Background and text analysis, dealing with social aspects of "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekhov (money, power, politics, capitalism, communism, aristocracy, and serfdom).
Abstract In this paper, the writer accentuates the fine lines between rich and poor, landowner and slave, success and failure, that emerge in the play. The politics and economy of Russia were somewhat muddied at the time, and the capitalists, who used to be serfs, were now taking over the aristocracy, whose members did not have money-managing skills. The paper shows how Lyubov Andreyevna and her brother cling to the aristocratic past, Lopakhin is the capitalist (embodiment of the present economy) and Trofimov is a sort of prophet, predicting the rise of communism (though even Chekhov would not live to see that era). Differences in culture, speech, action, demeanor and viewpoints between Firs and Lopakhin; and all the characters (even the servants) are described.
From the Paper "After feudalism was abolished in Russia in 1861, Russia was undergoing some gradual yet drastic economic changes. The growth of entrepreneurial activity was centered around Moscow while St. Petersburg was crumbling with the tsar as he lost authority to the rising merchant class. For centuries, wealth and income had been based solely on the ownership of land. Technically, the serfs were not slaves, but their economic situations forced them into complete submission; their masters could trade them for horses or even dogs. The serfs were freed in 1861, but with no money or property, so for decades, many were still dependent on their masters. It wasn?t until just before the turn of the century that these men began to find their wealth in the form of industrial capitalism (textile production being the most prominent business). Soon these old aristocratic and new capitalist worlds began to battle with each other. This is the Russian economic background of Anton Chekhov's ?The Cherry Orchard.? (Worrall 13) Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya is a middle-aged aristocratic woman who returns from France to find her estate in danger of being subjugated by the rising merchant class, specifically Yermolay Alexyevich Lopakhin. Chekhov does not favor either the aristocrat or the merchant, but stresses the strengths and weaknesses of both groups? ideals. No one person or governmental system is perfect, and everyone's "absurd, unhappy lives" (Lopakhin ? 45) fall victim to the continual change of any society."
Tags: andreyevna, aristocracy, emancipation, landowning, lopakhin, lyubov, ranevskaya, russia
Abstract Analysis of Christopher Marlowe's 16th Century play. Faustus' pact with Mephostophiles. Consequences of his pledge to give himself to Lucifer and deny Christianity.r Faustus' troubled conscience, his inability to marry and have a family life because of the pact. Outcome of his bargain with the devil to gain power and physical pleasure.
From the Paper "The play, Dr. Faustus, written in 1592 by Christopher Marlowe, was based on the story, The Damnable Life (1592), by P.F. Gent[leman], which in turn was the English translation of the German volume, Historia von D. Iohan Fausten (1587). This story was basically the age-old tale of a man who seemingly already has everything he needs -- an education, inherited comfort, good standing in the community, and a bright future in the Church, medicine, or as a scholar, as well as the salvation of his soul -- and trades it all in a pact with the devil.
In these tales, Dr. Faustus makes a bargain with the devil to obtain more power, more wealth, more wisdom, and more fame, by having control of Mephostophiles, who is contracted to be at Dr. Faustus' beck and call and do whatever Faustus commands (116). In return, Dr. Faustus pledges to give himself to Lucifer, deny..."
Abstract Analysis of Ibsen's HEDDA GABLER and Pirandello's SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR. Depictions of society and of the world. The power struggle. Destiny and manipulation. Potential and form. Struggle for social status and financial security in HEDDA GABLER. Struggle between what is real and what is not in Pirandello's play.
From the Paper "Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler and Pirandello's play Six Characters in Search of an Author present several profound dramatic differences. Ibsen wrote his plays while a sojourner in Italy, although he was Norwegian. Pirandello was Sicilian born and emphasized his Italian nativity through his first creative efforts. While Ibsen's themes deal a lot with the moralistic faults of modern society, Pirandello's themes of tragedy and disillusionment expose his own personal trials and tribulations. What we shall deal with here in comparing these plays, is contrasting the following items:
Hedda Gabler's realistic depiction of society, with strong class differences between aristocracy and bourgeois worlds while "Six Characters" chooses to sketch a picture of conflict between the world of ..."
The Greek myth Hippolytus provides the basic framework for Eugene O'Neill's "Desire Under the Elms". This paper compares and contrasts the plot, characterization and theme of the play and the myth.
Abstract The paper begins by looking at the characters who are similar to the Greek characters, but have differences as well. According to the writer, the plot differs from the Greek myth, but captures many of the same archetypal premises set forth by the story of Hippolytus and Phaedra.
From the Paper "O'Neill's play is set in rural New England during the 1850's. The main characters are Ephraim Cabot, his son Eben Cabot, and his two brothers Simeon and Peter. The Cabots work a farm and Simeon and Peter grow wary of laboring through the stone-plodded fields of New England. Eben, the youngest of the three has vowed to himself that he will one day take back the land that once belonged to his mother, who is dead. Eben believes that his father intently overworked his mother, creating her death so he could have say so over who will be heir to the farm. When Ephraim goes out of town for a spell, Eben offers Simeon and Peter three hundred dollars a piece to leave town. The elder brothers decide to take the money and run to California to work in the gold mines. Half of Eben's equation is solved, but Ephraim returns home married for the third time to a lady named Abbie."
Abstract Examining the themes of fantasy, reality, sanity and insanity. This essay both analyzes and criticizes Nowra's work in relation to other works by the same author and those of other contemporary and historical authors. Specifically examining recurring themes and motifs within the play. Shows how the play is part of the larger structure of Australian writing.
From the Paper "Louis Nowra is one of Australia's most noted dramatists of recent years. His early plays are generally concerned with political and social events in other countries such as Russia and Paraguay, (The Precious Woman and Visions) for which he has been criticised. As an Australian playwright the general criticism of his early work is that he should represent Australian issues rather than being concerned with the happenings in other countries. These plays did however have some allegorical relationship to Australian society but as they were not set in Australia this relationship was often difficult to see. His later plays however are set in Australia and examine the society of which they are a part, Cosi is one of these plays and rather than being overtly political in its nature it is an intimate exploration of representations and common perceptions of sanity and insanity within Australian society. The play is set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War in the 1970's and so follows Nowra's usual style in that it is set against a major historical event. Nowra uses a mixture of fantasy and reality in the play's structure and content to explore and explode commonly held perceptions of mental illness and the people that it affects."
Abstract Discussing Willy Loman and his desperate pursuit of the American Dream. A brief description of the contents of the play and the main characters of Biff and Happy and their relationship with their father, Willy. The paper discusses how Willy Loman, and his family have a misguided perception of success.
From the Paper "Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a tragic play about an aging and struggling salesman, Willy Loman, and his family's misguided perception of success. In Willy's mind, being well-liked is more important than anything else, and is the means to achieving success. He teaches this flawed idea to his sons, Biff and Happy, and is faithfully supported by his wife Linda. Linda sympathizes with Willy's situation, knowing that his time as an important salesman has passed. Biff and Happy hold their father to impossibly high standards, and he tries his best to live up to them. This causes Willy to deny the painful reality that he has not achieved anything of real value. Willy's obsession with a false dream results in his losing touch with reality and with himself."
Abstract By 500 B.C., Greek tragedy had reached a high point of popularity and was celebrated in religious festivals honoring Dionysus, god of wine and fertility. The paper shows that, taking it for granted that their audiences were familiar with the characters and themes, writers during this time based their dramatizations on myth and ritual. It discusses how, in addition to being familiar with the stories acted out on stage, the audience was aware of the workings of a Greek tragedy: how it progresses, what constitutes a tragic hero, what kinds of conflicts characters face, what moral statement or observation is being made. The paper shows that these four components provide the foundation for "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles and its enduring success as one of the greatest tragedies of all time.
From the Paper "As does the plot, the characterization of the main character Oedipus revolves around situation more than interaction with other characters. Oedipus is the epitome of tragic heroes, doomed by the excess of some good quality within himself and willing to take responsibility for his ensuing actions (Richards 742). This quality in Oedipus, his hamartia, or tragic flaw, is an unquenchable desire for truth no matter what the cost, a desire that stems from his pride of intellect. Initially, Oedipus, still basking in the glory of having solved the riddle of the Sphinx, exhibits great selfconfidence in his wisdom, oblivious to the fact that his own identity remains concealed from himself. It is this ignorance of the adage "Know thyself," combined with Oedipus' quest for truth, that constitutes tragic character. In terms of Greek tragedy, Oedipus' suffering from hybris, an arrogance resulting from excess (pride, in Oedipus' case), leads to hamartia, the aforementioned tragic flaw that brings about his downfall (Brown 96). The chorus recognizes that "the tyrant is a child of Pride/Who drinks from his great sickening cup/Recklessness and vanity/Until from his high crest headlong/He plummets to the dust of hope" (Sophocles 57)."
Abstract This paper examines the play "The Piano Lesson" by August Wilson set in 1936 which looks into the worldly affairs of a black family that struggles to maintain the family heritage. It analyzes how the piano ,which is central to the story, serves as a potential metaphor for the history of the past pertaining to the enslavement of those ancestors that were chained in slavery. It looks at how the play is based on the legacy of the piano and what the protagonists Boy Willie and Berniece decide to do with it.
From the Paper "From the title of this learned victory by August Wilson, it is evident that there comes a profound understanding of the sense of family values, morals and cohesiveness of the black Americans along with the title of the play. Every scholarly effort is geared towards conveying a message appended with an insightful moral and The Piano Lesson is no exception. The soul-searching lesson that we have learned all along is that past injustices and tormenting experiences leave a strong adverse impact on the lives of the people who suffer the blow of racial discrimination and other prejudices. "
Abstract The writer interprets the stylistic elements in Dubus' writing that reveal his position about the social and individual consequences of murder. According to the paper, this is done through the title, plot, and the characters of the play which strengthen the connection between the story and its reader.
From the Paper "The play's title also points to the suffering of Frank's loved ones. The victim's death was so disturbing for his parents that the father's heart was dying to kill Strout. Matt tells his friend ?(Ruth) can"t even go out for cigarettes and aspirin" without seeing Strout, "it's killing her" (Dubus 64). The constant daydreaming of Frank's murder killed Matt and Ruth from inside until they took out their revenge on Strout and calmed their emotions. Simultaneously, the playwright also reflects through the thoughts of Matt Fowler, how the loved ones of Richard Strout would be killed inside by his murder. Thus, the writer builds on a deeper meaning for the play's title by depicting how the emotions of families are killed on the deaths of their beloveds."
Abstract The uneven power relationship between men and women underlies the play "Trifles" and the short story "Cat in the Rain." This paper discusses how the women in the two stories manifest their dissatisfaction with their inferior position in different ways, and how the authors bring out the nature of the relationship in very different ways.
From the Paper "In her short play Trifles, Susan Glaspell provides a strong feminist point of view, presenting three women who show greater understanding of one another than the men show of either the women or other men. The structure of the play also emphasizes that these women play a subservient role to the men in societal terms, standing as wives first and individuals second, and also being treated as something that needs to be protected when in fact they do not, at least not in the classic sense of male paternalism. Women are seen as having less important interests than men and as being given to the "trifles" of the title, but as the play shows, these women see and comprehend more than do the males and have a deeper understanding of the problems and pressures of life. The title becomes an ironic commentary in the context of the play."
Tags: relationship, character, wife, domestic, role
Abstract Throughout "Antony and Cleopatra" by William Shakespeare there is a sharp contrast between the bawdy humour and entertainment of the east and the stern morality and politics of the west. The paper shows that this is best seen in Antony's downfall; his death is caused by a romantic but illogical attempt at conquering Rome. Alsom the battle of Actium shows the decadent Egypt destroyed and the sensible Rome victorious. The paper shows that in Rome, Antony was at his best as a man, a soldier and a statesmen, whereas, as Antony says, "in the East my pleasure lies", as does his downfall.
From the Paper "Charmian: "My arm is sore. Best play with Mardian.
Cleopatra: As well a women with a Eunuch played as with a woman"?
This short exchange presents Egypt as a place of sexual innuendo and entertainment. Such conversations never take place in Rome, and this shows the more impertinent nature of Egypt. There is also a contrast in the treatment of tragic events between Egypt and Rome. In Rome, they are taken very seriously (for example the military aggression of Pompei), but in Egypt they are often given a comic undertone, for example when Cleopatra is speaking to Antony about the death of his wife, Fulvia. At a point of sadness and tragedy, Cleopatra remarks "Can Fulvia really die"?. The word die has a secondary meaning in Elizabethan English, to reach sexual climax. Shakespeare illustrates the more irreverent nature of Egyptian life by treating such a tragic issue with bawdy humour."
Abstract This paper briefly discusses the origins of the Greek theatre and how Greek comedy was distinctive in Athens and became an official part of the Dionysian festivals about 50 years after tragedy did. It looks at how Greek comedy is represented by Aristophanes, the only playwright from the period of Old Greek Comedy whose works survive. It shows how Aristophanes' works were satires directed at specific people in Athenian society. He attacked many political figures in his plays, but he also directed attacks at other cultural figures in Athenian society. It also analyzes how Aristophanes satire was carried in to the Roman era by the works of Plautus.
From the Paper "The theater in its full form came into being in Classical Greece. At that time, the theater was part of a religious festival and so included a number of ritual elements, several of which have been modified for use in theater ever since. Roman theater developed from Greek traditions carried over in the Hellenic period and then transformed to fit the Roman social structure and Roman sensibilities. The two theaters have similarities and also differences. They often use the same myths as source material and give those myths different treatment. The Roman theater also developed new theatrical forms and genres which extended what the Greeks had performed."
Abstract This paper is dedicated to proving a critique of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" from a colonial/imperial viewpoint. It details the subjugation of the savage Caliban at the hands of the mainstream European characters, primarily Prospero. It briefly examines the rape of Miranda by Caliban and discusses several points from the play that strongly suggest that Shakespeare was writing a concise social commentary on the morality of imperialistic tendencies at the time.
From the Paper ""The Tempest,? precisely because of its compact nature, has become one of the most widely criticized plays that Shakespeare ever wrote. Unlike his more grandiose tragedies, or even his longer comedies, "The Tempest" is concise, and very often leaves the reader wondering what exactly IS the thrust of the play. It can adequately be argued that the play is a precursor to future naturalist novels (i.e. Goldings "Lord of the Flies", or Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"), or it can be viewed as one of the few Shakespearean works that walks the categorical tightrope between tragedy and comedy. Indeed, "The Tempest" is not so easily categorized because it contains elements of both a tragedy and a comedy, is short, quickly resolved, and has no "real" moral or motif."
Abstract A discussion of the characters of Hamlet and Oedipus focusing on how they are both driven to demise through the acts of those they loved the most. The author shows that the main characters are involved in situations involving not only social, but moral pressures as well, and both encountered many obstacles along their journey to find truth.
From the Paper "Hamlet suffers from the Oedipus complex- an undue and unhealthy attachment of a son for his mother, which is apt to be morbidly suppressed and cause great mental distress. This theory motivates Hamlet's delay by identifying him with Claudius, though whom he has vicariously accomplished the Oedipal feat of murdering his father and marrying his mother. Hamlet has been classified as the intellectual melancholy type. He appears to be a victim of excessive melancholy. His first appearance and long soliloquy establish him as grief stricken. Moreover, Hamlet himself refers to the melancholy in a way that suggests that it is a debilitating factor. Ordinary grief, of course, is one thing; everyone experiences it. But Hamlet's grief is pathological; it is a destructive thing that causes him to procrastinate and leads to his death."
Abstract This paper considers aspects of satire, farce and political conscience within "Heart of a Dog." Also considered, is whether "Heart of a Dog" is primarily a polemic or a comic piece, and what can be understood about the author's own feelings toward the new political order through his writing.
From the Paper "In order to fully appreciate Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Heart of a Dog", it is necessary to consider the author's position at the time. The novella was written in 1925, the New Economic Policy period and life was improving for the playwright. Several of his plays had been performed on stage and he had published a few short stories, which although not received well by state newspaper critics, were popular. The NEP period promised a softening of otherwise crippling and ridiculous policies and must have been heartening for Bulgakov, who, as Lesley Milne writes, had a style of writing that was "unashamedly elitist and an affront to the revolutionary ethos of the time". In "Fatal Eggs" written a year before "Heart of a Dog", Bulgakov had predicted that by 1928 Muscovites would be all housed and well dressed, and that even the bourgeois treasures of Moscow's galleries would be protected in a state of emergency. During the time of writing, Bulgakov was optimistic, and it is in this context that "Heart of a Dog" should be viewed."
