Act 4 In The Play 'Little Women' By Louisa May Alcott

I will show understanding of the plot, character and themes and Shakesperes use of language and dramatic devices within the play.

Since the beginning of civilization, unfortunately, there has always been some type of ranking when it came to social status. Usually, there was a small group of wealthy elites who ran everything, and then there was the large group of people who were not rich. One would think that the rich would take care of the poor, but often times the rich kept to themselves and let the poor suffer. This can be seen all over history from the time of the Egyptians to the feudal system of the middle ages, to even more current times.This holds true when diving into the 1800 and 1900’s. One would see that like there were very few social elites and a plethora of people who were not wealthy by a stretch. There were times when the rich would participate in activities that would make it seem like they were helping the poor when in actuality they were not doing the slightest. An example of this can be seen in Andrew Carnegie's “The Gospel of Wealth.” In “The Gospel of Wealth” Carnegie explains what one should do to help society and the poor, but what it is is a way for the wealthy to feel better about themselves.

As class played a crucial role in influencing the character of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, race to some degree also played an integral part impacting the immigrant experience of the Chinese and Southern Europeans, how African Americans faced ill-treatment, and showcasing how racism correlated with imperialism.

Consider ways in which Diane Samuels explores ideas of identity in this play in Act 1 Scene 2, and elsewhere in the act.

However, while the notion of changing social circles was widely prominent and applauded it is still revealed to be virtually unattainable if one is not born into the upper class. Fitzgerald demonstrates the illusion of class mobility that resulted from consumerism and the false pretense that wealth is sufficient to enter the upper class. By defining the large gaps in between the classes, he insinuates that the wealthy still successfully ruled during this time

Looking at this in an Australian context, there is a larger variation and fluctuation between class determinations compared to Karl Marx who believed social class was only determined by the factor of property (Henslin and Possami-Inesedy 2014). Analysing

Class is another theme of the text. Those in higher economic classes seemed to cling to the "Darwinism Axioms (165)" of the 19th century that encourage only survival of the "fittest" and other elitist ideas that supported the not-so-proper/nice things that were done in the name of innovation. There was also an elitist class bias when it came to the Native Americans. If the Native Americans did not utilize their land the way the

One Victorian sentiment was that a civilized individual could be determined by her/his appearance. This notion was readily adopted by the upper classes and, among other things, helped shape their views of the lower classes, who certainly appeared inferior to them. In regards to social mobility, members of the upper classes may have (through personal tragedy or loss) often moved to a lower-class status, but rarely did one see an individual move up from the abysmal lower class. Although poverty could be found almost anywhere in Victorian London (one could walk along a street of an affluent neighborhood, turn the corner, and find oneself in an area of depravity and decay), most upper-class

Class structure in the 1920s was synonymous to prejudice. The 1920s was known as a period of wild excess and great parties with excitement arising from the ashes of the wars in America’s history. It was a period in history where rapid materialism and narcissistic ideals grew uncontrollably, and it was the days where Jay Gatsby, illegally, rose to success. Having social classes was the same as segregation, except it was through economic standings, the two both instil injustice within social standards. Class structure was used to describe the difference between the new money and old money. The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, written during the 1920s, emphasizes the division between the social classes and the reasons behind why they

They don’t have any sympathy for the lower class, and this shows that they are of a higher class. When the grandmother speaks of painting “this picture” this also refers that they are of a higher social class because the grandmother is able to take up in art class.

Wealth served a major role between the classes and placement of citizens within them. The queen or the monarch was the richest and flaunted her wealth with items and luxuries such as jewelry and gold (“The Social Structure in Elizabethan England”). The

Anthony Giddens (2006) defines class as “a large-scale group of people who share common economic resources, which strongly influence the type of lifestyle they are able to lead.” (pg 300). Karl Marx, a sociologist in the 19th

The passage to be studied is from Act 3, scene1, from the play, ‘The Duchess of Malfi’. The importance of this passage, and where it fits into the play, is explained in the first paragraph. The following paragraph will highlight some of the distinctive features of its language, starting with the beginning of the passage and comparing it to the end of the passage. The analysis of the text will cover rhythm, sounds, punctuation, repetition, alliteration, enjambment and caesura. Using these techniques Webster helps the reader to extract meaning, characterisation and the themes of the play. Finally, the third paragraph will show how the distinctive features of the language can be translated into performance using lighting, tone of voice, props, costume, sound and space. The language used in the text of the play is the source to its meaning and performance.

While there are other influencing factors, income is one of the most important aspects when determining ones’ social status. It is often accompanied by family background, but while well-placed connections vary in importance, wealth is a necessary condition in a civilization governed by materialism. As such, ones’ family riches determine the levels of education their off springs may be entitled to, as well as any other assets their children may benefit from. Additionally, factors such as clothing and overall outer appearance are used by other people when trying to place one in a social category, and it certainly cannot harm to have them from a young age. Monetary prosperity and stability are essential factors when deciding one’s place in the social structure since they dictate the amount of comfort and security that individual can acquire and subsequently the opinion that others will have of

Karl Marx describes “Society as a whole [as being] more and more [split] up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other-bourgeoisie and proletariat” (Marx 124).  As Marx made his distinction between upper class, bourgeoisie, and lower class, proletariats, it is important to keep in mind the societal structure at the time.  To understand how classes were created and the disparity between the rich and poor, or, bourgeoisie and proletariat, it is necessary to examine how people came to be rich and poor.  Exploring a time before money existed will help us to process and understand reasons why the binary between rich and poor exists and how it is reflective of low and high art distinctions.