Judgments and Justification as Portrayed in the Reader

Throughout history mankind has always been faced with judgments. According the Oxford English Dictionary, judgment means “the mental ability to form an opinion” (AHD, 454). We are forced to make decisions based on our “mental opinions.” Then, one’s actions are based on ‘mental opinions’ which are judged by other people. Then there is the inevitable justification of these actions by other people or the person themselves. According the Oxford English Dictionary, justify means “to demonstrate …

…is evident that their judgments were based on self-beliefs and were not, including Hanna, meant to hurt anyone else. So judgments are made, one must be sure that we look into others’ actions before they make their own judgments. Bibliography Schilb, John and John Clifford. Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. Schlink, Bernhard. The Reader. New York, NY: Random House, 1995. “Judgment” The American Heritage Dictionary. 1994 ed.