Abstract This paper discusses the role of minor characters as foils in the play. The two important yet smaller characters which are given significant place in the play are that Nils Krogstad and Mrs. Linde who act as foils to Nora and Torvald because they reveal important information about the two leading characters. Secondly, foils are also vital for any play because they help some of the main characters grow and change. The evolutionary process of the main characters requires the presence of foils just like that of Krogstad and Linde in "A Doll's House".
From the Paper "A Doll's House is a classic play by Henrik Ibsen, which focuses on the theme of individuality, feminism and role of women in the society. Though the play was written in 1879, it can be easily related to because of the farsightedness of the writer who incorporated the modern ideals of feminism and equal rights for women in his play which was written in times when women were completely unaware of individuality and were suppressed by men in every field. The story revolves around an innocent housewife who is constantly deceived by her husband. The husband is not cheating on her and neither is he ever unfaithful to her, but the deception comes from his refusal to let his wife grow and develop her own personality. He, like most other men, maintains that a woman's primary duty is to look after her husband and children. Nora is foolish and naive to believe that her duties as a wife had been her only objectives in life, it is only near the end of the play that she realizes how wrong she had been and that she barely knew her husband."
Abstract An in-depth analysis of four main characters in two of Shakespeare's plays. This essay details Anthony and his inner conflict between his longing to rule the Roman Empire and his strong love for Cleopatra. It also details the very fickle and dramatic character of Cleopatra and the many versatile parts she can play. It includes a brief discussion of the overwhelming love between Romeo and Juliet as well as their families' feud. Finally, it compares the plays and their characters.
From the Paper "Antony is a man in conflict throughout this play. He struggles between his need to rule the Roman Empire, and his great love for Cleopatra. When he with Cleopatra, she is the only thing that matters. He says in the first act, "Let Rome in Tiber melt, and the wide arch / Of the ranged empire fall" (Cohen, Howard, and Greenblatt I.i.35?36). In just a few moments however, he worries that his love will cause him to "lose [him]self in dotage" (Cohen, Howard, and Greenblatt I.ii.106) and then he is afraid that his wife had died because of him, and that this is just one ill befalling because of his ?idleness.? He has a hard time deciding whether to follow his passion, and stay with Cleopatra, or follow his duty, and return to Rome."
Abstract The author of this paper analyzes how Tennessee Williams, in his play, "The Glass Menagerie", portrays the fragile psyches of its characters. The paper shows how the characters are an arrangement of tiny, delicate glass figurines whose essence of life can be shattered very easily.
From the Paper "All the characters in the play in some way seek an escape: Tom"movies and the marines, Laura"solace in her glass animals, Amanda?from reality; even Jim seeks escape from the responsibilities of his upcoming marriage. The father has already left, abandoning his family to their fate. The play is also replete with symbolism: The apartment in a big city is a symbol for the loneliness that each character carries around."
Tags: Amanda, Wingfield, Tom, Laura, Jim, O'Connor
Abstract The writer of this paper counters feminists claims that Shakespeare was in agreement through the unfolding of his stories with the prevalent patriarchal culture. The writer shows that Shakespeare portrayed women as society would have understood them during that time period. By exploring the character, Ophelia, in "Hamlet", the paper shows that in fact Shakespeare holds a mirror to human experience in the play and exposes the virtues and the vices of the times.
From the Paper "One of the most important issues often addressed in studying the portrayal of women in Hamlet is the Oedipus complex theory of Sigmund Freud. He claimed that individuals had a repressed desire for sexual involvement with the parent of the opposite sex. He went on to claim that there was rivalry with the parent of the same sex. Most critical readers admit that Hamlet indeed suffered from Oedipus complex. In fact, Hamlet is preoccupied with his mother's sexual life. This is part of what is driving him made."
Abstract The following paper discusses many themes revolving around the role of women in these two works. They include marriage and adultery, anger coping and revenge. The themes are compared and contrasted with both works.
From the Paper "The play Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen and the play Medea by Euripides have independent-minded women as central characters. Hedda Gabler and Medea refuse to conform to standards set forth by society regarding their roles as women. Ibsen and Euripides show the restrictions and biases society places on Hedda Gabler and Medea by exploring the themes of marriage and revenge. Hedda Gabler takes place in Norway in the early 1900s, while Medea takes place in ancient Greece. Regardless of the setting, society's treatment of Hedda Gabler and Medea is similar. The similarity in the treatment of both women illustrates the universality of sexism. As women, Hedda Gabler and Medea are expected to adhere to different roles and standards than the men in their lives. Ibsen and Euripides use the lives of Hedda Gabler and Medea to show how stereotypes and sexist beliefs contribute to society's treatment and view of women."
Abstract This paper examines how Hamlet's own indecisiveness and unwillingness to act in the end of the play cause a great deal of harm in the world. The writer contends that Hamlet presents himself as someone who has no choices, someone whom the fates have trapped, however it is of the opinion of this writer that fate is never absolute and thus this essential flaw of Hamlet's character, this inability to take his life into his hands, makes him all the more compelling.
From the Paper "Hamlet's habitual indecisiveness even as he seeks revenge leads to a climax in which there is in fact no clear resolution to the play's action, no clear sense that the something that is rotten in the state has been plucked out. There is no sense of justice having overcome evil, for the world of Denmark as seen in Hamlet's court is so corrupted that it cannot be cleansed even by the degree of death that takes place in the play. By the end of the action Elsinore has been transformed into a garden of the dead, with the corpses of both the innocent and the culpable planted in the ground like terrible seeds that will bring forth another generation of the damned. There is not the sense of renewal at the end in Hamlet that one finds in other tragedies such as Othello."
Abstract The paper shows that in the play "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller, the character Willy Loman has devoted his entire life to making money and to being liked by his sons, his bosses and those individuals in power whom he wishes to impress. The paper suggests, however, that by failing to instill any moral values in his sons, Willy Loman is a failure both as a father and as a man. It shows that the values he has been sold by American culture and the values he sells to his family are revealed to be utterly bankrupt at the end of the drama and his life.
From the Paper "Miller, in "Death of a Salesman," portrays an America utterly lacking in morality and religion, where the only values offered to Willy Loman and his sons are that of material success and shallow appreciation in the eyes of others. All sense of a moral core, of origins has been lost in this America. Instead, there is only moral bankruptcy, if not in the monetary sense, then in the spiritual sense."
Abstract This paper examines the Shakespearean character "Puck" in the play ? A Midsummer Night's Dream.? It describes him as the head fairy and protagonist in the play and the reason this play is so magical. The paper describes the use of language in order to set apart the fairies from the "mortals".
From the Paper "'Spirits and fairies cannot be represented, they cannot even be painted, -- they can only be believed'" (Bloom 87). This could be the opening line of Shakespeare's ?A Midsummer Night's Dream,? for as we watch the play unfold, we are taken out of the world of today, and into a magical world full of romance, magic, and farce, and Puck is a major player in the story that unfolds."
Abstract The paper presents a discussion of the male characters in both plays and then constructs a comparison between the two plays in terms of the father/son relationships therein.
From the Paper "Polonius and Laertes, on the other hand, are portrayed as opposites in character. Although the play sees more of their relationship in the play, the viewers/readers cannot conclude that a happy relationship exists between the two of them. Laertes is a good and trusting son, who obeys his father unconditionally. Polonius, meanwhile, is a suspicious character that perceives his son as an alcoholic and womanizer. Polonius? distrust in his son was seen at Act Two, Scene One, when he ordered his servant Reynaldo to spy on his son Laertes at France. He even went to the extent of making Reynaldo tell a lie by telling the Danes (Denmark people) that Laertes has full of vices to affirm if Polonius? suspicion is true. Laertes, a man who left in good faith that his father bids him well, is unknowingly "stabbed at his back" by his own father because of Polonius? suspicious nature. Although Polonius? has not been a good example for his children, Laertes showed unconditional love for his father when he returned to Denmark to avenge his father's death wherein Hamlet was the murderer. In the end, both Hamlet and Laertes died, two men who sacrificed their lives to give justice to the death of their fathers."
Abstract This paper examines in detail the character of Big Daddy and what he represents. The story revolves around him and his family, and their reaction to his pending death from cancer. The characters' personalities are explored and their relationships to each other are examined. Big Daddy wishes to leave his estate to his son but the son is unmarried and has no children. Homosexuality, father-son relationships and inter-personal communication are all topics addressed in this paper.
From the Paper "Big Daddy was just a drifter when he first came to the plantation owned by two gay men, Jack Straw and Peter Ochello. He only intended to stay long enough to do some yard work and make some pocket money, but he ends up becoming the overseer of the plantation, and inherits it when they die. He loves the "twenty-eight thousand acres of the richest land this side of the valley Nile," and he is determined it will stay with Brick, who he thinks is the better and more deserving of his two sons."
Abstract This paper examines the play "A Raisin in the Sun", by African- American playwright Lorraine Hansberry. The paper describes the playwright's life and provides a synopsis of the plays events. The paper states that the moral of this play is as long as people try to do their best for their families, they can lift each other up.
From the Paper "Lorraine Hansberry's " A Raisin in the Sun" was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway in 1959. Moreover, Hansberry was the youngest and the first black writer to receive the New York Drama Critics Award. She was deeply committed to equality and human rights, and her play approaches important issues and concerns regarding the African-American racial identity and discrimination, and poverty."
Tags: africian, american, play, playwrite, new, york, drama, critics, award, balck, women, racial, identity, a, discrimination, poverty
Abstract This paper reviews "Hamlet" by Shakespeare, focusing on the concept of madness. It investigates what the nature of madness is and whether madness can even be defined in a "mad world". It then strives to espouse what a person can learn about his/herself by studying Hamlet's interaction with the concept of madness.
From the Paper "Sometimes there's a fine line between madness and sanity. Sometimes there's a fine line between pretense and reality. Pretending madness for too long, could send one over the brink, especially if one has a propensity to brilliance, instability and overanalysis. Shakespeare asks his audience to look deeply into the themes he incorporates into his dramas, offering them an opportunity to explore how his ideas might apply to their own lives. In Hamlet Shakespeare weaves madness into a complex thematic tapestry. He is not asking us to decide if Hamlet is really mad, rather he is asking us to consider several questions: What is the nature of madness? Can madness even be defined in a mad world? What can I learn about myself by studying Hamlet's interaction with the concept of madness?"
Abstract This paper attempts to understand the final speech by Othello within the content of the play by understanding Shakespeare's overall writing style and his development of the main character, Othello. He finds that Othello's final speech redeems him even after he murders his wife and is duped by Iago. Through the use of imagery and metaphors, Shakespeare is able to generate a considerable impact on the audience positioning them for the full extent of the tragic outcome.
From the Paper "Othello is considered by some to be a poem and like most poems, it achieves its impact largely through imagery--language that appeals to the senses. The richness and quantity of Shakespeare's imagery make it impossible to translate the language of his day into modern English. Let's examine consider the way Shakespeare uses the imagery to define character in Othello. The use of imagery in this case is what makes each character's voice so recognizable, and rarely did Shakespeare use it more brilliantly when he did in creating Othello."
Abstract This essay discusses Linda as Willy's main problem for his mental illness. It proves that she is making him kill himself on purpose without showing it to others. Linda ignores Willy's mental illness, while showing that she cares. The paper shows how Linda adds to the problem by her actions. It examines her selfish desires for his wellbeing which go unnoticed at first.
From the Paper "A sad, sad tragedy it is. A woman found a man that she thought would be successful in life. Everything might have gone well for a while, but hard times were sure to come. And when they did, the chaos began. What was an old lady to do when her kids turned out to be a bunch of no ones and her husband not making any money, had to borrow money from the neighbor, just to look good in front of his family? Get a job and possibly help? No, not Linda Loman, a character from Arthur Miller's book called Death of a Salesman. Linda decides to be a housewife who pretends to care about her husband's mental state, but, in reality, prefers that he kill himself so that she can live an easier and better life, by knowing of his mental problem and ignoring it, and in fact accommodating the problem, as well as her selfish desires of well-being."
Abstract The paper analyzes how the authors approach the representation of the two women's characters and actions by considering their social and psychological makeups and how that impacts upon their deeds. The characters are compared and contrasted in depth and their many similarities portrayed.
From the Paper "In an effort to understand Euripides' representation of Medea and Vergil's representation of Dido, it is useful to clarify the central issues and themes of the works in which these characters appear. Both Medea, and the story of Dido in The Aeneid portray patterns of human behavior in situations of stress. In both cases said stress is caused by a similar factor: passion. Violent passion tends to cause people to behave differently from how they would normally act. This is so regardless of whether the passion is love or hate. Indeed, there is a relationship of unity between these apparent opposites and a person may oscillate between the two feelings as, for example, Amnon did when in his passion for Tamar in the biblical story: "the hate with which he hated her [became] greater than the love with which he loved her" (Samuel 2 13:15). In both of the stories we are discussing, a particular event serves as the catalyst that triggers this stark reversal of feelings. However, each of the female protagonists to whom this happens deals with her pain in a unique manner, befitting her psychological makeup."
