Theocracy reasearch question essay (pdf) - CliffsNotes
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Theocracy reasearch question essay

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ENGL 2
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Arts & Humanities
Date
May 6, 2024
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8
Uploaded by DeanCrownLark43
Lopez 1 Gabriel Lopez Ms Earnshaw 10th 22/04/2024 What is the e±ect of a theocracy in the population of Salem? The absolute truth in a theocracy ,and its e±ect on humans It's either a lie, or a truth, but no in between, that's how things worked around in Salem, and overall what people face living under a theocracy, in other words, they "believe" in an absolute truth, and whoever dares to challenge it, it's wrong. This contrast of truth and falsehood becomes a thing by which the government rules by, shaping the lives of individuals and the fabric of society. Examining the ways in which theocracy has developed, particularly in Arthur MIller's "The Crucible", historical examples, and other books such as Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," portrays in a deep way the impact of absolutist ideologies on human lives and societal structures and how this might affect the people living by this rules. A theocracy is a form of government in which either one or more gods are venerated, and religious authorities hold power by most commonly being denominated as the "ones who impart gods will", dictating both spiritual and political matters. As these rulers serve God first, and then the citizens, the life under a theocracy tends to be very freedomless, you can't make yourself a priority and that leads to many issues. "The Crucible" is a perfect
Lopez 2 example of how a theocratic system works and the principles that people in it live by. In this puritan society, religious matters affect all the other aspects of one's life, with individuals subjected to strict moral codes and harsh punishments for not doing "what is rigth". As the story takes place, we can see how characters make harsh decisions due to the fear of being marked by society. John Proctor confirmed to not be attending church on Sundays, "I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation", this had a large impact on the validity and credibility of john in court later on the story, regardless of this matter not having any relation with law in the real world, but in a theocracy, politics and religion are one. Theocracy, in this context, becomes synonymous with control, as religious leaders use authority over legal and social matters, reinforcing the notion of an absolute truth sanctioned by divine will in every aspect of life. Under the veil of theocracy, individuals are confronted with the reality of an absolute truth, which tends to be very overwhelming and submits them into a copious amount of stress. There is little, or no room for going against the common belief or having your own thoughts, as doing this is met with a diverse set of possible sanctions, that go through being isolated from your own society, up to death. The concept of an absolute truth indicates a problem in society, where individuals must either conform or face adversity assuming the consequences. In "The Crucible," characters grapple with the tyranny of absolute truth, with some choosing to conform out of fear, while others resist at great personal cost. This discrepancy mirrors the psychological and social pressures
Lopez 3 inherent in theocratic systems, where individuals are compelled to sacrifice autonomy for the sake of conformity. Mary Warren for a long time was under the control of Abigail, fearing that if she went against her, people would see her as malicious,"I cannot, they will turn on me" - Mary Warren pg 80. Which ultimately ended up happening in court when Abigail incriminated Mary Warren of being a witch through an exacerbated actuation that took place in pg 115. Mary Warren is a perfect example of the effects of theocracy, she drifted between the two sides of the coin during the narrative and at all moments pondered her own choices, portraying the stress she had on what was the right choice, either being truthful but being punished for that, or lying and staying "safe" following the lead of Abigail. To have a better understanding of a theocracy, looking at other scenarios that had different outcomes as the ones shown in "the crucible" might be the best choice, in this case, another place in which a theocracy had an exacerbate amount of power was Ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt really flourished as a society, and the reason behind relies on two factors, being the actual "presence" and "proof" of the gods' will, and the good system based on the cultural principle of ma'at. Its certain that probably the gods intervention was non existent, but people believed that the natural phenomenons and changes were root of the gods doing, in that way, either if it rained, or if the weather was very good, or if there was a very wealthy season, people though it was due to the gods, so it was easier for them to believe in their absolute truth and follow the rules imposed by the government. Obviously not all was as perfect as it sounds, there were revolutions and people who wanted more freedom, however, the Egyptians leaders managed well enough
Lopez 4 their government for them to be able to control this kind of behavior, also including the principle of ma'at which imposed balance, order, law, and Justice. Ancient egypt really fluctuated apart from the normal stereotype of a theocracy, by actually flourishing as one of the greatest ancient civilizations, and the reason behind is in part of how their citizens adapted to this system, and instead of challenging it, they went with it, mainly because it worked for them in terms of wealth and security . Jumping again to another context of a theocracy, in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" a theocratic dystopian society is presented, in which "The sons of jacob" the rulers, submitted the population to absolutist type of lifestyle, in which each individual had a solemn role in society, particularly, women were extremely oppressed and trapped by the chains of religion. Just like in the crucible, in the Handmaid's tale , women suffered a lot, having to make harsh decisions, or even not being able to make their own and express their personal thoughts. In both narratives, women are the ones who suffered the most, in fact they were executed, and were targeted by society in unfair situations. Fearing this possibility, women were severely trapped in their own "freedom" and couldn't afford to deviate from the gods' rule. Both of these narratives perfectly illustrate the effects that a theocracy can have on people, more specifically when the government is poorly ruled or extremely strict. A theocracy, with its principle of an absolute truth, inhibits a lot of restraints in a person's life and has a great influence in the trajectory of a society. Through examining the
Lopez 5 development of narratives such as "The crucible" and "The Handmaids Tale" we can see perfect examples of the oppression and lack of freedom that citizens live under due to the absolutist type of ideologies. Nevertheless, of these examples of how it's very easy for a theocracy to "go wrong" under our common moral beliefs, there are exceptions, like Ancient Egypt, and other modern states ruled as a theocracy. However, a society being functional or flourishing is not a synonym of their citizens having freedom and a well rounded life. After considering all the facts, the most rational conclusion relapses to the way in which the theocracy is ruled and the ability of the government to control their peoples reaction, despite of the theocracy being successful as a society or not, their people end up being affected one way or another, and as stated, it's the ability of the government to control the citizens what makes a real difference on how much are the effects of a theocracy showing in a society. Usually, citizens are negatively affected as seen in both narratives, but in Ancient Egypt, they weren't all affected negatively, life there was not the synonym of freedom, but it was good, and that was the definitive factor that determined the faith of the civilization as a theocracy. Now in the modern world, the theocratic system is not as common us in the past, being utilized by a few states that have managed to find balance between all the areas of a city, however, having gone through how a theocracy affects is people, portrays how easily external things can affect ones live, and at the end is one that decides what to do in a situation which is far of our control.
Lopez 6 Body paragraph 1: Theocracy defining and the crucible. ● What is theocracy ● In what ways is theocracy present in the crucible ● What are the implications of having a theocratic system A theocracy is a form of government in which either one or more gods are venerated, and religious authorities hold power by most commonly being denominated as the "ones who impart gods will", dictating both spiritual and political matters. As these rulers serve God first, and then the citizens, the life under a theocracy tends to be very freedomless, you can't make yourself a priority, God is first over all things. The Crucible shows a very clear portrayal of theocratic principles in action, set against the backdrop of the Salem witch trials. In this puritan society, religious matters affect all the other aspects of one's life, with individuals subjected to rigid moral codes and harsh punishments for not doing "what is rigth". As the story takes place, we can see how characters make harsh decisions due to the fear of being marked by society. In court, when John Proctor was said to not be attending church on Sundays, had a large impact on the validity and credibility of john in court, regardless of this matter not having any relation with law in the real world, but in a theocracy, politics and religion are one. Theocracy, in this context, becomes synonymous with control, as religious leaders use authority over legal and social matters, reinforcing the notion of an absolute truth sanctioned by divine will in every aspect of life. Body paragraph 2: ● How theocracy affects people ○ Absolute truth ○ People either adapt or perish to society ● People reaction to the effects of theocracy ○ Crucible examples Under the veil of theocracy, individuals are confronted with the reality of an absolute truth. There is little, or no room for going against the common belief or having your own thoughts, as going against beliefs is met with a diverse set of possible sanctions, that go through being isolated from your own society, up to death. The concept of an absolute truth imposes a problem on society, where individuals must either conform or face adversity assuming the consequences. In "The Crucible," characters grapple with the tyranny of absolute truth, with some choosing to conform out of fear, while others resist at great personal cost. This dichotomy mirrors the psychological and social pressures inherent in theocratic systems, where individuals are compelled to sacrifice autonomy for the sake of conformity. Jhon by several means could not attend church on Sundays, this later on cost him a lot of credibility. Mary Warren for a long time was under the control of Abigail, fearing that if she went against her, people would see her as
Lopez 7 malicious, which ended up happening in court, "I cannot, they will turn on me" - Mary Warren pg 80. Body Paragraph 3: ● Examples in history ( real life) ● COmparison between history and salem To have a better understanding of a theocracy we have to look at a decent example of it, Ancient Egypt. As much as it still was a theocracy that controlled its citizens by the rule of gods, and prioritizing them over the Egyptian people, Ancient Egypt really flourished as a society. The reason behind relies on the actual proofs of the gods will, its certain that probably the gods intervention was non existent, but they believed that the natural phenomenons and changes were due to them, in that way, either if it rained, or if the weather was very good, or if there was a very wealthy season, people though it was due to the gods, so it was easier for them to believe in their absolute truth and follow the rules imposed by the government. Obviously not all was as perfect as it sounds, there were probably revolutions and people who wanted more freedom, however, the egyptians managed goofy enough their government for them to be able to control this kind of behavior. Body Paragraph 4: ● The handmaid's tale and the crucible comparison ● How both oppress women and how society is affected ● The reaction of the population to theocracy Jumping again to another context of a theocracy, in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" a theocratic dystopian society is presented, in which "The sons of jacob" the rulers, submitted the population to absolutist type of lifestyle, in which each individual had a solemn role in society, particularly, women were extremely oppressed and trapped by the chains of religion. Just like in the crucible, in the Handmaid's tale , women suffered a lot, having to make harsh decisions, or even not being able to make their own and express their personal thoughts. In both narratives, women are the ones who suffered the most, in fact they were executed, and were targeted by society in unfair situations. Fearing this possibility, women were severely trapped in their own "freedom" and couldn't afford to deviate from the gods' rule. Both of these narratives perfectly illustrate the effects that a theocracy can have on people, more specifically when the government is poorly ruled or extremely strict. Conclusion ● Theocracy effect on its population
Lopez 8 ● Examples of how it can be seen in different places, and how a particular pattern repeats ● It isnt ultimately a bad thing but as history suggests, theocracy ends up affecting more people than it helps A theocracy, with its principle of an absolute truth, inhibits a lot of restraints in a person's life and has a great influence in the trajectory of a society. Through examining the development of narratives as "The crucible" and "The Handmaids Tale" we can see perfect examples of the oppression and lack of freedom that citizens live under due to the absolutist type of ideologies. . Nevertheless, of these examples of how it's very easy for a theocracy to "go wrong" under our common moral beliefs, there are exceptions, like Ancient Egypt, and other modern states ruled as a theocracy. However, a society being functional or flourishing is not a synonym of their citizens having freedom and a well rounded life. After considering all the facts, the most rational conclusion relapses to the way in which the theocracy is ruled and the ability of it to control the citizens, and despite of the theocracy being successful as a society or not, their people end up being affected one way or another, and as stated, its the ability of the government to control the citizens what makes a real difference on how much are the effects of a theocracy showing in a society.
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