Weird essay topic that was on the SAT

amb3r
Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:01:44 +0000

I think you can interpret ‘established rules’ in a larger sense, as the set of beliefs and actions that people usually approve of.

So, for example, in Crime and Punishment, a character named Sonia becomes a prostitute to support her family. General society would look down on that, but Sonia’s decision to prostitute herself was borne out of her love for her siblings and mother, so her actions are justifiable.

Another example might be the old George Bush, whose father told him to go to college after high school. Instead, Bush defied his father and joined the army. He went off to fight in World War II. His bravery in that war helped him to win his presidential election later on.

These examples may be a stretch, but I think we need to look for examples of people who have made decisions that others would condemn them for, but that paid off for them in the end.

An example that automatically came to my mind was that of MLK and other civil rights activists, who broke the law when they began the Montgomery bus boycott.