When faced with a situation, a person might rise against a challenge in hopes of defending his own values and beliefs. Sometimes, while defending ones own beliefs, he risks causing himself great personal loss or distress. This is evident in Robert Bolt's play, A Man For All Seasons, where Sir Thomas More faces his challenge by giving his life for what he believes in. He refuses to sign the Act of Supremacy, declaring the marriage between King Henry and Ann Boelyn legitimate and legal. Thomas Cromwell has no personal values to defend. He, being a loyal servant to the King, adopts the values of King Henry as his own. Richard Rich, in a much similar fashion, follows almost every decree of Cromwell. Rich, being the young man that he is, is still searching for his own values and beliefs, so he is greatly influenced by a powerful man such as Cromwell. Ironically, Sir Thomas More is the only character of the three to have positive moral values, and is the only one to be killed in the play for believing in them.
Thomas Cromwell is a man who can set aside his own values to obey those of another. In this case, his values become those of King Henry. Henry will tell Cromwell to do something, and whether Cromwell believes in it or not, will carry out the task. When Cromwell is speaking with Signor Chapuys and Richard Rich, he exclaims; "Well, I suppose you would call me The King's Ear' It's a useful organ, the ear. But in fact it's even simpler than that. When the King wants something done, I do it."" (pg. 38) In the case of Sir Thomas More, Cromwell is asked to have More executed, by any means necessary. Knowing that the only offence by More to the King was not attending the wedding of Henry and Anne Boelyn, Cromwell twists the law, and rearranges the words of Sir Thomas More to make him appear guilty of treason. One could argue that Cromwell is as much a murderer as the King, and as much as the one who delivers the axe to the back of More's neck.
