The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses Analysis

Czencz, Kaitlyn
Genia Martinez
Word count: 1166

What is the cost (for a good life) of fighting for social justice and the common good?

It could be easily estimated that we’ve spent a very large portion of our lives learning about the struggles of the past. Whether we’re learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and his fight for justice in school, protests shown daily on the news, or even general gossip about people struggling for what they deserve, social justice has always been a topic of endless importance. The constant struggle for social justice has had such an important impact on so many lives, as well as the consequences that follow after. Imagine though, if suddenly every fight that had been fought suddenly just disappeared, disappeared
as if we had never lifted a finger to fight for a cause we so passionately believed in. Where would we stand? Would it have been possible for us as a society, for us as a world, to move forward? If no one had stood up because they believed that slavery was wrong or that they believed African Americans were equal as well. Or if no one believed that women were capable of more than just taking care of the children and cleaning the house. What kind of society would we be living in; if everything was frozen as it was 50 years ago because no one voiced his or her opinion for change? If people didn’t fight for what they believed was social justice, or even for the common good, it would be very difficult for society as individuals to recognize the need for change.
The cost of not fighting for social justice as well as the common good revolves around taking away something that so rightfully belongs to everyone. Although these fights may not always have a happy ending, they almost always bring attention and consideration to that problem. For example, in Bessie Head’s “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses,” you see a man who fights for what he believes the prisoners deserve, but at the same time doesn’t take advantage of the knowledge he holds. Had he not stood up and fought, he would have been on the path to suicide and the other prisoners would continue to be bossed around unfairly. In the same context, the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” written by the National Assembly of France is an example of how the common good was fought for, which would lead to others following their lead. We’re always told to fight for what we believe it, that the decisions we make determine who we are on the inside. If we always stayed quiet, how would we know who we are? How would we know what others are capable if we never gave them the chance? Society has been able to move so far ahead because a group of people once decided they wanted to fight for the rights of others, and we wouldn’t be the same society today had it not been for those historical
movements. Beginning with the “Declaration of the Rights of Man,” this article was written because people in France believed that the ignorance of the rights that belonged to man was the “sole cause of corruptions” (National French Assembly).
If looked at this more closely, a cost of not fighting for social justice could be even more fighting. To stand up for what is right you have to fight for it, but some people don’t consider that not fighting for it at all could just create even more chaos. In this case the fight for justice led to the National Assembly of France to create a list of the rights that belonged to men, which would begin as a chain reaction for other countries to create their own Declaration of Rights. One movement created another movement, because sometimes while fighting for what you believe in, you’re also fighting for others. The cost of not fighting for the good life in this case would have prevented hundreds of men, and thousands of future men from gaining their basic rights. You don’t know what you’re capable of achieving unless you fight for it, and you don’t know how much you could be helping other people if you don’t
try. The fight for social justice and the common good doesn’t always have to be in the form of spoken or written words, but also in the form of art. In Gwathmey’s painting “The Woodcutter,” where Gwathmey is concerned with racial inequality and the everyday lives of the working class. You see how the worker looks determined to free himself from the sharp constraints of the felled limbs. Through art artists can visually represent the struggles certain classes or groups face and the inequality they have to deal with. They are able to show their expressions and actions in relation to the justice they are working towards. If artists didn’t express injustice or struggles through their works of art, the world would be missing a very important way to rely emotions and a deeper sense of how people felt. The fight for things such as social justice and the common good can be seen through multiple forms of work, but not fighting can only be seen through imagining life the opposite of what it is today. Imagining not having things that we take for granted everyday. Things women or African Americans invented even. The price of holding back from the fight for the common good involves missing out on moving forward in society and giving rights to those who they belong to. We’re always fighting for justice, for example many people are currently fighting for legalizing gay marriage, because they believe not giving them that right is injustice on their part. By withholding the common good from people, you’re withholding a future of endless possibilities. You don’t know what people are capable of, but unless you give them the same opportunity as everyone else you may never know. The good life can mean anything to a person, such as achieving their dreams, being happy, or even just being alive.

Fighting for the good life in terms of social justice and the common good can lead to radical changes in society, it can lead to even more people achieving their dreams or becoming happy, and it begins with one person standing up and voicing their opinion. The cost of not fighting for this is the cost of not able to reach endless potentials that could change everyone’s lives. Had no fight been fought, we could still be living in a time of slavery, a time where women couldn’t voice their own opinion, where only white males were treated with equality. A voice not spoken is merely a thought trapped within a mind, useless unless put to work. A fight not fought is merely an idea trapped on a piece of paper, easily thrown away. A fight can change a world, specially when it involves the rights that are given to people, because the rights we have determine what we are allowed to do, including changing the world for the better.

Works Cited

National Assembly of France. Declaration of the Rights of Man. August 26. 1789. Print.

Head, Bessie. The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses. Print.

Gwathmey, Robert. The Woodcutter. 1945. Oil Canvas. Location – Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Fl.