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Anthony Trollope’s “The Warden” is a classic piece of literature which depicts a very popular and interesting theme: “justice” and “injustice” aren’t always necessarily separate things. The preconceived notions of these two ideas that we have as individuals, do not present a clear and transparent definition of “justice” and “injustice”, as our own subjective beliefs have the potential to influence our opinion more than the truth itself. On top of this, actions taken in the name of justice don’t always result in the same. These ideas are very evident in Anthony Trollope’s “The Warden”, a story about a reverend who is accused of one of the most atrocious injustices; one he does not even consciously realize he is committing. The warden of Hiram’s …show more content…
Hospital, Reverend Septimus Harding, is the caretaker of twelve elderly men residing at the hospital. He has a daughter named Eleanor, who is to become engaged to a surgeon named John Bold, “who champions the cause of the poor and fights against all entrenched injustice” (rcwalton.com). Bold hears a rumor that the elderly inmates of the hospital receive a small fraction of the sums that the charity are giving to the warden, and begins to investigate, despite being aware that the man under scrutiny is supposed to become his father in law. Harding insists that he knows nothing of the financial arrangements, and notes that he himself is the sole cause for an increase in the allowance of the bedesmen, paying out of his own pocket.
Harding’s conscience bothers him, and he is reassured by the bishop that the arrangements are rightful and moral. At the same time, Bold’s lawyer begins to cause infighting among the bedesmen. He rallies some of them to oppose Harding, and to sign a petition in support of the lawsuit. Eventually, the conflict escalates to such a degree, that even the popular newspaper Jupiter begins to write slander articles about Reverend …show more content…
Harding. The article viciously attacks Mr. Harding, portraying him as a greedy, lazy man who eagerly holds out his hand to receive church funds, while doing nothing to earn them (bookrags.com). Harding is very offended, as the accusations are more or less false. It is true that Harding was receiving more funds than he should have, but in no way was he directly responsible, and felt a large deal of remorse once he heard the truth. Here we get to my first point of injustice/justice. While Bold legitimately believes he is helping to scourge a source of corruption from the church, the way in which he goes about the attack is unjust.
Harding is, at best, an accessory to the crime. He always cared for the bedesmen to the utmost of his abilities, playing them music, increasing their allowances, and etc. Now, while Bold’s intentions are pure, the involvement of some unjust people results in unjust consequences. When the newspaper Jupiter releases an article that makes it seem as though all of the blame is to be placed on Harding, he is distraught. It is also to be noted that Tom Towers, the editor of the newspaper, sees his office as Mount Olympus, as though he is separated from “everyday mortals”, shaping the reality of the people (Ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses, bookrags.com). A case of the pot calling the kettle black, so to speak, as unjust individuals are just as involved in the combat against injustice as they guilty of it. The simple fact remains that, despite the purest of intentions, Bold (unjustly) hurts the father of the woman he
loves. This brings me to the next part of the story. Eleanor, Harding’s daughter, inspired by the myth of Iphigenia, feels she must sacrifice her marriage for her father’s sake. She attempts to convince John Bold to drop the suit, using charm and by threatening their marriage. After her begging, Bold does drop the suit, but when he goes to see the archdeacon at his residence at Plumstead Episcopi to communicate his decision, he is met with disdain and coldness (rcwalton.com). This is understandable, especially when considering the reasons behind which Bold decided to drop the suit. When his personal life, his love life, became threatened, he abandoned his prior responsibilities to the truth, and acted in self preservation. Any of his supporters/followers would be right in their criticism, as this action shows a lack of integrity. They still also very much so wanted justice; the drop of the suit would prevent this from happening. Injustices come in many forms; Bold committed one by promising something to a group of followers, and not delivering (and for a selfish reason). In the same sense, he was doing right by Eleanor, and you can argue that this “injustice” was better than the alternative, subjectively. Both claims are true. In the end, Harding makes his way to London to resign. Facing Grantly’s scorn, he stands up to him and pens his resignation. Despite receiving many offers after this that would have eased his life, such as living in the bishop’s palace, or switching positions with another clergyman as opposed to resigning, Harding denies them all, choosing to live in poverty. This shows a resounding theme of the story. Despite being the center of the controversy and blame of the injustices in the church, Harding chooses to live an impoverished life to “pay” for his actions. This is an injustice, as Harding is arguably the least deserving of this punishment of almost any of the characters, yet ends up paying for it himself in the end. Again, “injustice” and “justice” are sometimes synonymous.
" Both essays offer a complete argument for justice, but, given the conditions, King's essay remains more effective, in that its persuasive techniques have more practical application. Both essays extensively implement both emotional and ethical appeal to give their respective ideas validity. One persuasive technique that each author implements to support his ideas emotionally is the use of biblical allusion. However, in comparison, King's use is stronger in that the tone of his allusions is more appealing to the reader.
The high ground is always desired in battle and serves many advantages as such. This location of benefit provides vision, command, and valor to its holder. Yet, regardless of the means of attaining this position, the owner rests easy in the chair of the catbird seat. Knowing full well that they may relieve some thought of agony over the upcoming battle. No throne of ease is described more vividly than James Thurber’s “The Catbird Seat”. And no means of revealing the deceit utilized to sit in the catbird seat is projected in a more uncanny way than Mark Twain’s “The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg”. Literary pieces as these, whose similarities and differences, reveal more than a humorous story. A symbolic life lesson about authority, deceit, and appearance are prevalent throughout both these works. Yet to the untrained eye, the average reader misses key insights that can apply to any power struggle.
A great idea. Outsiders and Justice Consciousness.2003.358-362. Print. The.
...hat he was completely undeserving of the inequitable allegations that the populace made toward his character. In the first sentence of the essay, Staples discusses his first “victim.” His use of this word at first provokes the reader to think that the author was a criminal, which illustrates the same mistake many other people had made in the real world. Staples realizes that, ultimately, there is nothing he can do about discrimination despite his innocence.
The novel The Book Thief is a book about a young girl by the name of Liesel Meminger. Observing the life of this young girl is not easy as this is the time of Hitler’s reign in Germany. In a short period of time, this girl faces many difficulties. More than any child should ever have to encounter. She has to deal with being abandoned by her mother, the death of her younger brother, and relocation to another part of Germany. Immediately when Liesel arrives to Molching, her life is forever changed. She is forced to live with two strangers, now her new mama and papa. Liesel faces much abuse both at school and at home. At school she is made fun of for her illiteracy and at home, mama speaks very rudely to her calling her a swine and other insults.
There are many ways to decide what makes a man guilty. In an ethical sense, there is more to guilt than just committing the crime. In Charles Brockden Browns’ Wieland, the reader is presented with a moral dilemma: is Theodore Wieland guilty of murdering his wife and children, even though he claims that the command came from God, or is Carwin guilty because of his history of using persuasive voices, even though his role in the Wieland family’s murder is questionable? To answer these questions, one must consider what determines guilt, such as responsibility, motives, consequences, and the act itself. No matter which view is taken on what determines a man’s guilt, it can be concluded that Wieland bears the fault in the murder of Catharine Wieland and her children.
A unique word choice introduces this essay, causing readers to be misguided. Staples begins by saying “My first victim was a woman…”(383). This choice of words obligated our minds to perceive this man as a criminal who was about to tell us his story. Staples allows himself to be portrayed as such a horrible person because that is exactly what people viewed him as. He uses self-blame as though he has accepted the fact of reality that he was viewed as a criminal and always will be. It seems as though he wanted to mislead us as readers so we would make the same mistake others did. A feeling of great guilt is created for judging this man that we barely knew. In such a simple way, Staples creates an ...
Sarty’s dilemma arises from his father’s destructive envy of his wealthy employers. Abner Snopes frustration with being a poor sharecropper owned “body and soul”(280) by the South’s rich and elite leads him to exact his revenge on the undeserving blue bloods in the only way he knows how-by burning down their barns. While Sarty’s loyalty to Abner is proven after a court hearing held by “his father’s enemy . . . our enemy . . .ourn! mine and hisn both,”(277) after which he challenges and is beaten by a boy “half again his size”(278) because the boy called his father a “barn burner”(278) he is left to make a critical decision between saving his family or his own morality.
hysteria brought about by the witchcraft scare in The Crucible leads to the upheaval in people’s differentiation between right and wrong, fogging their sense of true justice.
Even though The Crucible is not historically correct, nor is it a perfect allegory for anti-Communism, or as a faithful account of the Salem trials, it still stands out as a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance, hysteria, power and authority is able to tear a community apart. The most important of these is the nature of power, authority and its costly, and overwhelming results. “But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or against it,” says Danforth conceitedly. With this antithesis, Miller sums up the attitude of the authorities towards the witch trials that if one goes against the judgement of the court they are essentially breaking their relationship with God. Like everyone else in Salem, Danforth draws a clear line to separate the world into black and white. The concurrent running of the “Crucible” image also captures the quintessence of the courtroom as Abigial stirs up trouble among the people that have good reputation and loving natures in society. In a theocratic government, everything and everyone belongs to either God or the Devil.
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment begins with Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov living in poverty and isolation in St. Petersburg. The reader soon learns that he was, until somewhat recently, a successful student at the local university. His character at that point was not uncommon. However, the environment of the grim and individualistic city eventually encourages Raskolnikov’s undeveloped detachment and sense of superiority to its current state of desperation. This state is worsening when Raskolnikov visits an old pawnbroker to sell a watch. During the visit, the reader slowly realizes that Raskolnikov plans to murder the woman with his superiority as a justification. After the Raskolnikov commits the murder, the novel deeply explores his psychology, yet it also touches on countless other topics including nihilism, the idea of a “superman,” and the value of human life. In this way, the greatness of Crime and Punishment comes not just from its examination of the main topic of the psychology of isolation and murder, but the variety topics which naturally arise in the discussion.
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest” Ellie Wiesel. Readers may find the amount of injustice in Harper lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird a little shocking. This could be why it’s such a popular book. People like the suspense of knowing someone’s right, but still being found guilty for something they did not do. There are many times throughout the book when people are powerless to prevent injustice but they still protest it. This shows that even when people unjustly punish there should always be someone to protest it. The theme of injustice is a common one in harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, whether it be through racism, misinformation, or Arrogance.
Within two classical works of philosophical literature, notions of justice are presented plainly. Plato’s The Republic and Sophocles’ Antigone both address elements of death, tyranny and immorality, morality, and societal roles. These topics are important elements when addressing justice, whether in the societal representation or personal representation.
If we are to be truly innocent and humble beings, we must recognize our own innate guilt as human and accept it. If we do not, we will constantly be obsessed by our “state of apparent acquittals”. Kafka, Franz. A. The Trial. Trans.
Most often critically interpreted as a search for Divine justice, Kafka's The Trial, a fragmented and unfinished novel, appears to leave us with the same impression as the words above of Clarence Darrow. In other words, there is no justice. This assessment of Divine justice by Kafka works on two levels. On one level, he is illustrating the helpless nature of the individual when in conflict against an established bureaucracy. On another level, he is illustrating the existential dilemma of man in the face of a godless, indifferent, and often hostile universe. A search for justice by Josef K. finds no justice in either realm.