In The Moral of the Story, Peter and Renata Singer draw on some of the best works of fiction, playwriting, and poetry in order to shed light on the perennial questions of ethics. Aims to shed light on the perennial questions of ethics. This work demonstrates how literary sources can add richness to discussions of real-life moral questions and dilemmas. It brings together selections and excerpts from some of the world's most celebrated short stories, novels, plays, and poetry. Preface ix Part One Personal Moral Issues 1(208) I WHO AM I? 3(48) Introduction 3(48) 1 Ralph Ellison, from Invisible Man 7(11) 2 Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey, from Puberty Blues 18(5) 3 James Baldwin, from Giovanni's Room 23(3) 4 Tom Wolfe, from The Bonfire of the Vanities 26(8) 5 George Eliot, from Middlemarch 34(4) 6 Arthur Miller, from The Crucible 38(9) 7 William Shakespeare, from Macbeth 47(4) II DUTIES TO KIN 51(60) Introduction 51(4) i The Duties of Parents to Their Children 55(26) 8 Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Unnatural Mother" 57(6) 9 Charles Dickens, from Bleak House 63(6) 10 Joseph Kanon, from The Good German 69(12) ii The Duties of Sisters and Brothers 81(8) 11 Sophocles, from Antigone 83(3) 12 William Shakespeare, from Measure for Measure 86(3) iii The Duties of Children to Their Parents 89(22) 13 Zitkala-?a, "The Soft-Hearted Sioux" 91(6) 14 Ambrose Bierce, "A Horseman in the Sky" 97(5) 15 Alice Munro, from "The Peace of Utrecht" 102(9) III LOVE, MARRIAGE, AND SEX 111(60) Introduction 111(5) 16 Jane Austen, from Pride and Prejudice 116(6) 17 William Shakespeare, from Romeo and Juliet 122(5) 18 Vikram Seth, from A Suitable Boy 127(13) 19 Guy de Maupassant, "The Model" 140(5) 20 George Eliot, from Middlemarch 145(6) 21 Leo Tolstoy, from Anna Karenina 151(4) 22 George Bernard Shaw, from Mrs Warren's Profession 155(5) 23 John Cleland, from Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure 160(3) 24 Daniel Defoe, from Moll Flanders 163(8) IV ABORTION, EUTHANASIA, AND SUICIDE 171(38) Introduction 171(4) 25 Maeve Binchy, from "Shepherd's Bush" 175(7) 26 Brian Clark, from Whose Life is it Anyway? 182(10) 27 Kate Jennings, from Moral Hazard 192(7) 28 William Shakespeare, from Hamlet 199(2) 29 Arna Bontemps, "A Summer Tragedy" 201(8) Part Two The Community and Beyond 209(250) V WORK 211(36) Introduction 211(4) 30 Elizabeth Gaskell, from North and South 215(7) 31 Edwin Seaver, from The Company 222(3) 32 Ruth L. Ozeki, from My Year of Meats 225(8) 33 Henrik Ibsen, from An Enemy of the People 233(8) 34 C.P. Snow, from The Search 241(6) VI WHAT DO WE OWE TO OUR COUNTRY, COMPATRIOTS, AND STRANGERS? 247(44) Introduction 247(4) 35 Euripides, from Iphigeneia at Aulis 251(7) 36 Geraldine Brooks, from Year of Wonders 258(10) 37 Ian McEwan, from Enduring Love 268(8) 38 Nick Hornby, from How to be Good 276(11) 39 Joyce Carol Oates, "The Undesirable Table" 287(4) VII ETHICS AND POLITICS 291(32) Introduction 291(3) 40 Anthony Trollope, from Can You Forgive Her? 294(10) 41 Anonymous (Joe Klein), from Primary Colors 304(12) 42 Anthony Trollope, from Phineas Finn 316(7) VIII RACISM AND SEXISM 323(38) Introduction 323(5) 43 Harriet Beecher Stowe, from Uncle Tom's Cabin 328(8) 44 Lerone Bennett, Jr, "The Convert" 336(11) 45 William Shakespeare, from The Taming of the Shrew 347(5) 46 Henrik Ibsen, from A Doll's House 352(9) IX WAR 361(40) Introduction 361(3) 47 Leo Tolstoy, from War and Peace 364(5) 48 Pat Barker, from Regeneration 369(10) 49 Wilfred Owen, "S.I.W." 379(2) 50 William Shakespeare, from King Henry V (Act III, Scene III) 381(2) 51 William Shakespeare, from King Henry V (Act IV, Scene I) 383(3) 52 Alfred Tennyson, "The Charge of the Light Brigade" 386(3) 53 S. Yizhar, from "The Prisoner" 389(6) 54 John Fowles, from The Magus 395(6) X ANIMALS AND THE ENVIRONMENT 401(26) Introduction 401(4) 55 Desmond Stewart, "The Limits of Trooghaft" 405(7) 56 Richard Adams, from The Plague Dogs 412(6) 57 Douglas Adams, from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe 418(2) 58 James Fenimore Cooper, from The Pioneers 420(7) XI DUTIES TO GOD 427(12) Introduction 427(3) 59 Aeschylus, from Prometheus Bound 430(4) 60 Genesis 22 434(2) 61 Fyodor Dostoyevsky, from The Brothers Karamazov 436(3) XII NEW LIFE FORMS 439(20) Introduction 439(3) 62 Mary Shelley, from Frankenstein 442(8) 63 Karel Capek, from The Makropulos Secret 450(9) Part Three Reflecting on Ethics 459(144) XIII THE NATURE OF ETHICS 461(32) Introduction 461(4) 64 E. Pauline Johnson, "The Sea-Serpent" 465(4) 65 Daniel Defoe, from Robinson Crusoe 469(3) 66 Mark Twain, from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 472(4) 67 Graham Greene, from The Third Man 476(4) 68 Tadeusz Borowski, "This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen" 480(13) XIV RULES, RIGHTS, DUTIES, AND THE GREATER GOOD 493(54) Introduction 493(4) 69 Ursula K. Le Guin, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" 497(5) 70 Fyodor Dostoyevsky, from Crime and Punishment 502(8) 71 Kazuo Ishiguro, from The Remains of the Day 510(6) 72 Anthony Trollope, from Dr Wortle's School 516(8) 73 Harper Lee, from To Kill a Mockingbird 524(13) 74 William Shakespeare, Sonnet 138 537(1) 75 George Eliot, from Middlemarch 538(9) XV ULTIMATE VALUES 547(18) Introduction 547(3) 76 Daniel Defoe, from Robinson Crusoe 550(2) 77 Henry James, from The Portrait of a Lady 552(5) 78 Aldous Huxley, from Brave New World 557(5) 79 Henry James, from The Princess Casamassima 562(3) ISSUES 565(38) Notes on Authors 603(7) Further Reading on Ethics 610(7) Acknowledgments 617