Relation to Black Swan

Jason Taylor, when asked this question, would respond no, it is not necessary to sacrifice morals for the sake of survival. Jason grows up is an ever changing world, where even his family is unstable. He has no solid foundation to retreat to in times of hardship, as his cutthroat hierarchal school atmosphere and crumbling family only add to the strife that he undergoes as a child. The only thing that really remains stagnant for Jason is his sense of morality. Stephen often sacrifices reputation so he can remain true to his morals. Doing so is extremely harmful to his school experience, as not doing the "cool" things leaves him with few friends and many enemies. But as the book progresses, Jason observes his morally corrupt peers fall from their position of popularity and realizes that he is better off. His few friends are true and loyal, his conscience is clear, and his heart is pure. The sense of morality that Jason develops becomes who his is; without this he would be lost. If Jason had sacrificed his morality to be popular, he might not be immediately aware of the mistake he made, but with time he would realize that he discarded the only thing in his life that makes sense.

Relation to Portrait

If Stephen were asked my question, he would probably say yes, it is necessary to throw out morals and ethics for the sake of survival. But in Stephen's experience, he has not had to do so for physical survival, but has forsaken morals to benefit his inner self. Stephen refuses a career with God, because he believes that this moral purity will interfere with his art. Religion and order are founded upon morals and ethics, which Stephen ultimately turns his back on to pursue an independent existence centered around art. Stephen even believes that the morals that society is based upon are detrimental to the health of the public. When observing the flock of birds from the library step, he compares their existence to mankind's. He claims that the birds' way of life is much more beautiful because it has not been tainted with "reason." This reason that human society exudes interferes with the simplicities of nature and the beautiful. Morals, ethics, religion, and reason all are negative qualities to Stephen, as he believes their obstruct his vision of imperfect beauty. To Stephen, following his passion of art is much more important than adhering to a code of morals that society has set, a society that Stephen himself feels alien to.