Comparing King's And Jim Carnes The Silencing Of Mary Dyer

As Martin Luther King said, “An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.” While this confusing quote is quite in depth, the similarities that it and Jim Carnes story “The Silencing of Mary Dyer” share are unbelievably close. Mary was willing to break the law, die for her faith and try her best to get others involved. To begin, in the first line, the quote states, “ An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust…” This should be interpreted to mean that if a law is presented and one does not agree with it, there is no
shame in the beliefs and values that one chooses to hold and defend. Similar to the quote, “Stand up for what you believe in” Mary Dyer and her group of friends displayed these words to the utmost extreme even when they were aware that disobeying the church also meant disobeying the government due to the theocracy-run society (8). The individual to begin this movement and a close friend to Mary was Anne Hutchinson. Anne was no doubt an advocate for her faith, considering she “openly opposed the rigid authority of the church leaders” and organized weekly meetings (8). Needless to say, when Anne, Mary and the hundreds of other Puritans stepped out to be different with strong faith, a heavy heart and determined minds, nothing the government could do would bring them down.

“Her faith came first - even if it meant her death.” To some, it may be extreme, but to women like Mary, even when jail or death was an option, she refused to back down.
The second line of Martin Luther King’s quote said, “ and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment…” This by far was Mary’s strongest area, considering she was willing to die at any time for her beliefs. Anyone who was brave enough to stand apart from the designated faith of England was “banished from the colony” (9) and “ treated as a criminal” (8). Mary took on this punishment and isolation and “vowed to continue the struggle her friend (Anne) had begun no matter what the consequence.” After being banished, imprisoned and sentenced to death if entering the colony, Mary took a year off in freedom. However she was not satisfied with watching chaos around her, so she willingly returned to Boston and prepared herself for whatever consequences she may face. Quickly, she was sentenced to jail and scheduled to be hanged. While in prison, as well as on the way to the hanging, friends and followers cried out asking her to save herself. However, she was aware that if she walked away now, her legacy would diminish and no man would praise her the way she deserved. So from her cell, she continued by writing a letter to the government asking why they were reluctant to being different and why she was forced to change but they were
not.
Thankfully, the determination to this cause was not shunned. “The swelling crowds…” (8) and “people had come from all over” (12) show the depths that the beliefs and preachings she had reached. Mary made it a point to “arouse the conscience of the community” just as Dr. Martin Luther King would have asked her to do so. The arousal of the community was specifically shown when Mary was on her walk to the gallow to be hanged. The officials in the city of Boston made it a point to station military troops and drummers enroute to the Boston Common so that she may not preach to those standing along the sides of the road. This here, shows the fear that Mary Dyer had placed upon the officials. They feared that they may lose the reigns of their society, so they must block her out and rid of her before she takes over. This displays insecurity on the officials part and success on Mary’s behalf.
Finally, Martin Luther King states how, “is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law”. This means that those who go against what they feel is wrong are actually obeying their duty as a citizen and a person. As a citizen, one should have the right to speak out on topics such as religion, work, or race without being seen as a burden or criminal. As stated on page 8 , “Women in Massachusetts were not even allowed to discuss a sermon, much less voice their own ideas about religion.” But those who found this wrong and committed themselves to changing this opinion are the ones we remember and the ones who have gone down in history. Those who dare to be different and stand out do not have to change the whole world; but by changing just one person, together, accomplishments will be made.