Carreras, Daniela Barrow Theatre 11 May 2014 Extended Essay Outline I. Introduction: A. Topic: How does the 2007 Broadway production of Spring Awakening convey the structure of an authoritarian society and its detrimental effects on the youth of the musical? B. Thesis: Through the use of juxtaposition in characterization, staging, and text (script) the 2007 Broadway production of Spring Awakening provides clear social commentary on the structure of an oppressive authoritarian society, and its devastating effects on the adolescent characters in the musical. C. Why did I select this topic? I really enjoyed watching this musical in New York and was immediately enthralled with all the taboo themes it seemed to incorporate into just one show. The underlying social commentaries of the play as well as the stories of characters like Moritz, Melchior, and Wendla made me want to examine the script and production in depth. D. Synopsis of musical and what is an authoritarian society. • An authoritarian society is one in which those with power “ [favor and enforce] strict obedience to authority…at the expense of personal freedom” (Abate). Authoritarian societies have strict rules and severe consequences if those rules are broken. However, unlike an authoritative society, an authoritarian society imposes rules without rationale or providing reasons for why these rules are being implemented, “‘we have rules in this house. Your father will not be disobeyed’” (Sater 43). [I’m going to try to find more information on this.] E. How is this specific? Not only am I looking at only one musical in particular, as opposed to a plethora of plays that have in some way or another conveyed a world of teen angst and oppression; only one production of “Sp... ... middle of paper ... ...ed to make the choice whether to runaway or endure. • Moritz commits suicide from the guilt, shame, and stress brought upon him by failing finals and not passing to the next grade. • Melchior loses his two best friends, is sent to reform school, and almost commits suicide. • Hanschen is left “the System work for him” (Sater 77). While it is an interesting notion, the concept is utterly wrong, the system will eventually take them over. As shown in the foreshadowing in Act 2 Scene 5, even though Hanschen and Ernst have their intimate moment and aren’t caught, they sing the same song Melchior and Wendla sing in Act 1, “Word of Your Body” which says “O, you’re gonna be wounded” (Sater 78) meaning that the relationship will probably not last once the adults find out about the boys homosexuality and everything will fall apart just like it did for Wendla and Melchior.
In this essay, I will define authoritarianism and discuss the differences and similarities between Adorno et al.’s and Altemeyer’s approaches towards authoritarianism. Authoritarianism refers to the obedience and strict adherence to rules and figures of authority, as well as this, an authoritarian personality can be characterised by hostility towards groups or individuals who differ from what they perceive as normal (The Open University, 2015, p23).
Vogel’s writing exudes symbolism from the first word of the script to the last – from the rise of the curtain to its close. The glimpses into Li’l Bit’s past are sometimes explicitly and literally described, but Vogel also often uses extended metaphors to act as a detailed commentary on the action. Why, however, did the playwright choose symbolism to convey the effects of sexual abuse – as heavy as its subject matter may be – during the late twentieth century when seemingly nothing is censored in America? In order to answer this and better understand the way in which Vogel uses symbolism –in the smaller elements of the play and extended metaphors – the terms must first be defined.
In this essay I will be comparing two playwrights, A Raisin in the Sun and A Doll’s House, to one another. I will also compare the two to modern time and talk about whether or not over time our society has changed any. Each of these plays has a very interesting story line based in two very different time eras. Even though there is an 80 year time gap the two share similar problems and morals, things you could even find now in the year of 2016. In the following paragraphs I will go over the power of time and what we as a society have done to make a change.
reach into the ideas and themes of the play so we will have a good
In addition, they are also hostile and punitive in their attitudes towards people who do not adhere to them. Authoritarian right’s members want society and social interactions develop in ways that increase uniformity. Therefore, they support social control and coercion. Moreover, they use the group authority to place constraints on the behaviors of people. The Authoritarian right’s members are characterized by obedience to authority and punish towards
Students will use literary analysis techniques as described in Faigley “Rhetorical, Literary and Visual Analysis” to analyze one American protest song (using the list provided) and apply critical analytical techniques as discussed in class and in the textbook.
project of the play, of which is touched upon in Act One. It is this
thesis of how the musical brought our inner child out to realize our true struggles in life.
.... He interprets and realizes that there is nothing that can be done about his fathers tragic death, and therefore his grieving is lifted. Oskar uttered emotion, which in turn resulted in the loss of misery from his father’s demise.
One could make the argument that the tragedy of the play occurs because of the adults. Moritz commits suicide only after his father disowns him for failing in school. Wendla dies at the hand of an abortionist only after her mother forces her to get an abortion for fear of what people would th...
Moreover, Shakespeare was once again alluded to when the children started singing ‘’Totally Fucked’’ (74) referring to King Lear, a play in which, one of the main characters, Gloucester misjudges his son and disinherits him because he thinks he has betrayed him. This misjudgment can be transposed in Spring Awakening when Moritz’s father tells his son that he destroyed his father’s reputation because he failed. Also, this failure was only a conspiracy against Moritz, by making him fail, the school systeme would achieve his goal of getting rid of him. Indeed, because he struggles more than the other students at school, the teachers of his school sees him as a waste of time and a bad example for their school. This harsh talk from his father, combined with the fact that his teachers told him that he was a moron, is tragically going to lead Moritz to commit suicide. Once again, the insertion of Shakespeare’s song helps the reader to understand the criticism of the utopic idea of the perfect society in which everyone is perfect and
The authoritarian style of parenting is control focused and militaristic in approach. This parent has high expectations and demands strict obedience. They often rule by fear and punishment. Dr. Gwen Dewar states, “… Little nurturing, lots of psychological control” (Dewar). On Consistant-parenting-advice.com the author communicates this type of parenting can result in abusive discipline that can be emotional and physical; however this writer is also including verbal abuse to the list.
Write an essay on one of the following topics. Your essay should include both textual and comparative analysis of TWO of the following plays. Compare differing structures and conceptions of authority or power in the plays.
Authoritarian-parents who are punitive and focus on gaining a child's obedience to parental demands rather than responding to the demands of the child.Authoritarian parenting styles give little to no options to a child. What the parent says goes. It is a rigid approach to raising children that may have been most effective in times of great famine or toil. It was used most commonly in large, traditional families in which the father was the patriarch, and everyone else was called to follow his command. Times have changed greatly since. Doctors see a problem with this approach in modern times,it creates a distance between parent and child in which the child doubts the parent's love for him. It is based on punishment, which can easily create anger.
Oliver Parker's film interpretation of Shakespeare's Othello uses cinematic techniques to express to the audience two major themes that are present in the original play. Appearance verses reality and racial discrimination are both significant themes that Parker focuses on throughout the film. Through the use of camera angles, language, tone, symbols, costuming and voice-overs, Parker conveys clarity of the themes for the audience to interpret.