Good versus evil - the basis of most epic tales. I have come to realize that evil comes from selfishness and good comes from selflessness. People may not realize that they look for these traits to determine the good guys and the bad guys. I did not at first. Batman and the Joker is a great example. If you looked at their appearance they both look like bad guys. So the viewer looks to see what they do. Joker fights for himself (selfish) and Batman fights for Gotham (selfless).
Though, this can also be applied in the real world as well as a story. There is no real way of telling if a person is good or not unless you look to see if they are selfless. This is the only trait that defines a good guy. I can't think of any other way.
After thinking more about this, I began to wonder: why is it so hard to be good? Why is it so easy to be selfish? Is it just human nature that we care more about ourselves? It may be because most people do not like to sacrifice something of their own to help someone else. It may be because most people think they will get nothing out of it (this thought is selfish in itself). You decide.
-Inspired by the movie Seven Pounds-
