SylStorm

I feel like this argument is a bit reductive. I won’t dispute if he had a good core, so many did as proven by their actions when the going got tough. But which human is ‘good’ all the time in real life? The essence of humanity is growth and change… It is also much easier to maintain “perfect balance” “all the storming time” if you have never known hardship or life-defining challenge? Further there seems to be a negative connotation implied for people who do the hard work to grow and deal with overcoming terrible things? This idea of putting down the incredible strength & determination to make a conscious effort to change, to shift, to become better after knowing another way all your life is a fallacy (keep in mind eg. Dalinar was honed by the brother he trusted as a tool, & the system that allowed Adolin his nice life where he could be a paragon of Alethi ‘virtue’ created people like Kaladin, who Adolin resented at first for seeming to show him up once his life wasn’t the ideal anymore). He was embarrassed of his father because he wasn’t the ideal soldier-leader Adolin thought he should be at one time to his standard, then judgmental even after Dalinar changed for better because he then learnt about past sins (though he himself had invoked the blackthorn), then critical of his efforts as a leader while he shirked the mantle of leadership. So what made him this perfect understanding person? It also begs the question what reason did he have not to be? He was born into an advantageous position with parents who made him feel special, he was loved & things were generally good for him partly because of the hard fought pains of those who crafted the world he could be princeling of.. yet he despised his father the instant he learnt of the price for that in real life because it cost him not just others. The very first time Adolin’s mettle was challenged/tested he resorted to the lowest level .. he murdered in anger and though that could’ve been understandable he then hid it! In pretending even with his father and those closest it seems he felt himself to be wrong. So no…he needed to grow up and evolve as well. Look at his full and unequivocal acceptance of every devious thing Shallan did but his overwhelming judgment of his father for being less than an ideal, keeping in mind this was only because of him killing his mother unwittingly not because of the general brutality of the actions of the Blackthorn which he had previously been proud of. That seems to be a reflection of his own idealization and who he thinks he has to be, & why he was so thrown off and lost purpose because there were others who could do what he did and better. He also never tried very hard to analyze his role or responsibility in subjugation of people like the dark-eyes (also my issue with Shallan and Jasnah) until he lost his privileged position in a changing world. Kaladin on the other hand fought through pain and betrayals to still care and protect even when it hurt and when the people didn’t love him or he them. So yes Adolin does try to do things right as he sees them but he also enjoys being liked and is defined a lot by this so that plays into how he treats people as well. None of this discounts who he is or growing to be but I wanted to point out that he is given a lot of grace, sometimes more than many, even who take just as worthy steps coming from much further …