LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE YOUR GUIDE?

by Deborah Elliott-Upton

“There is no witness so terrible, no accuser so potent, as the conscience that dwells in every man’s breast.” —Polybius

Recently, I stumbled upon the 1928 movie version of “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the earliest acknowledged adaptation to film of Edgar Allen Poe’s classic story of a conscience getting the better of the protagonist (who is his own antagonist). The short film stays close to the actual short story, giving artistic license to director and actor accordingly.

The prose style yanks me back to a time when people actually said sentences such as, “You fancy me mad!” Yet, the story holds up to the Millennium (and beyond) because though our language changes, the basic man has not. Sure, we are more sophisticated and world-conscious, but mankind has not grown above instinct. Most of us still have a conscience, whether we chose to follow its path for us or not.

A parlor game of “What would you do if . . . ” proves that just about half of us say we would do the noble thing, but if we didn’t, would our consciences bother us?

One of my Facebook friends, young adult novelist Sabrina Hunter, asked, “Here’s a question that doesn’t require an online response, although it would be interesting to see what those responses would be. Could any of you do what those three senior citizens did by tackling that gunman in Arizona? How you answer this question, to yourself, will give you a great insight on how YOU project the future of our country.”

Sabrina received over 20 comments with this post. Most people said they would give their lives to protect others in the same situation. Sometimes, we find ourselves acting in ways we never expected.

My response to her question was:

“It’s one of those things that just happen, not what you think about doing. When a burglar broke into our home, I chased after him down the block. I have no idea what I intended to do if I caught him, but I was so angry that I just reacted. I never would have dreamed I would have done that. So, yes, I probably would have tried to stop the gunman.”

My characters—as well as others’ characters—have often surprised me with their reactions, but in a good way. Although previously I absolutely knew if I’d been home when a burglar broke in, I’d be smart enough to get out to a safe place where I could call the police, that is not what I did in that circumstance. But if anyone had dug deep into my own character, anyone would have known I’d probably had the response I did. I’m not the one who hides from a fight. I have learned to speak up and make my opinion heard (even when it wasn’t popular). My rage at the burglar was not due to him attempting to steal our things, but the audacity of breaking into our home. I could not have lived with myself if I didn’t do something. And yes, I realize, I most certainly could have been hurt, maimed, or killed by my actions, too. I didn’t think. I just acted, and in the end, my conscience was my guide as much as my anger. I felt like one of King Arthur’s knights on a mission to institute right over might.

The Encarta Dictionary defines conscience as “. . . the sense of what is right and wrong that governs somebody’s thoughts and actions, urging him or her to do right rather than wrong.”

If a character has been created properly, the reader isn’t really surprised when he rises to the call to action. Instead, we feel a pride that he is “taking care of business.” Whether he is actually fighting an enemy, keeping an innocent citizen from being harmed or simply standing up for what his conscience is telling him he is doing right, we cheer for him.

A conscience is a terrible thing to lose. I weep for those who pay no heed to theirs.