unOrdinary

[Anteros]

I agree that bad conditions can lead to bad people. I just don't think you can use it as an excuse. Also, John is a special case in other ways as well. He's been raised from a young age to believe that society is wrong about the whole "might makes right" thing. He's had hardships, but he's also had benefits no one else had. The concept of protecting the weak is apparently so alien in this society that a single book about it spawned copycat criminals and was banned by the government...and John lives with the guy who wrote that book.

It's funny you'd pick Blyke as an example, because he's probably the best person out of the main cast. He regularly steps up to protect other people and do the right thing, even when society raised him to believe he shouldn't, and even when it causes harm to himself. Would he be the same as John if they had the same events happen to them? Maybe so, but Blyke would never get himself in that situation. When Blyke had the opportunity to grab more power, he chose to give it up and take a beating instead. He's basically the anti-John.