Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht is an interesting play depicting the progression of not only Galileo's life, but more importantly his life's work. Set in Italy, the pressure of the Roman Catholic Church restricts his ability to prove that the sun is the center of the universe. Despite his ideas being proven true and their popularity among the people, the threats of the church ultimately lead to him renouncing his ideas. The profession of Galileo's actions are what stood out to me the most, because in the beginning of the play he is extremely determined to work and prove his theories. Yet as we see in the end, he shies away from being dead-set on his work and instead worries about the outcome of his trial. In scene one, we get a taste of Galileo's determination when he explains to Sagredo that the monks and scholars will believe his work,
"Galileo: I'll take them by the scruff of the neck and I'll drag them to the telescope. Even monks are human beings, Sagredo. Even they are subject to the seduction of proof. Copernicus, don't forget, wanted them to believe their eyes. If the truth is too feeble to stick up for itself then it must go over to the attack. I;m going to take them by the scruff of the neck and force them to look through the telescope" (Scene 1 page 30).
In this conversation we clearly see Galileo's dedication to the truth. As we get to the end of play, it's frustrating that despite his proof and the backing of the public, the Roman Church still puts him on trial for going against the "normal beliefs." This suppression of novel ideas is obviously one of the larger themes of the book. Religion and status quo made Galileo too afraid to back his ideas. In addition to this, Galileo's change in character is clearly a result of the church's oppression. If the church wasn't so powerful his ideas definitely would have been common much faster.
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