Thomas Becket Movie Peter Glenville's Essay

Total Length: 1132 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1

Page 1 of 4

The king proves his irresponsibility by forgiving Becket and thus brings England once again in danger of being controlled by the clergy. The final scenes show how Becket dies while protecting his beliefs while the king is ravaged by his own actions and illogically punishes Becket's killers for the murder Henry II indirectly ordered.

Question 3:

It is difficult to determine if Becket actually got God's honor exactly as he expected it to. The fact that he died as a member of the church nonetheless turns him into a martyr, given that he could have prevented this by respecting Henry II's requirements. Becket obviously longed for the honor of God, but his love was not necessarily one related to achievement. As a member of the church he learnt that one should love God's honor and that he or she has to respect the divine no matter the consequences.

Brother John, the monk trying to protect Becket during the last moments of his life, is an example of how one is more attached to material matters than he is attached to his beliefs. Becket does not attempt to oppose resistance to the barons' attack, since he believed that his death was nearing as a result of his resolute convictions.

King Henry II makes Becket a martyr, granting the former archbishop a material value most members of the clergy aspire to. However, through his actions Becket proved to have no regard in this title, as his real aspirations were related to the supernatural, to his connection to the divine, and to what he perceived as being God's will. The Pope highlighted the fact that it was Becket's mission to protect God's honor in England, making it obvious that the Archbishop of Canterbury had to do so through every means possible, even if this meant that he would have to give up his life.

Becket died as a true hero, respectably and without feeling any remorse for his past actions as a member of the church.
Judging from this, it would be fair to say that Becket had without a doubt achieved the "honor of God."

Question 4:

Becket is not surprised by the moment of his death, as he actually wanted to encounter it at his apogee as a follower of God. The fact that he wears his best clothes even though he is aware that he is going to die shortly partly reduces from his character as a martyr, considering that he is obviously interested in the material value of these moments. Henry II's truthful barons quickly react to their king's cry regarding the problem that Becket has turned out to be, demonstrating how the king's drunken state and the general secular opposition against the clergy materialized in Becket's sentence to death.

In addition to his role as one who opposed the Crown, Becket was also seen as an enemy of Henry II because of his Saxon ethnicity, considering that he gained the public's support even with the fact that he returned as an exile. The "meddlesome priest" turns out to be much more influential than he seemed to be as he dies and provokes great regret in Henry II. While Brother John ignorantly tries to protect Becket from the impending danger, the archbishop accepts his faith peacefully.

Bibliography:

Dir. Peter Greenville.….....

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