FREE ESSAY ON GALILEI AND WALLACE;HEROES OR ZEROES?

GALILEI AND WALLACE;HEROES OR ZEROES?

Wallace and Galilei; Heroes or Zeroes?
In the play Galileo by Bertolt Brecht, the main character Galileo Galilei, is forced to
recant and turn on his ideals for the sake of his life. The little monk warned Galileo
before he divulged his findings, that they could be disastrous to the metaphysical order
of society. Peasants, working classes, the religious right, all of humanities concept of
the world would be shattered. 
In the movie Braveheart, a similar situation is evident. Mel Gibson plays William
Wallace, a Scottish peasant under the rule of England. English soldiers kill his wife and
father, and he sparks a revolt against England. After assembling a small band of
soldiers, he turns to the nobles of Scotland and their armies for help. But through his
rage, the metaphysical order of the ones around him is destroyed. 
"If we join, we can win. If we win, well, we'll have what we've never had before; a
country of our own." 
(Wallace, speaking to Robert the Bruce, a high noble. 1:20, BH)
At first he gets it, but then support for Wallace by the nobles is waned by offers of
land and money by the King of England. The Nobles do not want to risk their land and
power in Scotland, nor do their troops want to risk their lives and their families. So,
Wallace is deserted and betrayed a number of times by his fellow countrymen because they
will not let their metaphysical order be destroyed. They see Wallace as having a blinding
rage, with a score to settle. They do not believe that they can actually achieve freedom
from England, and they are not prepared to give up everything on the evidence they have
at hand.
"We will not sacrifice our families, our lands, our lives, for your notion of something
we have never known. The English our too many, and if I swear to you, can you guarantee
me freedom? No." 
(Scottish peasant, talking to Wallace, speaking for his clan. 1:58, BH)
Wallace was fighting for his concrete beliefs and ideals. Although it was sparked by the
murder of his wife and father. He was prepared to be a martyr, although all he really
wanted was to have a family and a farm. He was willing to give his life for the future of
his country, which says something about his character. He was finally betrayed again and
handed over to the throne to be tortured and killed. Wallace stuck by what he believed
in, but in turn, he pushed away many of his countrymen and compromised their position in
the world. He went into it with a strong heart, not knowing of the circumstances and
consequences he would encounter. 
In Galileo, he did much of the same thing. He thought his findings would change the
world, which they did, just not how he planned. Galileo discovered that Jupiter had a
fourth moon, which meant that the Earth revolved around the sun, which contradicted 2000
years of teachings. The Earth was originally believed to be the center of the universe.
With this new information, Galileo would contradict the bible itself. The Religious sect
was not prepared to accept this as factual information, because it made the metaphysical
order of everyone crumble into a heap at their feet. 
"They draw the strength they need to sweat with their loaded baskets up the stony paths,
to bear children, even to eat, from the sight of the trees greening each year anew, from
the reproachful face of the soil, which is never satisfied, and from the little church
and bible texts they hear on Sunday. They have been told that God relies upon them and
that the pageant of the world has been written around them that they may be tested in the
important or unimportant parts handed out to them. How could they take it, were I to tell
them that they are on a lump of stone ceaselessly spinning in empty space, circling
around a second-rate star? What comfort, then, the Holy Scriptures, which have mercifully
explained their crucifixion. The Holy Scriptures would then be proved full of mistakes."
(p.84, the little Monk, Galileo)
This reflects the feelings of the common folk. The little monk tried to show Galileo that
his findings would disrupt the everyday life of the peasants, and that although they are
the poor and weak, they are made to feel part of something bigger. They are working away,
but they play their part in the world, no matter how small. Just waiting for what lies
after all their hard work; Heaven. So Galileo discloses this information he has, and is
then forced to recant. By doing so, the metaphysical order is still intact, but he ruins
his daughter's life, Andrea loses faith and respect in his teacher, and the little monk
abandons physics for the church. 
"I, Galileo Galilei, Teacher of Mathematics and Physics, do hereby publicly renounce my
teaching that the earth moves. I forswear this teaching with a sincere heart and
unfeigned faith and detest and curse this and all other errors and heresies repugnant to
the Holy Scriptures." 
(p.114, town crier, Galileo)
"The mountain did turn to water." (p.114, Andrea, Galileo)
"I can't look at him. Tell him to go away." (p.114, Andrea, Galileo)
Galileo was just doing what he believed in, much like William Wallace, but it made it
worse for everyone including himself. He never could have known it would end like this,
but he did not save his reputation, he gave in to the majority. Wallace did not. He kept
on fighting and came out a hero. Galileo gave in to the powers that be, lost everyone's
respect, and came out a coward. He lived the rest of his life on house arrest, not being
able to continue his life work.