Blog Post 9

Norstadt arrives to moral certainty about McLeod through the many stages of their friendship. The beginning stage is starting the relationship in the first place. Charles is the one who initiated the relationship because he needed a tutor to pass his school test and McLeod used to be a teacher. When it comes to a friendship, not only does someone have to initiate, but the other person has to accept the request. In this case, McLeod accepted Charles offer and risked everything just to help him out. McLeod took a huge risk with this newfound friendship because he had been shunned by the town because of his looks and rumors about him being a pedophile. As two people become closer and closer, you start to trust them with more and more information. With that trust, you have to let you guard down and accept the person in your life. As their friendship is formed, they start to hang out with each other more and that create bonds. Norstadt and McLeod would have lessons every day and sometimes they would go on hikes or other activities. After Charles found out he did good on his practice test, McLeod even took Charles to fly in a plane which created an even stronger bond between the two. Another reason Norstadt becomes certain of McLeod is because they learn to forgive and accept each other. In the beginning of the relationship, they clashed a bit but always came back to each other. Also, when Charles was upset and told people about McLeods accident, McLeod didn’t get upset, he simply forgave Charles and they moved on with life. The same thing happened when McLeod got upset and pushed away Charles hand violently. McLeod apologized and instead of Charles holding a grudge or getting mad, he forgave him and they continued with their studies. As Norstadt and McLeod have more experiences with each other, they get closer and closer. When Charles finds out about his dad, the first person he goes to is McLeod because he is now like the father and best friend he never had. Even through all these experiences, Charles still has room in his heart for doubt. This says a lot about people and how much influences can change your mind. The influences of the town almost overwhelmed the personal experiences Charles had with McLeod. He forgot everything he knew and had to go ask McLeod if what they were saying was true, instead of just immediately knowing it. The reason why McLeod wouldn’t just tell Charles when he was confronted was because he wanted Charles to think for his self. He knew that Charles knew the answer inside his heart; he just had to believe it. This also says a lot about their friendship because even Charles own mother was saying that McLeod was a pedophile and he believed at first but as soon as he was able to see past the rumors, the friendship showed its true colors. Therefore in order for Norstadt to be morally certain about McLeod, he had to look back on all his experiences and look within his heart too overcome all his doubts and fears.