Introduction
Altruism is defined as the principle or practice of seeking the welfare of others. So, an altruistic person is a person who looks out for the best interests of another person, and/or persons. Altruistic, therefore, is the opposite of egoistic.
The egoistic person is self-centered, self-seeking. This is untrue of the altruistic person. Today, in this country, many people are acting altruistically in an effort to air poor people, disadvantaged people, people who, because of their mean circumstances are forced to live in poverty with the opportunity for fruitful education.
If you go into a slum area you will find many young boys seething with hatred. They are poor. They are under-educated. They are the products of broken homes. They must survive in an environment that destroys their will. It is young men of this kind that altruistic people attempt now to aid. They offer retraining and education to these boys. They reason thusly: If you give these boys a skill that they can cope with, then they will be able to join society as working, productive people. By giving these boys a skill it is hoped that the alienation of the disadvantaged and under-educated boys will be corrected.
All of this is fine. In many cases hopeless boys have been turned into productive, adjusted members of society by people who have selflessly contributed their time, money and skill - to help.
But, what happens when a person, acting in the pose of the altruist, attempts to make the same kind of contribution to the disadvantaged and under-educated? This is the question that is at the very heart of this novel.
The person who pretends to want to selflessly help the disadvantaged and under-educated is in danger. He or she is playing a con-game. If he is going to get - the giving will turn sour. The receiver, the disadvantaged, under-educated boys in this case, will sense that the con is on and they will react with the furious cynicism that is a part of their oppressed character. When they do react, they may strike out and hurt or destroy the false altruist.
This is the story of a woman who can give of money and time and skill. If she gives it in a meaningful, unselfish way, the chances are that she will succeed, will convert some of the boys over to a new way of life. But there is something rotten in her heart. She is not selfless. She is selfish. She sets into motion a plan to help oppressed, poor boys. The idea is to give the boys skill, working skills; to give the boys self-respect; to give the boys what they lack and then send them out into the world as renewed people, people who can compete, who can hold their own, who can make a new life, free from the slums that spawned them.
But the woman is not solely helping these boys for the boys' own good. She is seeking to get - to get from them - while pretending to only want to help. The fact that she does help some of the boys is not of importance, truly. The way in which she gives is rotten, spoiled, soiled.
The boys - one or two or several - will sense the falseness of her giving. They will then know that she is playing a con-game with them. This knowledge will make them boil, since they have been misled by a person that they respect and trust. Once the respect and trust turns to rot, all is lost.
I think you will find this an interesting study of a perplexing problem that now grips our nation. You will read it with growing understanding of a pressing problem that must be solved as quickly as is humanly possible.
Wilbur Service, Ph.D.
Chicago, ILL.