Class Activities

1. Class Activities Every society desires a scapegoat.

2. “Justice Denied” • Justice Denied is an article that we read and discussed in class. It is about a family-run day care center where alleged child abuse occurred. The family that ran the day care was convicted of child abuse and sent to prison. As the article revealed, several aspects of the case were not dealt with fairly. This relates to my personal philosophy statement, because according to the article, although hard evidence concerning the case was never found, the family was still put in jail. They were accused and convicted of abusing children, even though there was no proof. In society today, we are so eager to identify a perpetrator that we sometimes forget the foundation of our justice system. In this instance, it appeared that the family was seen as guilty before they were given the chance to prove their innocence. Also, when we leave behind the guiding ideas of our justice system, we sometimes send the wrong people to jail. I think sometimes crucial errors in evidence are missed because we are so eager to put away “bad guys”. Therefore, our society has numerous scapegoats who have been blamed for crimes they did not commit.

3. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” • This short story is about a ragged old man who is found stuck in the mud in a town. He has giant wings attached to his back, and when taken in by a townsperson, he is treated like a prisoner because of his appearance. The other townspeople come to observe the man and conclude that he must be an angel; however this does not stop them from treating the old man badly. Each day the angel is treated horribly by curious townspeople who see him as a repulsive animal. This supports my personal philosophy statement, because although the man was not blamed for the society’s woes, he was tortured because he was different. This story is an example of what aspects define a scapegoat, because generally, scapegoats differ in some way from the majority. In this case, large wings made this man seem strange, and thus caused others to ridicule him.

4. “Young Goodman Brown” • In this short story, Young Goodman Brown ventures through the forest near his home. While reading it, I got the impression that the forest was the source of all evil, because that was where witchcraft was practiced. Although I generally think of scapegoats as either one or a group of people, I believe that places can also be blamed for a society’s fear. Fear is scariest when it is indescribable, and when we put a name to our fears they seem easier to cope with. As far as “Young Goodman Brown,” when one object, such as the forest, can be blamed for the society’s problems, they can better deal with their problems by attacking just the issue of the forest.

5. “The Lottery” This short story is about a town who stones one of their own citizens every year. These citizens are chosen by a lottery. Although the reason for the town’s habit of stoning are never revealed, it is clear that stoning is a yearly ritual accepted by all of the townspeople. I think the reason the town had for stoning one of their own members was to create an outlet where they could release all of their guilt for their sins. I think this tradition of stoning was established so that the town could sacrifice one person who acted as the scapegoat for all of their faults.

6. “William Wilson” “William Wilson” is about a man named William Wilson who is tormented by his doppelganger, a man who always seems to interfere with Wilson’s affairs when he is doing something immoral. Wilson becomes very aggravated with this man who seems to be his alter ego, as the man continues to interrupt Wilson’s life. Wilson blames his doppelganger for his misfortunes, and ends up killing his alter ego. This relates to scapegoats because Wilson would not consider himself as the blameworthy person in his life, and the one who caused his own misfortune. Also, Wilson was blinded by hatred, thus unable to recognize the animal he had become, and resulted in the death of his alter ego. Wilson’s doppelganger died because he was a scapegoat for Wilson’s own failure to recognize his mistakes.

7. Transcendentalism • In Thoreau's Resistance to Civil Government, he blatantly accuses the government of depriving Americans of essential freedoms and impeding their progress. Thoreau speaks of what he perceives as the government’s failures, stating, "It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way" (Henry David Thoreau). While reading this, I thought it is clear that Thoreau despises the government, and blames it for America's faults. Similarly, Emerson blames society and conformity for the stifling of people’s individuality. Emerson holds society accountable for squashing this individuality in Self-Reliance, stating, "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every on of its members" (Ralph Waldo Emerson). I think society represents conformity, and it does not allow for the individual mind to prosper. Both Thoreau and Emerson blame a great mass that is ruled by conformity, whether it is a government or societies in general. Their view of who is to blame relates to my personal philosophy that people look for a scapegoat to blame their problems on. In this case, both Thoreau and Emerson believe that thought is empowering, and the conformity imposed by government and society does not allow it to exist.