This assignment provides a scenario, which allows you to decide who you believe is the most responsible for the crime and w

This assignment provides a scenario, which allows you to decide who you believe is the most responsible for the crime and who the true victim and offender are. This will allow you to explore the basic concepts of shared responsibility, victim-blaming, and victim defending. You will also apply how media and different social movements have affected our view of the presented situation.

Instructions

1. Read the story below then follow the directions at the end:

   As he left for a visit to his outlying districts, the jealous baron warned his pretty wife: "Do not leave the castle while I am gone, or I will punish you severely when I return!" But as the hours passed, the young baroness grew lonely. Despite her husband’s warning, she decided to visit her lover, who lived in the countryside nearby. The castle was situated on an island in a wide, fast-flowing river. A drawbridge linked the island to the mainland at the narrowest point in the river. "Surely my husband will not return before dawn," she thought and ordered her servants to lower the drawbridge and leave it down until she returned.

   After spending several pleasant hours with her lover, the Baroness returned to the drawbridge, only to find it blocked by a gateman wildly waving a long, cruel knife. "Do not attempt to cross this bridge, Baroness, or I will have to kill you," he cried. "The baron ordered me to do so." Fearing for her life, the baroness returned to her lover and asked him for help. "Our relationship is only a romantic one," he said, "I will not help." The baroness then sought out a boatman on the river, explaining her plight to him, and asked him to take her across the river in his boat. "I will do it, but only if you can pay my fee of five marks." "But I have no money with me!" the baroness protested. "That is too bad. No money, no ride," the boatman said flatly. Her fear growing, the baroness ran crying to the home of a friend and, after explaining her desperate situation, begged for enough money to pay the boatman his fee. If you had not disobeyed your husband, this would not have happened," the friend said. "I will give you no money."

   With dawn approaching and her last resource exhausted, the baroness returned to the bridge in desperation, attempted to cross to the castle, and was slain by the gateman.

   Who do you think is most responsible for the baroness’s death? Please rank the characters in order of how responsible you think they are in causing the baroness’s death (1=Most Responsible and 6=Least Responsible). This list should be prepared by one’s own value system, not the values of the time of the story.

   CHARACTERS:
   ___ Baron
   ___ Baroness
   ___ Gateman
   ___ Boatman
   ___ Friend
   ___ Lover

2. Once you’ve ranked the characters, then write a two-page paper identifying your rankings and address why you ranked the individuals in the order that you did. Discuss how different social movements, the media, and society have guided you in forming these opinions of responsibility.
3. In order to receive full credit, your paper needs to meet the following formatting criteria:
   • Completed in MS Word
   • Cites outside resources in addition to the eText
   • Uses APA style to format your assignment as well as citations and references
   • 2 pages in length
   • Double-spaced in Times New Roman 12pt font