Friday, January 31, 2020

Great response from Arthur Miller Essay Example for Free

Great response from Arthur Miller Essay The Crucible was written in 1953, by Arthur Miller. Miller has said that the purpose of the play is to comment on the parallels between the unfair Salem Witch trials and the Red Scare that lasted eight years 1948-1956. A Crucible is a large container that is used in the production of steel, where they are heated until they melt. A Crucible can stand extremely high temperatures. This is a direct comment on what the play is about. Arthur Miller provided an artistic response to the political climate and he wrote to tackle certain issues such as intimidation. Under McCarthyism, the United States was afraid of communisms influence. McCarthyism came from Senator John McCarthy, who set out to find any threats to the American life and their security. Anybody suspected of communism, mainly those in the entertainment industry, either confessed and gave names of other people or the American Government blacklisted them. Miller, in the entertainment industry, who was protecting his business and friends from any negative outlook it gave, refused to testify to the Committee and was blacklisted. McCarthyism has a great likeness to the play The Crucible. In both situations people only wishing to save themselves falsely accuse many people who suffer. John and Elizabeth Proctor dont have a normal husband and wife relationship, although they are married. They are distant with one another. Their relationship is full of suspicions and clearly has a lack of trust: What keeps you so late? is an accusation. Elizabeth really means what have you been doing or where have you been to keep you so late. The strength of their relationship is tested. John tries to please Elizabeth but she cannot forget her suspicions. John explains to her: I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you, and still an everlasting funeral marches around you heart. This shows that John feels guilt. John Proctor is an honest man. We see this through the way he acts and what he says. John works hard to provide for his family. He has a good clean name in the village and is well respected. However, when the hysteria begins, he wonders whether to expose Abigail for what she really is, even though his name will be ruined. We see that he truly loves Elizabeth when he confesses lechery in order to protect his wife. The audience are drawn to John Proctor. He is one of few people in the play to be truthful throughout, along with Reverend John Hale. Elizabeth is also an honest person. She is a good Christian woman and acts the way shes supposed to as a wife and mother. However, sometimes she can be very cold. She, along with many others, is accused of witchcraft simply because she fired Abigail when she suspected that her and John were attracted to one another and didnt want it to go any further. Even though she has suspected John of lechery and is distant towards him, we know that she deeply loves him. Hale is called into Salem to find out what is going on. He seems a respectful man and gives everyone a chance to prove his or her innocence. He is sort of the plays saviour or hero.  We get to know Abigail Williams through her language and what other characters say. We see that she has power over the other girls and just how far she will go to protect herself, especially in Act 1: I have seen some reddish work done at night and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! Abigail leads the girls in accusing innocent people of witchcraft. Abigail saw the Indians murder her parents. This could have had an affect on the way Abigail is and how she acts. I think that she is able to threaten danger to the girls partly because of her childhood and what she has seen. In Act 3, Abigail shows her power by the way she speaks to Danforth in the courtroom. She even threatens him, saying that the Hell can take him: Let you beware, Mr. Danforth Beware of it! After realising what she has said, she immediately pretends she is in another trance and can see things. This is to allow her to get away with what she has said and so Danforth cant reply to her. There is a great change from Act 1 to Act 3 with regards to hysteria. In Act 1, the girls accuse a few names and they tell just enough lies to protect themselves. Abigail and John Proctor take a gentle lighthearted approach to it in Act 1 and they laugh and joke about it. However, in Act 3 it becomes much more serious. They tell a massive amount of lies and act to make their story believable. Act 3 starts straight away with hysteria. The audience are aware of the gradual build-up because of the characters dialogue. As the play moves further along, the plot thickens as more names are thrown into it and even more unbelievable acting takes place with more and more lies being told. In Act 3, Mary Warren tries to go against the girls with the help of John Proctor in order to save Elizabeth and the other innocents. Mary Warren is already a weak and feeble character and when Danforth questions and speaks to her, he uses cruel vocabulary to fade her. It is obvious that he is on the girls side and doesnt believe a word of what Mary Warren is saying. The girls then accuse Mary Warren of witchcraft. Then she sees that she cannot tell the real truth and overcome the girls lies so she decides to rejoin the girls. To protect herself she accuses John of making her go against the girls and tell lies to them by threatening her. The stage directions in this act build up tension. They add to the drama and the way the girls convincingly act. The stage directions are just as important as the speech. They let us know what is going on and help us understand the characters more. The language also builds up tension. There is a lot of talk about God in the courtroom. Also, there is a lot of cutting each other off. Abigail always tends to cut off Danforth from speaking, so he cant respond to her, this also shows her power. It is almost like Abigail is speaking and saying things just to stop anyone else from doing so.  Personally, I really like the play. I think its a great response from Arthur Miller. There is a mixture of characters and its interesting to see how they interact with one another. I like the play partly because its a true story and I was interested in finding out what happened.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Hitler :: History, Nazi, Race Relations

Racism has been present in our world for more than 3,000 years. Take African-Americans, before the Million Man March, Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, black people were given less respect than dogs. For the first century of our country ¹s existence, blacks were slaves with no rights. Even after the Civil War freed them, there was no equal opportunity and much oppression of them by whites, particularly in the South. They were constant targets of violence and were put to death by racist hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ¹s civil rights movement was the first step towards a truly de-segregated America. If it had not been for people like Dr. King, Maya Angelou and other strong-willed and just people, the country would probably still have two types of rest rooms-- one for whites and one for blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Racism has been running rampant in our country through out history. In the United States during World War II, citizens of Japanese origin were taken form their homes on the West Coast and moved to inland camps by our government because, after the Japanese attack on pearl Harbor, our   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  -2-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   government made a generalization abut the Japanese. It decided that the Japanese Americans were a threat and so they decided to put them in camps. These camps were internment camps, not harsh like concentration camps, but devastating for people who considered themselves -- and were -- every bit as loyal citizens as the people who were incarcerating them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In society today people look for an easy way out of problems. Hitler :: History, Nazi, Race Relations Racism has been present in our world for more than 3,000 years. Take African-Americans, before the Million Man March, Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, black people were given less respect than dogs. For the first century of our country ¹s existence, blacks were slaves with no rights. Even after the Civil War freed them, there was no equal opportunity and much oppression of them by whites, particularly in the South. They were constant targets of violence and were put to death by racist hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ¹s civil rights movement was the first step towards a truly de-segregated America. If it had not been for people like Dr. King, Maya Angelou and other strong-willed and just people, the country would probably still have two types of rest rooms-- one for whites and one for blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Racism has been running rampant in our country through out history. In the United States during World War II, citizens of Japanese origin were taken form their homes on the West Coast and moved to inland camps by our government because, after the Japanese attack on pearl Harbor, our   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  -2-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   government made a generalization abut the Japanese. It decided that the Japanese Americans were a threat and so they decided to put them in camps. These camps were internment camps, not harsh like concentration camps, but devastating for people who considered themselves -- and were -- every bit as loyal citizens as the people who were incarcerating them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In society today people look for an easy way out of problems.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Baroque Humanities

If ever there was a period of enlightened absolutism on European soil, it has to be the 150 year-long period from 1600 A. D. to 1750 A. D. , which witnessed the rebirth of grand styles in art, sculpture, painting and literature. The ideas of monarchism were rejuvenated during this era as the issues of social contract and individual liberty frequented the thinking minds. In fact the thinking renaissance had already been set in motion by eminent philosophers and rulers, including Joseph II and Maria Theresa of Austria, Louis XIV of France, Frederick II of Prussia and many others.Also known as the Baroque period, this phase is noted for its spectacular growth and development across all vertices, especially in artistic realms. What singles out the Baroque from other periods in European history was its dynamism of cultural expressions. The creation of art was unrestrained and raw in nature. From a political perspective, the British Commonwealth under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell thri ved in trade and commerce, and secularism emerged after the brutal bloodbath of the Middle Ages.The royal court of England was receptive to the refreshing counter-reformatory changes that occurred in the intellectual sphere of this period. Our current course of discussion goes beyond just the social, political or religious scenarios that characterized the Baroque era. Rather we attempt to seek the culminating point to have come out of the intellectual revolution of the time, expressing itself in threefold directive of literature, music and art.To achieve our objective, we have picked up three authoritative works distinctive of the Baroque era – Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi for music, The Flaming Heart by Richard Crashaw for literature and The Last Supper by Jacopo Tinteretto for artwork. The rest of this essay is going to elaborate on how the profound philosophies and witticism of the Baroque period were manifested in these three masterpieces. Music in the Baroque featured a d iscernible style and mode of expression unique to this era only.It was converged on a diverse breed of artistic expressions to form a continuum of aesthetic principles rooted in visual and literary arts. First performed in 1607, Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi is deemed as the signature musical composition of the Baroque. The grandeur of this Italian opera dissolved the geographical barriers and traversed far and wide to all corners of Europe. Composed on the themes of the Greek legend of Orpheus, Orfeo celebrates the freedom of spirit of the Baroque through its forceful dramatic appeal and impeccable orchestration.The compelling intellectual sensitivity of the Baroque literature is best manifested in The Flaming Heart, an English poem by Richard Crashaw. This poem captures the extravagance of poetic imagination both in content as well as in form. As argued by Summers and Pebworth (175), The Flaming Heart is comparable to The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Bernini in its vividly descriptive e xpression of personal emotions. As the poem nears the end, it weaves a state of the mind for the reader, which is left unexplored by Bernini (Summers et al. 175): â€Å"By all of him we have in thee,Leave nothing of my self in me: Let me so read thy life that I Unto all life of mine may die. † (The Flaming Heart 2009) The Baroque elements in Crashaw, as argued by Healy (1), are reflected in his â€Å"tendency to adopt the fallacious view†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Indeed, the period in question was stripped off all sorts of polished sophistication and the style of expression was more inclined to counter reformatory impulses than to â€Å"judgments about taste† (Healy 2). The Last Supper by Jacopo Tinteretto concerns the Biblical allusion to the spiritual act of communion.As a groundbreaking work of manneristic painting, a genre that evolved in the Baroque traditions, this piece of artwork speaks volumes for the ingenuity of painters belonging to the Venetian school during the Ita lian Renaissance. The quintessential baroque features in The Last Supper are manifested through Tinteretto’s offbeat use of perspective and lighting effects. Similar to all other artistic genres of the baroque, the manneristic painting too was characterized by freedom of expression and intricacies of ornamentation.In case of The Last Supper, these aspects were brought to life by brisk brushstroke technique on canvas (The Last Supper by Jacopo Tinteretto 2002-2009). Etymologically the term ‘baroque’ implies abnormality and extravagance. Now it has been historically proved that any productive age is bound to be fueled by these traits rather than orderly and genteel ones. It is quite clear from the above discussion that the Baroque era was the golden period in the history of Europe in terms of authentic art movements.Literary compositions, musical experimentations and painting reflected the erratic but extremely creative spirit of the age. Works Cited Healy, Thomas F. Richard Crashaw. Leiden: Brill Archive, 1986. Summers, Claude J. , and Ted-Larry Pebworth. The wit of seventeenth-century poetry. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1995. â€Å"The Flaming Heart. † Poemhunter. com. 23 April 2009. 23 April 2009 . â€Å"The Last Supper by Jacopo Tinteretto. † DirectEssays. com. 2002-2009. 23 April 2009 .

Monday, January 6, 2020

Essay on Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - 698 Words

The novel, Great Expectations, looks back upon a period of pre-Victorian development. It displays that ambition and self-improvement is something many aspire for but more often than not ambition can create problems for one and cause one to commit things that one never thought they would. Whereas, those who are not ambitious because they were born to a wealthy family do acts of malice knowing it but realizing that what they really wanted was indeed not what they wanted but were blinded by malice. It also displays that crime isn’t always committed out of malice but rather sometimes it is the only one can survive. However, one can seek to redeem themselves from it by seeking to help others. Mistakes are things one commits throughout life†¦show more content†¦When Pip discovers whom his benefactor many things are going through Pip’s head because he had created this fantasy of who his benefactor was and what her intentions were. A convict had been transforming Joe into a gentleman, a man whom worked so hard to create a better life for his gentleman who helped him. Thus, he seeks to redeem himself by helping Magwitch, the convict, protecting him. At this point forward, he tries to redeem himself by forgetting about his social standing and helping the convict, which is like a father to him. His redemption begins as his personality and treatment towards others changes. At first he looks at Magwitch with great disgust but then when Magwitch is approaching the end of his life Pip states, â€Å" Mistakes are a part of life and some learn from them while others do not. Throughout the character Magwitch, the convict, readers discover he became a convict because it was the only way he could survive and have a meal for each day. Magwitch symbolizes crime and how a convict can change their ways and help others. At first, he is perceived as a bad person because he is simply and convict but as he story is revealed readers pity him for what h e went through and the way he was treated because he simply was not a gentleman in everyone else’s eyes. In the beginning of theShow MoreRelatedGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1113 Words   |  5 Pagesadventures that the male characters go on. This seems to be relevant in a lot of movies and books like the story Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. In Great Expectations there are multiple female characters like Estella, Biddy, and Miss Havisham who all play a large part in the main character, Pip’s life. One of the first that we meet the character Estella in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is when Pip goes to Miss Havisham’s to play with her. The two kids play the game beggar my neighbor when EstellaRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1347 Words   |  6 Pagespoor status of the economy, social mobility does not seem to be occurring at high rates, with the poor getting poorer and rich getting richer. Despite this, social mobility is alive and well, and has been for centuries. In his novel, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens voices the concerns of many that lived in Victorian England during the 19th century by promoting such a desire to live life in a more prosperous social class. One of the most fundamental and reoccurring themes in the novel is that ofRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1426 Words   |  6 Pages Twelve-year-old Charles dickens gets ready for bed after a long day at the blacking house. These Victorian-aged memories will provide him with many ideas for his highly acclaimed novel Great Expectations. Set in 1830 England, Great Expectations is a coming-of-age story about a common innocent boy named Pip and his road to becoming a gentleman through the influence of others. Pip is influenced both positively and negatively by Estella, Herbert, and Magwitch. Estella left a huge impression on PipRead MoreGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens984 Words   |  4 PagesCharles Dickens utilizes his life for inspiration for the protagonist Pip in his novel Great Expectations. They both struggle with their social standing. Dickens loved plays and theatre and therefore incorporated them into Pip’s life. Dickens died happy in the middle class and Pip died happy in the middle class. The connection Dickens makes with his life to Pip’s life is undeniable. If readers understand Dickens and his upbringing then readers can understand how and why he created Pip’s upbringingRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations943 Words   |  4 Pages This is true in many cases but none as much as in Great Expectations. In many ways the narrator/protagonist Pip is Charles Dickens in body and mind. While there are many differences between the story and Charles Dickens life there remains one constant. This constant is the way Pip as the narra tor feels, because these feelings are Dickens s own feelings about the life he lead. Since Great Expectations was written towards end of Charles Dickens life, he was wiser and able to make out the mistakesRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1375 Words   |  6 PagesGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Talented Mr Ripley by Anthony Minghella present similar criticisms of society to a large extent. Both of these texts consider the criticisms of rich social contexts (wealth and status), societal morality (whether a society is good or not. Status [can lead to the wrong people being in a high position i.e. making bad decisions affecting the community/society] Appearance [society appears to be moral/good (if you’re from a higher status) {dickens criticisesRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1223 Words   |  5 PagesBeloved author Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. Growing up in a life of poverty, his childhood hardshi ps provided the inspiration to write a myriad of classic novels including his 1861 seminole masterpiece, Great Expectations (â€Å"BBC History - Charles Dickens†). Great Expectations follows the life of an orphan named Pip, who’s perspective of the world is altered when he is attacked by an escaped convict in his parents’ graveyard in the town of Kent. Throughout hisRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens924 Words   |  4 Pagesa character driven novel, or a mix of the two. In order for a novel to be character driven, it must revolve more around the characters’ individual thoughts, feelings, and inner struggles, rather than around the quest of the story. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, is a character driven novel. While the story does have a plot, it is not contingent upon that plot, but rather is reliant upon its characters and their natures. This is evident from the beginning of the novel. From the opening ofRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1669 Words   |  7 PagesCharles Dickens He was one of England s greatest authors of the 1800 s, better known as the Victorian era. The various themes and ideas of that time are perfectly showcased in his many novels and short stories, such as Nicholas Nickelby, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol. Much of the inspiration for these works came from the trials and conflicts that he dealt with in his own life. His volumes of fictional writing show the greatRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1017 Words   |  5 Pagesexperiencer is somewhere else absorbing knowledge of a different setting.This abstract adventure is seized by author Charles Dickens in Great Expectations. Great Expectations is historical fiction giving readers comprehension of the Victorian Era.Upon the reading, readers begin to catch on the intended purpose and its significance. A person who lived during the Victorian Era was Charles Dickens himself.He grew up during a time where differences in social class were to an extreme degree.Dickens went through