Ariel Dorfman Essays

  • Trials and Tribulations of Ariel Dorfman

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    Trials and Tribulations of Ariel Dorfman In the late 1950’s Chile was fighting a political war. Ariel Dorfman wrote many stories and essays dealing with the political oppression. Ariel Dorfman was exiled from Chile because of his writings, and struggled with his writing in Paris. With ambitions to return to his country he became one of the most significant Hispanic writers in the 20th century. Chile was going through a time of change. After the death of President Salvador Allende, Augusto Pinochet

  • Analysis Of Ariel Dorfman's 'Death And The Maiden'

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    person to act on impulse when they see or hear something that reminds them of the trauma that they have suffered. Similarly, in the play Death and The Maiden by Ariel Dorfman, Paulina’s actions, behaviour and thought process in face of her torturer progressively leads her to a loss of rationality due to the horrors of her past. In Ariel Dorfman’s play, Death and the Maiden, Paulina 's actions were planned but the way she executed them showed that she was starting to act more on impulse then rational

  • The Death and the Maiden Book Analysis

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    had a difficult time making the decision of either torturing Roberto to his death or simply letting him free (Dorfman 56). Roberto’s guilt is questionable as to whether he was actually guilty or if it was only Paulina still struggling to overcome the past (Dorfman 49). The author, Ariel Dorfman leaves the answer unknown, leaving a base for many questions regarding justice and revenge (Dorfman 68). While trying to come to terms with past life experienc... ... middle of paper ... ...ong was being

  • Journey As Metaphor in Literature

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    all walks of life without becoming vague. This feat is accomplished by utilizing the inherent characteristics of the word "journey" itself, as a journey can be representative of a process, physical travel, or any undertaking involving a goal. In Ariel Dorfman's Heading South, Looking North, Michael Radford's Il Postino, and Pablo Neruda's "Walking Around", the metaphor of journey manifests both as a process that the protagonists experience, and as an objective that they strive to reach. All three

  • The Nature Of Torture In Death And The Maiden By Ariel Dorfman

    1486 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Death and the Maiden, Ariel Dorfman captures the brutal nature of torture, demonstrating the complexity and ambiguity of what constitutes human rights. Paulina’s rights are violated and is therefore forced to exist within a sense of moral ambiguity, in which she believes justice is at the cost of Roberto’s human rights. The “grayness” of Paulina’s morality demonstrates that the notion of human rights is both subjective and equivocal. Paulina’s decision to violate the rights of Roberto—specifically

  • Critical Analysis Of 'Death And The Maiden' By Ariel Dorfman

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Death and the maiden is a drama that shows a physiological thriller with a moral message, written in 1990 by the Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman. The author based his work on an episode of Chilean history, Pinochet`s coup d’état, when human rights were violated by the authorities causing suffering in the population. The theme is the right to administer justice on victims. Thus how such justice can be provided without getting more conflict between the victims and the members of present government

  • Suicidal mind

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    ones self is not easy. The first case is about a lady called Ariel Wilson, who chose self-immolation, but survived with really bad burns on her body. Ariel’s central need was succorance, the need to be taken care of, loved and succored. In the second case is a lady called Beatrice, who wrote out her life story while she was Dr. Shneidman’s patient. Her method of suicide was knives and starvation. She was a very different case to Ariel Wilson. Beatrice had a great need for order, sanctuary, and

  • The Tempest - Barbarism versus Civilization

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    opinion of each side. In this whimsical play, Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, after being supplanted of his dukedom by his brother, arrives on an island. He frees a spirit named Ariel from a spell and in turn makes the spirit his slave. He also enslaves a native monster named Caliban. These two slaves, Caliban and Ariel, symbolize the theme of nature versus nurture. Caliban is regarded as the representation of the wild; the side that is usually looked down upon. Although from his repulsive behavior

  • Apparitions and the Supernatural in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    2294 Words  | 5 Pages

    What immediately strikes the audience about The Tempest is the use of the supernatural in the form of apparitions like Ariel and the Harpy. These apparitions are under Prospero's authority and the result of his Art, which is the disciplined use of virtuous knowledge. By invoking a masque to celebrate the betrothal of Ferdinand and Miranda, Prospero effectively brings to full circle the theme of re-generation by obliterating the evil done and suffered by one generation through the love of the next

  • The Oppression of Miranda in The Tempest

    1994 Words  | 4 Pages

    time, he exhibits enough power over her to be considered a patriarch.  Prospero's authority over Miranda is so great that she cannot do anything but follow her father's wishes; it almost appears as if she has no choice in the matter for she, like Ariel and Caliban, can also be subject to Prospero's magical control.  However, it appears that upon a closer study of this, we see that, patriarchalism makes specific, and often apparently contradictory demands of its "own" women, which can often cause

  • Interruption and Distraction in The Tempest

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    the result of the play. In The Tempest, interruption equals distraction, in turn causing restraints. This promotes confusion, disturbance, mental intrusion, and diversion amongst the characters in the play. We are introduced to Ariel (Prospero's invisible servant). Ariel sings beautiful songs that distract the characters and the audience as well. Ariel's songs inspire subliminal messages; these messages are mental and physical acts of destruction. The exquisite noise that Ferdinand hears is caused

  • Ariel and Allegory in The Tempest

    1612 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ariel and Allegory in The Tempest The temptation to regard The Tempest as an allegory has proved irresistible to critics, although opinions differ on what it might be an allegory of, and what the principal figures might represent. In this essay I wish to discuss the character of Ariel, who has received less attention than either Caliban or Prospero. If The Tempest is an allegory then each of its characters should fulfil some representative function. Prospero is generally associated with the

  • Art and Nature in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    presents the influences of both nature and art throughout the play, ultimately with nature prevailing.  The tempest he creates in the first act, the anchor that sets into motion the events of the play, is wholly dependent on nature's own capacities.  Ariel stirs up the winds and sea to fr... ... middle of paper ... ...ween nature and art.  He is careful not to dismiss art as unworthy simply by being the weaker force, but rather regards it as a unique force that must succumb to that which is superior

  • The Little Mermaid Comparison

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are two different versions of the classic story The Little Mermaid. Everyone knows of Disney’s version which shows how a young mermaid rescues and falls in love with a prince but cannot contact him because she is a mermaid. She then trades her voice for legs and marries the prince and they all live happily ever after. The original tale is written by Hans Christian Andersen, and it is a slightly darker than Disney’s happy story. Andersen’s version consists of the mermaid falling in love with

  • The Little Mermaid Research Paper

    2026 Words  | 5 Pages

    “The Mysteries Surrounding the Existence of Mermaids and Sirens” Admit it or not, we all watched the Disney movie entitled “The Little Mermaid” at least once in our life. Most commonly when we were growing up. Some have watched it even more than once. If not “The Little Mermaid”, another movie could probably be “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”. Some of us wanted to be mermaids and sirens, some wanted to see them. What are these creatures? Why is there no credible or strong scientific

  • Character of Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    very powerful person and using his spell books he is able to conjure up some mighty magic. Possibly the most powerful thing he controls is Ariel (a spirit). An example of this is when Prospero says "Hast thou, spirit, Preformed to point, the tempest I bade thee".(718) Ariel had the power to create a great sea storm and Prospero had the power to control Ariel which gave him great power. Another reason why Prospero is powerful is because of his knowledge of Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculos plot to

  • Prospero’s Loss in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    2032 Words  | 5 Pages

    humanity and his daughter’s future. Prospero is shown to be somewhat of a dictator in The Tempest. He doesn’t speak to the other characters, instead he dictates “at” them. Rather than converse with his daughter Miranda, Prince Ferdinand, and Ariel, he tells them his thoughts with no intention of receiving a response. At the end of Act IV Prospero is caught up in the ecstasy of punishing and determining the fate of ... ... middle of paper ... ... William Shakespeare. Cambridge: Harvard UP

  • The Rhetorical in the Music of The Tempest

    2022 Words  | 5 Pages

    in the music in Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest. I assert that Ariel is a bridge, a sort of servant, not just to the character Prospero, but also to Shakespeare’s audience. In Peter Seng’s book, The Vocal Songs in the Plays of Shakespeare, he reflects upon the idea that Shakespeare use of song was to incite characters to action. As Ariel sings, he is causing the characters to move into a certain dramatic action. Seng says, "Ariel draws Ferdinand from the coast to Miranda’s presence, by singing

  • Revenge in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    3160 Words  | 7 Pages

    Prospero enacting his revenge on various characters who have wronged him in different ways. Interestingly enough, he uses the spirit of Ariel to deliver the punishments while Prospero delegates the action. Prospero is such a character that can concoct methods of revenge but hesitates to have direct involvement with disillusioning his foes. In essence, Prospero sends Ariel to do his dirty work while hiding his involvement in shipwrecking his brother, Antonio, from his daughter, Miranda. Prospero, the

  • The Foolishness of Ignoring Advice

    1527 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Foolishness of Ignoring Advice In Disney’s the little Mermaid, King Triton gives fatherly advice to Ariel. He tells Ariel that she should love whomever she wants to, even if it is a human. .Ariel responds positively to her father, and happily takes his advice. In doing so, Ariel proves she has the intelligence and wisdom to accept her father’s guidance. In Disney’s the lion king, Zazu warns Simba not to play in the Elephant graveyard. Simba ignores this advice however, and plays there anyways