"GHOSTS" (HENRIK IBSEN) & "THE GRAND INQUISITOR" (FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY).   Term Paper ID:21192 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Describes & compares conflict between society & individual in play & section from novel.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Describes & compares conflict between society & individual in play & section from novel. Paper Introduction: One of the major themes in world literature is the conflict between society and the individual, with society poised to enforce its requirements and its proscriptions on individuals to enforce conformity, while the individual feels constrained and would break out to a life of greater self-expression if he or she could. Different writers have portrayed this conflict in different ways, and those who have offered solutions to this conflict have also offered varying answers. This theme is depicted in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts and Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Grand Inquisitor, and both writers create a clear-cut choice in the situation without "solving" the problem. Ibsen hints that the proper answer for society would be to encourage the individual and that to do otherwise will in the long run be a detriment to society itself, while Dostoyevsky leaves the choice 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. New York: Penguin, 1991.Ibsen, Henrik. It is thestory of the return of Christ to earth during the Inquisition, and he isarrested and taken to the Grand Inquisitor. The Grand Inquisitor represents the Church that has come into beingpurportedly in support of Christ's teaching and to maintain Christ'sexample, but from the point of view of the Grand Inquisitor, the Church isactually teaching what Christ should have represented to mankind. Neither system offerssalvation for more than a few, so the Church has determined that it isbetter to give security to the mass now rather and no salvation later thanno security and no salvation. The reaction of Mrs. Alving to the knowledge of her husband'sdegeneracy and to the reactions she sees in her son are important in termsof Ibsen's criticism of the social order. Notes from Underground & The Grand Inquisitor. When the orphanage burns to the ground, it is the destruction of asymbol of hypocrisy. The disease he has inherited will kill him, but it is adisease that derives from the social order, which would rather maintainsecrecy about such social problems than turn the light of day on them andsolve them. Works CitedDostoyevsky, Fyodor. Ibsen hints that the proper answer for society would be toencourage the individual and that to do otherwise will in the long run be adetriment to society itself, while Dostoyevsky leaves the choice to thereader as a moral dilemma, though in truth there is an answer implied bythe author in the very fact that he asks the question. Actually, it is a judgment on the society thatcreated the need for such sin and that maintains a pall of secrecy overhuman frailties among one class of people while punishing those samefrailties in a lower class. Oswald represents the youth of this society, a youthsacrificed on the altar of social correctness and a facade ofrespectability. For Ibsen, opening the windows to let in freshair would be a solution. The Church, in the person of the Grand Inquisitor, claimsto have corrected Christ's "errors" by seeing to it that mankind is sparedthe horrors of free choice. If they fail to conform, they are ostracized.There is a religious and moral component to this social order, but in Ibsenit is not religion as such but the whole panoply of rules and customs of asociety that constitute these "ghosts." On the other side are the leadersof society, those who have the power, position, and reputation that makesit possible for them to dictate to others. Mrs. Alving sees that her sonsfears his love of life will be destroyed in the staid home life that hasbeen mapped out for him by the social order, and she sees from this why herhusband could not stand the strain imposed on his individuality by thissocial order and so turned to alcohol. This "solution" is to pervert the notion offree will in the name of order. The characters in Ghosts live in a society that is restrictive of theactions of the individual, and the means by which these retrictions areimposed are the "ghosts" of ideas, moral concepts, and social norms thathaunt those who would express their individuality, causing them to restrainthemselves and conform. New york: Bantam, 1981.----------------------- 7 More thanthis, Regina, the maid, is Oswald's half-sister. His parable has an ambiguous conclusion,leaving it up to the reader to decide which of the two opposite polespresented is the correct answer. Christ had wanted freedom for mankind, but theChurch does not. Four Great Plays by Henrik Ibsen. Interestingly, this alone shows a beliefin free choice. In truth, this is a godless society, one that offers security but nosalvation for the mass of mankind. TheChurch displays its compassion by directing the actions of men and bygiving mankind a security it could never know if it followed the teachingsof Christ. Oswald inherited his joy of lifefrom his father. One of the major themes in world literature is the conflict betweensociety and the individual, with society poised to enforce its requirementsand its proscriptions on individuals to enforce conformity, while theindividual feels constrained and would break out to a life of greater self-expression if he or she could. The people follow theChurch willingly, and this has created a situation which the reality ofChrist could upset. That is, the reader is aware of the fact that the systemhas been developed to control, that it serves this purpose for the mass,and that the select only are able to make their own choices. Alving was a man with a depraved side that was unknown to anybut his wife, and yet hiding this assertion of individuality is clearly notthe answer, though it is the answer that society will accept. Mrs. Alvingconfesses to the Parson that her husband was a degenerate and that he diedof the disease that has now been inherited by their son, Oswald. What emerges in the dialoguebetween the two is a distinction between the teachings of Christ and thereality of the Church. The Church says that humanity only yearns forsomeone to worship, and Christ had taken this from mankind by giving itfree will. Yet, Alving is honoredand respected, with a new orphanage about to be dedicated to his memory. This allrelates back to Christ's rejection of the three temptations--if he hadaccepted the bread, mankind would know security; if he had performed amiracle to get down from the pinnacle, human beings would have somethingmiraculous to worship; and if he had accepted the power Satan offered him,he could wield that power for humankind. As noted, the rule of the Church is madepossible by the use of miracle, mystery, and authority: There are three powers, three powers alone, able to conquer and to hold captive forever the conscience of these important rebels for their happiness--those forces are miracle, mystery, and authority (Dostoyevsky 129-13 ).Miracle refers to effecting some change in a manner that cannot (or willnot) be explained. The Church says that mankind does not want freedom of choice interms of good and evil but rather wants these choices made for it. Authority is thepower of the Church to state what is and is not truth. Dostoyevsky holds out thepossibility that maintaining the social order might be a higher good, whileIbsen rejects this as the true hypocrisy. Since Christ rejected thesetemptations, the Church now has to offer the security, the sense of themiraculous, and the power that Christ rejected. The reader isexpected to see the wisdom of the system for social control and for thesatisfaction of the needs of the many while also seeing that free choice ispossible for those strong enough to make it. Manders says, "That fire is a judgement on this houseof sin!" (Ibsen 115). Different writers have portrayed thisconflict in different ways, and those who have offered solutions to thisconflict have also offered varying answers. Yet, their respectability maybe only a facade, though it is the facade that counts as far as society isconcerned. Mystery refers to the doctrine, the unknowable that thepriesthood is privy to while the mass of people are not. The Grand Inquisitor realizes the flaws in the system and knows thatit is imperfect, but he chooses this system because it serves the most ofhumanity rather than the few. A few will be saved, the elect whowould be saved under Christ's system in any case. This theme is depicted inHenrik Ibsen's Ghosts and Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Grand Inquisitor, andboth writers create a clear-cut choice in the situation without "solving"the problem. Such a solution is too late for Oswald and hisgeneration, and he is left to stare at the sun, his mind gone from thedisease of hypocrisy afflicting his society. The most onerous legacy Christ left for mankind wasfree will, and the Church would like to take that burden away from mankindand instead impose a systematic structure so that human beings will havesecurity and will not need to make choices. The story of the Grand Inquisitor is a parable of the authoritariannature of the Church and its centrality to the social order. 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.