Student Question
What does J.F. Clarke's quote, “The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience,” mean?
Quick answer:
J.F. Clarke's quote, “The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience,” emphasizes the courage required to follow one's moral compass despite external pressures or societal norms. It highlights the bravery in making decisions based on personal ethics rather than succumbing to popular opinion or peer pressure. Literature and history provide numerous examples of individuals who, like characters in "The Crucible" or "To Kill a Mockingbird," demonstrate this moral bravery by standing up for their beliefs.
The undercurrent of this quote is the notion of courage. There is a sense of personal courage and dignity which seems to be present in this idea of obedience to one's conscience. In this quote, I am also struck by the fact that external enticements are secondary to one's own sense of moral right and wrong. The previous post discussed the level of action in Nazi Germany and this resonates in the quote. Within such a setting, the strongest of people were the ones who were able to hear the voice of human compassion which was present in their own soul and stand up to the forces of oppression. I like the idea of being able to hear the voice of human dignity and righteousness despite all levels of external pressure.
What does the quote "The bravest of individuals obeys their conscience" mean?
Some people sacrifice themselves in order to follow their heart. Jonas in The Giver
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
The Giver is one of those people. He is sacrificing everything he has and knows to go against his Utopian society.
Another book example is Hatchet by Gary Paulson. Brian, the main character, must listen to his conscience many times in the novel in order to make sacrifices. That, in turn, makes him very brave.
Real life examples? How about the brave people who everyday go against the mainstream beliefs of the people around them? There are outspoken people about the war, about religion, or about race. They are following their conscience with those beliefs and doing what they think is right even if the people that are close to them disagree.
This quote means that it sometimes very difficult to listen to your conscience and let it guide your decisions. We are often tempted to take paths that we know we should not and must be brave enough to make the right decisions.
There are many stories that contain this theme such as Of Mice and Men, Jane Eyre, The Lord of the Flies, and The Crucible to name a few.
Once you have determined which literature you have read and have a deep enough understanding of, you can find characters who were forced to make difficult decisions in their lives and were brave enough to be able to do what their conscience told them to.
The quote is saying that sometimes the hardest thing to do is to listen to your conscience (that inner voice that tells you what is right and wrong) rather than to go along with what everyone else is doing. People (in books and in life) are frequently tempted to follow the lead of others, which is often not brave at all. Instead, sometimes a character is more brave when they challenge what others are saying or doing, and act on their own, choosing to do what the believe is right, regardless of the potential consequences.
In tackling this topic, look back over the stories you have read and identify three characters who chose to do what they believed was right, even though there was some risk in doing so. (The risk might have been to their physical well being, as in Nazi Germany when people who spoke out could be killed, or, it could be emotional, as in a student who speaks out against a bully who is popular an may then lose all of his or her friends.) Identify what their conscience told them to do, and why doing so was so brave, and then find a quote to support each example. This will become the body of your analysis.
What does the quote "The bravest of individuals obeys his or her conscience" mean?
Sometimes it is very difficult to do what you feel is right in spite of what the rest of the world is doing. The rest of the world, or your group, may mock you, and criticize your beliefs, so it can take real bravery to stand up to the crowd. This is what the quote means. Literature is full of characters who were forced to stand up for their own beliefs and obey their consciences instead of following the crowd. John Proctor in "The Crucible", Atticus in "To Kill a Mockingbird", Hester, in "The Scarlet Letter", Antigone in "Antigone", John in "Brave New World" and Montag in "Fahrenheit 451" are just a few literary characters who are brave individuals who follow their conscience and deal with the consequences of that decision.