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themes raised in the play A doll's house by henrik ibsen
ibsen's a doll house the role of women
ibsen's a doll's house literary devices
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The Influence of Genre on Five Plays’ Approaches to Social Issues
What could a naturalistic “problem play”, a tragedy, a historical drama, a comedy, and a piece of “epic alienation theatre” have in common? Works of drama are created to have some kind of “effect” on an audience, and while the effects each of these plays are markedly different, each play attempts to lead an audience to think or feel a certain way towards a social problem. “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, Oedipus The King by Sophocles, Walsh by Sharon Pollock, Edible Woman by Dave Carley (adapted from the novel by Margaret Atwood), and The Good Woman of Setzuan by Bertolt Brecht are plays which contain characters involved in dramatizing social problems. By examining the relationships between the characters and their dramatic audiences, we gain insights into the genres of the plays.
As in many naturalistic plays, the characters in “A Doll’s House” are “round” and worthy of analysis. A characteristic of naturalism is that, “while constrained by a material environment which might be difficult to change, [characters] still [have] the possibility of overcoming their condition” (Bloomsbury 1). Through her actions, the character Christine suggests to the audience that they too can overcome their conditions, by following her example. The particular social problem that Christine illuminates is the problem of acquiring human understanding. Through Christine’s character Ibsen gives evidence to suggest that achieving deeper understandings of the world outside the “doll’s house” is possible. In confiding to Krogstad, “I have learnt to act prudently. Life, and hard, bitter necessity have taught me that,” Christine is indicating to the audience that knowledge...
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...h approach social problems varies along with their genres. In today’s world, in which social problem are ever so urgent, plays such as these are clearly becoming increasingly relevant.
Works Cited
Aristotle. Poetics. Trans. S. H. Butcher. Rpt. The Internet Classics Archive (1994). 19 Nov 2001 <http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.2.2.html>.
Brecht, Bertolt. Brecht on Theatre. Ed. and trans. John Willett. New York: Hill and Wang, 1992.
Brecht, Bertolt.The Good Woman of Setzuan. Trans. Eric Bentley. MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1947.
Ibsen, Henrik. Four Great Plays by Henrik Ibsen. Bantam Classic edition. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1981.
Pollock, Sharon. Walsh. Revised edition. Burnaby, BC: Talonbooks, 1998.
Simpson, David L. Comedy and Tragedy (1998). 18 Nov 2001 <http://condor.depaul.edu/~dsimpson/tlove/comic-tragic.html>.
Throughout Jackson's two terms as President, Jackson used his power unjustly. As a man from the Frontier State of Tennessee and a leader in the Indian wars, Jackson loathed the Native Americans. Keeping with consistency, Jackson found a way to use his power incorrectly to eliminate the Native Americans. In May 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act. This act required all tribes east of the Mississippi River to leave their lands and travel to reservations in the Oklahoma Territory on the Great Plains. This was done because of the pressure of white settlers who wanted to take over the lands on which the Indians had lived. The white settlers were already emigrating to the Union, or America. The East Coast was burdened with new settlers and becoming vastly populated. President Andrew Jackson and the government had to find a way to move people to the West to make room. In 1830, a new state law said that the Cherokees would be under the jurisdiction of state rather than federal law. This meant that the Indians now had little, if any, protection against the white settlers that desired their land. However, when the Cherokees brought their case to the Supreme Court, they were told that they could not sue on the basis that they were not a foreign nation. In 1832, though, on appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokees were a "domestic dependent nation," and therefore, eligible to receive federal protection against the state. However, Jackson essentially overruled the decision. By this, Jackson implied that he had more power than anyone else did and he could enforce the bill himself. This is yet another way in which Jackson abused his presidential power in order to produce a favorable result that complied with his own beliefs. The Indian Removal Act forced all Indians tribes be moved west of the Mississippi River. The Choctaw was the first tribe to leave from the southeast.
Under the Jackson Administration, the changes made shaped national Indian policy. Morally, Andrew Jackson dismissed prior ideas that natives would gradually assimilate into white culture, and believed that removing Indians from their homes was the best answer for both the natives and Americans. Politically, before Jackson treaties were in place that protected natives until he changed those policies, and broke those treaties, violating the United States Constitution. Under Jackson’s changes, the United States effectively gained an enormous amount of land. The removal of the Indians west of the Mississippi River in the 1830’s changed the national policy in place when Jackson became President as evidenced by the moral, political, constitutional, and practical concerns of the National Indian Policy.
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was an abuse of power exerted on the Indian tribes residing in America by the people of the colonies as well as presidents at the time of their removal. Many Indians affected lost their lives, their loved one’s lives’, and the land they thrived on dating back years to their ancestors. This act would be later named “the trail of tears” because of the monumental loss the Indian tribes had endured during their displacement, and the physical and psychological damages of these people (TOTWSR).
The Indian Removal Act in the short term shaped the Natives culture and society very notably. The Indian Removal Act caused the destruction of Native American tribes, and lead to a loss of tradition and culture. However, it did allow for the Americans to gain the land needed to build their growing country and meet their economic desires. Desires that President Andrew Jackson had pushed for at Congress in his first inaugural speech, and had made an important policy for his presidency, as he viewed the results as beneficial, to “not only the states immediately concerned, but to the harmony of the union”. The harmony of the union was perceived to be gained at the loss of Native culture, as Jackson represented himself as the man of the people,
The Progressive Era marked the change of politics at this time for the good of the people. The people of the Progressive movement tried to create a referendum, which meant that laws would have to be put on a final ballot for the approval of the people. This would eliminate treacherous government officials that were elected then bribed by corporations in exchange for special favors. In the New Republic by Herbert Croly, he said that people can not actually believe that the legislation will do what is best for the people (Document F). It also says how Wilson would eliminate by passing a few laws to prevent such corruption. Also they began pushing for the direct election for United States senators. In a speech by Teddy Roosevelt, he said how the Senators should people voted for by the people rather than an electoral college so that once again no members of the college can be bought off (Document D). Pr...
The triviality of melodrama is so often the theatrical scapegoat that boils the blood of the modern-day critic: the sentimental monologues, the martyred young lovers, the triumphant hero, and the self-indulgent imagery. Melodrama would seem the ultimate taboo; another failed Shakespearean staging or even worse, an opera minus the pretty music. Ironically, Bertolt Brecht, dramatic revolutionary and cynic of all things contrived found promise in the melodramatic presentation. Brecht examined and manipulated the various superficial and spectacular aspects of theatre, establishing a synthesis of entertainment and social criticism as his fundamental goal. Bertolt Brecht employs various facets of melodramatic technique in The Jewish Wife, ultimately reconfiguring the genre and conveying his central theme; a society rendered immobile at the will of a totalitarian regime.
Henrik Ibsen’s famous play A Doll’s House was first published in 1879 and contains elements and characters that appear to support feminism, and drew attention from the women’s rights movement. However, Ibsen himself said that he was not a feminist; rather, his play is about the human nature in general, and is not specifically about women’s rights. Over the years, this was the view that most scholars used to interpret the play, but more recently scholars have produced an opposing argument. Margaret Stetz, one such scholar, writes that “To call Ibsen a feminist playwright or to describe A Doll’s House as a drama in favor of women’s rights is no longer controversial” (150). The most obvious example of Ibsen’s view on gender roles is the relationship between Nora and Helmer and, more specifically, Nora’s self-discovery at the end of the play. Other characters, however, such as Mrs. Linde and Krogstad, as well as Anne-Marie, play a part in defining gender roles in A Doll’s House. In this essay, I will discuss the ways in which Ibsen represents gender roles in A Doll’s House through the characters in his play and the differing views about feminism and gender roles in the play.
Goldman, Emma. The Social Significance of the Modern Drama. Berkeley. Edu, n.d. Web. 09 May 2012.
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen is a realistic drama that explores how the imbalanced treatment of women can dictate who they become. Nora Helmer embodies the need for evolution in regards to women and their roles within the family. The importance of this play, which was written in 1879, is still relevant in the modern world. This play helps to bring attention to the characters people play as a result of their circumstances.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a self-replicating molecule or material present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent in chromosomes. It encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and many viruses. Simply put, DNA contains the instructions needed for an organism to develop, survive and reproduce. The discovery and use of DNA has seen many changes and made great progress over many years. James Watson was a pioneer molecular biologist who is credited, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, with discovering the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. The three won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962 for their work (Bagley, 2013). Scientist use the term “double helix” to describe DNA’s winding, two-stranded chemical structure. This shape looks much like a twisted ladder and gives the DNA the power to pass along biological instructions with great precision.
Smithson, Isaiah. "The Moral View of Aristotle's Poetics." Journal of the History of Ideas 44.1 (1983): 3-17. JSTOR. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. .
Willett, John, trans. and ed. Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic. New York: Hill and Wang, 1986.
“A Doll’s House” is unique in a way that it seems to explore aspects of feminism, such as the independent woman, although critics and Ibsen himself would have argued otherwise considering it to be more of a social commentary centred upon role playing in society. For this very reason, “A Doll’s House” can be seen as being relevant to twenty-first century society, since society will always attempt group people together, whether categorizing by gender, morality or wealth. The very fact that the themes presented were controversial during the Ibsen’s time, and are yet of concern in modern society make it one of the most influential plays ever written.
Henrik Ibsen catches the world off guard with his play A Doll House. The world is in what is known as the Victorian era and women and men have specific roles. The way the story unravels takes the reader by surprise. Ibsen wanted to write a play that would challenge the social norms and that would show the world that no matter how hard they press, they would not always win. Ibsen uses society’s customs, deception, and symbolism to keep the reader on their feet and bring them a play that they would never forget.
Aristotle. The Poetics of Aristotle. Trans. S. H. Butcher. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000. Print.