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Do you think that Garry is a good person? The fact that Garry from The Black Line fantasied of killing Michelle is not something that good people do. I mean he could have imagined to punish her otherwise. He is essentially the same person, no matter where the life (the line) brought him.

Thabo Sibanda 1 wrote: ↑01 Jul 2021, 10:19 We all fantasize about horrid things at some point but what actually separates the good and the bad is that the good only end at fantasizing. So if Garry only fantasizes but doesn't commit unruly behavior, he is a good person.

We all fantasize about horrid things at some point but what actually separates the good and the bad is that the good only end at fantasizing. So if Garry only fantasizes but doesn't commit unruly behavior, he is a good person.

I think it is offputting, I'm speaking as a reader. In life though, I believe a lot of variables take part in this. Killing is never a characteristic of the good, and righteous people never consider killing. It requires a high level of hatred and rage. But humans are weak and emotional and I think that's what the author went with when he described the fantasies about killing.

I think he's mainly good; we all have some bad parts in ourselves. I agree that it isn't normal to fantasize about killing even those who hurt us, but I don't think this makes Garry a bad person. I believe that people are more complicated than just being good or bad.

I think there will be a difference in people's personalities in different worldlines, no matter how subtle. Their traits are largely influenced by their circumstances, and Gary from the Black line was a straight up selfish piece of crap. Even fantasizing about killing someone repeatedly does not sound like harmless intrusive thoughts to me, but an insistent dark hatred. However, the other Gary-s were different, or so I would like to believe. Whether they had that potential in them or not, if it doesn't come out significantly, judging them 'bad' would be unfair. Just my opinion.

Eriny Youssef wrote: ↑01 Jul 2021, 10:38 I think it is offputting, I'm speaking as a reader. In life though, I believe a lot of variables take part in this. Killing is never a characteristic of the good, and righteous people never consider killing. It requires a high level of hatred and rage. But humans are weak and emotional and I think that's what the author went with when he described the fantasies about killing.

I agree. Human nature allows having a range of thoughts, emotions, and actions. Positive actions are virtuous. Negative actions often result in some form of punishment. Gary appeared to have been a good person that made a very bad decision.

For me, being good is a day-to-day decision. You have to decide every day that what you will do today will be good not only to yourself but also to other people. Our reaction to a certain event may differ to the next person because of different factors and how we process it. Garry in all the worldlines has subtle differences thus his reaction to Michelle is also different. We cannot say that because one Garry is bad, all the rest is bad.

We cannot say that Gary is a bad person. Our unconscious mind may have dark thoughts that doesn't mean he wanted to commit that crime. None of us are perfect so we cannot blame Gary for his crime and he also worries about it later.

Let me start with saying I don't think anyone is good. He may have dreamt of punishing Michelle in that manner but whether he wanted to or it was just inpulsive shouldn't be used to measure his 'goodness'. He still tried to atone for his mistakes by searching for a way to free his doppelganger. In the end, I think what matters is that we constantly strive to do good rather than be good because ultimately, the sum of our actions is what defines us.

No person is either a good person or a bad person. They become good or bad depending on how they react in tricky situation. Gary, fantasizing about killing Mrs. M does not mean he wanted to actually kill her.

From my point of view, Gary would have decided to punish Mitchell if she decided to reject him in any of the worldlines since it's something that lives within him. I don't think this makes Gary a bad person since it was the pain he felt that led him to perform such an action.

I feel that he has basically tried very hard to be a fairly good person, who just happens to have these odd fantasy thoughts. None of us are perfect, so even if he is basically good, he can slip and have bade moments, bad thoughts, make random mistakes. We all do, but how far we take them makes all the difference in how our overall life turns out.

scaryeyes_25 wrote: ↑01 Jul 2021, 23:51 For me, being good is a day-to-day decision. You have to decide every day that what you will do today will be good not only to yourself but also to other people. Our reaction to a certain event may differ to the next person because of different factors and how we process it. Garry in all the worldlines has subtle differences thus his reaction to Michelle is also different. We cannot say that because one Garry is bad, all the rest is bad.

I think you made some excellent points. We would need to examine Gary's actions in the different worldlines in order to come up with an accurate understanding of who Gary is. I like the points you made.

I understand that there are different worldliness in this book but I do not think you can calla person “good” if they fantasize about killing . This is not normal thought. Yes, Gary had the will power not to but I would never categorize someone as good if they actually daydream such morbid thoughts

I understand that there are different worldliness in this book but I do not think you can calla person “good” if they fantasize about killing . This is not normal thought. Yes, Gary had the will power not to but I would never categorize someone as good if they actually daydream such morbid thoughts