Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

The novel quickly establishes that in a world that is increasingly self-centered and hostile, any show of kindness, compassion, or “niceness” becomes more difficult and dangerous, and these displays also tend to disgust self-centered people—like the Better Kind—who cannot understand such benevolent sentiments. Notably, all the protagonists are categorized by their niceness, although Benny remains the most prominent example. The kindness of characters such as Benny, Clerkenwell, Jurgen, and Mengistu gives them a unique perspective of the world and allows them to positively impact the people around them. However, as Benny reflects in Chapter 2, kindness and substance are no longer rewarded in contemporary American society. Instead, he notes that “flash, filigree, and flimflam defeat substance almost every time” (12). Yet, just as the biblical Job retains his piety throughout his difficulties, Benny retains his niceness, as well as his trust that the world will eventually reward “merit and hustle” once again. In other words, he believes that the moral arc of the universe is inclined toward justice. This corresponds with his mantra, echoing Leibniz, that “all is well in this best of all possible worlds” (64).