A Doll's House
The author, Henrik Ibsen, who wrote other social commentary plays (like Ghosts, Enemy Of The People, and Pillars Of Society), made a departure in this plays ending by having the protagonist run away rather than staying to set an example and continuing to struggle for the better along side others. This scenario creates a sad, troubling and for Nora unjustified ending as she, the protagonist in A Doll's House, leaves Torvold, her husband. She destroys any hope that married couples can reconcile differences and learn to change and grow with one another. Nora's exit is a self- destructive assertion of her childlike and romantic view of life, that somehow, someway, things will work out even though there is no plan on her part as to how. By leaving, Nora, with no expectation of a support system, provides no significant transforming effect upon her family's lives and views. Nora has an egotistical and self-centered idea about life and this is further exposed when she decides to abandon her family. Everyone must compromise at some time in their lives. This leads to cooperation in family and in society and is the essence of survival and growth. Nora's need to be in control and her role playing manipulations, makes her an equally guilty party in the promotion and continuation of a stilted and stifling middle class lifestyle that was Norway in the mid 1800's.
The title sets up the metaphor - this is truly a doll's house. But in this case the main
characters are not only the dolls themselves but the doll master and mistress each vying for
power and control. This is a central conflict of the play. Torvold may be the master in the eyes
of society and adopt a conventionally controlling tone but Nora has the real control by her
power of manipulation. Nora is the one who is getting her own way, eating macaroons and
spending money (and getting more) as her wishes prompt. Appearing confident and happy
she shows no sign of dissatisfaction with the role. She gives the porter who brought
the Christmas tree an over-generous tip despite a lack of money
In act one, Shakespeare introduces the idea that Prince Henry is an inadequate heir to the throne. The play opens with King Henry IV, Prince Henry’s father, speaking to his council of a war with Scotland. Quickly the subject of the discussion turns to Prince Henry, or Harry’s, indifference to the affairs of war. The King then compares Harry to Hotspur, son of the Duke of Northumberland in his dialogue:
In order for one to keep their political status and please their country, there are some qualities, traits and skills required. For some, political skills may be a natural or intuitive trait. For others, it feels uncomfortable and takes excessive effort. In either case, political skills must be practiced and honed in order to recap its benefits. For instance, one may naturally possess skills such as listening to others, communicating and commitment. On the other hand, one may not possess those skills and it may require excessive effort to possess those skills. Prince Hal realizes that he must learn to possess these characteristics if he wants to be a successful king. Henry IV, Part 1 by Shakespeare deals with the struggle of King Henry IV to maintain his control of the English throne which he usurped from Richard II. The play deals with the conflict between King Henry IV and his son, Prince Harry, and their tense relationship. King Henry is the ruling king of England. He is worn down by worries and guilty feelings about having won his throne through a civil war. Hal, the Prince of Wales who demonstrates his ability to manipulate others to complete his selfish goals. Hal is an effective leader because unlike his father, his mastery of language shows that he will be a virtuous ruler, able to understand lower and upper class and manipulate them to believe his words.
Ibsen, Henrik. The Project Gutenberg EBook of a Doll's House. [EBook #2542]. The Project Gutenberg, 13 Dec. 2008. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. .
King Henry was once young and seemingly uninterested in his role as a future King of England. Many of Henry’s legendary and heroic traits did not originate in Henry V; instead, they appeared in previous Shakespearean plays including Henry IV. As the British heir apparent, young Henry was known as “Prince Hal, Henry, Harry, Prince Harry, Harry Monmouth, and the Prince of Wales” (Britannica). In Henry V, King Henry is this play’s main protagonist. Shakespeare’s audience briefly witnesses the gradual transformation of Henry from a youthful hell-raiser and playboy to a dignified King. Henry’s immature reputation is described by the Bishop of Canterbury when he says that “a heady currance scour[s] his faults” (I.i.36). In Henry IV, the audience is first introduced to Prince Hal, at his apartment in London and a cheap tavern called the Boar’s Head in Eastcheap, where the future King mingled and formed networks with drinking buddies. There he pla...
Malcolm struggles to gain power, and he therefore leaves, in fear of the murders and in hoped of finding people to follow under his rule. However, at the end of the novel, malcolm returns to Cawdor, where his struggle to gain power comes to an end. Macduff, by the end of the story, murders Macbeth, which his fate had predicted. With Macbeth murdered, Malcolm was awarded the position of King of Cawdor, and therefore he ended his struggle, and he gain power over others, or the people of his
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.
Foremost among the characters William Shakespeare develops in his series of historical plays is, undoubtedly, the character of Henry V. Henry, also at times referred to as Harry or Hal, develops through the course of four plays: Richard II, I Henry IV, II Henry IV, and Henry V. From the brief mention of Henry in Richard II to the full focus upon him in Henry V, a dramatic change clearly takes place: the playful carousing youth portrayed in the first play develops into a King and conqueror by the conclusion of the final play. In order to truly examine his development however, one must examine the growth and eventual fusion of two undeniable separate characters: the prince Henry, and the youth Hal. Only through a careful examination of these distinctly unique characters can one hope to truly understand the Henry we witness at the conclusion of Shakespeare's Henry V.
Having a college education is very beneficial for a person’s future. The degree itself is not the most beneficial aspect of a person’s success in the future nor is the type or rank of school attended will be most beneficial. The education received throughout the years in college will be the most beneficial reward in a student’s life. The education a person receives from a college experience is not only the textbook education or the education provided by the professors but also the real-life experiences. The real-life experience benefits are what will truly matter in the future. A few specific benefits from a college education are the life experiences, the commitment to someone/something other than yourself, the skills achieved such as time management and organization, and also the self-sufficiency a person profits. College is also a great time to find yourself through the chaos of balancing life and maintaining passing grades. “Another one of the many benefits of a college education is meeting others from distant places with diverse backgrounds.” (McGuire) In high school, students do not have the wide range of people from different backgrounds. In college, students are introduced to everything new to life and along with that comes other students from different areas of life. Going to college and having the
The play A Doll House (1879), by Henrik Ibsen, has a realistic feel that compels the reader to identify with the main characters and the situation that they find themselves facing. The wife, Nora, is in all but one scene, and nearly all the scenes occur in a single room. She is the main character, and it is her unraveling and self-discovery that the reader is spectator to.
Nora was the main character with struggles. From the beginning, she had problems of being treated as an equal. Nora explains to Torvald how she has lived her life just doing what the men in her life say. She says, “When I was at home with papa, he told me his opinion about everything, and so I had the same opinions; and if I differed from him I concealed the fact, because he would not have liked it. He called me his doll-child, and he played with me just as I used to play with my dolls.” Because Nora was a woman, her opinion didn’t matter. She was treated like a doll, following whatever her father told her. When she married Torvald, things stayed the same. She went along with whatever her husband told her, and if she told her opinion, Torvald would get mad. Nora also struggled with money. When Torvald got sick, the doctor told them they needed money for a trip to Italy. It was hard for Nora to figure out a way to get money because it was illegal for women to get a loan. She had to go to Krogstad to get the money and forge the signature because she knew her dad wouldn’t let her get a loan because she was a woman. This caused her to have to cover up the lie from her husband.
Nora engages in a mutually dependent game with Torvald in that she gains power in the relationship by being perceived as weak, yet paradoxically she has no real power or independence because she is a slave to the social construction of her gender. Her epiphany at the end at the play realises her and her marriage as a product of society, Nora comes to understand that she has been living with a constr...
Those of you who have just read A Doll's House for the first time will, I suspect, have little trouble forming an initial sense of what it is about, and, if past experience is any guide, many of you will quickly reach a consensus that the major thrust of this play has something to do with gender relations in modern society and offers us, in the actions of the heroine, a vision of the need for a new-found freedom for women (or a woman) amid a suffocating society governed wholly by unsympathetic and insensitive men.
Before the implementation of BlueTooth into cellular devices, cell phone users were either required to have a wired earpiece running to their phone, or use one of their hands to hold the phone to their ears. Bluetooth has become a vital part of corporate use because it allows for employees to excel in multitasking, making it one of the world’s most used wireless connection system. Cell phone manufacturers prefer BlueTooth to any other type of technology because of the low power consumption, less complication on the user’s behalf, and the ability to implement the technology cheaply. This technology has advantages over infrared transmitters due to the ability to leave the line of sight of either object whilst still maintaining a connection. This allows the user to leave the phone in his pocket while only pressing a small button on the headset.
College education is necessary for success because it allow people to have more possibility. The idea of success is that the person got have a stable, place to live, foods to eat, and at the same time is able to pay their bills. At the moment, finding a good job can be competitive. Therefore, someone with a college education has a higher chance of getting hired than someone who does not have one. The benefits of attending college and getting a degree, are networking, having a higher chance of getting hired, and also receiving a better salary.
On the other hand, towards the end of the story, Nora exhibits the independence and