"A DOLL'S HOUSE"   Term Paper ID:20563 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: (Henrik Ibsen), [The Cherry Orchard] (Anton Chekhov), [Los Vendidos] (Luis Valdez) & [Mother Courage] (Bertolt Brecht). Social & political criticism in these plays.... More...

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Paper Abstract: (Henrik Ibsen), [The Cherry Orchard] (Anton Chekhov), [Los Vendidos] (Luis Valdez) & [Mother Courage] (Bertolt Brecht). Social & political criticism in these plays. Paper Introduction: Dramatists often criticize society through the characters and situations they depict on stage. When they do so, they may approach the subject by looking through the world in which they live to what they believe the world should be. They may be writing at a turning point, an era in which social change is in the offing but which is being resisted by the dominant order. They may merely be commenting on aspects of the human condition which persist into their age and which they see as detrimental to society. Whatever their particular situation may be, playwrights criticize society by having characters who represent some social class or ideological position and by using symbolism as well as direct statement to make the audience see something they believe to be wrong. The characters need not themselves have the same realization or understanding of what is wrong in society, and Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The characters need notthemselves have the same realization or understanding of what is wrong insociety, and indeed they may themselves represent some aspect of thatwrong. The last act has been an act of rapid action andmovement as the family packs up and leaves, and now this old man appears,having been forgotten in the excitement. They may merely be commenting on aspects of the humancondition which persist into their age and which they see as detrimental tosociety. . Torvald is a staid and pompous man more concernedwith what society thinks than with caring for his wife, while Nora is aromantic dreamer who has her illusions shattered and who reacts byasserting herself as she would never before have dared to do. "Editor's Introduction." In Anton Chekhov. Hefinds that the Mexican-American population gives in to this pressure andallows itself to be Anglicized in language, dress, and attitude, acceptingin effect many of the stereotypes placed on it even though the people knowthat these stereotypes are false. Ranevskaya's ancestral estate affords a definite climax toward which the action rises and from which it declines (Yarmolinsky 2 ).Yarmolinsky finds The Cherry Orchard to be one of Chekhov's most satisfyingplays in terms of dramatic structure. They may be writing at a turning point, anera in which social change is in the offing but which is being resisted bythe dominant order. The winds of change in The CherryOrchard are also embodied in a sound, the sound of an ax against a treeoutside the house now empty except for Fiers. AvramYarmolinsky writes, The auctioning off of Mme. Fiers represents thetraditional past more than any other character in the play, and at the lasthe is left alone, wandering through the house, not understanding thechanges that have come. Ibsen. Her name, for instance, has been given to her for anact perceived as heroic while in truth it was pure mercantilism. A number of influences helped shapeIbsen's point of view and his technique for presenting that point of view,including the major political events of his time, events which illuminatedthe conflict ridden nature of Norwegian class-society. . Ibsencomments on both the good and bad he sees in his society: . Ibsen develops a type of dramatic realism andcreates a pattern of dialogue which combines the ease of daily speech withthe urgency of the drama: He deepens the psychological, ethical and social analysis through his retrospective technique, while at the same time he gives the works concentration and grandeur and a powerful element of tragic guilt and fate akin to the Greek (Beyer 198). Withevery gain there is also a loss that needs to be acknowledged. Thus Ibsen exposes contradictions and distortions in society: at the same time his noblest characters have an ethical consciousness and desire for truth which gives hope for "the ability of ideals to propagate themselves" and for their "evolutionary capability" (Beyer 196-197). . Brecht's experience with this play shows how difficult itcan be to offer criticism in the drama, for there is always the possibilityof being misunderstood. Different playwrights approach these issues in different ways, ascan be seen with Ibsen and A Doll's House, Chekhov and The Cherry Orchard,Valdez and Los Vendidos, and Brecht and Mother Courage. . The action is set atHonest Sancho's Used Mexican Lot, and he seems to be selling these images,though as it turns out the images are controlling him. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1971.Yarmolinsky, Avram. Brecht created a play set in a fictional worldand drew attention to theatrical conventions to remind the audience that itwas watching a play. Dramatists often criticize society through the characters andsituations they depict on stage. The image of MotherCourage he intended was of a woman who never learns her lesson and whoallows greed to overcome whatever finer instincts she may have toward herfamily. The public was to leave the theatre determined that something positive must be done to stop wars (Esslin 242).The image of Mother Courage returning to sell her wares now that anotherwar has started, however, caused many to view her as heroic, so Brechtrewrote the play to maker her more of a villain. New York: The Viking Press, 1947.----------------------- 8 New York: McMillan, 1977.Esslin, Martin. In A Doll's House, Ibsen challenges the assumptions about the placeof women in society. With thedeath of each child, she has failed to learn any lesson, for each dieswhile she hesitates in some way whether to save them or save money. InMother Courage and Her Children, Brecht creates a character--Mother Courage--structured on irony. Sheis in fact more suited to the role society has handed her as wife andmother than as revolutionary, but this ,makes her action all the morepowerful when it comes. both the conflicts described and the image of society presented express a critical attitude to the whole capitalist system, in which human values such as truth, freedom and love are made into objects which can be bought and sold. New York: Taplinger, 1978.Clurman, Harold. Harold Clurman notes: If A Doll's House is read without preconceptions the implication is clear that men cannot be "free" (or authentic) persons unless women are equally free (Clurman 1 9).Nora seems to be the perfect wife and is happy to be so, and ironicallysome of the elements of her character that make her a perfect wife (in theview of the time) are also the character traits that lead to conflict.Nora is not the sort of strong woman we might expect to make the statementshe makes when she leaves her husband and slams the door behind her. Valdez does not pretend that his play is realisticand instead uses the artificiality of both setting and character toemphasize the effects he sees in the real world of pressure to conform. [This applies to Chekhov as well, since The CherryOrchard was intended by him as a comedy and perceived by others as aserious drama.] Martin Esslin writes of the ending of Mother Courage, Brecht wanted this last scene to arouse the spectator's indignation that such blindness and stupidity were possible. She isnot an admirable woman, but audiences have long admired her for herfortitude and strength. Nora presages social change rather than reacting to it, while thecharacters in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard are caught up in social changeas a new middle-class capitalist spirit sweeps away the old, traditionalverities of the landed class. Whatever their particular situation may be, playwrights criticizesociety by having characters who represent some social class or ideologicalposition and by using symbolism as well as direct statement to make theaudience see something they believe to be wrong. Hence, the images of the Farm Worker,the Revolutionary, and the Pachuco, all of which come to life and show thatthey are in charge and are not merely merchandise. Ibsen: The Man and His Work. The Portable Chekhov. In this play, Brecht does not write about social change so much as hecriticizes certain social types and the tendency of society always toresort to war. "Los Vendidos" ("The Sellouts") by Luis Valdez is a very short playthat makes use of satire and exaggeration to create an image of socialconflict in American life. Brecht. As the Cherry Orchard outsidecomes down, the new order takes over and leaves the old order behind. Works CitedBeyer, Edvard. When they do so, they may approach thesubject by looking through the world in which they live to what theybelieve the world should be. This new spirit may promise much in the wayof a brighter future for the masses, but it is also a destructive forcerepresented in the character of Lopahin, who will destroy beauty andtradition without understanding or appreciating their non-monetary value.The ending of A Doll's House uses the sound of the door as a sharp andjarring statement of what is to come. Brecht comes from a different theatrical tradition than Ibsen orChekhov and consciously tried to counter the older tradition, yet he neverreally eliminates the sentimentality and emotion that he says he wants toremove from the drama to create a drama closer to one of pure ideas. In Ibsen, the modern tragic hero and the modern tragic conflict areto be found in the bourgeois individual--often a woman--who rebels againstsociety and tradition. Henrik Ibsen is thought of as a social realist who embodied clear anddirect criticisms of his society in his plays, and perhaps the most famoussuch critique reverberated through the theater with A Doll's House, citedtoday as a feminist play which prepared for the emancipation of women fromthe rigid social roles they once had. Even after war has taken her entire family from her, she rejoicesthat war has started anew because it is good for her business. For Valdez, thosewho accede to the stereotypes are sellouts to Anglo society, and they areallowing their traditions to fall by the wayside as effectively as do thecharacters in The Cherry Orchard. In some plays,Ibsen creates businessmen who seem to be pillars of society but who are inreality denying the liberal ideals they seem to represent, while Ibsen'swomen and intellectuals often hold these same ideals in high regard. In asense, she represents the new social class that swept away the old in TheCherry Orchard, or at least an extreme version of it. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.