Conscience
What makes us humans different from elephants, snakes or chimps besides our shape? We have consciences, of course. Conscience is the awareness of right and wrong. In the Crucible, the idea of conscience in strongly emphasized. Miller himself said, "No critic seemed to sense what I was after [which was] the conflict between a man's raw deeds and his conception of himself; the question of whether conscience is in fact an organic part of the human being, and what happens when it is handed over not merely to the state or the mores of the time but to one's friend or wife." The idea of conscience in the play The Crucible is based very much on Christian concepts, firstly the idea of morality, or conscience of right and wrong, secondly the idea of the confession of sin, and finally the idea of guilt and penance for sins. Conscience and authority ... a heart or a head response? I believe that authority and the law should only apply where the conscience fails, that is when the appearance of right and wrong is tainted. Personal conscience and reason should be the final authority. First, at the start of the book, we see that the people of Salem have already begun to strain under this strict idea of conscience, this repression. Abigail says to
The Crucible isn't the only place for where the authority needs to be there in place of a conscience that is contaminated. How many of you have ever been in a motor vehicle? Did you know that "motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among Americans 1-37 years old." With the largest % being our age group. (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) Aggressive driving affects us all. "A recent study conducted by the AAA Foundation found that nearly 90% of us have experienced an aggressive driving incident in the past twelve months." (The Subcommittee on Surface Transportation)In the most commonly cited incident of road rage, which ended in three deaths: Narkey Terry and Billy Canipe became involved in a game of cat and mouse because Canipe was moving too slowly in the left lane. The chase continued at 80 mph for 7 miles in morning rush hour Washington DC traffic until Terry collided with Canipe sending flying metal everywhere. Canipe spun out of control into oncoming traffic killing an approaching George Smythe; Canipe was also killed. The rear axle of Canipe's car flew over the median strip and hit the windshield of Nancy McBrien, killing her instantly. Narkey Terry who had two prior speeding convictions was convicted of two counts of involuntary manslaughter and given 10 1/2 years in prison, which is beyond the Federal guidelines. Reader's Digest Dr. Ricardo Martinez, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration said 'driving is a cooperative venture, not a competitive sport.")I am smart. I know to stop at a stop sign or a red light.I know not to go down Bollenger at 90 mph. But unfortunately there are some crazy people on the road that fail to follow those rules. Their conscience is in some other place where unfortunately its not suppose to be. People who drive danergerously have the knowledge to know that breaking the law is wrong, but they still so it anyway. Their conscience is blurred and they don't see the actions that they execute can be hurtful to someone in the future. That's where authority should step in. Police are required to help that person back to a full vision and to help them realize that breaking the law ca
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Approximate Word count = 1468
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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