The surveillance devices are impossibly thorough given the technology Orwell shows in the book and the impossibility of keeping track of everyone—but they certainly convey the sense of fear and oppression, and the lack of privacy, which such totalitarianism would impose. Ingsoc does not merely ignore the disparities between what it promises and what it delivers—it makes a point of them, noticeably in the names of the Ministries. Ingsoc's glorious leader is more than a man—Big Brother is to all intents and purposes immortal (and almost certainly not an individual with a human existence at all). Orwell also satirises religion. The author quite probably saw religions as an attempt by one group to impose their will on others, in a very similar way to that in which communists operated.
Parris is a character that allows the audience to see the weaknesses and flaws in the society. Parris gives the audience an insight into the main reasons for the religion and society’s downfall. Of all the characters in the play, Parris feels the least effects of repression. Being of a high up status, and the strong belief puritans have in God gives him power but little freedom. He must constantly please
Leaders of the Church were given excessive power. This can be seen in John Cotton’s “Limitation of Government”. In power, magistrates would not tolerate suggestion of a separation of church and state, like Rogers Williams advocated in “A Plea for Religious Liberty”. Roger Williams was banished to Rhode Island for “heathen”. There was a synergy between politics and religion, as is evidenced in Nathaniel Ward’s “the Simple Cobbler of Aggawam”, in Puritan society.
Hale was using lies to foil lies. The action of the play severely tests Hale’s faith and understanding. He must acknowledge that children have manipulated his own irrefutable beliefs, while also realizing that he has sent innocent people to their death. This knowledge is a heavy burden, but it changes Hale for the better. Although he questions his own faith and doctrine, he does not abandon religion altogether.
Voltaire on Religious Tolerance During the age of Enlightenment many people, especially those belonging to the middle class, began writing against the way society lived. Many people also wrote against the church and the way the church wanted to run things. Voltaire always spoke against the church but he also believed in religious tolerance because in the end he was raised with religious beliefs that could not be forgotten. Just like John Huss and Martin Luther, Voltaire received punishment for trying to unmask the church although what they spoke the truth. This is why I believe he started this piece talking about an Irish priest who wrote a pamphlet on religious tolerance.
However, people like Winston who lived early enough to know the feeling of having real freedom, are frustrated. Winston is a rebel amongst his peers and instead of following Big Brother tries to secretly rebel. He feels any attraction to anyone or anything that is some form of rebellion whether it is julia, the Book, or anything else. The book, 1984, shows deception in many different ways through Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Love, and O'Brien. The Ministry of Truth is a very deceiving name for a ministry that concentrates on lying to the public.
Another significant value of the Puritans was pride. Pride meant a great deal to them, without it their life was not worth living. Right at the beginning of the play there is an example of this. Which is when Reverend Parris worries that word of his daughter and niece being involved in witchcraft will get out. The reason that this concerns Parris is because he takes a lot of pride in his reputation with the church.
This will force its citizens to find serenity through various coping mechanisms such as maligning the people in power and seeking solace through dreams, memories and voices. Through the application of Marxism, sexism and religion is shown to be used by the ruling class to make their plebs feel hopeless enough to survive by slipping into dreams and criticizing the upper classes. This will result in rebellion of a sort, where people who are powerless to actively rebel, do so by other means. In Saint Joan, this is shown in two methods. Firstly, rhetoric is used to show how the Archbishop considers himself as a god for the lower classes, and how the lower classes deal with this kind of class oppression by quietly slandering him when they can.
Well known is Voltaire's hostility toward the Jews. His play LE FANATISME, OU MAHOMET LE PROPHÈTE (1741), which portrayed the founder of Islam as an intriguer and greedy for power, was denounced by Catholic clergymen. They had no doubts that the true target was Christian fanaticism. However, Pope Benedict XIV, whom Voltaire dedicated the work, replied by saying that he read it with great
The fatalities Christians had to endure by the hand of theatrical entertainment would have been enough for me to never want to indulge in the theatre again. The Romans used the art form to offend the Christian moral and even to put them to death. Although I don’t believe theatre is a pagan art form nor is the theatre to blame for the cruelty Christian’s suffered, it was the mere fact that this art form was the gateway used to demoralize the standards of the Christian moral and to afflict bodily harm against innocent people because of their beliefs. Norman Bert’s thesis shared the story of theatre and religion from a totally different perspective. It showed how theatre and religion were parallel to one another.