The Ogress and the Orphans

“I would like nothing more than to tell you that every person—human, dragon, or any other kind of creature—is fundamentally good. But I can’t tell you that, because it is not in my nature to lie. Everyone starts fundamentally good, in my experience, and nearly everyone stays mostly good for the most part.”

Chapter 2 introduces the dragon who disguises himself as the Mayor, and this passage comes after the stone says that the Mayor is a villain. The opening line of this quotation shows that the stone is truthful and trustworthy as a narrator. The rest of this passage speaks to the debate of nature (predisposition) versus nurture (environment), and it suggests that all people are predisposed to be good and only made bad by their environment and the choices they make. Most people remain good, where good is defined as mainly choosing not to harm others or act in ways that bring discord. Good people may sometimes do bad things simply because no one is perfect all the time. It is only the rare person who becomes fundamentally bad.

“Indeed, one could say that the fire in the Library was the best thing—the very best thing—that had ever happened to the Mayor.

A lucky coincidence, even.”

This passage comes after the stone relays the details of the night the Library burned. It also foreshadows that the Mayor caused the fire and benefited from the destruction. The idea that the fire is the best thing that happened to the Mayor shows how events are not good or bad without context. Whether a burning building is good or bad depends on the building.