The Playboy of the Western World Analysis

The Playboy of the Western World Analysis J.M. Synges highly controversial play The Playboy of the Western World exposed the middle-class Dublin audience to a different portrayal of Irish countryside life as opposed to the traditional idyllic image they were accustomed to. Synge strongly employs the element of satire in his play, implemented as a device to shock his conventional audience; the plays lack of morals would have offended the audience, so satire is also used to inject humour, creating a light-hearted tragicomedy. In pages 59 62 the presence of satire can be analysed in terms of satirising gender, religion and the presentation of rural Ireland, in addition to how satire is present throughout the entire play. Synge depicts Christy Mahon as a weak, frightened, young man at the beginning of the excerpt, whereas Pegeen is given a strong, almost masculine persona, protecting him from the Widows advances. When the Widow is introduced, the audience sees Christy clinging to Pegeen exclaiming Oh Glory! with Pegeen having to hurriedly give Christy his supper and usher him off to bed like a child. In this extract, the audience sees how Pegeen is given the protector role, exhibiting maternal instincts. In 1907, the satirising of gender roles shown with Synge giving more status to women than men would amuse the audience, as it conflicts with the traditional Irish patriarchal society. Christy is painted as the classic damsel-in-distress, with Pegeen having to fight the Widow, angrily telling her that she will not have him tormented, and he destroyed travelling since Tuesday was a week. Again it is evident that Christy is shying away from his expected male role, leaving Pegeen to defend him, amusing th e audience. When the Widow pulls Christy up, as theyd best be going, young fellow; so rise up and come with me, Pegeen retaliates by seizing his arm, insisting hell not stir. Christy has been compromised in terms of his masculinity; two women have physically placed their control over him, and Christy lacks the strength to disprove their control. This scene would have been very comedic, as not only are Pegeen and the Widow effectively having a brawl, a male associated activity, but Christy is helpless in the middle, like a female. Traditionally, it would have been the men who wooed the women, but Synge has ignored this, with Christy being rather violently wooed by Pegeen and the Widow, eliciting laughter from the audience, who would find the explicit use of satire highly amusing. Synge is presenting Christys essential emasculation, shown by reversing traditional gender roles. Later on in the play a mule race takes place; as D. P. Moran observes, the pursuit of physical-contact Gaelic games [was used as] an antidote to such emasculation. Christys partaking in the race shows how he used this opportunity to reassert his gender after feeling emasculated by Pegeen and the Widow. Throughout the excerpt from p.59-62, repeated references are made to religion, many in the form of Father Reilly, the local priest. Though he is not seen in the excerpt, his presence is acknowledged as he is partially why the Widow went to find Christy Mahon; when Pegeen asks her What ails you, or what is it youre wanting at this hour of the night? the Widow replies that she was after meeting Shawn Keogh and Father Reilly below, who told me of your curiosity man, and they fearing by this time he was roaring, romping on your hands with drink. The audience would not be surprised by Father Reillys attitudes, as in the 1900s Ireland was a devoutly Catholic nation, as Jane Abbottsmith explains The term Irish Irelander originated to characterize the true Irishman: Catholic and with Irish ancestry, learned in Irish folklore and competent in the speaking and reading of the Gaelic language. Abbottsmith continues to remark that it was the Irish peasants, who were the traditionally pious, Catho lic population that was well versed in Irish folklore. Though the 1900s audience would have expected the priests intervention, a modern audience would find it comedic how Pegeen being alone with Christy has prompted such a flustered reaction, suggesting Synges attitudes were ahead of his time. Irish society was devoutly religious, so the audience would have been surprised at how Father Reilly is the only religious character. The other characters do not seem to incorporate religion in their personas, shocking the audience. However, the only other character to be religious would cause offence: the Widow Quin remarks to Christ God save you mister! which is highly ironic as her intentions for him are far from holy. Seeing such a scandalized, predatory character using the Lords name would have undoubtedly offended the audience. The power of the Catholic Church is a running theme throughout the play, as Synge would be aware that his audience would compare what they see onstage to the Chur chs teachings. Therefore Synge has satirised religion to expose the absurdity of the extreme religious views in Ireland; a lack of religion in the other characters further show the audience how independent rural Ireland is from middle-class conventions. The portrayal of life in the Irish countryside was undoubtedly one of the main sources of controversy in the play. The middle class audience would have had the conception of rural Ireland employing a quiet, idyllic life however Synges play disproves this, county Mayo being the antithesis to their expectations. Christy is welcomed with open arms, despite the town knowing he murdered his father. As Adrian Fraser notes, The Playboy could be read as exploring a converse proposition: a communal willingness to absorb (even glorify) those who break the ultimate taboo against patricide. Christys glorification would greatly concern the audience, inducing outrage. By satirising countryside life, Synge was providing a social commentary on life in the isolated rural coast. However, Christy is later disgraced in the play, when the characters realise they have been deceived. When Pegeen tells of how the Widow supposedly murdered her husband, where she hit himself with a worn pick, and the rusted poison did corrode his blood the way he never overed it, and died after. That was a sneaky kind of murder did win small glory with the boys itself the audience would be shocked that such sin runs free in the countryside. As Fraser again writes, The Playboy of the Western World is a social satire of rural life that is fantastic, grotesque, and profound. At the plays conclusion, when Christy leaves Pegeen for his adventures, the audience would find humour at the contrast between their futures: Christy is off to live a life of excitement, whilst Pegeen is doomed to a fate of marrying Shawn and a dull life in County Mayo. The difference in their fates reinforces the plays status as a tragicomedy. Synge uses the element of satire in his play to expose to the middle class Dublin audience what life was like for the people of the countryside; the plays controversy stemmed from people disliking what they saw. By satirising gender roles, religion and the idyllic conception of Irish countryside life, Synge was effectively able to annul the pastoral sentiments felt towards them, illustrating to the middle class how independent rural Ireland was to the pretentious Dubliners. As Heidi Holder says Synge makes it quite clear to his audiences that their beloved image of the Irish country folk was a mere construction a construction eminently open to challenge, and it was precisely this dismantling of the distinctions between fiction and reality that was the source of Synges conflict with his audience.

Cannery Row :: essays research papers

Cannery Row is a relatively simple novel with basically little or no plot to it. Many critics are quick to call the novel trivial and second rate as compared with Steinbeck’s other works. However this book shows Steinbeck’s renewed interest in the comic portrayal of the basic, uncomplicated lifestyles of the working class. Steinbeck incorporates a few themes into the novel such as failure and historical themes like the depression era. The book is overall optimistic, but Steinbeck takes some off topic chapters to capture some of the darkness that happens within Cannery Row. The underlying story in Cannery Row is about Mack and the boys trying to hold a party for Doc. Mack and the boys are a group of unemployed men living together in the run down fish-meal shack. Doc is a very intelligent and caring man who runs a biological supply house. The boys set up a party at Doc’s place, but Doc is late to get there and the party ends without him there. The boys are upset about their failure. When Doc helps out their dog, the boys decide to hold another party for Doc. This time he is able to go to it and everyone has a good time. (sparknotes.com) Cannery Row does not have much of a plot, but it is still very active as a social document about the attitudes of society during the depression era of the 1930’s. Although the book was published after World War II had ended, it strongly suggests the depression period with both tone and spirit. The majority of the people in the novel are the unemployed are poverty stricken, but all are considered as the good people. There are also no antagonists in this novel, only people who tightly hold on to what they have, such as Lee Chong, and see everyone in distrust.

Representations of Either Male or Female Characters Essay

In the films I studied, (A clockwork Orange, From Russia with love, Carry on camping and a Hard days night) women are represented in similar ways but in very different circumstances. Firstly in A Clockwork Orange, women are seen as an objectified sexual obsession to the male gang. In almost every seen of the film women are presented in one way shape or form for example in the bar with the erotic, female shaped tables or the posters of women on the walls in Alex’s room. On the topic Kubrick has previously said â€Å"In the film, women are the ultimate harbingers of sexual desire, and it is only them who can suppress it. This power leaves the male ‘Droogs’ inwardly feeling threatened, which in part leads to cowardly rape.† I feel this quote explains the representation of females in the film perfectly as Alex, a man who feels he has great power over the rest of society, is surrounded by women and is always met with his sexual desire for them; Although the idea of sex in A Clockwork Orange is not an expression of love or intimacy, but rather an exhibition of power and violence. In this case Alex feels that to remain ‘powerful’ over everyone else he needs to use women as a object to satisfy his growing needs for power. In From Russia with Love, women are again seen as a object and are infamously named ‘the Bond Girls’ showing how in the larger scale there roles are minor compared to the ‘amazing’ Mr Bond. The opening title to the film shows barely clothed belly dancers dancing and parading there bodies to the Bond theme tune, showing how there bodies are more important then the woman herself. Throughout the film it is apparent that women are only good for a number of tasks: giving massages to the male characters, belly dancing and for casual sex and even then its when the man wants and not the woman. Despite this, in the film the female lead Tatiana played by Daniela Bianchi, shows woman’s slowly growing power and independence, for example Tatiana smoking representing the freedom that she perhaps now felt, although she is sitting down and Bond is standing over her, clearly in a position of more power. It is felt that the woman in the film are constantly being overlooked by men for example Tatiana killing the villain, which in normal circumstances would make her the ‘hero’ in the film, but this is undermined by the way Bond immediately takes the gun off her, as though it does not belong with her or she is not safe with it. In the film A Hard Days Night whenever the The Beatles perform, the members of the band are all distinguished as four individual, male characters. This massively contrasts with the role of women in the film, as there have been no main female characters; women are either portrayed as screaming, uncontrollable girls or again as sex objects. The idea behind this shows that women have no individuality in the film and are really only there to worship, flirt or to sexually satisfy the boys in the band. Finally the idea of women being perceived as objects is again mirrored in the final film Carry On camping, where the women are seen as objects for the men to flirt with and pursue in a sexual manner. Although Carry on camping differs from the previous films as there are several female characters which are seen to have hierarchy over certain male characters. For example the character Harriet Potter had the power in the relationship and often bossed her husband around in a comical manner. Overall in all the films it is obvious that women are often being represented as objects to satisfy mens needs and don’t serve a real purpose in any of the films and if they do it is only in a comical manner to retrieve laughter from the audience.

Tenants vs. Tenets

Tenants vs. Tenets Tenants vs. Tenets Tenants vs. Tenets By Maeve Maddox Both words, tenant and tenet, derive from the Latin verb tenere, â€Å"to hold,† but they are not interchangeable. A tenant is someone who rents or leases a house, apartment, etc. from a landlord. A tenet is a principle, dogma, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true. The following examples of misuse were gathered from sites that offer some kind of professional service: INCORRECT: Generally speaking, people dont know how to teach  leadership, but we can  teach  some  basic tenants.   CORRECT : Generally speaking, people dont know how to teach  leadership, but we can  teach  some  basic tenets.   INCORRECT: Simply put, the  basic tenants  of reading and writing are ignored.   CORRECT : Simply put, the  basic tenets of reading and writing are ignored.   INCORRECT: This course is designed to give the students an overview of the basic tenants of Christian Doctrine. CORRECT : This course is designed to give the students an overview of the basic tenets of Christian Doctrine. INCORRECT: Odierno told our staff about the three  basic tenants  he uses to lead the U.S. Army: competence, commitment  and character. CORRECT : Odierno told our staff about the three  basic tenets he uses to lead the U.S. Army: competence, commitment  and character. I did not find the opposite error in professional texts, but it is quite common in comments on sites related to renting. For example: INCORRECT: most importantly, stay informed about your rights as a  tenet. CORRECT : most importantly, stay informed about your rights as a  tenant. INCORRECT: [The rule is] never enforced, but it does give the owner of the property a pretty quick and easy way to remove troublesome tenets. CORRECT : [The rule is] never enforced, but it does give the owner of the property a pretty quick and easy way to remove troublesome tenants. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant NamesIs There a Reason â€Å"the Reason Why† Is Considered Wrong?How Verbs Become Adjectives

Changes in Mrs. Mallard Essays

Changes in Mrs. Mallard Essays Changes in Mrs. Mallard Paper Changes in Mrs. Mallard Paper Name:Instructor: Course: Date: Changes in Mrs. Mallard â€Å"The Story of an Hour† was written by Kate Chopin and revolved around the changes that took place in the life of Louise Mallard, the wife of Brently, a man who was assumed dead but later turned out to be alive. After hearing the news of her husbands’ death, Louise Mallard underwent several psychological and physical changes in succession that will form the crux of the essay. In the narrative, Louise Mallard who was limited to the social traditions of the compliant wife, showed an unusual response to the loss of her spouse. Louise anticipated her newfound autonomy from the restraint of her husband. The physical, emotional and psychological changes are effectively analyzed. The issue of women liberation and independence emerged as a major element that will be elaborated upon further. Physical and Emotional Changes In the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard came out as an aged woman who was â€Å"†¦afflicted with a heart trouble†. Later in the eighth paragraph, the author again refers to her as a young woman with â€Å"†¦a fair, calm face whose lines bespoke repression.† After hearing the sudden death of her husband, several changes were witnessed physically. One, Louise Mallard was known to have a weak heart and therefore, could not handle any sudden or overwhelming emotion without suffering an injury. However, all of these weaknesses and fragility quickly change upon hearing that her husband was dead. Immediately, Louise transformed into a joyful bundle having optimistic and buoyant thoughts of freedom. She cheerfully commented, â€Å"There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.† It was highly possible that Louise’s heart conditio n was largely emotional and psychological rather than physical. Changes in Social Status It was quite interesting to note that the name was first mentioned after her husband’s death was announced. During this moment, Mrs. Mallard experiences complete freedom. Before the apparent loss, she was only mentioned as Mrs. Mallard, and even after her husband cam back home, the author referred to her as the â€Å"wife.† When Brently married Louise, her status was transformed to Mrs. Mallard. In the process, she lost her individuality and took up a different and strange identity. While it very ordinary and regular for a woman to adopt her husband’s name in matrimony and in that era, become his property, it cannot be assumed that a part of her was lost. When she hears of her husband’s death, a transformation occurs where she changes back to her initial self and not an extension of another man. During that era, the society was predominantly patriarchal and any elements of emotion, repression or disobedience that women experienced were overwhelmed by the need to be dutiful, loyal, obedient and content wives. Chopin states that Louise knew that he husband â€Å"†¦never looked at her save with love.† When the news that her husband had apparently died, Mrs. Mallard underwent a social change from a human being bound into an irreversible contract with a man into Louise, a woman who was free to make her own decision without the weight of social accountability to her husband bearing upon her. There is a strong sense of irony, surprise and unpredictable reactions and events that are exhibited by Louise Mallard when face with the possibility of being a widow. The unexpected reaction shown by Louise represents the mixed feeling that most married women harbor in their hearts. While it is obvious that any loving wife should mourn the death of their husband, most would automatically see the death as an opportunity to express their true selves as women. The short story touched on a global issue of women liberation and independence that was probably the rationale behind the overjoyed nature of Mrs. Mallard after hearing the sad news.

Develop a strategy for the Wii's next product life cycle phase Research Paper

Develop a strategy for the Wii's next product life cycle phase - Research Paper Example The Wii was launched into a gaming market dominated by two major players, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. With two bid incumbents, Wii would have found it difficult to penetrate their market directly, thus it adopted a new strategy called â€Å"competing against non-consumption† (Scott Para 1). By doing this the Wii effectively positioned its product where the competitive forces were weakest (Porter 2). Scott (para 2) elaborates that whereas Sony and Microsoft were concentrated on differentiating their products in terms of providing cutting-edge game play to demanding customers, Wii focused on reaching new customers segments. Wii’s success and entry into the maturity phase can be supported by its global sales. A look at video games sales charts such as VGChartz.com shows the Wii taking the top 5 slots in weekly sales worldwide on the week ending June 25, 2011 (â€Å"Worldwide Weekly Chart, Week Ending 25th Jun 2011†). So is th e Wii now a BCG model cash cow? According to the BCG model, a cash cow is a product that is in a position of high market share in a mature market. However, from our analysis the Wii’s market growth strategy of competing against non-consumption manifested that the gaming market is yet to reach its maturity given that there are new consumer segments that can be developed.

The Effects of The American Civil War Research Paper

The Effects of The American Civil War - Research Paper Example For four consecutive years, the confederate soldiers fought and battled with the union soldiers. The war that is regarded as the bloodiest war in the history of America cannot be swept under the carpet. The depth of loss was felt by both these two sides. The loss of lives and the destroyed infrastructure took the United States several steps back. The immense and sheer number of deaths and tragedy that was brought by the civil war remains as a constant reminder to the American people as a profound insight of the past that they have seen. The economic, psychological and social impacts of the war went on to redefine what the future of the American people.Proclaiming the freedom of slaves and creating national unity was the hardest role that the American government had to play after the recovery from war. A more detailed analysis of the American civil war points to the start of the war being at the 1860 presidential election. The republicans who were led by Abraham Lincoln were not for t he idea of expansion of slavery into the United States territories. After the republicans won and their anti-slavery campaign looked as though it would be successful, seven slave states that were being run of cotton based economies came together right before the inauguration of the president and formed a confederacy that would fight against the anti- slavery campaign. The confederacy was mainly against the idea of the fact that their source of labor for their cotton plantations would have to be paid for (Parish, p. 103).