Sweet Hereafter essays

Sweet Hereafter essays In the Sweet Hereafter, Dolores Driscoll is a school bus driver who is responsible for the death of fourteen innocent children. It was a normal day for Dolores, except for the fact that when she was driving the children to school she happens to see something in the road. Dolores is not exactly sure of what it is but she says "It was like a ghost of a dog I saw, a reddish-brown blur, much smaller than a deer...(Banks 1)." When she sees this animal like figure Dolores swerves to a side of the road. In doing so she drives the bus into a ditch and fourteen children die instantly when they hit the icy water. The books The Elements of a Moral Philosophy, and The Right Thing to Do play an integral role in depicting the ethical issues that justify Dolores' gilt. The guilt of Dolores Driscoll can be justified under Gilligan's implications for ethics of care theory, Kant's idea of human dignity, and Bentham's' principle of utility. Dolores Driscoll's guilt can be justified through Gilligan's Implications for Ethical Theory. According to Gilligan the implication for ethics of care theory states, " women's ethical role in life is dominated by care and love (EMP 171)." Implying that it was in Dolores' nature to try and save the children on the bus because it was her duty as a bus driver to insure the safety of the children. In the story Dolores speaks of the children as if she has a relationship with them on a personal level. She definitely knows the parents of the children and thinks and informs the reader about all the setbacks and personal information about them. Since Dolores had a relationship with the families of the children and the children she was driving to school the ethics of care applies because one must have a relationship with the individuals involved to use the ethics of care as sound reason. "The ethics of care confirms the priority that we naturally give to our family and friends... (EMP 168 ). Dolores considered the childre...