Altruism and Egoism in It’s a Wonderful Life
By: Emily Eade
It’s a Wonderful Life is a film that shows the life of George Bailey which came with many twists and turns. Most of this happened after the passing of his father which caused George to shift his focus to the thoughts and decisions about how to control his father's legacy. Due to those decisions came multiple examples of self-sacrifice, altruism, and egoism throughout his life.
Altruism is shown by a person doing something to do good for others and/or avoiding or preventing harm toward others. The character George Bailey showed aspects of altruism numerous times throughout the film by sacrificing trips, college, and money for his family and community. The first time this was shown was when he was a child, he jumped into a frozen pond to save his little brother, which fortunately only left him deaf in one ear. Another example is George and Mary using the money that was put towards their honeymoon to help the bank to not foreclose. This shows that they were quite willing to use their own money to help others in need when they could have used it on themselves. These are just some examples of altruism that were shown throughout the film.
There were also some instances in which George was self-sacrificing. This was first shown when George canceled his trip to help his father's bank after he had passed. This caused him to stay back from college to keep the bank running and gave the money he had set aside for college to his brother. This shows that George, who had wanted to go to college, cared more about continuing his father's legacy and his brother's.
George Bailey showed aspects of egoism a few times throughout the film. Egoism is shown by a person thinking about themselves. There was only one true example in the film of egoism. The main example of this is when George Bailey felt the need to take his own life. This showed that he only focused on himself and not the lives of others which he impacted. Clarence showed George how the world would be without him in it and that caused him to not take his life.
The character George Bailey showed aspects of not only altruism but also egoism which helped play with his thoughts and emotions toward family and friends. It was clear from the very beginning of the film George was a different person who gradually changed increasingly as time progressed. Starting as a young, sweet, innocent boy who as he grew became increasingly miserable. He eventually reached his limit and considered taking his own life, which resulted in the angel Clarence showing up and showing George how the world would be without him there. This caused him to appreciate his loved ones in the end.
In the film It’s a Wonderful Life, the life of George Bailey was examined from two perspectives, the reality that was and the reality in which he never existed. The film highlighted the good that George's life had created and delivered an iconic representation of all the positive values that the United States represents.