Event Analysis 14 Nov 2012 -Chris Ridgely

   

     For today's cultural event, I went to a festival for Martin Luther's birthday. Martin Luther is of course the creator of the religion of Lutheranism and he wrote the "95 Thesis" which is widely regarded as the catalyst for the Protestant reformation. We sampled traditional German food and then there was a play which depicted the life of Martin Luther from being disowned by his father for following a life of religion and finally to the start of the Protestant reformation. It was a very nice celebration and the food was delicious. There was a prayer for Martin Luther and at the very end there was a song commemorating his accomplishments and the reformation of the Protestant Church. This is similar to the end of  "Shane" because they were both essentially sainted by their actions and immortalized by their legend. Luther of course saving and reforming the Protestant religion where as Shane was determined to keep Joe's reputation and well being in the town in tact so much so that he was willing to sacrifice his own values. Shane defended the Starrett's homestead by any means that were within his personal code and even went as far as slightly bending his morals but his code allowed him to stay the "good guy" throughout the entirety of the story. This is similar to Martin Luther's story in the way that no matter what resistance he ran into, whether it was being disowned by his father or excommunicated from the church, Luther continued to do what he believed because he thought it was right. Shane's character is very similar to this, especially when Shane was confronted in a violent way. Shane would never go out looking for a fight and would always do his best to avoid any and as mush physical conflict as he can. There came a part where Fletcher and his men tried to start a conflict with Shane in the bar it was stated that Shane was not afraid of fighting the men, but he was afraid of what he might do to them if there had been a fight. Later in the book it is revealed that Shane is quite adept at fighting and combat from the way he wields a firearm to the way he was able to quickly and cleanly dispatch Fletcher's men when he went back to the bar after they had been laying into the Starrett's and their farm.
     The character of Shane and Martin Luther from history are very similar in essence and creed from the way neither of them were willing to use violent or ultimately evil means to create a change or protect people that they hold dear. Shane made a final move at the end of the book to prove to Bob that a good person can still win in the end that they do not need to resort to evil ways. Martin Luther was able to persevere through all the hard times that he had to go through without ever resorting to a dishonest or otherwise evil tactics to get to his ultimate outcome. Both men had a moral code that they kept and they both proved that dedication and sacrifice is what it takes for ultimately good men to come on top.