Sajeevan Rangeswaran

English 2001 – O525

December 14, 2020

Ganchin vs Master Zong

Ethics is a moral principle that governs a person’s behavior. In this essay, I will analyze what kind the ethics the main characters are following in “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin. There are five types of ethics that I have to learn in this class which are Virtue, Utilitarian, Feminist, Deontology, and Global. Virtue ethics is what kind of person do I want to be. Utilitarian is max good for them. Feminist is a feminist perspective is important as masculine. Deontology is when the person needs to follow the rules of their job. Global is globalization. In the story “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin Ganchin is the main character gets fired at the beginning of the story. He did not like his life, so he decides to commit suicide, but he did not die. His life changed because of suicide, a lot of people came to the hospital to visit him and help him. I will be analyzing three important scenes from the story “A Good Fall.” Those three scenes are one is when Master Zong fires Ganchin at the beginning of the story, the second one is when Ganchin meets Cindy in the bar, and the last one is when Ganchin meets Teng’s garden owner before committing suicide. 

“A Good Fall” by Ha Jin is a global fiction. Globalization is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. “A Good Fall” talks about Ganchin who is from china and moved to flushing, Queens to have a better job. He did not know anyone other than Master Zong who betrays him by not paying his salary. Ganchin does not even know English since he never learns the language. Ganchin stayed in flushing, Queens without knowing English because he wants to make money in the U.S.A.  

Master Zong is one of the important characters in “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin who impacts Ganchin’s life negatively. For example, when Master Zong tells Ganchin “We don’t owe you anything,” Zong answered, his hooded eyes glued to Ganchin’s pale face. Our contract says clearly that you’ll pay me fifteen hundred dollars a month. So far you haven’t paid me a cent.” This is important because Master Zong is following Utilitarian ethics in only maximum good for himself. Ganchin worked hard for his money, but Master Zong does not want to give it to him. Another example is when “Zong got up from the floor and went out to the backyard, where his midnight blue BMW was parked.” This is important because Master Zong is a monk, so has to follow a set of rules in which you can’t live a luxurious life. But Master Zong is following a Virtue Ethics in he decides to be what kind of person he wants to be which is to live a luxurious life. Master Zong doing whatever he wants since he is above Ganchin.

Cindy is another important character in “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin who impacts Ganchin’s life positively. Cindy wants to help Ganchin, but he could not accept Cindy’s help since he is a monk. An example from “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin is “He knew she was fond of him, but he said, “I am a monk and can’t think of anything like that.” “Why not return to this earthly life?”.” This is important because Ganchin is following Deontology ethics in following the rules of being a monk. Ganchin knows that being a monk means he cannot fall in love with anyone, even though he knows that Cindy loves him, but he cannot be with her. In the end, Ganchin changes his mind after knowing that he can’t be a monk anymore. An example from “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin is “Amazed, Ganchin thought about her words, then sighed. “I guess I’m not a monk anymore, and no temple will ever take me in.” “That also means you’re free to date a girl.” She giggled, rubbing her nose with a knuckle. “Well, I hope that’s something I can learn.” He gazed at her and smiled.” This is important because, after everything that had happened to Ganchin, Ganchin decides to follow Virtue ethics in living a normal life. He is fallen in love with Cindy and can live a normal life since he is not a monk anymore.  

The restaurant owner is another important character in “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin who tries to convince Ganchin not to commit suicide. The restaurant owner was so kind and welcomed Ganchin into his restaurant. An example from “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin is “The little man came back with a large bowl of rice topped with sauteed seafood and vegetables. He said to Ganchin, “Young brother, I can see you’re hungry. Eat this and you might think differently afterward.” This is important because the restaurant owner does not know Ganchin but when he knew he was hungry he gives him food without expecting anything. Not many people will help an unknown person and give them food, but the restaurant owner did not care anything about it. Restaurant owner followed virtue ethics in what kind of person he wants to be. He wants to stop Ganchin from committing suicide since committing suicide is not going to solve any problem. Even though the restaurant owner tried to convince Ganchin not to commit suicide, but Ganchin did not listen to him.

     “A Good Fall” by Ha Jin was my favorite story this semester since it had a positive end to it. Ganchin got supported by a lot of people because of how he tries to commit suicide but eventually, he failed. His suicide was talked about all over the newspaper which made a lot of people come to help. Attorneys came to ask some questions and want to help him. In the end, Ganchin was a happy man with Cindy.

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