"A Man for All Seasons" by Robert Bolt: More's Moral Dilemma
During the English renaissance in the 1500's, King Henry VIII wants a divorce from his wife for various reasons, but divorce is against the Catholic religion. This is why he wants Sir Thomas More's consent, because More is a highly respected Catholic, but he is such a good Catholic that he goes against divorce. In the play, A Man for All Seasons, by Robert Bolt, King Henry VIII applies pressure on Thomas More to support the divorce in many ways. He exerts it both directly and indirectly in forms of threats and intimidation from various people. Henry forces Meg, More's "renaissance woman" daughter, to take an oath in order to see him, so she tries to influence his decision about the divorce by using her intellect and by begging. Wolsey, a cardinal, was told by the king to try to persuade him to support the king's divorce by appointing him to a political office, so if More does not support the king, he could be executed for treason. Similarly, the king orders Cromwell, his assistant, to apply pressure by finding a reason to kill More, to force him out of the way.
All of these pressures from the king lead to a moral dilemma that More has to face, but he chooses to stick to his morals.
King Henry applies pressure on More to support the divorce through Meg.
While More is in jail for failing to take an oath supporting the divorce, Meg tries to convince him to take the oath, and she says, "Say the words of the oath and in your heart think otherwise," (page 81). More responded to this by saying,
"What is an oath then but words we say to god?" (page 81). Meg is applying direct pressure on More by asking him to say the oath and not believe in it, so he will get the benefits of believing it and stick to his morals at the same time. However, More thinks this is against Catholic religion because he thinks of an oath as "words we say to God," so he certainly can not use Meg's strategy.
Meg pressures More directly by trying to reach out to his feelings when she says emotionally, "But in reason! Haven't you done as much as God can reasonably want?" (page 81). More supports his beliefs by saying, "Well...finally...it isn't a matter of reason; finally it's a matter of love." Meg wants ...
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... calls him "a statesman of incomparable ability," but this does not change More's decision about the divorce. If Wolsey did not name More for chancellor, More would not have been able to be tried for high treason, and he would have been able to disagree with the king and not face execution. More receives many pressures from many people through King Henry, both directly and indirectly. In addition to Meg, More's whole family, including
Alice, his wife, pressure him to support the king's divorce. Also, politically he was challenged not only by Cromwell and Wolsey, but he is pressured by
Norfolk, Rich, and Cranmer to support the divorce as well. Socially, More is alone in his disagreement with the divorce. All this pressure against More, and he still sticks to what he believes in and what his religion says to do, although he dies for it. The moral dilemma More faces is similar to the moral dilemma of someone who has AIDS. If you have AIDS, you have no good way of dealing with it. More displays what a wonderful a person he is by choosing to not go against what he believed in, even though he got executed for it, which was probably a little crazy.
Racism is something that has always plagued the South, and the small county of Maycomb that Lee has created is no different. One of the major forms of racism that is revealed during the course of events in the novel is when a young black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white girl on account of the girl’s father, in other words this is an example of whites vs. blacks in law. Tom Robinson was disadvantaged in the case, even though in his testimony, he said how Mayella “says she never kisses a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a nigger” (260). Even so, Tom just “breaks into a blind raving charge at the fence and starts climbing over” (315). This is when he is jailed for his supposed “crime”, and the prison guards end up shooting him to death, with precisely “seventeen bullet hol...
To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about a black man named Tom Robinson who is imprisoned and on trial for raping a white woman. Throughout the novel Harper Lee explores the theme of imprisonment in many forms such as restriction because of age and/or gender, because of one’s past, and because of social circumstances such as racism. The novel’s main character Scout, feels frustrated by the restrictions placed on her because of her age and her gender and finds ways to express herself in spite of these restrictions. In contrast, Arthur Radley (Boo) allows his past to imprison him inside his house both physically and mentally. Finally, Mayella Ewell is restricted by her society’s expectations that white women are not allowed to be attracted to black men. Ironically even though Tom is the one in jail, Mayella is also imprisoned by the rules of segregation and has to claim she was raped instead of admitting she was attracted to him. She is beaten and shamed for her desires and urges to be with Tom. To summarize, these four characters show the many ways we can be
On November 22,1963,President Kennedy was in attendance at a Dallas parade.One of the biggest tragic moments happened in U.S. history before the naked eye.President John F. Kennedy was assassinated around 12:34 p.m.as he celebrated with the Dallas crowd to show admiration towards them and their city(Mintaglio 60).The suspected assassin Robert L. Oswald,a former U.S. marine,was afterward caught not long following the assassination in a near by theatre(Newman 56).Later to discover he himself was assassinated by Jack Ruby while he was being escorted publicly to the court room.A study of the John F.Kennedy assassination would include the conspiracy theories, the plans of the assassination ,and the alleged suspects‘ connections.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the protagonist, Scout, and her family face many challenges as Atticus defends Tom Robinson against a charge of the rape of Mayella Ewell, and they defy social norms in their town. The central theme in the story is the Finch family define of racist prejudices held by their community that all comes together in Atticus’s case.
tried with King Laius to kill their son, and had no respect for the prophecies
...ty of their weapons of mass destruction and nuclear warfare was on the line, also known as the nuclear arms race, which was a competition in nuclear warfare. The Manhattan Project had changed the world in a whole. The world entered the atomic age, which was believed to be a new world where everything was powered by nuclear energy and lives would be better and more modern, however the thought of the atomic age was wrong. The atomic age was the start of something new, the start of nuclear warfare. Due to this, many lives were lost in accidents and bombings such as the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs and the Chernobyl accident as well as the accident in Fukashima. The discovery of uranium-235 was also key to these accidents, however the project was deemed successful. In the end, the Manhattan project had ended World War II and impacted the world positively and negatively.
On September 2, 1945, the two most powerful countries in the world broke into a war of power and pride, known as the Cold War. The Soviet Union and the United States battled fiercely for a reputation that would be revered for ages to come. Aggressively, these two nations pushed to be the greatest in the world through weapons, politics and science. These actions and attitudes significantly promoted the need for space exploration, and soon sparked a pursuit that changed history forever. The “Space Race” of the 1960’s between the US and Russia was very expensive but it yielded a tremendous number of technological advances. It has long been said that the exploration of the cosmos should be secondary to more important things like resolutions to problems on Earth. However, as scientists and engineers reach further and further out into the outer limits of the stars, they gain equally substantial insight on how to solve problems on Earth. The first moon landing brought Unity to America but it also led to conspiracy. Even though it happened in 1969, the first moon landing had a lasting effect on the world. Apollo 11 represented the culmination of decades of hard work for NASA. John F. Kennedy's dream of putting a person on the moon seemed foolish to many, but it remains one of the highest achievements of human work and ingenuity.
When reading The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck, several of the themes, motives, and characters spark an interest in the story’s background. The novel, concerned with the struggle between man and morals, constantly refers to the corruptness of American society, which is precisely indicative of the author’s actual experiences. In fact, Steinbeck’s epigraph states, “Readers seeking to identify the fictional people and places here described would do better to inspect their own communities and search their own hearts, for this book is about a large part of America today.” This statement suggests a degree of disapproval, which is also pointed out by the title, itself a reference to a line in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Richard III: “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York” (264). This feeling is especially reflected through the central character of the book, Ethan Allen Hawley, who is discontent with the shame brought upon his family by his lowly job in the town grocery store. No longer appreciating the integrity he tries his best to uphold, society pushes Ethan into psychological turmoil. Similarly, the consciousness of Steinbeck himself was also fraught with discontent. In his lifetime, desolation was brought about by the Cold War, several failed friendships, and the general dishonesty of society. These elements can be seen throughout the novel as a stark reminder of the author’s hardships and a denouncement of immorality as a method for attaining success.
The trial of Tom Robinson is important to this story as it shows how the laws of that time were not fair to people of color. Atticus, Tom’s lawyer who is also Scout’s father, was trying to show the jury that Tom was an innocent man by proving that Mr. Ewell’s daughter, Mayella, lied under oath. While reading this novel I found this part of the story most enraging because of what happens as witnesses are brought forth during the trial. Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell when in reality she is the one that tried to make advances at Tom. At the same time, she was doing this, Mr. Ewell
Human history reckons unethical behaviour as one of the worst sins that can be committed by a human. Even though mankind has always considered corrupt behaviour as unacceptable, it can be justified under adverse situations. The play A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt provides an excellent example of characters that display Machiavellian behaviour for their own benefits. The play is about Thomas More, a man with a conscience, who refuses to affirm against his beliefs in favour of King Henry VIII, and as a result he gets conspired on the path of his death. Other pragmatic characters in the play that mould themselves according to the situation ensure their immunity. Bolt includes the character of the Common Man to send a direct message to the
First-Year Writing courses provide a common introductory experience in college-level thinking and writing for all students at Wellesley. These courses serve as a launching point for developing advanced writing skills, and students will continue to practice and enhance these skills in work they do across the curriculum throughout their college careers.
The First Year Writing Program starts at step one, and easily guides the students at a consistent pace to finishing the final step needed for success. Those who deny perfecting their writing skills can fall behind in graduating, or even get rejected a higher position at a flourishing company. The ones who do decide to expand their knowledge on proper English skills, will have the confidence needed in writing whatever encounters their path. The First Year Writing Program is a perfect fit for an applicant looking to be successful and thrive in the business world.
A major part of To Kill A Mockingbird is the arrest and trial of Tom Robinson, a man who was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. He was said to have hit and choked her before raping her, which is something he would never have been able to do from a badly damaged arm. This event of the plot was very important as Tom Robinson was convicted as guilty, not because he was in fact guilty, but for of his race. He was black and Mayella was not, so the jury decided he was guilty even though there was no possible way he could have injured Mayella the way she had been hurt. This event displays the racism that occurred in 1930s Alabama and how rulings were made in favour of those who were white. Scout sees this, knowing that with Tom Robinson’s useless arm and comes to realise that the conviction against Tom Robinson was not at all fair. In the end the price that was paid was the death of Tom Robinson in prison, leaving his wife and children alone and without a source of income.
“Scout, I’m beginning to understand something. I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time…” (227). Prejudice and discrimination are major issues that are present in the town of Maycomb; Scout and her brother Jem are young children who learn about the disturbing existence of the bigotry that they were previously unaware of in their familiar southern hometown throughout the trial of Tom Robinson, an innocent African American who is accused of rape by a white woman. To Kill a Mockingbird introduces a world that harbors prejudice against some of its very citizens and describes how discrimination was a major flaw in society and still is a flaw present day society. The author, Harper Lee develops
In the play King Henry wants to divorce his barren wife to marry a new love. He feels Mores publicized acceptance of the divorce would allow it to proceed without immense public revolt. King Henry promises More, not to pursue me [More] on this matter [the divorce](54), but after More accepted the Chancellor position, King Henry began badgering him to help him with the affair. The badgering and erratic behaviour became more violent towards More as he perpetually declined to comment on the divorce. Despite that King Henry promised again to More, There, you have my word Ill leave you out of it (56), he hired Cromwell to pressure More into making a statement. King Henry became so obsessed with trying to achieve Mores acceptance that it was said he Wants either Sir Thomas More to bless his marriage or Sir Thomas More destroyed (119). King Henry with his lust for new love took his unrelenting iron fist and thrust down Sir Thomas Mores throat his last breath of life. But a King without a council is powerless; there are others who are accountable for Sir Thomas Mores death.