A Man For All Seasons - Friend or Foe

Friend or Foe

In the book, A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt there are a few people that can’t be trusted by Sir Thomas More, the main character in the book. Richard Rich is definitely one of those men who can’t be trusted and along with Thomas Cromwell the two destroy More’s life slowly but surely and to the point of death. In the end of the book More is executed for high treason and his family goes from being very well off to having to start over. So this book shows that through deceitfulness of two, one can fall.

There are two main reasons that Rich would be considered a “Foe” and those are his weak moral character and his devalue of More’s friendship. These are reasons to make someone a “Foe” because if a person doesn’t hold true to their morals then they are easily persuaded and if a person had the friendship of More then they would be idiots not to keep that friendship and respect. In the following paragraphs I will give examples from the book of these reasons.

One reason why Rich is a “Foe” is because his moral character isn’t very strong and throughout the book there are many times where it is shown that Rich doesn’t have a strong moral character, for example:

Rich: But every man has his price?

More: No-no-no-

Rich: But yes! In money too.

More: No no no

Rich: Or pleasure. Titles, woman, bricks-and-mortar, there’s always something.

More: Childish.

In this quote (pg.4) it shows that Rich can be bought and he is trying to tell More that this is normal because everyone “has his price”. However, More, being the kind and charitable man he is, tries to explain that being able to be bought is not normal and it is a moral weakness in someone’s character and tries to help him get a job as a teacher where there is no temptation of bribery. Another example of how Rich’s moral character is weak is when he is talking to Cromwell and Cromwell tells him that he is to become Secretary to the Council, which he asks Rich not tell anyone about it. However when Cromwell repeats the question over and over, Rich, finally, says he would but it would depend on the bribe.