Throughout life you hear sayings on the morals of life and your outlook on life and the world. An example of these sayings is when Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Well done is better than well-said”. This renowned statement is more commonly known by its modern translation of, “Actions speak louder than words” is irrefutably true in the manner of which it delivers and accurate life lesson and morals to abide by in life. These morals are demonstrated constantly in literature; profoundly so in Maus I, Maus II, Unbroken and The Crucible. An example of actions speaking louder than words is exhibited in Maus, a graphic novel with a biographical basis, by Art Spiegelman. In Maus the protagonist, Vladek, gives a detailed account of his life before the Holocaust
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For example, in the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller we follow a historically fictitious account of the Salem Witch Trials written during the 1960’s after the event of the ‘McCarthy Trials’ dubbed McCarthyism. In the story we follow the protagonist, John Proctor, and his struggle to fight against Abigail Williams and her group of girls who were caught practicing witchcraft but are accusing others within the town of Salem of witchcraft and creating unbelievable hysteria. Abigail Williams at one point in time of the story was almost caught for the fallacious reasoning she was using the accuse men and women of being witches but continues her fallacy by turning Mary Warren against John Proctor which eventually results in his death due to him wishing to die an honorable man (well done) rather than a liar who confesses to crimes he did not commit (Miller). Although well-said wins in this case, it wins for the wrong reason and results in a multitude of deaths and we even see at one point that Abigail Williams is almost caught for the fallacy she has used and is almost revealed as a fraud by Judge Danforth’s examinations of her testimony …show more content…
For example, in the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne we have the protagonist hester and her daughter Pearl who have been rejected by society who find themselves more righteous than her because the committed the ‘crime’ of adultery of which is now considered a social stigma and a now normal societal occurrence in comparison to the setting of The Scarlet Letter. The citizens and Reverend Dimmesdale remove her from society and make her wear a scarlet letter ‘A’ to symbolize her crime for the rest of her life to those who she meets (Hawthorne). Later in the novel it is revealed that the man who punished her for her society, Reverend Dimmesdale who was so righteous in his homily orations was her adulterer and while Hester continued as a good citizen aiming to be a martyr and gain repentance for her sins, Dimmesdale hid in silence and made Hester suffer while he suffered only in private but unknowingly to all others which demonstrates how well-said can make others suffer in contrast to how well done can help others as Hester’s actions helped those around her. At the end of The Scarlet Letter Arthur Dimmesdale changes from well-said to well done because of the immense guilt he has built up over the years of seeing Hester’s pain and suffering due to the rejection of society and Pearl being an everlasting reminder of her sin.
For example, in the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller we follow a historically fictitious account of the Salem Witch Trials written during the 1960’s after the event of the ‘McCarthy Trials’ dubbed McCarthyism. In the story we follow the protagonist, John Proctor, and his struggle to fight against Abigail Williams and her group of girls who were caught practicing witchcraft but are accusing others within the town of Salem of witchcraft and creating unbelievable hysteria. Abigail Williams at one point in time of the story was almost caught for the fallacious reasoning she was using the accuse men and women of being witches but continues her fallacy by turning Mary Warren against John Proctor which eventually results in his death due to him wishing to die an honorable man (well done) rather than a liar who confesses to crimes he did not commit (Miller). Although well-said wins in this case, it wins for the wrong reason and results in a multitude of deaths and we even see at one point that Abigail Williams is almost caught for the fallacy she has used and is almost revealed as a fraud by Judge Danforth’s examinations of her testimony …show more content…
For example, in the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne we have the protagonist hester and her daughter Pearl who have been rejected by society who find themselves more righteous than her because the committed the ‘crime’ of adultery of which is now considered a social stigma and a now normal societal occurrence in comparison to the setting of The Scarlet Letter. The citizens and Reverend Dimmesdale remove her from society and make her wear a scarlet letter ‘A’ to symbolize her crime for the rest of her life to those who she meets (Hawthorne). Later in the novel it is revealed that the man who punished her for her society, Reverend Dimmesdale who was so righteous in his homily orations was her adulterer and while Hester continued as a good citizen aiming to be a martyr and gain repentance for her sins, Dimmesdale hid in silence and made Hester suffer while he suffered only in private but unknowingly to all others which demonstrates how well-said can make others suffer in contrast to how well done can help others as Hester’s actions helped those around her. At the end of The Scarlet Letter Arthur Dimmesdale changes from well-said to well done because of the immense guilt he has built up over the years of seeing Hester’s pain and suffering due to the rejection of society and Pearl being an everlasting reminder of her sin.