Before The Law
BEFORE THE LAW stands a doorkeeper. To this doorkeeper there comes a man from the country and prays for admittance to the Law. But the doorkeeper says that he cannot grant admittance at the moment. The man thinks it over and then asks if he will be allowed in later. "It is possible," says the doorkeeper, "but not at the moment." Since the gate stands open, as usual, and the doorkeeper steps to one side, the man stoops to peer through the gateway into the interior. Observing that, the doorkeeper laughs and says: "If you are so drawn to it, 'just try to go in despite my veto. But take note: I am powerful. And I am only the least of the doorkeepers. From hall to hall there is one doorkeeper after another, each more powerful than the last. The third doorkeeper is already so terrible that even I cannot bear to look at him." These are difficulties the man from the country has not expected; the Law, he thinks, should surely be accessible at all times and to everyone, but as he now takes a closer look at the doorkeeper in his fur coat, with his big sharp nose and long, thin, black Tartar beard, he decides that it is better to wait until he gets permission to enter. The doorkeeper gives him a stool and lets him sit down at one side of the door. There he sits for days and years. He makes many attempts to be admitted, and wearies the doorkeeper by his importunity. The doorkeeper frequently has little interviews with him, asking him questions about his home and many other things, but the questions are put indifferently, as great lords put them, and always finish with the statement that he cannot be let in yet. The man, who has furnished himself with many things for his journey, sacrifices all he has, however valuable, to bribe the doorkeeper. The doorkeeper accepts everything, but always with the remark: "I am only taking it to keep you from thinking you have omitted anything."
During these many years the man fixes his attention almost continuously on the doorkeeper. He forgets the other doorkeepers, and this first one seems to him the sole obstacle preventing access to the Law. He curses his bad luck, in his early years boldly and loudly; later, as he grows old, he only grumbles to himself.
“You ought to keep that outer door locked, Rogaum,’ he observed to the sedate butcher, the next evening, as he was passing, “people might get in there. A couple of kids were sleeping there last night.” “Ach, dat is no difference,” answered Rogaum, pleasantly. “I haf de innter
...ome the dream of attainment slowly became a nightmare. His house has been abandoned, it is empty and dark, the entryway or doors are locked. The sign of age, rust comes off in his hands. His body is cold, and he has deteriorated physically & emotionally. He is weathered just like his house and life. He is damaged poor, homeless, and the abandoned one.
“...he [Samuel Kent] had checked that every door and window on the ground floor was locked and bolted against intruders, as he did each evening” (Summerscale, 2008,
When he arrived at the home the servant who took his hoarse and directed him to the room that Mr. Usher was in greeted him. Inside the house was also very ornate, but it to had also been left alone for to long. The entire house had a gloomy atmosphere that would put a chill down most people’s spines. When he entered the room his friend was staying in he was warmly welcomed. He could not believe the changes that his dear childhood friend had endured.
Because of his displeasing appearance, he is abhorred by society and forced to live. away from it, secluded in forests and so on. Finding the door open I entered the. An old man sat in it, near a fire, over which he was preparing his breakfast for the day. He turned on hearing a noise and perceived me, shrieked loudly, and quitting the hut ran across the fields."'.
Since Mr. Shiftlet sees himself above the law, he thinks he can act irresponsibly to others. Mr. Shiftlet thinks of himself above others, “He seemed to be a young man but he had a look of composed dissatisfaction as if he understood life thoroughly” (1). He is in denial that he has any flaws and presents himself to others as superior. Mr. Shiftlet has a chance to achieve peace with the world. He is alone with no friends, and is given the opportunity to work hard and live a quiet life. The chance of having a normal life begins when he sees two women on the porch. As he approaches them he turns his back to the sunset. When meeting the Crater’s he sees an old car that he wants. Mr. Shiftlet wants a car so he sets out to get it. He thinks he is a moral man, so...
The characters enter this room through a door at the back of the stage which goes to a shed then to the outside. The Sheriff enters first followed by the County Attorney, later described as...
This man portrays a sad, non-confident, scared life as we can see on the lines 1 to 3. We experience first hand the lack of control, the terrorizing feelings this door holds for this child:
Under the orders of her husband, the narrator is moved to a house far from society in the country, where she is locked into an upstairs room. This environment serves not as an inspiration for mental health, but as an element of repression. The locked door and barred windows serve to physically restrain her: “the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls.” The narrator is affected not only by the physical restraints but also by being exposed to the room’s yellow wallpaper which is dreadful and fosters only negative creativity. “It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide – plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.”
In “A Clean, Well- Lighted Place”, there is a regular customer in the café whom stays until late hours and drinks heavily. Consequences of his age and attitude the suicidal drunkard sits in the café until late hours. The youngest waiter wishes for him to have killed himself
There is a Centuries long debate as to why our Nation’s Founding Fathers chose for us to be ruled under rule of law instead of rule of man. Our Founding Fathers founded this nation on a promotion “We the People”. They ruled that we should be led under the rule of law rather than the rule of man for multiple reasons. Our government now though is stipulating whether or not the old American government made the right choice, when compared to other foreign countries. At the beginning of our country the Constitution was not meant to be read as a collection a suggestions rather as a way to get men away from their old tendencies. Those were the days where the rights of the average man were the top priority of the government. Today however we need to remember that the rule of the law is supposed to focus on the rights of the citizens and not on who is wearing what in Hollywood. Over the years we have ruined our government, even Woodrow Wilson said, “I have unwillingly ruined my government.” The factors now included in Rule of Law are a little different from they were 250 years ago. To find out why the Founding Fathers Chose Rule of Law we need to look at several reasons why our nations’ officials like or don’t like the rule of law. We must also look at whether the factors are too much at this point for our nations to change and go another way with our leadership and the way we run our country.
The Words of the Host to the Company and Prologue to the Man of Law's Tale:
The narrator wrestles with conflicting feelings of responsibility to the old man and feelings of ridding his life of the man's "Evil Eye" (34). Although afflicted with overriding fear and derangement, the narrator still acts with quasi-allegiance toward the old man; however, his kindness may stem more from protecting himself from suspicion of watching the old man every night than from genuine compassion for the old man.
According to Aristotle, "The rule of law is better than that of any individual”, suggesting every member of society, even a ruler, must abide by and follow the law. The rule of law is linked to the principle of justice, meaning that everyone within a society (including both private citizens and government officials) are subject to the law, and that those laws are administered fairly and justly. The intention of the rule of law is to protect against arbitrary governance. It is the basic underpinning of a free society.
In "a view from the Bridge", justice and law are not presented as being synonymous.