As a reader, An Enemy of the People was quite an interesting book, with an intriguing storyline. The story shows how people can change simply from fear of not fitting in, as it was shown countless times between multiple characters. If the majority was leaning one direction, everyone would move that direction, regardless of their true opinion. For my remarks about Dr. Stockmann, I think that he stood out from the rest of the characters in the book. Him and Mrs. Stockmann were the only individuals in the entire town that stood by the truth. Despite the distinct possibility that he wouldn’t fit in with the rest of the town, he still spoke the truth. Even after he lost everything, including his occupation, he still didn’t budge. To me, this shows a unique level of bravery that most are too afraid to express. I think that he was quite an honest character, as he always said what he thought with no fear. When the conduits were discovered to be unsanitary, Hovstad and Aslaksen were both in Dr. Stockmann’s favour of the truth. As soon as they were faced with the chance that they could lose everything, they all of a sudden switched sides to simply please Peter Stockmann, the mayor. Even once Hovstad and Aslaksen backed away, Dr. Stockmann showed perserverance and determination to speak the truth, and do what was right for the community. Which even for Hovstad and Aslaksen, I can’t even blame them. I would never risk throwing my life away, even if it meant the truth, and this is why I found Dr. Stockmann to be such an interesting character in the book. Even after the accusations, branding, violence, and dismissal of his job, he still stood strong with the truth, and I respect that he was one of the few to stand away from the compact majority to do what was right. For the setting of the story, I found the environment described through what happened to be almost like a dictatorship. When Dr. Stockmann spoke out about the truth, he was simply put down and shunned because of Peter Stockmann’s selfishness. This showed that the community really had no freedom of speech, and Peter Stockmann just portrayed it that way, and it really reminds me of a dictatorship. It sounds scary that one could not express an opinion for the health and well-being of the community without having their life ripped into pieces, all because of financial reasons. Of course, if Peter had publicly announced that Dr. Stockmann’s observation of the filthy conduits was true, he would be under obligation to replace them immediately. If he would not replace them after the announcement, people would point fingers at the mayor. He decided the easiest way to pass on the blame was to dismiss the claim, and make Dr. Stockmann sound crazy. And it worked, everyone was too scared of speaking the truth, and Dr. Stockmann stood alone, as he was branded, which refers back to my point of a dictatorship. In conclusion, An Enemy of the People was an eventful, surprising, and well-written piece. It was very compelling to show how leadership and fear can brainwash everyone.