Quang Duc's Self Immolation, By Martin Luther King Jr.

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When facing the decision of whether or not to die for your beliefs, you have to look at the bigger picture. Will it positively benefit something bigger? If so, go for it. You could be the next MLK, Gandhi, or even the great Nelson Mandela. If not, then maybe try to find another way to help your cause, because there are other ways to give support rather than giving up something as precious as a life. Though The Crucible, “Thich Quang Duc’s Self Immolation”, and the actions of Martin Luther King Jr., it is shown that positive good can come from the act of martyrdom. All in all, dying for your belief can be the right thing if it’s benefiting a bigger cause. Dying for your beliefs can be the right choice if it’s benefiting something bigger than…show more content…
In the article “Thich Quang Duc’s Self Immolation”, buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc set himself on fire in the streets of Saigon in order to protest the South Vietnamese government’s oppressive policies while also calling for freedom of…show more content…
In the short story “A&P” by John Updike, check out boy Sammy stands up for the “mistreatment” of girls dressed in bikinis who came into the grocery store that he worked at. While practically drooling at the girls as they walked through the aisles, his mind had essentially put them on a silver platter. When his boss told the girls to not come back without some proper clothes on, Sammy quits his job saying to his manager, “You didn’t have to embarrass them.” Sammy’s abrupt decision to quit showed how much he was caught up with the girls, of whom he didn’t even know. After handing back his apron, he ran outside expecting to see the girls waiting for him in order to thank him for standing up for them. Obviously when he got outside, they were long gone. At that moment he said, ”My stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.” Just when it was too late, Sammy realized that quitting his job was the wrong decision and that being 19 in a small town was going to make finding a job hard to get. He ultimately gave up his future security, which degraded his quality of life. Through this story, the praised idea of martyrdom is put to the test when it is used unsuitably. It ends up proving that not all situations are those that need martyrdom, especially situations that don’t impact someone’s life

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