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Death in Venice by Thomas Mann and Greek myths
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Thomas Mann´s ¨Death in Venice¨ presents a provocative love story between an older man and a young boy. It captures the life of an elderly German writer named Gustave von Aschenbach who, while on vacation, in Venice falls passionately in love with a young Polish boy named Tadzio. However, Aschenbach´s love is unreciprocated and no real relationship is born. Although the romantic involvement between the characters is one sided, the novel has stilled managed to generate diverse and often controversial interpretations. Many critics, such as Anthony Heilbut have interpreted the novel as one of the first literary works openly dealing with homosexuality (Heilbut 251). Other critics, such as Andre Brink argue that Tadzio is not representing a masculine character. On the contrary, they argue that Tadzio represents a ¨feline and feminine¨ figure (Brink 175).
However, the reader can examine the novel independently of these two viewpoints. Even though their views lie on opposite sides of the spectrum, both Heilbut and Brink describe ¨Death in Venice¨ as portraying an abnormal and destructive relationship. Heilbut argues that Aschenbach´s relationship with Tadzio is pedantic and spiteful (Heilbut 249). That it portrays Aschenbach as ¨obscene, frivolous and banal¨ (Helibut 257). Brink argues that Aschenbach´s and Tadzio´s relationship is ¨menacing, dangerous, destructive¨ because Tadzio´s feminine disposition serves as a form of revenge on Aschenbach’s masculine world (Brink 176). However, these viewpoints failed to view ¨Death in Venice¨ in a more neutral light because they focus too much on outside perspectives such as homosexuality or the struggle between a female and male force, rather than on the relationship itself. On the contrary, ¨D...
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Heilbut, Anthony. "Death in Venice." Thomas Mann: Eros and Literature. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. 246-267. Print.
Mann, Thomas. Death in Venice and Seven Other Stories. Trans. H.T Lowe-Porter New
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WR 150 J7 Spring 2012. Love in the Modern Novel: Compilation of Love Questionnaire
Responses. Writing Department, Boston University, MA
The central figures in these three works are all undoubtedly flawed, each one in a very different way. They may have responded to their positions in life, or the circumstances in which they find themselves may have brought out traits that already existed. Whichever applies to each individual, or the peculiar combination of the two that is specific to them, it effects the outcome of their lives. Their reaction to these defects, and the control or lack of it that they apply to these qualities, is also central to the narrative that drives these texts. The exploration of the characters of these men and their particular idiosyncrasies is the thread that runs throughout all of the works.
The relationship between male and females within literary works can be expressed in a variety of different ways. Often times, gender roles are solidified to present the man as a dominant and overpowering figure, where the woman is seen as nurturing and are many times objectified due to this nature. In “Poof”, the reader is presented with an example of a woman who is ‘too accepting’ and ‘too giving’ to her male spouse, where as in “Good and Gone”, a male protagonist shatters the dominating nature of the standardized gender roles by loving a woman based off of common interest, not based off of submissive nature. Comparing these two protagonists of both plays, the writers, EP3C and Lynn Nottage, present a duality of dramatic effects by either
This paper will look at the different conceptions highlighted by Bulman in his article through the use of different methods used by the actors in the play. Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare captures the different conceptions of gender identity and different sexualities within the Elizabethan period.
Sensuality was a favorite theme of William Shakespeare. Unfortunately, Romeo And Juliet is absolutely witless in terms of Shakespeare's usual conservative politics. In this paper, I will show that Romeo And Juliet is the most brilliant example of reactionary writing ever created. This claim is buttressed by three points: (1) the Surrealist theme of loss of innocence in Romeo And Juliet, (2) Shakespeare's adversarial relationship to the Symbolist school while writing the book, and (3) the author's brave employment of sensuality depite the influence of the Modernist school.
The Venetian Community setting of the play Othello and its multilayered society standards and customs greatly attribute to the actions of the characters. The author of the article goes into to the difference of the military hegemony, in which Othello originates, and the patriarchal hegemony that is the where Brabantio, and his daughter Desdemona are part of, and its effects on the players in Othello. Their lives are intertwined, even though they are from different hegemony groups which lead to misunderstandings intentional and unintentional throughout the play. Henningfed article is enlightening to the novice readers of Shakespeare’s Othello as it gives in-depth perspective into the societal and cultural aspects and understandings of the characters in the play. The tolerances of Othello by the Venetians is explained in the article by the author as they see Othello as this great military warrior who serves them, they own him for the services he provides to them in war against the Turks. The explanations of the interaction of Brabantio and Othello are explained utilizing their different places in society and examples author Henningfed uses;
Although many arguments could take place over the blame of Othello’s fate, the one murderer no one doubts is jealousy. Although Othello’s insecurities and “blindness” along with one of the most duplicitous villains in all of literature definitely catalyze the deaths at the conclusion of the play, in the end Othello must suffer the consequences manipulated or not. Despite the number of uninteresting characters in the play, Othello, the Moor of Venice contains one of the most intricate characters in any of Shakespeare’s plays, and will be discussed and intensely argued forever.
There are two reasons why this paper dismisses the notion of homosexuality between Antonio and Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice. First throughout the play there is no evidence that Antonio and Bassanio have had a physical intimate relationship. The reason why Bassanio wants to go to Belmont “for a lady richly left” is to have this physical intimate relationship with Portia, thus dismissing the notion that Bassanio has homoerotic feelings for Antonio. And secondly the word love can multiplicity of meaning which if not understood properly can lead one to see Bassanio and Antonio’s friendship as homoerotic. For the purpose of this discussion, we will define the word love in terms of two Greek words, both of which means love, but in two different senses. The two that are relevant to this paper are phileo and eros. Love –phileo “means to have affection (sentiment, or feeling) for. A fondness based in the heart. What the Greeks meant by Phileo love is what we normally think when say "brotherly love" (E...
...captivated by it. He is so enthralled, that he does not realize the problems with the Italian city. Whether Mann is actually attacking Venice or Italy for the corruption of its beauty is a possibility, but not very important here. What is most important is to realize that Mann is discussing an infatuation with beauty in general, not an infatuation with a boy. Aschenbach does not die because of Tadzio, he dies because of what the boy represents. The novella is titled so for a reason; it is a Death in Venice, or rather a "Death Because of Venice".
Marzola (1997) takes a look at the drama, “Merchant of Venice” from multiple perspectives. His main focus is on the issue of identity crisis of Shylock and racial prejudice of the other characters towards him. Another point focused in his discussion is the role of Bassanio, who intends to marry Portia just to gain control on both her body and wealth but his character is still treated in a positive manner. Moreover, he tries to prove that the drama exposes the bitter and inhumane attitude of Shylock juxtaposed against the affectionate and behavior of the other characters in the
With a hyped up media in the modern world, celebrity status has become a major cultural phenomena worldwide. Those who have visited grocery stores or newsstands will find magazines that either entices you to peruse them for dating advice or for the gossip in celebrity lives. Who got into an argument in public? Who loves and doesn’t love each other? Who’s getting a divorce? Who’s cheating on whom for whom? This cycle continues every day, every month, every year, and yet people do not tire of this drama unfolding in front of them. And that is because it spurs interest. Many people have different ideas on love, and many others are interested in how love plays out.
Tragedy, despair, jealousy, deception, manipulation, and hatred are just a few terms to describe Shakespeare’s thriller of a play, “Othello”. From start to finish, the readers are on the edge of their seats due to the impeccable storytelling of Shakespeare. In his play, there are two characters (Othello and Iago) who have a complex relationship with each other and their surrounding people. Iago manipulates Othello in making him believe anything he tells him therefore allowing Iago to close in on his objective. While Othello starts to have a lack of confidence, he slowly starts to trust Iago which ultimately leads to his downfall. In this play, readers are shown a pesky Iago doing whatever he can to undermine Othello’s authority and he goes through a good amount of work to achieve this goal.
In order to answer the above question I shall therefore firstly have to examine the character of Aschenbach and the development/changes that occur within this character throughout the story. I shall do this by referencing Ashenbach's character development from the Apolline to the Dionysian. After tracing this development we shall then have a clear starting point for examining the ideas played out through the protagonist and we shall be able to examine these ideas closely. This shall involve an assessment of Aschenbach's belief in and final refutation of Platonic form and acceptance of irrational thought in form of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. I shall then conclude the essay with an examination of the rational/irrational narratorial influences that hold together the essence of Aschenbach's character changes, although these influences are naturally without the character. These will include the use of myth and the use of strangers. It is my hypothesis that Death in Venice is the tragedy of the inevitable destruction of any Apolline artist in a culture that rewards a repressed state of being. By the end of this essay I will have therefore hopeful...
William Shakespeare’s play, “Othello, the Moor of Venice” depicts many themes including marriage, jealousy, and deception. Throughout the play different characters deceive one another while also deceiving themselves. This domestic tragedy shows how deceiving others can go too far in the end with the murdering of Desdemona and the death of Othello and how jealously can fuel the actions of a man’s heart. Othello grants the lieutenant’s position to young Cassio instead of Iago and because of that he devises a plan to hurt Othello and cause mischief between him and the other characters including his wife Desdemona. Overall, every character within the play is affected by Iago’s deceptive plan in one way or another.
Gunther, Randi. "Chapter 1 - What Causes Relationship Sabotage?" Relationship Saboteurs: Overcoming the Ten Behaviors that Undermine Love. New Harbinger Publications, Inc., 2010. Books24x7. Web. Apr. 13, 2014. http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/toc.aspx?bookid=46505
Studying Mann's personal experiences reveal from where he derives his attitude toward death. Certainly, he is not unfamiliar to its lurid face; at an early age, both of his sisters committed suicide. When he was only seventeen, his father passed away due to blood poisoning. The raw material of Death in Venice came from his vacation in the Lido, a beach in Venice. Oddly enough, this trip was taken in May of 1911, the same month ( and possibly year) when Aschenbach's story begins.