, there is a possibility that there will be another part of you that's bad. as we know, life occurs in pairs: good and bad, rich and poor, healthy and sick, etc. Another point we should note is that these variants are independent of each other. So, the original Gary is good, regardless of the character of the Black line's Gary.
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Post by Kira Bonita Reece »

I think Gary is mostly a good person. Although he fantasies about murdering someone it doesn't actually make him "bad". I think it depends on the day, his mood and the timeline
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Post by Uzo_Reviews »

Wrong or right decisions doesn't doesn't make is good or bad persons. Gary was just a product of the wrong decision and that shouldn't make him a bad person.
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Post by yomide »

Troy Barnes wrote: 13 Jul 2021, 09:03 I feel its necessary to emphasize the fact that black line Gary was all in all, a terrible person. Yes, he had suffered, yes he was unaware that he was actually taking a life, but the fact is he killed someone and felt no regret for the terrible act. Fantasizing about violence and actually carrying out that violence are two very different things. So I would say that in this worldline Gary was a bad person.
No! No! No! He felt regret on his action. In fact I think he somewhat felt irritated and unsecured with it. Okay, why did he try to rectify his action if he didnt regret it? I mean, as soon as he figured he might have actually killed a person, he became relentless to rectify it. As for me, that counts as regret.
There is no point in trying to please a person who doesn't apreciate me. Besides, why do I have to try and please anyone in the first place?
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