Monday, September 10, 2007

The candle that would light the world



"They believed, in short, that they held in their steady hands the candle that would light the world. We have inherited this belief, and it has helped and hurt us" (Miller 5).






What do think this passage means? What is the "candle"?

Do you agree that modern Americans have inherited this Puritan attitude? How has it helped or hurt us?

15 comments:

KylieYoum said...

I think (I could be way off) that the candle in this passage has to do with us thinking that we are the only things that can change the world. That we can light the world and be the only ones to make a difference. I feel like sometimes this idea is somewhat overrated, since yes, everyone can change the world, but the drastic measures that one would have to come by to cause such a large effect would be so large, that it would be very hard for EVERYONE to accomplish such a task.

But by helping and hurting...that is an interesting way to put the idea. It's like we can either use the candle to guide us in the right path, or the responsibility of the candle can burden us and cause stress because of the expectations the candle sets for us.

Make sense at all? :]

KariB said...

I have a slightly different interpertation of this quote than Kylie. I believe this candle is representative of religion, specifically Christianity. I believe the passage reflects on the tendency of people to spread their "light" to the "unconverted" people of the world. It seems to me that the "help" and "hurt" mentioned in the passage refer to both the conflict caused by this tendency and the lives changed because of it. I think modern Americans have inherited a lot of this tendency, as some, but not by any stretch all, people consider people of different religions inferior. I think this can be supported by the tendency of Americans to bring Chrisitianity to peoples they come in contact with through conflict.

Anonymous said...

I agree with both Kari and Kylie's interpretation of the quote. This was one of the passages I annotated from the text and I believed it to be very relevant to the society we live in today.
I think that the quote describes how people often think that they are the only ones that are right in the world. They take it upon themselves to do everything in their power to back up their opinions while at the same time, trying to convince everyone else that their opinion is right. This could very well be applied to what Kari said about Christianity. More times than not, people believe that their religion is the only 'right' religion. They spend their lives trying to convince others that their religion is right.
I feel that ultimately, this quote shows how people are often stubborn and scarcely find the time to listen to or understand other peoples' views on things. Whether or not this was actually passed down from the Puritan attitude, I think that it most definitely is evident in our modern world; in religion and most every other aspect of life.

zachf said...

I agree with what Kylie said about us, the people of the world being the only thing that can change the world for better or worse. We have the ability as a "candle" to shine a positive or negative light on the world. Like Kylie said, it would take a huge effort by a large amount of people to change the world.

I think that some but not all Americans have inherited this idea that we can change the world. It sounds very cliche, so much in a sense that it is not even significant anymore, it just sounds like the right thing to say. Many people take the meaning of this for granted. It has helped in some ways though, for example, some people do want to help change living standards in Africa by donating time and/or money to relief efforts over there.

chelseah said...

I see where both Kylie and Kari are coming from with their perspectives on the candle. I think that it is a symbol for a bigger representation. I see the candle as "optimism" or just the guiding light in general. I think that in the Puritan society in 1962, a lot was unknown, so there was a much more optimistic attitude on things. I think that the candle symbolizes that much of the society saw the glass as "half full". As time goes on, the Puritan attitude is slowly fading, because there are so many things in the world to make one pessimistic. Candles eventually die out, and I think that the Puritan attitude is going to do the same, so the candle is a good analogy for this. The belief can both help and hurt you because if one sees everything so optimistically and not realistically, eventually something will happen that is completely unexpected. Society needs to find a way to look at things on a more realistic level, and not fall to one extreme (completely optimistic) or the other (completely pessimistic).

Declan "Danger" said...

i agree with kylie. but kylie's idea seemed positive, for the most part. for me i think the "candle" is more of a superiority complex. it's the idea that we're the smartest, strongest, best creatures in the universe. like the quote says, it has helped and hurt us. humans, as a people, have done amazing things. and maybe we are the smartest, strongest, best creatures in the universe, but if some aliens fly on down and we're too cocky to pay any mind, i think that would probably hurt us.

unless they're robot aliens...we can handle that.

Kristin L said...

Declan--Your response makes me think that perhaps you are a robot alien. I followed your comment up until the last line or two. Pardon the direct attack here; you know that I do value your ideas.

Coming back to Kari's comment for a moment, why do you think the Puritans relied so heavily on faith (and such a repressive faith at that!)? And was their perspective healthy and effective?

Here's something else to think about: Miller wrote this play in response the McCarthy trials of the 1950s. Who might have been the "Puritans" of his society, and what was the "candle"?

Chelsea said...

I think that this passage explains how the Puritan culture believed that they held the responsibility to share God to the world. They thought that their "righteous" lives would bring them closer to God and heaven on earth. They believed that their good deeds would be lights to the "heathen" world. I think that in a way modern Americans have held this attitude. In the global sense, the United States is always the country to help and rescue others from war, terrorism, or a corrupt government. It has both helped and hurt us. It has hurt us because by the US "policing" the world, most of the world hates us. On the other hand it has helped us and the world in general by preventing and ending alot of wars, which in turn has saved many lives.

blair said...

I also believe that the candle represents religion. They believed that their religion was the most powerful thing they had, and that they could change the workd with it. They thought that any one who didn't believe the same thing need to be "enlightened" so that they to can see the light. I agree that Americans have inherited this, but not necissarily for the aspect of religion. We do often think that our answer is always the right answer. This has helped us become a powerful nation, but has also hurt us when it comes to accepting and understanding other cultures, religion etc. and being more open to positive change!

ShannonH said...

In this passage, I think the candle is the fear the society has of things that are different. You can control the flame on a candle by giving it more air and oxygen to have it grow, or you can kill the flame by blowing it out. I think the Puritans have a fear of the unknown. The society in Salem is afraid of the Native Americans, the wilderness, and, as the play progresses, each other. They are holding their fear like they hold a candle, letting it grow and grow till it takes over their life, because they are too weak to put it out. I think it is interesting how Miller said Steady hands. With a candle, if your had is weak and unable to control the flame, it will rage out of control and take over any situation. In Salem, I think the girls thought they would be able to control the situation with their steady hands, but it slowly grew out of control and took over the town. This is just like the McCarthy trials, because the Cold war was the one act that triggered our unsteady hands to let loose the fear we have of communism. We turned on our neighbors and friends because of that fear, and it runied lives like the girls are doing in Salem town. This idea that we can control our fear is what we have inherited, and it hurt us during the McCarthy trials and the red scare. But, it has also helped us because what ever doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger.

kfasold said...

I truly believe what others are saying and that the candle represents religion. The Puritans whole life was based on religion and pleasing God. The passage basically says that the Puritans believed that with steady religion they would help influence other cultures and the world. I don't think that modern Americans inherited this idea. Most Americans are either religious or not as much. So if the American is religious then yes they have but otherwise no. The church is no longer the center of the community so this has hurt religion and the Puritan ways.

Unknown said...

I see that a lot of people interpret this as religion and I can see that as well but I think that it has to do with a bigger picture. I think that it represents all arogance and vanity. We have certainly inherited the feeling that we alone are right. This specifically deals with religion, yes, but it could go with any matter of opinion. It has helped us because that attitude gives unfailing determination but it has hurt us because it severely annoys the rest of the world who also thinks they are right.

Declan "Danger" said...

sorry that comment was a little confusing/random. i wrote the first half, took a break, and the wrote the second one.

Paul said...

He's talking about the treaty of Versailles guys when he says this. Everyone thought it was gonna help, and stop war. but they were wrong, haha, it just created another massacre of millions. They thought they were lighting the way but were wrong. haha. it helped us- because well, if you do a little history 101 stuff, then you know it provided millions with jobs. it hurt us, because (come on now, this is an easy one :P) haha, it's war. people died as a result of the treaty of versailles. He lived durnig that time period. it seems to fit the bill ya'll.

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