What does the word "justice" mean? By dictionary definition, justice is the administration of what is just (as by assigning merited rewards or punishments) or the administration of law. If all laws were just, meaning ethical, honorable, right, and good, this definition might be perfectly true; however, as human beings we know that not all laws that were ever created were just. Therefore, is the definition of justice an appropriate definition?
Some people would argue that all of the laws we have in place today in America are just. Back when it was legal to have slaves, the majority of white Americans would have said the same thing. Slaves could not argue with this; they would be punished severely if they ran away from their masters and found. Which act would have been more justified, under the definition of justice, for a white person who found a run-away slave to be: either return the slave to the owner to be beaten and punished or help the slave run away even further? At that time, the white person would have brought justice to the owner of the slave by returning the slave to them; but was this the morally, ethically, honorably and right thing to do by the slave himself? Now, we would say that the white person would be more justified in helping the slave escape further.
The term "justice" has such conflicting definitions that it is hard to decide what actions to take in a situation such as the one presented. Laws are not always morally and ethically good but one definition of justice is the administration of the law. Would choosing either what is morally just or choosing to follow the law an act of justice? Some would say it would depend on the situation. Some would say to always follow the law and others yet would say people should always do what is right. It is our job as human beings to create a more clear definition for the word justice so that type of conflict does not arise anymore.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Les Miserables
Forgiveness and justice are two common themes or morals in any story. Most popular movies and books contain one or both of these elements. One world-renowned musical that is set around the themes of justice and forgiveness is Les Miserables. Les Miserables tells the story of a man living in France before the French Revolution. At the beginning, this man named Jean Valjean is being freed from 19 years of time in prison as punishment for stealing a loaf of bread. Afterwards, Jean Valjean is forced to stay on parole for the rest as his life and has a terrible time finding work because his work papers show that he is a convict. Eventually, Jean Valjean changes his name and leads a new and successful life for a long time.
It is not hard to find examples of either forgiveness or justice in this musical. It seems that almost every character goes through one or the other, even if they are very minor characters. For example, the people of France, many of whom we never get to know, are fighting the government for their justice. In order to fully focus on the portrayal of forgiveness and justice as a theme in this musical without having to switch gears, I would like to analyze just one theme in Les Miserables. After Jean Valjean is released from prison, he is treated miserably by everyone he meets. He has no money for food and cannot find someone to give him shelter. After a while, he meets a bishop who takes him in and feeds him, as well as gives him a place to sleep. The bishop has silverware that can be of value to Jean Valjean, so while the bishop is sleeping he sneaks in his room and steals the silverware. He runs away from the house and is eventually caught by the police. Jean Valjean tells the police that the bishop gave him the silverware. When the bishop hears this, he tells the policemen that Jean Valjean has spoken the truth; and not only that, he also gives him matching candlesticks. The bishop tells Jean Valjean that he must use the silverware and candlesticks to make himself an honest man and commit himself to God. Jean Valjean is really affected by the kindness that the bishop has shown him. After this scene, Jean Valjean changes his name and becomes a very giving and wonderful man.
This scene is a powerful turning point in Les Miserables. Had the theme of justice and forgiveness not been a factor in this scene, the story would have gone a completely different way. The bishop shows justice towards Jean Valjean right from the beginning. He doesn't care about Jean Valjean's past; he is only concerned about helping this miserable man. After almost two decades of punishment for a seemingly small crime, he is treated like a dog by the citizens. The bishop is the first person to show Jean Valjean any mercy or justice. Jean Valjean tries to be a good man and find work and earn his living but no one gives him the chance to. The bishop also forgives Jean Valjean after he steals the bishop's silverware. Because of the kindness that the bishop shows to Jean Valjean by bringing justice to his life and forgiving him when he didn't have to, Jean Valjean becomes a different man.
Les Miserables is a successful musical that utilizes forgiveness and justice as a theme in it's story-telling. Without those two themes, the story would not have had the huge turning point that was vital to the plot.
It is not hard to find examples of either forgiveness or justice in this musical. It seems that almost every character goes through one or the other, even if they are very minor characters. For example, the people of France, many of whom we never get to know, are fighting the government for their justice. In order to fully focus on the portrayal of forgiveness and justice as a theme in this musical without having to switch gears, I would like to analyze just one theme in Les Miserables. After Jean Valjean is released from prison, he is treated miserably by everyone he meets. He has no money for food and cannot find someone to give him shelter. After a while, he meets a bishop who takes him in and feeds him, as well as gives him a place to sleep. The bishop has silverware that can be of value to Jean Valjean, so while the bishop is sleeping he sneaks in his room and steals the silverware. He runs away from the house and is eventually caught by the police. Jean Valjean tells the police that the bishop gave him the silverware. When the bishop hears this, he tells the policemen that Jean Valjean has spoken the truth; and not only that, he also gives him matching candlesticks. The bishop tells Jean Valjean that he must use the silverware and candlesticks to make himself an honest man and commit himself to God. Jean Valjean is really affected by the kindness that the bishop has shown him. After this scene, Jean Valjean changes his name and becomes a very giving and wonderful man.
This scene is a powerful turning point in Les Miserables. Had the theme of justice and forgiveness not been a factor in this scene, the story would have gone a completely different way. The bishop shows justice towards Jean Valjean right from the beginning. He doesn't care about Jean Valjean's past; he is only concerned about helping this miserable man. After almost two decades of punishment for a seemingly small crime, he is treated like a dog by the citizens. The bishop is the first person to show Jean Valjean any mercy or justice. Jean Valjean tries to be a good man and find work and earn his living but no one gives him the chance to. The bishop also forgives Jean Valjean after he steals the bishop's silverware. Because of the kindness that the bishop shows to Jean Valjean by bringing justice to his life and forgiving him when he didn't have to, Jean Valjean becomes a different man.
Les Miserables is a successful musical that utilizes forgiveness and justice as a theme in it's story-telling. Without those two themes, the story would not have had the huge turning point that was vital to the plot.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Frozen
The newest and critically-acclaimed best Disney movie since The Lion King is Frozen. Frozen, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, is the story of two royal sisters whose relationship is damaged by lies that are kept in order to keep people safe. The character Elsa has magical powers that enable her to freeze anything she touches or sets her mind to. In the beginning of the movie, Elsa's younger sister, Anna, knows about her powers and enjoys them with her. However, after a terrible accident, the sister's parents are forced to erase Anna's memory of Elsa's powers and Elsa is told to keep her powers a secret from everyone. After years of Elsa hiding away and distancing herself from her sister, the parents of the two girls die, leaving Elsa queen of the land. Elsa accidentally ends up exposing her powers to the entire kingdom and sends the whole place into a terrible winter. The rest of the movie is Anna’s journey to find her sister through the storm to help save their kingdom and bring back their queen.
One theme that is portrayed in this movie is forgiveness. The characters in Frozen interact with each other in a way that sometimes requires forgiveness.
The relationship between Anna and Elsa deals a lot with forgiveness, especially on Anna’s part. Anna spends most of her childhood by herself because her sister decides to hide herself away. When she finally interacts with Elsa, Anna is very forgiving of her sister for ignoring her all of those years. Anna is also very forgiving of her sister when Elsa freezes the whole kingdom with her powers and even when Elsa freezes Anna’s heart. Elsa also experiences forgiveness at the end of the movie. Elsa is stricken with guilt after the accident with her sister, which almost kills Anna. This guilt follows her throughout her entire life, even into adulthood. When she finds out that she has frozen the kingdom and can’t figure out how to make the harsh snow storm stop, she again feels guilty. At the end of the movie, Elsa forgives herself for the things she had no control over in the first place.
There are several other characters in Frozen that experience forgiveness but Elsa and Anna portray this theme of the movie the best.
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