Throughout history, humans are known to be one of the most selfish beings on the planet. There have been many points in time where humans refuse to drop their bigoted beliefs. Many times, humans have sacrificed others to maintain these egocentric beliefs and many authors have expressed this dark part of humanity. In the play Merchant Of Venice, the novel To Kill A Mockingbird and the short story The Lottery the authors are trying to tell us that human beings are willing to sacrifice others to maintain their twisted beliefs.
In the play The Merchant of Venice, selfishness is shown by the Venetians who profess Christianity but have no integrity in their actions. Christians in Venice believe they are the superior religion, and treat the jews like …show more content…
Even when they are aware that Tom Robinson is innocent, they are willing to sacrifice Tom’s freedom to preserve the belief that they are dominant and in control. This is evident in this moment in Tom Robinson’s testimony: ““Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ‘em --” “You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?” Mr. Gilmer seemed ready to rise to the ceiling.” Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. 1960. Print. When Tom reveals that he felt sorry for Mayella - a white woman all the whites present get upset. A black man feeling sorry for a white woman means that white people are not dominant over blacks like they wanted to be. They would do whatever it takes to preserve their belief in being the superior race. Another example of selfishness is shown in Mayella Ewell. Mayella did something considered “wrong” in her society, when she gets caught she puts the blame on a black man, Tom Robinson. Mayella was willing to ruin an innocent man's life to get rid of her own guilt and preserve herself because she knew she would win the case - which she
In the play The Merchant of Venice, selfishness is shown by the Venetians who profess Christianity but have no integrity in their actions. Christians in Venice believe they are the superior religion, and treat the jews like …show more content…
Even when they are aware that Tom Robinson is innocent, they are willing to sacrifice Tom’s freedom to preserve the belief that they are dominant and in control. This is evident in this moment in Tom Robinson’s testimony: ““Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ‘em --” “You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?” Mr. Gilmer seemed ready to rise to the ceiling.” Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. 1960. Print. When Tom reveals that he felt sorry for Mayella - a white woman all the whites present get upset. A black man feeling sorry for a white woman means that white people are not dominant over blacks like they wanted to be. They would do whatever it takes to preserve their belief in being the superior race. Another example of selfishness is shown in Mayella Ewell. Mayella did something considered “wrong” in her society, when she gets caught she puts the blame on a black man, Tom Robinson. Mayella was willing to ruin an innocent man's life to get rid of her own guilt and preserve herself because she knew she would win the case - which she