Response Paper #3 (REVISED) The Play of Life

Andrew Manning

Matt Thomas

Language Arts 11

September 23, 2007

The Play of Life REVISED

Values, oh Values, What art thou values? Ah yes, the play of life is formed by our personal values. Our values form the base of the acts, create the boundaries of each scene, and manage the reaction of every character. In this response paper, I will explore the power of values, and unravel the secrets to its purpose in life.

Let us first ask ourselves: What would life be like without values? Maybe it would be fun, carefree, and full of peace & harmony without values holding us back; or maybe full of war, conflict, and drama with no values to keep us in line. But what would happen if there were no values? Lets us use “the director of life” as a metaphor for “values”. The director of life makes sure everyone is doing what they supposed to be doing. The answer to that is nothing. Nothing would happen. Everyone would stop speaking up, stop taking control, and stop everything. Imagine a world where no one had anything to stand up for, nothing to speak against, and nothing to strive for? That is exactly how life would be without Mr. Values to keep everyone going on.

The next thing we must ask is, “What is the limit of the power of values?” The answer to that lies within our souls. And that answer is Free Will. While values do influence our free will, free will can step in front of our values and take control. It is like the actor in the play taking his roll a step further, past the bounds that the director set, to give an outstanding effect on the audience. For example, one time in my life, I got into a conflict. The guy I was conflicting wanted to fight, but my one of my values then was to be pacifistic. But I hated this guy, I really did. And I wanted to show him that I wasn’t afraid of him. So I punched him, ignoring my pacifistic value. There was a short fight, but no one won because both of our friends split us up. All was well in the end after we apologized. We even became friends after that. How is that for stepping out of the bounds of the director?

Now that we have looked at both ends of the spectrum, we now have a clue to what purpose values hold in the play of life. We now know that values keep everything in order, while still allowing us to ignore them, giving us the power to take hold of any situation for your favor. The purpose for the existence of values is to keep everything balanced and structured. Some of you may disagree due to the fact that some conflicting values have caused arguments and wars. But the conflict is what keeps the balance, and it is our free will that causes the wars. So, in this play of life, keep your values while respecting other’s values, and don’t be afraid to take a step out of your values and show your true self on stage.