Hamlet the Tragic Hero
Proof:
Tragic Flaw
- Hamlet acts mad to not come across as a threat so he is free to examine Claudius without suspicion. However; it is because of his madness that Claudius plots to murder him.
- As well, it is Hamlet’s identification with and understanding of the strength of words that ultimately bring about his death. Hamlet’s deep connection with language causes him to base his perceptions of reality on his interpretation and understanding of words which allows himself to become overwrought with creating meaning.
Tragic Movement
- Hamlet’s tragic flaws make Claudius nervous and anxious. This upsets the Great Chain of Being and everything becomes chaos. At the end of the play the Chain of Being is restored when Fortinbras takes the throne and everyone who had part in the chaos, with the exception of Horatio is dead.
Hubris
- Hubris is a word of strong meaning to Hamlet, not because he displays it, but because he completely lacks it. It took him a long time to avenge his father because he held so much self-doubt in his abilities to do so. He had to stage his madness and the ‘Mousetrap’ play to build the courage to eventually murder his uncle.
Reversal of Situation
- Hamlet feigning madness drove his society into having ill thoughts of him. He didn’t lose his society entirely, his servants couldn’t stop showing him respect. However; he did lose the relationship he had with his mother and his uncle. His mother and uncle’s betrothal aroused anger and resentment within Hamlet and because of these emotions the love and connection he had with his family was lost.
Recognition Scene/Anagnorisis
- Seeing Yorick’s Skull
2. Realizing Ophelia is dead
Nemesis
- Hamlet’s nemesis is his indecisiveness. He is unable to make up his mind about the dilemma he confronts. He discloses his state of mind in his ‘To Be or Not To Be” soliloquy.
Stories Today: Tragic or Pathetic?
Suicide of Ohio Teenager.
- The classic definition of a tragedy points out that “tragedy is a story of exceptional calamity leading to the death of a man of high estate because of his tragic flaw.” Howver; there is a modern tragedy in today’s America because everyone’s desire is to be excepted. Many problems stem from delusions and misunderstanding of one’s job, friends and family. Leelah Alcorn’s story can be classified as a “bourgeois” tragedy. This modern tragic hero represents individuals who try to survive and quest for self identity in a capitalistic commercialized world.
Mayor Using Gang signs
- “During a get out the vote drive, Minneapolis mayor posed for a photo with a black constituent, only to be slammed by local police as “throwing up gang signs.” This story is pathetic because someone in power should not be doing this and the fact that she is in power is pathetic or sad.
Misogyny in Hamlet and the Media
Ryan Smeets
Hamlet
Throughout the entirety of Shakespeare’s tragic play, Hamlet, only two female characters are present. Both of which are negatively portrayed by the protagonist from beginning to end almost without any exceptions.
Gertrude
From early on in the play, Hamlet is quick to speak very poorly of his mother, claiming that she is:
-Weak: Hamlet proclaims “Frailty, thy name is women” (I, ii, 146) in his first soliloquy. Hamlet is appalled that his mother can just forget about her seemingly deep love for her former husband and move on to another man in such a short period of time.
-Incestuous: In the same soliloquy, Hamlet angrily yells “O most wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (I, ii, 156-157) Remarrying her once brother-in-law brings Gertrude’s morality into question as incest was, and still is, seen as an exceptionally immoral act.
As the play progresses, Shakespeare appears to hint at some other questionable traits of Gertrude’s such as:
-Her parenting style. She never really tries to comfort Hamlet despite all of the sad and confusing events that have recently transpired (“Thou know’st ‘tis common. All that lives must die, / Passing through nature to eternity.” (I, ii, 72-73)). Gertrude never notices that Hamlet was simply feigning his madness either.
-Her dependence on others. Gertrude usually seeks assistance from others when presented with a problem, such as after her talk with Hamlet in Act III, Scene IV. She rarely, if ever, thinks critically about a problem.
Ophelia
Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia, initially, appears to be pleasant but soon turns sour. After this, many negative characteristics are mentioned like:
-Her dependence on the men in her life. Both her brother, Laertes, and father, Polonius, attempt to govern Ophelia’s life; telling her what to do and what not to do. She even agrees to abandon the thought of being with Hamlet because her father demands it saying only “I shall obey, my lord.” (I, iii, 136). Ophelia also agrees to help Polonius and Claudius spy on Hamlet. The loss of her father proved to be detrimental to her mental health and drove her to madness. “[Ophelia’s] riddling speech in these scenes uncovers Claudius’ deceitfulness and Hamlet’s betrayal of her. Madness, therefore, grants her access to ‘voice’” (Klett 132). However, without a male leader in her life, her life becomes empty. This ultimately leads to her demise.
-Unfaithful. Hamlet claims “Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell. Or, if / thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well / enough what monsters you make of them.” (III, i, 138-140). Hamlet feels, once again, betrayed by an important female character in his life. His trust in women was already shaken, now it seems like he’s just given up on them entirely.
Media
Many messages laced with misogynistic ideals can be found everywhere throughout the media. Everything from music to magazines seem to convey degrading messages about women all of the time. Although the ideas of patriarchy and misogyny sound out-dated in today’s modern society, they still, unfortunately, continue to thrive and through the media, it could not be easier.
Music
-Much of today’s music and their corresponding videos, especially those of the rap/hip-hop genre, portray women as nothing but dim-witted and nothing more than possessions of men. Many songs appear to actually encourage such things as violence towards and sexual coercion. Women are oftentimes seen in music videos wearing sexually provocative attire.
Movies/TV Shows
-Many women in movies and TV shows alike are shown to be rather weak individuals. They are typically the ones doing the screaming or being kidnapped. It is very uncommon to see men in need of rescuing in movies. In fact, women only make up about 15% of the protagonists in today’s movies (Martha M. Lauzen, Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film). In TV shows, women are seen as untrustworthy, manipulative, and stupid (think reality TV). A common message in both TV shows and movies is that in order for a girl to fit in, she must be attractive and that nothing else matters. Both forms of media also stress the male dependence in a female’s life.
Magazines
-Magazines also emphasize the (very untrue) idea that the only important thing for a girl is her level of attractiveness. Magazines use attractive people (and no small amount of Photoshop) to force thoughts of inadequacy into its readers. This is used to sell beauty products but has very many adverse effects on youths everywhere. Beauty is not everything, as the media would have you believe.
Is Hamlet Mad?
- Hamlet is not mad because he states multiple times he is not mad, he does not fool everyone, and Shakespeare introduces a contrast.
- “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on”(I.v.172-173).
- “my uncle-father and aunt-/mother are deceived,” (II. ii. 361-362.)
- “It is not madness/ That I have uttered. Bring me to the test, /And I the matter will reword, which madness/ Would gambol from.” (III. Iv.143-146)
- “I essentially am not in madness/But mad in craft.” (III. iv. 191-192
- “To say that the Queen, and Polonius, and others thought him mad, is no proof of his real madness; but only that by his perfect impersonation he succeeded in creating this belief; and that such was his purpose is clear from the play. If the court firmly believed in the dementia of the Prince, Claudius, who was of a deeper and more penetrating mind and an adept in crafty cunning, stood firm in his doubt from the first. The consciousness of his guilt made him alert and, like a criminal ever fearing detection, he suspected the concealment of some evil design under Hamlet’s mimic madness.” ~ Simon Augustine Blackmore
- Though this be madness, yet there is method in ’t”(II, ii, 204).
- “Get from him why he puts on this confusion” (II. i. 2)
- “what he spake, though it lack’d form a little, /Was not like madness.” (III. i. 163-4)
- Ophelia sings and rambles on where as Hamlet makes witty stabs at those around him who are to unintelligent to realize what he is saying.
In the Media: Method to the madness
- What I first thought of is a magician who does one thing with the right hand to take the audiences attention away from the other so he can do the trick.
- Vladimir Putin is using the invasion of Crimea to distract the world from what is going on in Russia.
- “He distracted Russians from the sinking economy, focusing them instead on perceived enemies at home and abroad: Ukraine, the West, Russian liberals, Russian gays and lesbians. In fact, Putin’s approval rating even rose, to a meteoric high of over 80 percent.” ~ Max Fisher The worse Russia’s economy gets, the more dangerous Putin becomes
- “Reporters without Borders ranks Russia one hundred and forty-eighth of one hundred and seventy-nine countries in its Press Freedom Index” ~Jeffrey Gedmin Beyond Crimea: what Vladimir Putin Really Wants
- Note that this happens in many countries including the USA and Canada. Example there is suspicion around when the US claimed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction so the UN went in but found nothing.
Hamlet is Mad
By Justin Luyt
Before I dive into the wonderful world of Hamlet I will first define what it means to be mad. Mad can mean a couple of things but only one that is relevant to this topic; to be mentally disturbed; deranged; insane; demented. Is Hamlet mentally disturbed? I know I would be if my mom married my uncle! Hamlet can’t be insane; he told us he was just acting when he says “As I perchance hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on” (I.v.173-174). Hamlet says this to Horatio after he talks to the ghost. I think we all know this but just because someone says they are going to do something it doesn’t guarantee it will actually happen. As the saying goes; actions speak louder than words. Hamlet is mad and shows us this in a couple ways that include his ordeals with Ophelia and his soliloquies and his involvement with death.
Does Hamlet love Ophelia? That’s a topic for another day but I would say that he does. He says this about Ophelia while standing in her grave “I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers Could not with all their quantity of love Make up my sum” (V.i.255-257). I can’t think of too many people who would lie to someone while standing in their grave. Hamlet loves Ophelia but he does no fight to get her back when she declines him. She sends his letters back and does not want to continue their relationship. If Hamlet truly loves her, he would have fought for her and at least tried to get her back. Instead he decides to tell her that he loved her but then says he never loved her. He tells her to go to a nunnery so that she never gives birth to a sinner. Hamlet, would it be too much to ask for you to make sense? The mentally disturbed mind of Hamlet has now given up the woman he most loved. He would not have given up so easily if he was in the right mind. Ophelia may not be the cause of Hamlet’s madness but she defiantly didn’t help it.
Hamlet kills many people. Many of these people didn’t deserve to die but Hamlet doesn’t see it that way. Hamlet writes the letter to kill Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. It doesn’t bother Hamlet that he just caused two people to die. He tells himself that they deserved to die. They didn’t commit any crime that is worthy of death or betray Hamlet enough to deserve death. But Hamlet tells himself that it’s okay. Sane people don’t make excuses for death. They don’t tell themselves that murder is okay. Hamlet also kills Polonius and immediately makes excuses to justify the murder. Hamlet says “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune” (III.i.32-33). Hamlet calls Polonius names and is very upset that Polonius was eavesdropping on him. Hamlet thought Polonius was a better person but he deserved to die. Hamlet’s sanity is very questionable at this point, is eavesdropping best enforced by death? Hamlet is definitely mentally disturbed. King Hamlet’s death had a huge impact on Hamlet’s life. He starts questioning every part of life and doesn’t want to live anymore. Hamlet is not in a good state of mind after the death of his father. Hamlet then learns that Claudius is the murderer. Hamlet wants revenge but he doesn’t act on it right away. As Tenny L. Davis says in his book The Journal of Philosophy “If Hamlet really was mad, his psychosis was that of an intellectual, a hypertrophy of that inner eye whose function is to perceive meanings, relations, and implications … an excess of sanity” (630). Hamlet has an excess of sanity, meaning he thinks too much about everything. He doesn’t go straight to Claudius and murder him, instead he has to prove the ghost is right. After he does that he plans to murder Claudius but Claudius is praying so he lets him be. Hamlet’s mentally disturbed mind cannot get his thoughts straight and can’t make the decision to kill Claudius. If he was sane he would think the way Laertes does. Laertes says “To cut his throat I’ th’ church” (IV.vii.127). Laertes would kill Hamlet in the church to avenge his father, but Hamlet won’t kill Claudius in the church. Hamlet over thinks everything which causes him to take forever to kill Claudius. By the time he gets his revenge, too many other people have already dies and so does Hamlet. Hamlet’s insanity is shown by the procrastination of his revenge and his thoughts concerning the murders he has caused.
Hamlet has many soliloquies throughout the play and just to make sure everyone knows, that means he is alone and is only talking to himself. In many of these soliloquies he is not in a great state of mind. In his “Oh, what a rogue” soliloquy he says “Why what an ass am I! This is most brave, That I, the son of a dear father murdered Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words and fall a-cursing like a very drab, A scullion! Fie upon’t, foh! About my brain” (II.ii.560-566). In this soliloquy Hamlet is calling himself names and accusing himself of being a coward. He thinks he should have killed Claudius already but he hasn’t and he doesn’t do it right away either. Then at the end of this quote he says he needs to think straight. He knows that he is going crazy so he tells himself to get himself together. He is so insane that he needs to tell himself not to be insane. In Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy he says “To die, to sleep-No more-and by sleep we end The heartache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to-’tis consummation Devoutly to be wished! To die, to sleep” (III.i.61-65). Hamlet doesn’t know if eternal sleep is better or worse than being alive in this world. Hamlet doesn’t care if he is dead or alive, he is obviously mentally disturbed. No one in good mental condition wants to be dead. In the beginning of the play Hamlet has a soliloquy that he talks about suicide. Hamlet wants to commit suicide but it is against his religion so he does not do it. Hamlet is mentally disturbed. Sane people do not want to commit suicide. Hamlet says all these things to himself so he is not ‘acting’. He would have no need to put on an antic disposition for himself. In Hamlet’s soliloquy about his mother he says “I will speak daggers to her but use none My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites” (III.ii.371-372). In this soliloquy Hamlet is talking about being mean to his mother. Hamlet loves his mother a lot so why would he want to hurt her? He is going to hurt her with his words. Hamlet convinces himself that what he is doing is the right thing to do and that there is nothing wrong with what he is doing. During his talk with his mother he gets a visit from the ghost. When the ghost comes at the beginning of the play Hamlet sees it and talks to it but Horatio can also see it along with Marcellus and Barnardo. So why can’t Gertrude see the ghost? The ghost is just Hamlet’s mind playing tricks on him. An argument to this would be that the ghost is able to chose who wants to see it. Shakespeare wouldn’t expect people to know that ghosts are able to do that. Shakespeare would expect people to think that Hamlet is going crazy and Hamlet’s mind is playing tricks on him. Ghosts’ powers aren’t common knowledge considering them not being proven to exist. Hamlet is seeing a ghost that doesn’t exist because he is insane. He tells himself that he is only acting insane but as evident in his soliloquies he is not sane. He has no reason to act insane when he is by himself so he isn’t acting, he is mad.
Madness in Media
My first media source is a newspaper article on sexism in British newspapers. The article is titled “Sexist stereotypes dominate front pages of British newspaper, research finds” and is written by Amelia Hill in the newspaper The Guardian. This article shows the madness of media. Sexism in the newspaper is madness and I see no method to it. Hill says “Of the 668 people named in lead articles, 84% of those quoted or mentioned were men, most being quoted in their professional capacity. This compared with just 16% women, who were disproportionately likely to be quoted as victims and celebrities.” Men are almost always portrayed as successful or professional whereas women are portrayed as weak. Theresa May was in the main picture four times in a month but three of those were the same image of her mouth down in an accentuated grimace. So the articles are making females look bad men look better. Why does a story about women have to be bad? There are plenty of good stories about good people they could use instead. Hill also states “Male journalists wrote 78% of all front-page articles and men accounted for 84% of those mentioned or quoted in lead pieces.” So these newspapers are dominated by men. They will do anything to be a part of the top story. They don’t care who they hurt as long as they make money. That is crazy and it really doesn’t make sense. The madness in media is evident and there is no place for it in society.
My second media source is an article about the movie “The Interview”. This movie is pure madness with no method to it at all. A group of people decided to make a movie that used North Korea and their leader as a joke. They chose one of the craziest leaders in the world to make fun of. Sounds like a great idea. In this article named “Sony’s Surrender: The Sound And The Fuhrer by Barbara Lippert she states “From the very beginning of the deal, if anyone at Sony management had been a grown-up, the screenplay could easily have been changed to talk about a fictional country and fictional leader.” They had no need to make it about Korea and did they expect one of the craziest leaders in the world to laugh at it and not be offended? A war is already brewing and this didn’t help. The article explains that because of this movie North Korean terrorists threatened to kill moviegoers in order to stop the release of this movie. Of course after hearing this, media went insane with the story and the movie was taken out of theatres and can only be purchased online. There is absolutely no need for this movie and it is total madness. I have a 2 minute clip from the movie to show. In the clip the Korean leader is made fun of and is crying the entire time. North Koreans have the right to be mad about it. We made fun of the entire country and their leader for one reason; to make money. There is no method to the madness.
Works Cited
“The Sanity of Hamlet.” Davis, Tenney L. The Journal of Philosophy. Vol. 18. Journal of Philosophy Inc., 1921. 630-632. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2939352?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents
Hill, Amelia. “Sexist stereotypes dominate front pages of British newspapers, research finds.” 14 9 2012. The Guardian. 12 1 2015 <http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/14/sexist-stereotypes-front-pages-newspapers>.
Lippert, Barbara. “Sony’s Surrender: The Sound And The Fuhrer.” 18 12 2014. Mad Blog. 12 1 2015 <http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/240461/sonys-surrender-the-sound-and-the-fuhrer.html>.
Movie Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlqCFv50csw
Polonius is a good father
He loves his children
Act 3 Scene 1
Polonius gives helpful advice to Laertes before he goes away to France. Before Laertes leaves he says: ““My Blessing season this in thee”.
Polonius doesn’t like how much time his daughter Ophelia and Hamlet together. Polonius tells his daughter. “Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence. Set your entreatments at a higher rate.”
Act 2 Scene 1
Polonius gives his servant Reynaldo money and notes to give to Laertes in France. While Reynaldo is there though he would like him to ask around about what Laertes is doing and spy on him. Before Reynaldo leave he tells him “Don’t forget to see what he’s up to with your own eyes. Don’t trust gossip.”
After Reynaldo leave Ophelia enters scared. Ophelia tells her concerned father that Hamlet entered her room half-dressed. Ophelia tells her father that Hamlet came into her room, held on to her by the wrist, and just stared at her for a while. After this Hamlet Leaves. Polonius immediately goes to the king about this and tells Ophelia that he is sorry this had happened to her.
Father Figure in Advertising
The father figures in ads are changing from incompetent breadwinner, to nurturing caregiver
“In a 1988 … Rita Hubbard reviewed more than twelve hundred ads from Parents, Parenting, and Children magazines …“Only 27 ads showed children with fathers,”
“[Today] advertisers have been recognizing the benefit of portraying fathers as enthusiastic, competent members of the household. The image of dad as embarrassing or inept is falling out of fashion as many consumers lose patience with the stereotype.”
Polonius is more like that modern dad because along with being the main breadwinner he is also the main caregiver to his children.
Father Figure on TV
“TV dads of the 1950s and early ’60s were the fathers we hoped for with the family lives we dreamed of.”
“The late ’80s and into the ’90s featured the rise of the idiot dad.”
“today’s TV fathers are beginning to find a balance.”
Polonius is similar to the modern dad, although Polonius is not perfect his intentions mean well and he really does love his kids.
Claudius Presentation Handout
By: Chris Vanderhyden
Evil Definition
Profoundly immoral and malevolent.
“his evil deeds”
synonyms: wicked, bad, wrong, immoral, sinful, foul, vile, dishonorable, corrupt, iniquitous, depraved, reprobate, villainous, nefarious, vicious, malicious;
Characteristics of Claudius
Selfish, crafty, thoughtful, immoral, remorseless, cowardly, manipulative, ruthless, greedy, power-thirsty, ambitious, shallow, jealous, narcissistic, evil, lustful, careless and deceitful.
Direct Actions
-Kills his brother Hamlet Sr. –Marries his brother’s wife -Invites Fortinbras to pass through Denmark -Tells R&G to spy on Hamlet -Sends Hamlet to England to be killed –Doesn’t tell R&G what’s inside the letter he sends to England -Manipulates Laertes to kill Hamlet -Allows Gertrude to die from poison he knew about
Indirect Consequences
-Makes Hamlet go revenge crazy –Puts Gertrude in a difficult, confusing situation –Debatably is at least partly to blame for the death of Polonius –Failure to tell R&G what’s in the letter leads to their death –Allowing Fortinbras to pass through ends in many of his people’s deaths (assumed). –Manipulating Laertes ends in the death of Hamlet, Laertes, and Claudius himself.
Prayer
Claudius attempts to pray but only for his own reasons (heaven). Even in doing so however He states he will not give up his stolen goods (Gertrude and the throne) but still wishes to go to heaven anyway “Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens to wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercy but to confront the visage of offence?”.(A3S3 47-48)
Real evil leaders
Hitler- had everyone convinced He was good and also manipulated Germans into hating the Jewish people much like how Claudius manipulated Laertes to hate Hamlet
Mobutu- wants everyone thing for himself even if it hurts those around him like Claudius he is greedy, self-serving and corrupt.
Kim Jong Un- Un has the people of North Korea believing that he is a god but really behind the scenes he does some less than reputable things like Claudius.
Hamlet is Truly in Love with Ophelia-Handout
Important Questions:
- What is love?
- What proves that Hamlet is truly in love with Ophelia?
Love: the general consensus about love is that it is the deepest and most indescribable emotion that a human can feel. That is to say that love cannot be described. Love is something that no one person can describe for everyone, every person must describe it for themselves. National Geographic magazine says, “Scientists say that the brain chemistry of infatuation is akin to mental illness—which gives new meaning to ‘madly in love’” (Slater).
Proof:
- Hamlet is willing to risk everything for Ophelia, including her own virtue. With his apparent aversion to corruption as illustrated by the quote:
- “Their virtues else (be they pure as grace,/infinite as a man may undergo)/ Shall in the general censure take corruption/ From that particular fault” (I.i.35-38)
It is doubtful that he would have corrupted a woman simply for his own use.
- Hamlet shows increasing distress at having lost Ophelia’s affections. Many time throughout the play, Hamlet displays a degree of madness while talking to or about Ophelia. This “madness” is simply his desire to have the one he loves back. Hamlet’s distress is shown to a high degree in his speech during Act 3, Scene 1.
- “Ay, truly, for the power of beauty will sooner transform/ honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of honesty/ can translate beauty into its likeness. This was sometime a/ paradox, but now time gives it proof. I did love you/ once” (III.i.113-117)
- “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of/ sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could/ accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had/ not borne me. I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with/ more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them/ in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in./ What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth/ and heaven? We are arrant knaves, all. Believe none of us./ Go thy ways to a nunnery. Where’s your father?” (III.i.123-131).
- Hamlet’s anguish at Ophelia’s death comes as his final prove of his love for her. Hamlet’s love for Ophelia shines through after her death as he learns of her death in the form his utter anguish. This anguish is displayed during the graveyard scene through the quotes:
- “What is he whose grief/ Bears such emphasis, whose phrase of sorrow/ conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand/ Like wonder wounded hearts?” (V.i.239-241).
- “Thou pray’st not well./ I prithe, take thy fingers from my throat” (V.i.244-245)
These quotes follow well after the quote from National Geographic mentioned above as Hamlet displays something very close to insanity during the graveyard scene.
Grade 12 University English Culminating Activity
Hand-Out
Willy’s sons – his punishment? Is having kids today burdensome? The challenges of modern family
- Characters of Willy Loman, Biff, and Happy
-Willy Loman: A 63-year-old devoted to hard work man who was a victim of his own character and the American dream. Willy was really concerned in bringing his children the success he wanted them to have in the business world. “Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who shows personal interest, is the man who gets ahead.” (21) Willy’s actual punishment is the American dream and the fact that he committed suicide to put an end to his problems.
-Biff Loman: A well-round talented boy who had all the necessary things Willy thought he needed to be successful after high school. Biff is also a victim of his father’s character. At the beginning of the play, Biff admires Willy a lot, but throughout the plot, he realizes some things go wrong with him. He discovers his true character and that does not match with the business man one portrayed by Willy. “I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody!” (105) “I stopped the middle…Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be?”
-Happy Loman: Happy is a hidden character that does not reveal much throughout the play. One noticeable thing about him though is that he encourages false hopes and fantastic dreams, so he can be the center of attention for a moment. “I’m getting married, Pop, don’t forget it!” (107) “I’m losing weight, you noticed, Pop?” (17)
*Analysis of Characters (More in Depth)
*Father-Son Relationships
*The American Dream in Willy
- Challenges Modern Families Face
-Families face many difficulties. Throughout the past 2 or 3 decades families have experienced challenges no one ever before could have imagined. Technology, for example, has taken over and has become one of the main causes of family separation.
*Important Quote form Pope John Paul II: “Family is the base of society and the place where people learn for the first time the values that will guide them through the rest of their lives.”
*Internet Article about how Technology has separated families nowadays. This article talks about the issues of technology in families and what are the best solutions to keep familiar union.
Willy Loman was a Bad Father and Husband.
Taylor Newman
Death of a Salesman
- He encourages his sons to steal and is proud when they get away with it (18). He quickly contradicts himself on page (27) when Bernard and Linda talk to him and show that they don’t approve of Biffs behaviour of stealing.
- Willy ignores his son Happy when he’s trying to tell his father of his accomplishments such as losing weight (21) or telling him of his engagement. All Happy was looking for was for his father to show that he is proud of him.
- Willy is consumed by his idea of the American Dream (28), to “walk into the jungle and come out rich”
- He’s too proud to accept a job which he desperately needs in order to provide for his family (29). He is insulted when his neighbour offers it to him. “Willy: I’ve got a job.
Charley: Without pay? What kind of a job is a job without pay?” (74)
- He is a bad husband because he cheated on his wife (25). He buys this mistress nice stockings while his loving wife at home is forced to mend her old ones. He also disrespects Linda when the four of them are having a discussion about Biff. When she tries to get a word in he tells her to stop talking and so on.
- Willy ultimately damages his ‘image’ as a good, well-liked man when he commits suicide. He leaves his wife and children without any explanation as to why he did it and is selfish leaving them behind and taking the easy way out of his problems. His wife is now alone with no job and will likely have to depend on her children to live.
Secondary Source- The Michigan Quarterly Review
Charlene Fix
“Willy fills the void with exaggerations: the police protect his car, the Mayor of Providence invites him to breakfast, his sons’ Adonis bodies will ensure their future success. He lies this way because he doesn’t know what to offer them and fears his is “not teaching them the right kind of-“ principles, asking, “Ben, how should I teach them?” In the end, rather than admit the bankruptcy of his legacy, he sells his death to perpetuate it.”
Secondary Sources-Fathers and Husbands in the Media Today
Family Guy
- The father treats his daughter like trash, calling her ugly
- Because of him being insecure he also treats his wife like trash so that she won’t think she’s too good for him and leave.
Jeremy Bieber
- Allegedly blocked traffic so that Justin could drag race under the influence of alcohol.
- After bailing Justin out of jail they were seen drinking alcoholic drinks
- He was in the hotel with Justin when he threw raw eggs at his fans from his balcony.
- He was and still is a very bad influence to his son and therefore a bad dad.
Western Intervention is Detrimental and Unnecessary in Africa
By Rachel Fraser
Belgium Intervention in the Congo
Pre-Independence
- First to colonize the Congo. “Il faut a la Belgique une colonie”
- Enforced slavery in the Congo
- Abused and killed many innocent people. “Good. He was finished with rubber and therefore finished living”
- Spent revenues from Congolese resources in Belgium
- “The Congo is the Congo’s and ever has been” (Kingsolver 230)
Post Independence
- Belgian officers use money on themselves instead of the country
- Tells Belgians to leave the Congo and forces the Congolese to figure out their government on their own
- Breaking of the “agreement of friendship”
- Invades Matadi to secure trading port
- Katanga secession
- “Every Katanga diamond from the south can pay a teacher’s salary in Leopoldville, or feed a village of Warega children in the north” (Kingsolver 230).
American intervention in the Congo
- Arranging and supporting Mobutu military coup
- “Khrushchev wanted to take over the Belgian Congo and deprive the innocent savages of becoming a free society as part of his plan for world domination” (Kingsolver 161)
- Prolonging Mobutu’s rule through foreign aid
- Eisenhower ordering the CIA to murder of Lumumba
- US air force and Belgian paratroopers massacring thousands of Congolese to supposedly “save white hostages”
- “We Belgians made slaves of them and cut off their hands in the rubber plantations. Now you Americans have them for a slave wage in the mines and let them cut off their own hands” (Kingsolver 121)
Democracy and Foreign Aid
- Failed attempts at democracy lead to political and social instability as well as a decrease in economic growth
- Foreign aid only helps countries with good economic structures to begin with
- The West has so many strings attached to their foreign aid that it actually helps the West far more than Africa
- The West lowers the price of African goods and currencies to ensure the continuous need for foreign aid
- For every one dollar invested in Africa, the West receives four dollars
- NGOs only help the well-off people
- From 1950-2001 poor countries with below average foreign aid had the same growth rate as poor countries with above average foreign aid
- Foreign aid leads to consumption, not economic growth or investment
ENG 4UISP Speech: The Poisonwood Bible
Topic: Nathan Price’s Christianity fails not because it simply becomes loss in translation, but because Nathan Price fails to understand it himself. Success and failure of Missionary work.
Nathan Price’s overall reason for his mission trip is to baptize everyone in Kilanga. There were many times that his sermons got lost in translation, because of the way he spoke. Adah “It’s a dangerous thing, I know understand, to make mistakes… If you assign the wrong names to things, you can make a chicken speak like a man, make a machete rise up and dance.” (213) However, there are also many chances for him to reach beyond the language barrier by just showing them compassion and trying to understand them. This would teach them what Christianity is all about.
- In two cases it is seen where he cares more about salvation than death itself.
1) When the people of Kilanga are having their culture’s version of a funeral. The men carried the dead bodies, and the women followed behind them, crying and yelling. Adah says, “Our father forbids us to watch. He doesn’t seem to mind the corpses so much as the souls unsaved. In the grand tally of yonder, each one counts as a point against him.” ( 171)
2) When Ruth May is killed and Nathan’s first reaction was to be worried that she wasn’t baptized.
Nathan shows no empathy to the families of Kilanga that lose loved ones, let alone his own family, who loses Ruth May. He only cares about his own mission and that he failed, because they weren’t baptized and given salvation. This is a chance he could have used to connect with them and used the Bible to help them through their mourning.
Any chance Nathan Price has, he finds a way to incorporate God in his opinion. He isn’t open-minded at all and believes that anyone who doesn’t agree with his opinion on religion is wrong. Rachel says, “Father’s mistake, see, was to try to convert the whole entire shebang over to his exact way of thinking. “ (516.)
When Anatole tells Nathan that Tata Ndu is worried about the village neglecting their duties by going to church, Nathan replies, “Neglecting their duties to false idolatry, you mean to say.” (128) No missionaries are going to have the effect they want on people if they don’t keep an open mind to people’s opinions first. In this quote, Nathan disrespects the people of Kalanga by blatantly saying that they believe in something that isn’t real.
Nathan is also a very boastful person, that thinks he is always right. If he accepted that he doesn’t know everything and could learn from the people of Kilanga, it would also help him bond with them. “Watching my father, I’ve seen how you can’t learn anything when you’re trying to look like the smartest person in the room.” ( 229) The closer he becomes with them, the more likely they are to trust his opinion about Christianity and join the religion. Christianity is about being humble and not trying to look better than others, which is what Nathan does with Brother Fowles. An example of this is when Nathan first arrives and won’t let Mama Tataba help him make his garden. He needs the help of someone that knows how the land works, but can’t swallow his pride and admit he’s wrong and accept her advice.’
mzomer 