Subjugation and Liberation: Dignity and Responsibility
The advantages that exist between men are forged from opportunity. With that said, for every opportunity there is an anti-opportunity. In other words, either good or bad can come from an opportunity depending upon who claims it. Because opportunity cannot be controlled, it is inevitable that it will eventually be claimed by the hands of men who desire to systematically subjugate their fellow men. In these instances, it is essential that those who are about to be suppressed maintain their personal dignity and self responsibility, for if they do not, they will certainly fall. However, in doing so, they may be able to resist the oppression that is being inflicted upon them and not only save themselves but also their colleagues. This notion is epitomized in Taylor Caldwell’s novel The Devil’s Advocate and James McTeigue’s film V for Vendetta. These pieces depicts a dystopian, totalitarian America and England, respectively, that deveoped from the populace’s willingness to relinquish their rights and civil liberties to absolve themselves from responsibility.
Caldwell accentuates the importance of responsibility and personal dignity in one of her piece’s opening scenes. Andrew Durant, the protagonist, and James Christian, a minor character who exemplifies courage, are being tortured by the Chief Magistrate’s Picked Guards in an effort to divulge information about the Minute Men. There is no doubt that James Christian will not give up his organization, for he is loyal to the Minute Men. It is his duty to carry out the organization’s ideals even if he has to die for those ideals to live on. Andrew Durant does not share this absolute devotion, he is uncertain as to whether or not he should maintain his silence or try to save himself and his family. However, these ambivalent feelings are quickly assuaged from his conscious when he realizes that allowing his family to live in a totalitarian America would be a greater evil than allowing them to die. Durant maintains his virtues and beliefs even in the face of opposition, he maintains his dignity. Unlike Durant and Christian, many Minute Men tried to save themselves and sacrifice the Minute Men. These men had no honor and no sense of responsibility; they were self serving opportunists. Therefore, these men fell to the oppressive regime and were sentenced to death by firing squad by Arthur Carlson, an undercover Minute Man and the Chief Magistrate of America’s police state. Arthur Carlson explains to Durant and Christian that men without loyalty have no place in the ranks of the Minute Men, nor America for that matter. Men like that are selfish individuals with no sense of responsibility in regards to their fellow Americans. Carlson says to Christian and Durant, “Had you not been worthy, you would have been shot with those eight friends of yours, who did not have the final fortitude to face death without betraying comrades” (Caldwell 28), and this exemplifies how their dignity and sense of responsibility to the cause of the Minute Men allowed them to live. The self worth that these two exhibited, unlike their peers, is a distinguishing factor in their existence and their ability to face opposition without fear. In turn, they are able to resist the subjugation that the rest of America has subjected itself to. In doing so, these noble men are able to fight against the oppression that dominates their society and better the lives of their fellow Americans.
A scene from McTeigue’s V for Vendetta parallels the aforementioned scene from Caldwell’s work. It too also highlights the importance of personal dignity and responsibility for those who are faced with oppression. Evey who becomes an accomplice to V, the protagonist, and his plot for revolution is locked in a small cell like V was and is given the note that V was given while he was imprisoned. This note enlightens the viewer to the value of personal dignity. The most pertinent line of the note is the one that reads, “It was my integrity that was important...it's all we have left in this place. It is the very last inch of us, but within that inch we are free” (V for Vendetta). The writer of this note sacrificed her relationship with her family and ultimately her life in order to maintain her integrity and personal sense of dignity. Without these exemplary virtues, people become automatons that take orders from their government and experience emotion from government induced stimuli. This was not a life that the author of this note could endure; she believed that a life without freedom was not a life worth living. Although this noble individual died, her pursuit of liberty and her courage in the face of fear and opposition lived on and inspired others to erect the changes that she wished to see. This woman was one of the motivating factors for V’s revolution that aimed to restore individuality and dignity to the people of England. If this woman had simply given in to her oppressor's demands like the traitorous Minute Men had, then V may have given in as well. He may never have bestowed the responsibility of bettering England for all of its inhabitants upon himself.
After the Minute Men successfully infiltrated the government, they began to induce an even harsher degree of oppression upon American citizens. They created an ultimatum for the American citizens that cannot be ignored: overrun your government, or become a slave to your government. This situation forces the citizens to regain their personal dignity and responsibility. The first signs of widespread reinstated personal dignity and responsibility are exhibited on Democracy Day. The citizens are supposed to clap and cheer after the president, who serves as a dictator, gives his annual address. However, instead of erupting in excitement to represent their satisfaction and agreement with the president, the citizens do not move and do not speak. At this point, the citizens of America are in the peremptory stages of revolution. They are now aware of their subjugation and have acquired a sense of personal responsibility to end their oppression. They have found dignity in their solace, for they have found a uniting cause, liberty and freedom for all. They formed a new identity for themselves. This notion of reclaimed dignity and newfound identity is substantiated by Durant as he says, “I think the people are becoming aware of their own identity...The people are making their choice, their own decision” (Caldwell 295). This identity and the dignity that comes with it provides the people with the tools that are necessary to resist subjugation; people that have dignity and a sense of self worth cannot be enslaved to a cause that they do not believe in. These people would rather resist and face the wrath of their oppressor than willingly submit themselves to subjugation.
Similar to the American citizens, the British citizens in V for Vendetta also managed to conjure up some gumption and find an identity that allowed them to resist their government. However, unlike the American citizens, the British citizens followed an individual’s example. The ideals that V spoke about throughout the piece resonated with the British citizens and the actions that he took to bring them to fruition inspired them to act as well. V had dignity and he had a sense of personal responsibility. V believed in liberty and free thought even though the people of Britain are told to believe in their chancellor and the censored news. V felt that he needed to emancipate the citizens of Britain at all costs. V’s death symbolized a transition of power; no longer did the strength of V’s revolution reside within V, it now resided within the people. This newfound power unified the citizens and gave them an identity based on liberty in all facets of life whether it be speech, press, or expression. This newfound identity reinvigorated the dignity of the British citizens and it provided them with something to uphold, something to be responsible for. They acquired the means that are necessary to overcome subjugation. Their thoughts could no longer be controlled, nor could their actions. The people of England were liberated by one man’s idea and ideas permeate long after they are first conceived.
The subjugation of man can be avoided if the people who are to be subjugated exercise their personal dignity and uphold their responsibilities from the onset of the subjugation. However, when the dignity of the populace is systematically eroded and their responsibilities are slowly bequeathed to the government, they must be rescued. At this point it is up to the noble men like the Minute Men and V who have maintained their dignity and responsibility to lead their peers out of a dark era. The noble men must once again instill the value of dignity and responsibility into the fallen. Subjugation can be escaped, but it is always waiting on the periphery of opportunity, hoping to be revitalized by an evil being. And because of this, it is crucial for both the noble citizen and the ordinary citizen to maintain their dignity at all costs and take pride in their responsibilities; for at some point these may be the only factors that separate a man from freedom and servitude.
Works Cited
Caldwell, Taylor. The Devil's Advocate. New York: Crown, 1952. Print.
V for Vendetta. Perf. Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, John Hurt. Warner
Bros. Entertainment, 2006. Film.
Caldwell, Taylor. The Devil's Advocate. New York: Crown, 1952. Print.
V for Vendetta. Perf. Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, John Hurt. Warner
Bros. Entertainment, 2006. Film.