User blog comment:Spawny0908/Character Disscusion: John and the Honor Meter/@comment-119.12.246.4-20120328123751

Good question, but I think you've got to understand that just like in real life fictional characters are not always so Black/White in terms of being Good or Evil, see it all depends on that persons moral values, their upbringing, their attitude, their behavior, their choices, their wants, their inhibitions & human nature. You also have to ask yourself: "What is Good/Evil?" "What does it mean for someone to be considered good or evil?". What defines good & evil in western society is based on things such as laws, religion, philosophy, ethics, etc. The textbook dictionary meaning for good & evil is: Good is a broad concept but it typically deals with an association with life, charity, continuity, happiness, love, and prosperity; While Evil is typically associated with conscious and deliberate wrongdoing, discrimination designed to harm others, humiliation of people designed to diminish their psychological needs and dignity, destructiveness, and acts of unnecessary and/or indiscriminate violence that are not legitimate acts of self-defense but aggressive and designed to cause ill-being to others.

However I think everybody in the world would have different view on who is good, who is evil & who is somewhere in-between. Basically I'm saying that Good & Evil are an individual human perception, Someone whom you think is a good friend, might be considered a hated enemy by someone else. Not to mention that almost all people think what they are doing is the right thing, even if it means just doing right by them, even if they are seen being as pure evil by most other people in mainstream society such as a serial killer. Even his own twisted thoughts are convincing him he is the good guy and everyone else is evil.

John Marston for example is someone who has displayed characteristics of both good & evil. Now if you want something more concrete, I think i'm gonna have to turn to the old Baldurs Gate/Dungeons & Dragons Alignment meter:

Lawful Good              Neutral Good          Chaotic Good

Lawful Neutral           True Neutral            Chaotic Neutral

Lawful Evil                Neutral Evil             Chaotic Evil

When John Marston was just born he was blank slate just like everyone is, Its hard to tell what he was like early on in life since there being such little info on his childhood. Anyway eventually John joined Dutch's gang & based on accounts of what happened back then, I assume he was leaning toward the Neutral Evil Side of the spectrum. As time went by however & the year hit 1911 (around the time of the game) I've come to think of John Marston as somewhere between a Lawful Neutral & a Chaotic Neutral Character.