High Noon Case

Utilitarianism is an ethical approach made popular by John Stuart Mill. It goes by the belief of “the greatest good for the greatest number” (Rachels, 2012). Utilitarianism followers believe that “if the good outweighs the bad, then the action is moral” (Anderson, 2004).

High noon starts in happiness and love you see Kane getting married to Amy who is a Quaker. He is leaving his life as a marshal for the small town to live a more peaceful life with his wife, who does not agree with violence and guns. As Amy states in the movie it’s against her religion. Minutes after they are married Kane receives a telegram, which tells him Frank is coming back to town to kill him for putting in prison. Now the townspeople in knowing the Kane was planning on leaving push him out of the court house and make Kane and his new bride leave in fear of Frank. Once Kane and Amy left, Kane got to thinking, he could not in good faith leave the townspeople to fend for themselves against this evil person. Kane expressed this to who wife and they proceeded to get in to an argument, his wife decided since he was going to stay and fight she was going to leave him. The towns people tell him that he is no longer the marshal of the town, therefore not his fight. Kane disregarded what everyone told him and stayed to protect the townspeople. This is because of his great sense of duty that would not let him allow others (the innocent townspeople) to risk their lives over something that he feels is his responsibility. The fact that Kane was so willing to risk his new life and live happily ever after with his wife for the town’s safety shows his loyalty to the town and its safety.

Kane’s need to stay and protect the townspeople is definitely Utilitarianism; he is willing to risk his wife and his own life to protect the people he had served for years. He did not want “his” town to under siege and taken over by bandits. Kane had worked so hard to build the town to the way it should be. Women were able to walk the town again and not be harassed. Children were allowed to play with no fears. Kane took great pride in being able to make the town this way and no one was going to take that from him.

In the church scene when Kane was asking for people to help fight with him when Frank came to town, the church goers were unreceptive to his requests. They argued with him that if he had just left and Frank came to town that nothing would happen and if it did