Comparing King's And Jim Carnes The Silencing Of Mary Dyer
As Martin Luther King said, “An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.” While this confusing quote is quite in depth, the similarities that it and Jim Carnes story “The Silencing of Mary Dyer” share are unbelievably close. Mary was willing to break the law, die for her faith and try her best to get others involved. To begin, in the first line, the quote states, “ An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust…” This should be interpreted to mean that if a law is presented and one does not agree with it, there is no
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The second line of Martin Luther King’s quote said, “ and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment…” This by far was Mary’s strongest area, considering she was willing to die at any time for her beliefs. Anyone who was brave enough to stand apart from the designated faith of England was “banished from the colony” (9) and “ treated as a criminal” (8). Mary took on this punishment and isolation and “vowed to continue the struggle her friend (Anne) had begun no matter what the consequence.” After being banished, imprisoned and sentenced to death if entering the colony, Mary took a year off in freedom. However she was not satisfied with watching chaos around her, so she willingly returned to Boston and prepared herself for whatever consequences she may face. Quickly, she was sentenced to jail and scheduled to be hanged. While in prison, as well as on the way to the hanging, friends and followers cried out asking her to save herself. However, she was aware that if she walked away now, her legacy would diminish and no man would praise her the way she deserved. So from her cell, she continued by writing a letter to the government asking why they were reluctant to being different and why she was forced to change but they were
The second line of Martin Luther King’s quote said, “ and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment…” This by far was Mary’s strongest area, considering she was willing to die at any time for her beliefs. Anyone who was brave enough to stand apart from the designated faith of England was “banished from the colony” (9) and “ treated as a criminal” (8). Mary took on this punishment and isolation and “vowed to continue the struggle her friend (Anne) had begun no matter what the consequence.” After being banished, imprisoned and sentenced to death if entering the colony, Mary took a year off in freedom. However she was not satisfied with watching chaos around her, so she willingly returned to Boston and prepared herself for whatever consequences she may face. Quickly, she was sentenced to jail and scheduled to be hanged. While in prison, as well as on the way to the hanging, friends and followers cried out asking her to save herself. However, she was aware that if she walked away now, her legacy would diminish and no man would praise her the way she deserved. So from her cell, she continued by writing a letter to the government asking why they were reluctant to being different and why she was forced to change but they were