Friedrich Dürrenmatt Essays

  • The Visit By Friedrich Dürrenmatt

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play, The Visit, the decrepit town of Guellen is given the ultimate choice: They may lift themselves out of poverty through a gift from billionaire Claire Zachanassian, but in doing so, must abandon their morality and murder one of their own. As the leader of the town, the mayor has a particularly difficult struggle between morals and money. And, in the same way that the mayor represents the people in town government, the mayor’s struggle, too, reflects the struggle that

  • Conformity and Convenience in Friedrich Durrenmatt’s The Visit

    1508 Words  | 4 Pages

    Friedrich Durrenmatt’s epic tragicomedy The Visit is a haunting commentary on the nature of mankind and morality. Bringing to the surface many questions about the difference between justice and revenge, the play is constructed in a way that leaves the reader at once perplexed and conflicted. The difference between right and wrong is often overlooked and even contorted in order to conform with convenience as the citizens of the town become more desperate. The Visit is both a philosophical masterpiece

  • Analysis Of The Visit By Friedrich Durrenmatt

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his book The Visit, Friedrich Durrenmatt uses German Expressionism to his thoughts on Swiss neutrality during World War II both politically and socially. As well as assessing Swiss neutrality Durrenmatt also critiques capitalism using dramatic gestures and visual techniques that relate to German Expressionism art. Durrenmatt not only a playwright and novelist was also a painter. A few of the characters in the visit such as Louisa and the four men who transform into trees also relate to German

  • Analysis Of The Visit By Friedrich Dürrenmatt

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    behavior and way of acting. Throughout the years, the form of a theatrical play underwent many changes that allowed the writers to express themselves more freely, without being limited to the strict rules of form and structure of a Greek tragedy. Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play The Visit is a story that is set in the modern era of post-war Europe. A woman, whose life, through an ugly series of events, is ruined, returns to her hometown to get revenge for the misery

  • Claire Durrenmatt

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play The Visit by Friedrich Durrenmatt, the character of Claire Zachanassian is presented as an antagonist, primarily because of the bargain that she has placed on the life of her former lover, Alfred Ill. With this being said, Durrenmatt does provide details of Claire's history, that when contrasted with her current malicious behaviour, reveal the effects that the past actions of Ill had on her and in turn renders a level of sympathy for this apparent antagonist. When the character of Claire

  • Money as the Symbol of Manipulation

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Visit is a play by Friedrich Durrenmatt that is following events that partake in the town of Guellen. The protagonist Claire pursues to seek revenge on her past lover Ill who essentially robbed Claire of her life. When the relationship had ended Ill left her with nothing and her hometown Guellen turned her away. She lost her freedom, child, and was forced to rebuild her life. After leaving Guellen out of shame, she returned to punish Ill. In The Visit Durrenmatt uses the symbol of money to elucidate

  • Corruption Of Money In The Visit By Friedrich Durrenmatt

    1400 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Visit the author Friedrich Durrenmatt revolves around the theme of the corruption of money because it plays an important part in the progression of the story. Friedrich Durrenmatt is using Claire, a powerful billionairess to show how money can affect behavior, moral principles and politics. Claire gives the people of Güllen a big decision to make in exchange for money and the choices they are given leads them to commit murder. Claire is able to manipulate an entire town and play with the law

  • Friedrich Durrenmatt's The Visit

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ill. The simultaneous repetitions of lines show the guilt and Claire’s vengefulness especially when the Pair describes how Claire punished them. Toby and Roby, her past husbands, “castrated and blinded [them] castrated and blinded [them]” (Durrenmatt 34) Durrenmatt employs another multiple through two women that visit Ill’s store. They enter the store to purchase goods, repeating after one another to double the order. First, they double the order starting with milk, then butter, bread, and finally chocolate

  • Frankie Durrenmatt Themes

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt, wrote the play The Visit, which is centered around the exaggerated and confident character of Claire Zachanassian. Dürrenmatt’s purpose of creating such a strong main character was to show how badly corrupted someone can become and how easily corrupted people can be. In The Visit, Dürrenmatt expresses the themes of power and control through Claire by using the idea that money is power, showing how much influence she has on Ill and the whole town’s lives, and the

  • The Power Of Power In The Visit By Friedrich Dürrenmatt

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    post-World War 2, in Güllen, Germany, the town being in complete ruin and in the need of money. When a special offered is made by the main character to help them prosper, they can't seem to resist the temptation. In his tragicomedy, the author Friedrich Dürrenmatt focuses on his moneyed main character Claire Zachanassian as a way to highlight the manipulation of a society through power. Claire’s power to manipulate is first portrayed when she arrives to Güllen and pulls the emergency brake. The Train

  • Friedrich Froebel and Marie Clay

    1523 Words  | 4 Pages

    Friedrich Froebel and Marie Clay Friedrich August Wilhelm Froebel was born in Oberweissback, Germany in April 21, 1782 (Ransbury, 1995). He was the sixth child of a Lutheran Minister, but lost his mother before his first birthday. As a young boy, he played and explored in the gardens surrounding his home most of the time. His deep love of nature would later influence his educational philosophy. He did not become educated until age eleven. When he was fifteen years old, he was apprenticed to a

  • Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's The Last Laugh

    1913 Words  | 4 Pages

    Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's The Last Laugh About The Director: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau is one of the most important filmmakers of the cinema during Weimar Republic period. He is often grouped with Fritz Lang and G.W. Pabst as the "big three" directors of Weimar Germany. He finished his career in Hollywood and was killed at a young age in a car crash. Three of his films appear on the greatest films lists of critics and film groups. Even though there seems to be little written about him. Early

  • Friedrich Nietzsche's Ecce Homo: Defining Humans

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Portrait Of Friedrich Nietzsche Should human beings be defined simply by their genetics or heritage? This is a question that pains many philosophers including Friedrich Nietzsche, who is the author of Ecce Homo. In his book Nietzsche goes through implicate measures to emphasize that human beings cannot merely be defined by their genetics or national origin. According to Nietzsche, it is how we live that characterizes us. In fact, there is a specific issue in his book that thoroughly discuss an

  • Friedrich Nietzsche

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Friedrich Nietzsche Some call Friedrich Nietzsche the father of the Nazi party. Was Nietzsche's ideas twisted and warped by a needy country? Nietzsche himself despised the middle and lower class people. Was it Nietzsche's Will to Power theory that spawned one of the greatest patriotic movements of the twentieth century? These are some of the questions I had when first researching Friedrich Nietzsche for the following paper. Friedrich Nietzsche, at one time called "the arch enemy of Christianity"(Bentley

  • Friedrich Nietzche

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    Friedrich Nietzche was born in Rocken. He spent much of his time alone, reading the Bible. Nietzsche’s father died in 1849. The young man withdrew deeper into religion. Friedrich received a scholarship to Schulpforta, an elite prepatory school with only 200 students, in October 1858. The scholarship as intended to fund Nietzche’s training for the clergy. His mother, Franziska, and his young sister, Elizabeth, are dedicated to Friedrich’s success, certain of his future. At the age of 18,Nietzsche

  • Nietzsches Superman

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    Though when most people think of superheroes they think of the type with super powers, the original idea of the ‘superman’ was developed by Friedrich Nietzsche in the 1800s. The ubermensch (literally overman in German) never had extra-ordinary powers and wasn’t developed as the protector of man. Instead, the superman is a person who has overcome all the flaws of mankind and is essentially ‘perfect.’ This idea, though it was thought of as an ideal goal that all people should strive for, has almost

  • Carl Friedrich Gauss

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    Carl Friedrich Gauss Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician and scientist who dominated the mathematical community during and after his lifetime. His outstanding work includes the discovery of the method of least squares, the discovery of non-Euclidean geometry, and important contributions to the theory of numbers. Born in Brunswick, Germany, on April 30, 1777, Johann Friedrich Carl Gauss showed early and unmistakable signs of being an extraordinary youth. As a child prodigy, he was self

  • Carl Friedrich Gauss

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    Carl Friedrich Gauss Gauss, Carl Friedrich (1777-1855). The German scientist and mathematician Gauss is frequently he was called the founder of modern mathematics. His work is astronomy and physics is nearly as significant as that in mathematics. Gauss was born on April 30, 1777 in Brunswick (now it is Western Germany). Many biographists think that he got his good health from his father. Gauss said about himself that, he could count before he can talk. When Gauss was 7 years old he went to school

  • Carl Friedrich Gauss

    3547 Words  | 8 Pages

    Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) Introduction: Carl Friedrich Gauss is considered one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. He is a creator in the logical-mathematical domain as he contributed many ideas to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and physics. Being a math education major, I have come into contact with Gauss’ work quite a few times. He contributed greatly to the different areas of mathematics like linear algebra, calculus, and number theory. Creativity can be seen

  • Carl Friedrich Gauss

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    Carl Friedrich Gauss Carl Friedrich Gauss was born in Brunswick, Germany in 1777. His father was a laborer and had very unappreciative ideas of education. Gauss’ mother on the other hand was quite the contrary. She encouraged young Carl’s in his studies possibly because she had never been educated herself. (Eves 476) Gauss is regarded as the greatest mathematician of the nineteenth century and, along with Archimedes and Isaac Newton, one of the three greatest mathematicians of all time