I Ve Been To The Mountaintop Essay

Sometimes one’s principles are amazingly powerful enough for one to sacrifice their own life. In the tragedy, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, the protagonist, John Proctor is accused of being a witch and has the option to confess to save his life. He decides to stick to his principles and is hanged for refusing to tell a lie. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” King speaks in support of the striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. He talks about several beliefs and his aim in life. One’s principles is more important than one’s life due to one’s morality, reputation, and purpose in life.
One’s morals can make one’s principles more important than one’s life. John Proctor, the protagonist of The Crucible,

It would go against his morals if he were to value his life at this moment. In other words, it would be the wrong thing to do, it would not be just. Moreover, he says he has found some shred of goodness within him. This is due to the fact that rather than telling a lie to save his life, he stays true to his beliefs and dies a hero. Martin Luther King Jr. references the parable of the Good Samaritan told by Jesus in 10:25-37 in his speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” The story goes that there was a Jewish man who was attacked by bandits travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. And although the Levite and the priest passed by on the other side without stopping to help, a man of another race came by and helped the man in need. In his speech, King states, ‘And you know, it’s possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it’s possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure” (5). Although it may seem like the samaritan is valuing life in this situation, the underlying message being