SAT Essay from Collegeboard

MattyB
Fri, 06 May 2005 16:44:11 +0000

I had a problem with my essay (they apparently couldn’t find it and then told me they had troubles with the scanning of it…) anyway I finally got my essay back - I’m taking the SATs tomorrow [may test] and I wanted to know how you would rate my essay from March – give me your feedback!!

***Topic (if you forgot about it) = Majority Rule - good or bad?

As we examine the world around us, we can’t help but notice how people tend to favor a popular belief. This “majority rule,” as James A. Reed eloquently noted, should not be the primary force influencing our decisions. As Arthur Miller describes in the drama, The Crucible, and similarly Robert Bolt analyzes in the play, A Man for All Seasons, staying true to your individual principles takes precedence over the overall consensus.
In Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible, the protagnoist John Proctor is evidently vexed. Taking place in Salem, Boston during the Salem Witch trial hysteria, accusations are running rampant and supposed “witches” are being accosted by the minute. It is no wonder then, that John Proctor, a man who has a hidden secret of an affair with a minor, would soon be accused of witchery. Luckily for John, he would be exonerated if he were to “confess his sins,” to go with the “majority rule.” However, John refused to acquiesce his morals and scruples in order to appeal the majority of people. He stood up for what he felt was right, went against the accepted “norm” of admitting to witchery, and consequently died thereafter. Although his story has a fatal ending, John Proctor is admirable for his willingness to go against the “majority rule.”
Similarly, Robert Bolt describes how the way the majority thinks is not always valid in his play, A Man For All Seasons. The main character, Sir Thomas More, acts as the Lord Chancellor to King Henry VIII of England during the early 16th century. Henry wishes to annul the marriage with his wife Catherine for her inability to produce a male offspring, but More simply cannot agree to this. Although the majority of England concede to the plan, it goes against More’s personal beliefs. For More’s strong-will and resilience in standing up against the national consensus, he is beheaded, but dies with his principles intact and the knowledge that he did the right thing - a true epitome of an admirable figure.
Let’s face it: what the majority says may not always be right. What you personally believe takes precedence over the majority opinion.


Let me know what score you would give this. What should be improved etc…