When someone is struggling with a decision, modern television and movies often depict the contemplation that one experiences as a power struggle between a devil and an angel on one's shoulders. It is suggested that as individuals, we follow the words of the angel or our conscience, however there are times when we are faced with temptations from the devil that pull us away from our moral values. Robert Bolt’s play “A Man for All Seasons,” tells the story of how Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More- a strong willed individual continuously refused to sacrifice his own conscience and moral values in order to support King Henry’s plans despite being tempted by influences. Throughout the play, others seek More for his approval of King Henry’s request …show more content…
Throughout the play, despite the unsteadfastness of society, the beliefs of his family and the pressures from his friends, More is seen remaining true to his convictions and moral conscience. Being steadfast and not blinded by fear, More is able to recognize that society switches its beliefs and values to correspond with the King’s desire in order to please authority and avoid punishment. While discussing the King’s plan for divorce, Cardinal Wolsey questions More on how he is capable of risking the safety of the general public for the sake of his conscience however, More is quick to state that, “When statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos” (22). More acknowledges that if every citizen doesn’t have solid principles, society would be at chaos because the King would be in absolute power, even if his actions are not moral since no one would object. More’s ability to differentiate from society and stay true to his conscience regardless of what the general public does illustrates that he is willing to go against what society would do in order to maintain his strong sense of morality. However, More’s sense of morality is so imperative that he is prepared to refute his own family's beliefs. After More left the King crossed, his wife …show more content…
But to truly abide by one’s conscience, one must find the will to fight for one’s beliefs. While More must face the consequences of risking diminishing his family’s wealth, being imprisoned and being charged with treason, his sense of morality sustains him and enables him to stay loyal to his conscience regardless of the circumstances. After resigning from his position of Lord Chancellor in order to protect his values, More remained true to his conscience even if it drastically impacted his lifestyle and put his family’s financial start at risk. When More quickly refuses the gift of four thousand pounds from the King of Spain during a time of financial need, Alice becomes upset and confused as to why he would decline the offer but More reminds Alice that, “But at the worst, we could be beggars, and still keep company, and be merry together” (110). More’s determination to stay committed to his conscience causes him to ignore the well-being of others and reassures himself and those around him that values are a greater essence than any consequence including impoverishment. Regardless of the risk, More is willing to allow his family to suffer for his own convictions as he continues to defend his beliefs. More continues to demonstrate his increasing commitment to values over those around him as he finds the
In the book “The Boys of Winter” by Wayne Coffey, shows the struggle of picking the twenty men to go to Lake Placid to play in the 1980 Olympics and compete for the gold medal. Throughout this book Wayne Coffey talks about three many points. The draft and training, the importance of the semi-final game, and the celebration of the gold medal by the support the team got when they got home.
In 1995 Donald Hall wrote a poem called “Letter in Autumn” where he expressed his emotions of losing a loved one. Donald Hall was able to do so by writing down important moments in his life after losing that person. I believe that Donald Hall wrote this poem to his wife about his grief from losing her and how he’s having a hard time moving on with his own life afterwards.
...and, “I don’t believe this had to happen”(144). At least twice Sir Thomas More made poor choices and put himself into bad situations in the play, which ultimately took him closer and closer to his death.
After that, Wolsey asked More how he planned to give the king a male heir. More said that he would “pray for it daily” but Wolsey wanted to “secure a divorce” so that King Henry VIII could marry Anne Boleyn and most likely produce a male heir, which he felt would solve the issue immediately, since he was making the effort to do something, unlike More, who would rather pray for help.
In the essay “The Man at the River,” written by Dave Eggers is about an American man who does not want to cross the river with his Sudanese friends because of the fear of getting his cut infected.
The poem, “Field of Autumn”, by Laurie Lee exposes the languorous passage of time along with the unavoidability of closure, more precisely; death, by describing a shift of seasons. In six stanzas, with four sentences each, the author also contrasts two different branches of time; past and future. Death and slowness are the main motifs of this literary work, and are efficiently portrayed through the overall assonance of the letter “o”, which helps the reader understand the tranquility of the poem by creating an equally calmed atmosphere. This poem is to be analyzed by stanzas, one per paragraph, with the exception of the third and fourth stanzas, which will be analyzed as one for a better understanding of Lee’s poem.
Winter in the Blood, a Native American novel written by James Welch, takes place on a cattle ranch in Montana, around 1970. On the surface, this is a story of a Blackfoot Indian sleepwalking through his life, tormented by visions, in search of a connection to his heritage. Welch's language is, at once, blunt and poetic, and the pictures it conjures are dreamlike and disquieting. Furthermore, the narrator of the novel is disheartened by the loss of his brother, Mose, and his father, First Raise ? the two most cherished people in his life. After struggling with guilt, sorrow, and alcoholism, the narrator overcomes these down falls through re-identifying with himself and his culture? specifically through the help of his grandfather, Yellow Calf.
In between this opening conversation with More and the next important step in Rich's complete loss of innocence, and More's own demise, a number of
A Cold Day in Paradise is a book that was written by Steve Hamilton and takes place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The name of the book is very significant to the meaning of the book. The cold day represents the metal bullet that is in Alex McKnight’s chest and on cold nights, it is a reminder of a traumatic event that took place. While Paradise is the place that he lives and where the last death took place and it was also on a cold windy night.
Written one year apart from the other, one cannot fail to recognize the parallels between William Shakespeare's tragedies Julius Caesar and Hamlet. To begin, they are both stories of assassinations gone horribly wrong. Although the details of the plays are different, the two assassins (Brutus and Hamlet) provide interesting comparison. Through these two killers, Shakespeare reveals the different levels of justice; one’s personal sense of justice; others’ perception of justice; the justice of the monarchy that supports Shakespeare’s craft. Through this, the audience realizes that a just person is not always a humble one, a condition that may turn out to be a fatal flaw in the end. When a man decides to play God by taking justice into his own hands, the world can unravel much more quickly than he had ever imagined.
...oncerned for the honesty of mankind. There are several points throughout the play where characters offer their insight on the topic. “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; / They kill us for their sport,” (Scene 4.1, Lines 37-38) Gloucester makes this statement when he believes that social and moral goodness do not affect things like justice. While his son Edgar, believes the opposite, “the gods are just,” (Scene 5.3, line 170), insinuating that people who do wrong will eventually get what they deserve and that justice will prevail. In the end, we find that although the morally unjust die, the morally just will die alongside them. It is hard to tell which side of the moral ladder emerges as the victor in the end of this play, but there is no doubt that the deceptions served on both of these fathers were the beginning of the end for each of their families.
Thomas More’s Utopia is a work of ambiguous dualities that forces the reader to question More’s real view on the concept of a utopian society. However, evidence throughout the novel suggests that More did intend Utopia to be the “best state of the commonwealth.” The detailed description of Utopia acts as Mores mode of expressing his humanistic views, commenting on the fundamentals of human nature and the importance of reason and natural law while gracefully combining the two seemingly conflicting ideals of communism and liberalism.
When More died it sent a message to the public that the Kin was wrong in what he was doing. As More died in front of a lot of people, it certainly showed to the public that it was honorable and he put his point across in the clear way. “….but because I would not bend to the marriage” (pg. 78) More is simply stating that he wouldn’t agree with the King for the clear intention of staying alive.
In ‘Measure for Measure’, Shakespeare demonstrates that there is an innate immorality and corruption in the heart of man. Shakespeare illustrates that power does not cause corruption. This is achieved by presenting the Duke, who has the most power in Vienna, as a moral hero, and conversely revealing the corruption of the powerless class through characters including Pompey, Mistress Overdone, and Barnadine. Through all this, Shakespeare uses Lord Angelo in Measure for Measure to show that immorality and corruption is innate in mankind.
Sir Thomas More was a character who was faced with a number of difficult choices. The major one being, when Henry VIII's first wife was unable to produce an heir to the throne, he used that as an excuse for the pope to grant him a divorce, so he could marry a new wife. The King is backed by everyone on this request except the highly regarded and religious Sir Thomas More. When the old Chancellor of England, named More his successor, it became important for Henry to get More's support, but More could not be swayed. He made his decision to oppose the marriage early on, but even though it was something he did not waver from, he still had trouble with it. More made a very difficult decision in opposing the King and his family, but regardless of the consequences, he felt that he was morally correct and for him to choose any other path would have been impossible for he could not oppose the church and God.