Реферат: The Cherry Orchard Reality Illusion And Foolish

surrendered my knowledge to the powers that be, to use it, no, not to use it, to

abuse it, as it suits their ends. I have betrayed my profession. Any man who

does what I have done must not be tolerated in the ranks of science. (p.809).

Some people look at Galileo as a coward for what he did, since he did

not stand up for what he believed, even though his life was on the line. I

disagree. He is more of a hero for what he did than if he had let himself

become a martyr. He let the church believe what they wanted to about him, but

internally, he remained the same. He instead lived the rest of his life

supporting a fallacy. He had to pretend that a fundamental part of his belief

system did not exist. Galileo, being a proud and stubborn man found this to be

the most difficult task of his life.

His pride refused to let him accept the illusion (that his theory was

completely wrong) over reality. If he had, he would have been a happier person,

and the conflict that he lived with every day would be resolved.

He ends up in a better state superficially, but internally, his refusal

to accept an illusion has led to his intense dislike for himself and his moral

base. If he could have somehow reconciled his beliefs with the life he actually

led, he wouldn’t have ended up as bitter or sad a person as he did.

Throughout each of these plays, the main character (or characters) faced

a reality that they cease to accept, and instead live in an illusion (except in

the case of Galileo, in which case the reverse is true). The refusal to accept

a reality or illusion led to the characters’ fall in status and/or emotional

well being.