The Stronger by August Strindberg is a play that is filled with irony. One of the first things noticed in this play is that the characters have no names, nor are they labeled by any type of status. Rather than having names like most plays, the two characters are differentiated by the letters "X" and "Y." Another ironic thing about this play, is how it is written; the dialogue of the play is not evenly spoken. Instead of the two characters conversing between one another, the play is written almost like a monologue where only Mrs. X speaks. Because Mrs. X is the only speaker, one would think that she is "the stronger," but ironically, she is not.
One reason Mrs. X is not thought to be the stronger is that she goes back
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X the stronger. She is not stronger because instead of confronting her husband attempting to resolve the relationship, she is scared to disrupt the false perfection of her marriage.
Another reason Mrs. X is not strong is that she has no control over her life; the irony about this is that she honestly believed that the decisions she made came from her own thought when they did not. When Mrs. X first discovers the affair between her husband and Miss Y, she realized that most of her decisions in life were based on her husband's knowledge of Miss Y's likes and dislikes: her vacations were by the lake because Miss Y hated the seaside; her son was named Eskil - the same as Miss Y's father's. The colors she wore, the books she read, the foods she ate, the drinks she drank were all favorites of Miss Y. Mrs. X's reaction to the discovery of these controls proves that she truly had no idea that her choices had been influenced. She responds, "That's why - oh my God, it's terrible to think of, terrible! Everything, everything came to me from you - even your passions." This proves how unexpectedly the facts were realized by Mrs. X.
Despite the proof of her weakness, Mrs. X still persuades herself that she is stronger; ironically, her proclamations of strength proves that she is not stronger. Mrs. X starts her persuasion by announcing to herself and to Miss Y that she prevails. She says, "Perhaps, my dear, taking everything into consideration, at this
Shakespeare uses language to explore the controversial gender roles. His use of two distinctively opposing female
A strong narrative is used throughout the play. There is use of soliloquy, which were humorous. Smeraldina?s speech about men ?If women had a position in this society that was equal to their tact intelligence and ability to get things done you don?t think they?d put up with you poncing around like some superannuated gondolier. They wouldn?t give you a second glance, ?big boy?? (Act 2 Scene 5).
both the instances she could not save the victims. The implied conclusion is to accept that the
The narrator finds herself economically and emotionally dependent on her husband, John. Many times she questions to herself why she stays in the room all of the time. She then answers herself by saying, " John says it is good for me" (Gilman, 665). She thinks of her husband as much wiser and more important than she, which is the way that society treated males during the time period the story was written. During this era, women were discouraged from joining the work force and were thought to be better suited as a mother, and wife rather than an employee. This is the common stereotype that women tried to overcome during the women's movement.
One of her weaknesses was pets, such as her cat Quixote. Jeannette also loved her pets, but her parents did not appear to connected with them. One time when the Walls family was trying to skedaddle, Jeannette brought along her cat Quixote. However, the cat grew uncomfortable in the car and started to panic. Her mom stated that she did not wanted Jeannette to be sentimental about the cat, so they threw the cat out of the car into the wilderness. “Quixote landed with a screeching meow and a thud, Dad accelerated up the road, and I burst into tears”. (pg. 18). Additionally, another one of Jeannette’s weaknesses is her feelings towards dad. She always had a soft spot for her father, as they had a special bond with each other. However, her patience for her dad quickly grew then as he would constantly spend money on alcohol, and return home drunk. One time, when her mom left for two months, Jeannette was given $200 and had to budget it for two months. However, her father would ask for a small amount of money at first for alcohol. Jeannette knew that she should not cave in and give him the money, however, she seemed to always submit to her father. Jeannette’s weakness repetitively showed up throughout her adventure. At times she would admit her weaknesses, and realized she needed to grow from them. Jeannette’s weakness showed that while she may be a strong character, she does have
Jeannette’s parents did many things to her as a child that damaged her, but forgave them for what they imposed on her. She had the knowledge that they still loved her, no matter the choices that they made. he reason that she chose to forgive her father for everything would be because she still loved him and if Jeannette had not forgiven him, then their relationship would grow apart. This can be manifested in the statement, “‘ But, you always loved your old man, didn’t you?’ ‘I did dad,’ I said, ‘And you loved me’” (Walls 279). It was all because of Jeannette’s love for her father and the good heart she has that gave her the ability to let go of what he did, and to go further, the ability to be optimistic about it. Furthermore, Jeannette had also forgiven her mother for the mistakes she made when Jeannette was a child. For example, Rose Mary Walls had been depicted as extremely selfish throughout the
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tale of multiple characters whose personalities are clashing at the bits whenever one is introduced to another. Each character in the play exhibits a tragic flaw in one character, but happens to be another characters greatest strength. For example, Prince Hamlet and Prince Fortinbras cannot be so different from each other in the beginning, yet they happen to be so similar in circumstances. Both characters fathers have been murdered and both have the ambition to seek revenge on the killer. Hamlet and Fortinbras contrast each other in their character in that they both exhibit opposing tragic flaws, display differing strengths, yet they come together to form a symbiotic relationship.
statement (279). The change in structure is perhaps a reflection of her change in character when
Dramatic irony is a stylistic literary technique used in many of Shakespeare’s tragedies to create suspense for the audience. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience or readers discover information that other characters in the play are not aware of. This allows the audience to make predictions as to what’s going to happen next; thus keeping them engaged in the plot. There are many incidences of dramatic irony that exist in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, Hamlet. One example of dramatic irony within this play is in Act 1, Scene 5, when the Ghost of King Hamlet appears to his son (Prince Hamlet) and reveals the true cause of his death. Through this incident, Shakespeare is able to manipulate audience sympathies and antipathies towards characters; develop Hamlet’s character; and introduces the main themes and conflicts that recur throughout the play.
Jeannette loved Grandma Smith and was upset when she found out that she had died. Jeanette remembers all the little moments she had with Grandma Smith such as watching movies with her or getting her hair cut by her. Grandma Smith had a significant value to Jeanette. Jeanette feels a sense of stability when she stays with Grandma Smith as they have enough to eat and don’t have to constantly worry about
The Narrator is convinced she is sick; however, her brother and husband do not believe her. She says, “You see, he does not believe I am sick…If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but
Dramatic irony is a valuable tool used by writers in literary works in order to engage the audience in the works and to add a level complexity to the characters. Dramatic irony is understood by the audience, but not the characters. With this particular type of irony, the writer makes the audience more involved and they are able to empathize more with the characters in the works. Although the character may be heavily disliked, dramatic irony can cause the viewer to feel a sense of empathy as though they were in the same situation. With this technique, the character may also seem more real and relatable. And more often than not, when dramatic irony is used, the viewer will be put in a position of helplessness. In A Doll House, Ibsen takes advantage of this technique and utilizes heavy amounts of dramatic irony with his characters, especially Torvald, in order to engross the audience and also to place the audience in a position where they are hopeless, which could
Her husband is not strong enough for the undertakings needed to gain the crown. She continues with a soliloquy to become free of her feminine ways that would make her soft:
In my written assignment, I am focusing on the irony brought out in the novel. Irony brings out the purpose of the story along with adding creativity and originality to the story. Henrik Ibsen has employed both, conscious and unconscious irony in the characters of the book. The types of irony used in this play are: dramatic, verbal and situational irony. Dramatic irony is one of the parts of irony brought in throughout the play. It is a type of irony, which is expressed through a work's structure which is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. Ibsen has focused on employing most of the irony in the relationship between Nora and Torvald. Ibsen has brought out an ironic twist in Nora’s character when she transforms from a submissive to an independent woman.
It is very humorous when one watches a play or movie or reads a book and knows more about what is happening than the characters do. This is no different in the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde. There are many instances when the audience has more information that the characters do, and this is partly what drives the plot of this book. When the reader or viewer is given more information than the characters are it changes the dynamics of a book or play. Dramatic irony creates interest in this play through adding humor, suspension, and insights.