One of the reasons I'm super-excited about having a blog for English this year is because now I finally have a place to talk about my semi-academic musings which, until this point, I've mostly kept to myself.
I've always been intrigued by the Dungeons & Dragons "alignment system," and I actually think it can be a great tool when applied to literature. The alignment system is a way of classifying people and characters according to two axes: laws and morals. The law axis defines lawful vs. chaotic; in other words, one's willingness to follow rules, as well as traditions and social customs. The moral axis defines good versus evil; good means willing to sacrifice the self for the benefit of others, and evil means willing to sacrifice others for the benefit of the self.
