MYP English Lang & Lit Consequences Notes

Do Consequences Always Link Actions To Outcomes?

1. In everyday conversation, consequences can sound like a moral scoreboard: do good and good returns, do wrong and punishment follows.
2. Many cultures express this idea through sayings such as "what goes around, comes around" or "we reap what we sow."
3. In some belief systems, this is connected to karma, often described as the idea that actions create reactions, either immediately or later.
4. In life and in literature, though, consequences are rarely neat.
5. A single action can produce:
   1. Immediate consequences (what happens right away)
   2. Delayed consequences (what unfolds over time)
   3. Intended consequences (what the person hoped would happen)
   4. Unintended consequences (side effects or outcomes they did not foresee)

What's The Role Of Personal Responsibility Here?

1. When you discuss consequences, you're also discussing personal responsibility, the idea that individuals are accountable for their actions and the effects those actions have on themselves and others.
2. In literature, responsibility becomes especially complex when characters:
   1. Act under pressure (fear, loyalty, survival)
   2. Have limited power (children, marginalized groups)
   3. Live within restrictive social rules (class systems, discrimination, authoritarian regimes)
3. This complexity matters because a reader's judgment of "responsibility" often depends on context.
4. An action can be wrong, but the conditions around it can help explain why it happened and what repair might reasonably look like.

How Can Decision-Making Processes Help Us Think Before Consequences Happen?