Summary: A Game Of Thrones

Henry David Thoreau, a philosopher from the nineteenth century, wrote about the contradictory relationship between citizens who behave morally and governments who rule immorally. In his speech, Civil Disobedience, he stated, “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison” to convey that governments, rather than individuals, decide whether behavior is lawful or punishable (para. 22). This statement expresses that people should evaluate someone’s imprisonment in the context of their government’s rules without making the assumption that all prisoners are convicted based on universal and justified standards. In George RR Martin’s novel, A Game of Thrones, familial line, rather than a democratic …show more content…
When she takes him to her sister, Lysa, Tyrion is thrown into a cell in the Eyrie, where Tyrion is unlawfully imprisoned before he appeals in front of her court. Tyrion proves that he is the epitome of a just man unjustly imprisoned when he declares,“‘You accuse me of crimes, I deny them, so you throw me into an open cell to freeze and starve [...] I demand a trial! Let me speak, and let my truth or falsehood be judged openly, in the sight of gods and men” (287). Tyrion artfully exposes Lysa Arryn’s injustice in a way which forces her to oblige to his demand. He questions her authority, thereby making it about justice rather than about her personal dislike for …show more content…
Society’s greatest changes become evident when someone who was once considered a criminal becomes a well respected activist and representative. One such example, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, never spent time in a state prison, but he did spend short amounts of time in Alabama’s Birmingham jail, which prompted him to write his famous Letter From Birmingham Jail. His powerful letter addresses a group of white clergymen who condemned the Civil Rights protester’s actions, “though peaceful, [...] because they precipitate violence. Isn’t this like condemning the robbed man because [his money] precipitated the evil act of robbery?” (King n. pag). His letter, which bears striking resemblance to Tyrion’s speech, shows the white clergymen that their condemnation of his protests is short sighted because the institutionalized racism, rather than the protesters, are the root of the issue. Today, he is remembered as an extremely influential leader who helped black Americans represent themselves in the historically unending fight for equality. Although he had to make his case for equality from jail, his legacy makes it clear that it was the system he had to battle, rather than his own actions, that made him look like a criminal. Thanks to the Civil Rights movement it is no longer socially