Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches Justice and Judgment Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)

Quote #1

Joe: The truth restored. Law restored. That's what President Reagan's done, Harper. He says "Truth exists and can be spoken proudly." (1.5.63)

Joe sees President Reagan as the ultimate source of justice in the country. From his perspective, Reagan is righting the wrongs that have happened to America over the last few years.

Quote #2

Louis: It's not the verdict that counts, it's the act of judgment. [...] It's the judge in his or her chambers, weighing, books open, pondering the evidence, ranging freely over categories: good, evil, innocent, guilty; the judge in the chamber of circumspection, not the judge on the bench with the gavel. (1.8.48-52)

To the highly intellectual Louis, justice is a very complicated thing. Somebody isn't just bad or good – people are defined by the many (probably contradictory) things they've done. To Louis, there's no such thing as good or evil – the world just isn't that simple.

Quote #3

Prior: Justice...
Louis: ... is an immensity, a confusing vastness. Justice is God (1.8.71).

Some see God as the ultimate judge who defines right and wrong. Louis also seems to see God as justice, although in a way that's a lot more complicated than most people's notions.