Ethical Dilemma in Losing Isaiah - Essay Example

The boy grew up in the atmosphere of love in his “white” family; although, he was nervous, hyperactive, and distracted from his ethical roots. The family idyll would go on, if not for the fact that Isaiah’s biological mother began to torment Margaret’s good conscience. When Isaiah’s biological mother went out of prison and escaped from the iron clutch of drug addiction, she decided to get Isaiah back. Here the controversy began. In the courtroom, the parties of the “conflict” raised questions about ethical differences between Isaiah and his foster family and the wisdom of bringing up the boy in an environment, where nobody is like him. After the heated argument in the court, the judge brought in a verdict to give Isaiah back to his biological mother. That was the right decision from the point of common sense, but it did not work in the end. The arguments against the verdict are the following:  Isaiah’s biological mother did not know anything about bringing up this child; the boy had psychological problems and radical change in the family could harm him; there was a possibility of a compromise that would be acceptable for both mothers and the child.

Firstly, even though Isaiah was brought up in a “white” environment and did not receive enough information about his roots, he was brought up in an atmosphere of love in Margaret’s family. His foster mother was with him from the very childhood. She helped him to overcome his drug addiction and kept him safe from hunger and poverty. Margaret Lewin was right when she said that Khaila was not inherently his mother. Margaret said that Khaila wouldn’t even know what to do when Isaiah got sick. She loved the boy, and on the trial, she told Khiala’s lawyer that skin color does not matter when it goes to love, and they are capable to bring up Isaiah as a decent person.

Secondly, Isaiah was a rather troubled child. He was born from drug addict and during his first days of life, he did not receive proper care. Moreover, his biological mother gave him drugs as a sort of “Lullaby”. The newborn baby was drug-addicted. All these facts could not but influence his mind. There are several accents on that in the film. The boy could suddenly go into dramatics in the most unsuitable situation (the scene with Margaret’s daughter's performance in the theatre). For such a complicated boy as Isaiah, the radical change in his familiar environment could do much harm; no matter that it was his ethical environment. The problems caused by the change of family became evident in the final scenes of the film when living with his biological mother was a significant trauma for the boy. He began to show autistic behavior.

Thirdly, there initially was an obvious possibility for a compromise between two of Isaiah’s mothers. It was presented at the end of the movie. Khaila, the boy’s biological mother, saw the sufferings of her son when she got him back. She remembered when being a child, she was disturbed by the constant change of the foster families and the troubles it caused to her childish mind. Finally, she decided to give the boy back to the Lewins. Isaiah was happy. Crying “Mommy!” he rushed into the embrace of his foster mother. His both mothers decided to bring him up together, and, in this respect, without violating the boy’s mind keep him attached to his roots.

On the other hand, she appeared from nowhere and knew nothing about bringing up the boy with some psychological problems. It substantially complicated the problem. The only solution was a compromise between the two boy’s mothers In finally reached, overcoming the racial and social controversies.