He is both a religious man and the voice of reason in the story, while hinting at an underlying philosophy through which to pursue true religious faith. This institution places Cleanthes' character above that of Orgon due to the employment of reason. This makes the audience more receptive to Cleanthes' philosophy and assessments. At the end of the first act Tartuffe has yet to appear. However, Orgon and Cleanthes have already largely established his character. Orgon paints Tartuffe as a saint and praises his religious piety with little to support his faith in man. Due to the unreliable nature of his character that was established earlier, Tartuffe's vision of Cleanthes is considered more genuine. Orgon speaks of Tartuffe's religious nature by stating, “The way he bowed humbly and kissed the floor? And when they tried to look away, his fervent prayers to heaven and his deep sighs made them bear witness to his profound spiritual pain.” He is a man who makes a spectacle of his adoration and intends for his own adoration to receive praise for himself from others. Cleanthes condemns this form of worship, saying that true believers "are not those who groan and prostrate." He therefore deduces that true religious devotion is something internal and not something to be shown or praised externally. Because of his established trustworthiness, the audience is more open to his interpretation of Tartuffe's actions. This allows Tartuffe's character to be cemented as a fortune-seeking hypocrite who only gives the appearance of religious devotion. Due to the fact that he has built this clever plan to live generously, he can be seen as a man with a lot of reason and no religion. In this sense he is the opposite of Orgon and as such becomes the symbol of religious hypocrisy which should be condemned due to his empty worship which is simply for spectacle and self-praise. Cleanthes condemns this type of religious belief by telling Orgon, "I think you sincerely praise him, I also think you will pay for it quite dearly." This is both a warning for this kind of belief system and also foreshadows Orgon's unfortunate late revelation towards the end of the story. These characters come together to form the theme of the story. Tartuffe embodies religious hypocrisy and reason without religion. Orgon is the embodiment of religion or belief without reason or self-evaluation. In the character of Cleanthes a medium or balance between religion and reason is shown. Orgon's plight at the end of the story reveals that blind faith is unwise, while Tartuffe's betrayal that is revealed at the end shows the evil in religious hypocrisy. Cleanthes' philosophy is left as the only good path to true religious worship and belief. The point of the story can be gleaned from these institutions. Molière's theme in the story is that true religious faith is only found with genuine worship and the use of reason to discern for oneself how to achieve the faith outlined in the religion itself, while warning of the dangers of religious hypocrisy or religion without substance. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Despite the one-dimensionality of these characters, Molière uses their presence to develop a theme that makes an important point about religion. It establishes the reliability of each character and this causes the reader to not only question the genuine nature of each character's claims, but in turn encourages the reader to question all things and use reason. More specifically, he calls for this use of reason in religion to eliminate the.

Topic > He is both a religious man and the voice of reason in the story, while hinting at an underlying philosophy through which to pursue true religious faith. This institution places Cleanthes' character above that of Orgon due to the employment of reason. This makes the audience more receptive to Cleanthes' philosophy and assessments. At the end of the first act Tartuffe has yet to appear. However, Orgon and Cleanthes have already largely established his character. Orgon paints Tartuffe as a saint and praises his religious piety with little to support his faith in man. Due to the unreliable nature of his character that was established earlier, Tartuffe's vision of Cleanthes is considered more genuine. Orgon speaks of Tartuffe's religious nature by stating, “The way he bowed humbly and kissed the floor? And when they tried to look away, his fervent prayers to heaven and his deep sighs made them bear witness to his profound spiritual pain.” He is a man who makes a spectacle of his adoration and intends for his own adoration to receive praise for himself from others. Cleanthes condemns this form of worship, saying that true believers "are not those who groan and prostrate." He therefore deduces that true religious devotion is something internal and not something to be shown or praised externally. Because of his established trustworthiness, the audience is more open to his interpretation of Tartuffe's actions. This allows Tartuffe's character to be cemented as a fortune-seeking hypocrite who only gives the appearance of religious devotion. Due to the fact that he has built this clever plan to live generously, he can be seen as a man with a lot of reason and no religion. In this sense he is the opposite of Orgon and as such becomes the symbol of religious hypocrisy which should be condemned due to his empty worship which is simply for spectacle and self-praise. Cleanthes condemns this type of religious belief by telling Orgon, "I think you sincerely praise him, I also think you will pay for it quite dearly." This is both a warning for this kind of belief system and also foreshadows Orgon's unfortunate late revelation towards the end of the story. These characters come together to form the theme of the story. Tartuffe embodies religious hypocrisy and reason without religion. Orgon is the embodiment of religion or belief without reason or self-evaluation. In the character of Cleanthes a medium or balance between religion and reason is shown. Orgon's plight at the end of the story reveals that blind faith is unwise, while Tartuffe's betrayal that is revealed at the end shows the evil in religious hypocrisy. Cleanthes' philosophy is left as the only good path to true religious worship and belief. The point of the story can be gleaned from these institutions. Molière's theme in the story is that true religious faith is only found with genuine worship and the use of reason to discern for oneself how to achieve the faith outlined in the religion itself, while warning of the dangers of religious hypocrisy or religion without substance. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Despite the one-dimensionality of these characters, Molière uses their presence to develop a theme that makes an important point about religion. It establishes the reliability of each character and this causes the reader to not only question the genuine nature of each character's claims, but in turn encourages the reader to question all things and use reason. More specifically, he calls for this use of reason in religion to eliminate the.