<p>Can someone please grade my essay?</p>
<p>Prompt: Is the opinion of the majority always right?</p>
<p>Although the majority in any situation holds all the power, it is not necessarily always right. Several examples from literary works and history show that often times the opinion of the majority can be detrimental to society.</p>
<p>As demonstrated by the The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, the majority’s views should sometimes be questioned. The play takes place in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts, where religion and government intertwine. As a result of the piety of nearly all of the townspeople, religion holds a strict, austere grasp on their society. All judgments are made with God and the devil in consideration. When a young girl, Abigail, is jealous of the wife of a man with which she had an affair, she accuses the wife of being a witch in order to get her arrested. This galvanizes into a massive witch hunt in Salem, resulting in the deaths of multiple people. And because the townsfolk are so religious, the majority of them believe in Abigail’s envious, malicious tall tales. It takes the will power of one man (the man who Abigail had the affair with) to stop the hysteria. Hence, the opinion of the majority should not always be trusted.</p>
<p>The story of Galileo shows the unreliability of the majority as well. During Galileo’s time period, most of the people subscribed to the belief (mostly religious based) that everything in the solar system revolved around the earth. Contrastingly, Galileo discovered through scientific research that the earth and other celestial objects revolve around a sun: a theory known as heliocentrism. This viewpoint was highly polemical at the time, and it lead to Galileo’s trial by the Roman Inquisition in 1615. The Inquisition decided that heliocentrism was not a proven fact. Vexed at the Inquisition’s findings, Galileo defended himself and heliocentrism in an essay. By doing so, he alienated himself from the majority even further than before, and was once more put on trial. This time, Galileo was found guilty of heresy and was sentenced to life under house arrest. Of course in the present, we realize that Galileo was in fact correct, further proving that the majority is not always right.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the main character, Winston, from George Orwell’s 1984 illustrates how the majority can be deceptive and untrustworthy. In Winston’s world, the government is suppressive and dubious, and maintains total control over all citizens. However, most of these citizens are perfectly content with their lives because they have been brainwashed. But Winston’s insatiable quest for freedom leads him to rebel against his society and fight for his right to be an individual. He writes in a diary, an extreme offense in his world. He has and enjoys a relationship with a young woman named Julia, which is also forbidden. Winston rebels because he knows the society in which he lives tries to take away all rights to life. Moreover, Winston’s rebellion show that the majority’s opinion can be harmful.</p>
<p>Through a clear analysis of The Crucible, Galileo, and 1984, the majority’s opinion is, indeed, not always right. In fact, the majority can often times put society in further danger which is why it is so important to consider everyone’s thoughts and opinions.</p>