Karla Morales

ENG 2001-O525

December 14,2020

Somewhere Between Right and Wrong

Ethics can be defined as moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity. There are five types of ethics which are deontology, virtue, utilitarian, femenist and global ethics.The story that I will be analyzing in this essay from an ethical standpoint is “ Assimilation” by E.L. Doctorow. This story will help us come to the conclusion of which characters follow strict sets of rules and which characters break away from established rules.

The story “Assimilation” by E.L. Doctorow is about Ramon who works as a dishwasher in a Russian restaurant and he is offered a promotion by Borislav who happens to be his boss. This promotion requires Ramon to marry his bosses niece who goes by the name of Jelena. Ramon will receive a total of three thousand dollars and a promotion to busboy  in exchange of giving Jelena legal imigration documents. 

Ramon has a passion for filmmaking and one way to pay for filmmaker’s school is by taking the opportunity that Borislav has offered. At first he has a hard time making the decision because he feels as if he’s violating sacred matters which is marriage. Ramon follows the ethics of deontology and virtue ethics. Deontology ethics are one of those kinds of normative theories regarding which choices are required, forbidden or permitted. And virtue ethics addresses the question of “What kind of person should I be?” which is what Ramon focuses on the most. There is an instance in the story where Jelena asks Ramon if he would hit her and Ramon says that he would not. Her explanation for this question is that she feels like she has been extremely rude to him even though he has done nothing to her so it is like she was waiting for a punishment. This is where deontology ethics show because he knows he should not hit a woman, instead he tells her that nothing is settled for her and she is in a new country so he understands her behavior. He also has a desire to be different from his brother who is a rich man while he on the other hand is struggling to pay for school. Ramon says “ I love my brother, but I do not share his life’s values”(Doctorow, 6). This is where the question of who I want to be comes up because Ramon could easily ask Leon for help but he rather accomplish his goals on his own and with his hard work, going from a dishwasher to a busboy. We can also crealy tell that Ramon chooses to be a good “husband” to Jelena, he does this by taking the time to get to know her even though she refuses. In the story it is mentioned that “He wanted to learn everything about her, maybe for insurance, as Leon advised, but more because he felt he had rights as her legal husband.”(Doctorow,4). Ramon still took this marriage seriously and wanted to do things as good as he could, to him this marriage is sacred. He tells Jelena that if she required him to perform conjugal duties then he would only in the honor of their sacred bond.

Now Leon on the other hand was an ex-con who recently came out of jail. Leon has different ethics because when they were discussing the offer, he tells Ramon “Then what’s the problem? You sell yourself washing dishes, little bro. This is the country of selling yourself”(Doctorow,1). He is basically telling Ramon that you have to do what you have to do in order to make it to the top, even if it’s getting into an arranged marriage. Leon seems to break away from the established rules. The lawyer mentions to Ramon that what he has done is fraud,and that he can get five years plus monetary penalties if he gets caught. Leon proceeds to tell him that “It’s bullshit. The C.I.S. can’t keep up with the traffic. The risk is small, Ramon. If they do call you in, you say you love the girl. They know you’re lying—but she will back you up, naturally, since it is in her interest.”(Doctorow,4). Instead of advising him to back away from the deal, he basically tells Ramon that it is a small price to pay for what he will get in return. I believe that he is following utilitarian ethics which is when you consider the good of others as well as your own good and to make life better by increasing the amount of good things such as pleasure. He wants what is best for his brother and the outcome is more important than the steps taken.  The deal is perfect for both sides of the party according to Leon because she gets to have her documents with no strings attached and he gets to become a famous filmmaker.

Jelena is in an arranged marriage so she can get her legal documents although she mentions that she has a boyfriend back in her country. She had conditions which had to be met that were part of the deal, one being that she had to pay Ramon but she wasn’t doing so. But Jelena changes throughout the story, she apologizes to Ramon for not being a good person to him, she even cries about it. Even though the relationship between her and Ramon started off as an arranged marriage it ends up being more than that. I believe she has virtue ethics because in order for there to be change she has to question herself about what kind of person she wants to be, and her guilt shows that she can grow from the person she was before.

In conclusion, these characters follow different ethics, some look for what is best for them while others try to be the best person that they can be. This story has great examples of virtue ethics which is often called self centered, as well as deontology ethics which have to be logically consistent. And utilitarian ethics in which the right action is is understood entirely in terms of consequences produced.

Works cited:

Scanlan, S. (2020). A short introduction to five types of ethics.   https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/profscanlan-english2001-fiction-f2020/files/2020/11/Five-types-of-Ethics-fall-2020.docx 
Doctorow, E. L. “Assimilation.” The New Yorker, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/11/22/assimilation.