I picked Melissa's answer to the July 19 assignment to show how she handled the challenge of question 2:
Task 2: Are
you capable of writing an essay defending Bernardo's and his motives?
I
am not capable of defending Bernardo and his motives in an essay because he is
immoral and does not care about the truth. He resorts to punishing anyone who
“disputes the verdict of an inquisitor” and deems them guilty of heresy.” The
Inquisition is supposed to guide not punish. Instead, he is using the
inquisition to further his own political and ideological agenda.
To
promote his plan, he murdered Remigio and Salvatore by burning them. His past
concerning William demonstrates the aforementioned political agenda.
The
impoverished girl is also a victim of Bernardo’s wrongful judgments and
eagerness for punishment. He does not care that she is unable to defend
herself. Instead, he is quick to punish what he perceives as “heresy,” devil worship,
and challenges to religious authority, using Remigio, Salvatore, and the girl
as scapegoats.
Based
on the past incident between Bernardo and William, where Bernardo accused
William of heresy for having defended a man whose only crime was “translating a
Greek book that conflicted with the holy scriptures.” William was put in prison
and tortured. He stated that he later recanted, and the man was burnt at the
stake.
COMMENT honestly.
Did you even consider answering the way she did, saying "no" I won't try to defend him...
Did you even consider answering the way she did, saying "no" I won't try to defend him...
Why?
What can this answer teach you (not the arguments themselves, but the kind of answer she gave?)
And REPLY to a sharp observation.
Melissa gave a definite "no" answer to whether Bernardo could be defended in his actions. I thought the evidence presented not only proved Melissa's thesis that "Bernardo was immoral and did not care about the truth", but was thorough enough to persuade her readers of her thinking. Her response is clear, concise, organized, supported, and persuades the reading audience. This format is textbook, from which I know I sometimes struggle to get right. Personally, I had approached the question with the optimistic belief that everyone is born inherently “good” and they either remain that way, end up become something evil, or somewhere in between depending on their life experiences. I dove deeper and thought of why someone would be an inquisitor. I believe that Bernardo may have started out believing in the reasons he did what he did-- to preserve the church. Like many before him, his power increased to the point where he started to believe in personal advancement over his personal mission. I would like to think that he perhaps was not as ruthless in the beginning of his affiliation with the Church—he didn’t torture for the sake of torture, but as a misguided attempt at eradicating evil.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting when you bring up the moment when people first become leaders. Does someone enter the position because they see the potential power to be had? Or do they perhaps start out with differences/their personal mission in mind as you mentioned.
DeleteMelissa's response that she couldn't defend Bernardo is meaningful. She was able to give an explanation of her position that was very well put together and although I considered answering in the same way I felt hypocritical to do so. If something that is important to me is threatened them you have to find a way to preserve it. However, Melissa's arguments present a newer perspective demonstrating that beyond Bernardo's actions his reasoning for acting so maliciously cannot be defended.
ReplyDeleteI did consider answering in the same way because throughout the film you can see that his political motivations are overriding what the intentions of the inquisition were. I believe the intention was to help guide people according to the Church and the word of God however as Katherine pointed out he becomes overwhelmed with his new found power and exploits the situation.
DeleteHi Crystal: I too, believed that he became overwhelmed with power and wanted to write about it but I couldn't find any evidence in the work to support it.
DeleteCrystal, I was wondering why you think it would have been hypocritical of you to answer that way? I'm not sure of what it is you are referring when you say "something that is important" to you which is threatened.
DeleteI don't think I would've been able to answer the question like her. Personally and first of all, I dislike essays, and when it comes to writing argumentative essays, I don't exactly do a great job. However, when it comes to discussing morality, I think it's easier to draw a conclusion between right or wrong.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that Bernardo did horrible things and Melissa did a great job supporting her claim on not defending.
I agree with you Leif. I don't like writing essays unless its relatable. It is very touch to spit out words when you have no interest on a topic you have to write about.
DeleteI do agree with Melissa. I cannot write an essay to defend Bernardo. I agree that his goal was to punish people rather than finding the truth. Also, I cannot defend Bernardo for putting his own personal gain in front of the pursuit of justice.
ReplyDeleteMelissa’s answers were very thorough and she was adamant that she was not capable of supporting an immoral person, such as Bernardo. Melissa’s answers taught me that she stands by people who are honest and stands by people who seek justice.
Mellisa said no and gave a explanation on why she said no. I like that she gave a very detailed explanation. I didn't consider giving the answer the why she did because she provided a lot of details.
ReplyDeletehi peiling, I agree with you, I think she did very good job.
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Melissa. I also wouldn’t even try to defend Bernardo and all his motives. Melissa did a great job by pointing out every aspect of his immoral behavior. She got straight to the point with all of the explanations. I can assume but I doubt any person would be able to defend Bernardo after reading this.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t answer the question the way Melissa did because I took the provocation of “can you” write an essay defending Bernardo and his motives as a challenge. I very much agree that all of his actions are immoral and horrifying and essentially can’t be defended. But I tried to put myself in the mindset of the Inquisition and think of what codes and systems they must have set up for themselves to adhere to, and how they essentially must have been brainwashed in order to do so.
ReplyDeleteNext time, I will try thinking about all angles of a question and different ways that I can approach them, even if it is completely the opposite of what is posited.
Hi Kathryn, I fall into the same "trap" sometimes, too. It feels like that's what you are supposed to do, when you see a question phrased that way. I think you made very good point, that if a person tries to see other perspective and point of view, they can defend and understand other people's actions.
DeleteIn my answer to the task 2, I was not defending Bernardo because of the guilts he commited. Yet, I did not give good examples and explanations as Melissa did. After read her answers, I really see how much effort Melissa had put in and I will try to explore more when I answer future questions.
ReplyDeleteI think, I would not be able to defend Bernardo either. I feel like doing immoral thing, even for good reason is still wrong.
ReplyDeleteThis answer taught me how to strengthen arguments with examples, and how to get straight to the point without too much descriptions and summarizing the plot
Defending Bernardo is difficult because of his actions, I also found myself unable to defend him as well.
DeleteI did not take Melissa’s approach in answering this question. I decided that I can defend Bernardo and his motives because I decided not to judge Bernardo in his motives. I agreed with Katherine, Bernardo’s initially intension is to preserve the church. He is certain that William and people like him will destroy the Church if they are not stopped. We may abhor violence but most of us see nothing wrong with the death penalty when it is applied in the right cases. Which leaving unanswered the question about how we know what the right cases are?
ReplyDeleteI think I would answer the question similarly, and also give a supporting statement along with it. The way I answer this question would be by giving my take on it, then give the reader my point of view.
ReplyDelete