Tiffany Lin

Mr. Breiger
AP English Language and Composition
21 January 2015
The Circle of Life
Recently, a study was conducted on whether it is possible for humans to walk in a straight
line while blindfolded. Researchers took several subjects and asked them to walk in what they
believed was a straight line with their eyes covered. After the test, it was concluded that without
visual cues, people naturally walk in circles. This observation can also be applied to the general
state of our society. Because people are usually blind to events around them, instead of making
progress, humanity tends to walk in increasingly large circles. We often disregard our most
fundamental flaws, which make most of us ignorant in some way. Although some individuals
may seem like true progressives, the sad reality is that these people only succeed in widening the
diameter of the circle of stupidity that humans are perpetually stuck in. These people give us
hope that the path we are traveling on has become straighter, but in reality it is only because the
circle increases in size. It is clear that humans are trapped in an inevitable loop of stupidity, and
this paradigm is present in many works of literature, like Arthur Millers historical drama The
Crucible, F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel The Great Gatsby, Lorraine Hansberrys play A Raisin in
the Sun, Martin Luther King Jr.s speech I Have A Dream, as well as in modern events, whether it
be the McCarthy era, Chinas Cultural Revolution, the usage of the SAT test as shown in the
documentary Secrets of the SAT, racism in modern times, or the existence of the Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, can be seen as an allegory about the dangers of
human ignorance. In this play, Abigail Williams is a teenage girl who is in control of the entire
town of Salem because of her false accusations of witchcraft. The judges in the town choose to
believe Abigail, despite the fact that her claims are not based on solid evidence. She incriminates

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many people, and these people in turn must either be hanged or confess to witchcraft and
implicate others. It is until the death of an influential man, John Proctor, when the townspeople
are finally able to realize how blind they have been. From this play, we are able to see how
choosing not to consciously evaluate one's views can be detrimental to society as a whole.
Although people want to believe that they are thinking for themselves, it is much easier to follow
the actions of another group of people without questioning the morality of one's behavior as well
as falsely blaming others. This mentality is not limited to the 1600s either; there are still many
cases in more modern times where hysteria and misinformation lead to tragedy. The McCarthy
era and China's Cultural Revolution are both evidence that this mentality has not been eradicated.
In essence, these events were the result of one common human trait: ignorance. When we choose
to turn away from questioning authority, we are choosing to give up our own powers of free
thought. When we choose to be blind to events that happened before, we end up repeating eerily
similar scenarios. With such an enormous flaw, it is no wonder that human society is so
repetitive. Arthur Millers The Crucible was intended to serve as a warning against mass
hysteria, but sadly we are confined to the same loop because humans are too arrogant to think
about the consequences of our actions. Arrogance is definitely a trait that is to blame for human
foolishness, as shown in The Great Gatsby.
A work of literature that fully displays the repetitiveness of human society is The Great
Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this tragic novel, Jay Gatsby is a wealthy man whose only
desire in the world is to reunite with Daisy Buchanan, a woman whom he had dated in the past.
Gatsby himself displays a very strong selective ignorance, causing him to be hopelessly
optimistic about things that will never be. It is easy for most to recognize that Daisy is an
inherently selfish person, but Gatsby shows an unwavering loyalty to her that puts his own life at
risk. His willful ignorance of her selfish qualities puts him in the unfortunate position of being

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collateral damage from her own self-interests, like when he is rejected by her when they first
meet, or when he took the blame of running over a woman for the sake of protecting Daisy.
Although some may see his actions as noble, Gatsby is simply a disillusioned man who
consciously decides not to learn from his mistakes and is overconfident in his own abilities to
repeat the past. To some his behavior would seem romantic, chasing after his unattainable
dreams. However, his attitude of hopeless optimism resonates with the rest of societyas long
as humans remain ignorant, whether deliberately or not, society will inevitably fall back into a
cycle of stupidity. Another work of literature that clearly displays this cycle is Lorraine
Hansberrys play A Raisin in the Sun.
Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun seems like an example that breaks from the path
of a circle by showing some progress, but it is actually a poignant example of just one segment
from the larger circle of human folly. A Raisin in the Sun is about a working-class AfricanAmerican family, the Youngs, struggling to make ends meet while they dream of better things,
like moving into a new and larger residence. They eventually do find a house, but it is located in
a predominantly white suburb. The residents of this particular neighborhood are so opposed to
the Youngs moving into their community that they have even gone so far as to offer to buy the
house from the family in exchange for them not to move to the area. The family is conflicted by
this development, but they finally decide that they will be undeterred by these close-minded
people and move into the area. Although the family makes great progress in their ways of
thinking, the rest of the population in the new community is not so easily changed. In this, the
sad reality of their situation comes to light: no matter how much one desires to break the cycle of
ignorance, it is almost impossible to eradicate the prejudice that people have because it is a
common trait shared by many. The play ends on a hopeful note, but this does not change the
mentality of the white community and the impending distrust that will face the Youngs. Although

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people like the Young family try to buck against the system of unfairness that is omnipresent in
society and remain hopeful about their future, their noble efforts cannot dissolve the wellestablished institution that is racism. Humans are inherently inclined to be prejudiced, and this
trait is something that is as unchanging as the cycle of events that are the result of this ignorance.
Similarly, wishes of a better society have been made but not been fulfilled, as illustrated by the
influence of Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream speech.
Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream speech, in addition to events from
contemporary times, shows why humans will never break free from the circle of stupidity. In his
moving speech, King expresses his wish to see everyone join together in peace. He dreams of a
day when his children will join hands with people outside of their own race. He proclaims, I
have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be
judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character (King).Sadly, not enough
people share his views to indicate that people are actually becoming more tolerant. The
unfettered optimism that he has for society is inspiring, but his dream has not even come close to
being realized today. The ubiquity of police brutality is one sure sign of racism still existing
today, as many people of color are routinely stopped and searched even when they have done
nothing wrong. Even more subtle acts of racism are still noticeable in our everyday interactions.
Though toned down from the blatant segregation from Dr. Kings era, modern racism still has a
large impact on society, fueling everything from general distrust to blatant murder. In this way,
we can see that modern society has not deviated much from the world of Martin Luther King.
Racism will still persist if people remain ignorant as they are.
The depressing truth of ignorance is also apparent in todays academic culture, as shown
by the documentary Secrets of the SATs. This revealing documentary about America's college
admissions process illustrates how backwards our society can be. The SAT test, originally

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designed to give students from a lower socioeconomic class a better chance at a world-class
education and to increase socioeconomic diversity at top schools, is an institution that does not
succeed at what it aims to achieve. Although its implementation into the college admissions
process is supposed to create the illusion of a meritocracy, it has created an entirely opposite
effect. Students with more money and resources are able to achieve better scores on the test, and
consequently are able to score higher and be more appealing to top-tier colleges. As we can see
from the documentary, some of the students are able to pay for and attend rigorous SAT
preparation classes, while others do not have the same privilege. The amount of preparation is
often the indication of whether a student will score highly on the test or not. What was once a
test of intelligence has now become an indicator of a students ability to take a specific test. From
a college admissions point of view, after so many years of relying on this method as one way to
judge a potential applicant, the system has begun to resemble the very establishment it was trying
to get rid of and leads to less socioeconomic diversity. In this, we find that no matter how much
people try to change a system, humans will still eventually revert back to the way things were
before.
Clearly, humanity is walking in a circle of stupidity. Whether due to deliberate ignorance,
like Jay Gatsby and the townspeople of Salem, or a hopeful navet, like the Young family or
Martin Luther King Jr., people will be inevitably disappointed by whatever circumstances may
arise. The errors of humanity are echoed throughout history because people are ignorant of the
events occurring around them and the lessons bestowed upon them by their predecessors. Names
will change and places will differ, but ultimately it does not matter. We as a society are the sum
of our parts, and when a large percentage of these parts are moral flaws, it is easy to see why the
trajectory of human progress is not moving in a positive direction. Even now, when the world
seems like it is advancing by leaps and bounds, there are still many indications of the direction

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that society is moving in. The existence of ISIS is quite enough to show the backwards and
circular path that humanity is currently taking. Holding of hostages, beheading of various
journalists, and countless other atrocities are all signs that hate is still alive and well in humanity.
This organizations attempts at reversing the little progress we have made make it even clearer
that there will always be some part of society that is deeply flawed. There are simply not enough
visionaries like Martin Luther King Jr. who are aware enough to alter the course of humanity. If
we continue to proceed as if blind to all that is occurring around us, we will definitely end up
walking in large circles in the barren desert of morality.