Character Analysis of Wolfgang von Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther

People one can never really tell how person is feeling or what their situation is behind closed doors or behind the façade of the life they lead. Two masterly crafted literary works present readers with characters that have two similar but very different stories that end in the same result. In Herman Melville’s story “Bartleby the Scrivener” readers are presented with Bartleby, an interesting and minimally deep character. In comparison to Gail Godwin’s work, “A Sorrowful Woman” we are presented with a nameless woman with a similar physiological state as Bartleby whom expresses her feelings of dissatisfaction of her life. Here, a deeper examination of these characters their situations and their ultimate fate will be pursued and delved into

Nietzsche was a revolutionary author and philosopher who has had a tremendous impact on German culture up through the twentieth century and even today. Nietzsche's views were very unlike the popular and conventional beliefs and practices of his time and nearly all of his published works were, and still are, rather controversial, especially in On the Genealogy of Morals. His philosophies are more than just controversial and unconventional viewpoints, however; they are absolutely extreme and dangerous if taken out of context or misinterpreted. After Nietzsche's death it took very little for his sister to make some slight alterations to his works to go along with Nazi ideology.

Often thought of as the epitome of Romanticism, Goethe’s Faust details the adventures of It’s hero that can be thought of to represent the turmoil that was grasping European society in the years of late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Faust can be viewed as a romantic hero because of his attitude and the progression of his character throughout the story and runs nearly parallel with what was happening around Europe at the time Goethe transpired this play. Faust offers a transition from the cold realization of the Enlightenment to a warm comfort that came to be described as Romanticism. Faust shows a way to express how he deals with morals and all the learning along the way in order to feel fulfillment or belonging, while also shadowing a mindset that European society was struggling to deal with after their world found reason to no longer be a spark for their overall culture of life.

We are first introduced to Virgil Tibbs at a train station, where he sits silently upon a bench marked “coloured.” He appears to be quiet and shy, and possibly scared of the Caucasian officer who arrests him, but we are soon to realise that there is a lot more to Mr. Tibbs than just his skin colour. Confident, intelligent, and determined are some words used to characterize a great person, and all of these words apply to Virgil Tibbs.

position. He is prepared to go so far as to sign a compact with the

“Once upon a time there was a wife and mother one too many times” (Godwin 39). This short story begins with the famous opening, once upon a time, which foreshadows that the story line will be similar to a fairy tale. It raises expectations for the story that all will be magical and end happily. A typical modern-day fairy tale is that of a distressed character who overcomes an obstacle, falls in love with prince charming, and they ride off into the sunset; living happily ever after never to be heard from again. Godwin however, puts an unexpected twist on “A Sorrowful Woman”. This short story is a tale about what can happen when everyday roles take over our identity. Ultimately, this short story challenges societal expectations of marriage

Traumatic and scarring events occur on a daily basis; from house fires to war, these memories are almost impossible to forget. The Holocaust is only one of the millions of traumas that have occurred, yet it is known worldwide for sourcing millions of deaths. Elie Wiesel was among the many victims of the Holocaust, and one of the few survivors. In the memoir, “Night”, by Elie Wiesel, Elie, the main character, is forever changed because of his traumatic experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camps.

The Romantic movement throughout Europe was in response to the rationalism and Enlightenment movement of the 18th century. This time period was seen as a Segway between two time periods, the Enlightenment and the Romantic movement, creating a conflict between cultures. Whereas most of Europe was transitioning into a time of Romanticism, German culture didn’t accept the movement until later 1790’s, due to the thought that it was undermining the national identity. It wasn’t until a new generation decided to break away from established tendencies in the culture and focus on the unique experiences of the individual. Goethe previously encourages the movement in the development of the Faust figure which in many ways reflects change and Romanticism. The new modern age of the Romantics distrusted the Enlightenment views of reason as the supreme guiding force of human action and they sensed a new age was dawning.

Why must humanity attack itself? During the Holocaust, the Nazi’s mistreated the Jews like they were less than human. One of these Jews was Mr. Elie Wiesel. He was a survivor of the Holocaust and author of the book “Night”. Throughout this book, Elie expresses the ways the Holocaust changed him drastically as a dynamic (main) character..

There are two stories which one can analyze and put into comparison, that being the stories of the mighty Beowulf and that of the arrogant Doctor Faustus. In Beowulf a story is told from the view of a warrior becoming a hero and displaying amazing feats. While in Christopher Marlowe “Doctor Faustus”, he is recognized as an ambitious self- centered individual with an eager sensation to learn more knowledge of the Arts. He decided to takes his learning a step further and ultimately becomes his main wrongdoing for his entire life. By reviewing the text of both tales, there are a set of both similarities and differences able to be made between Beowulf and Faustus.

Franz Kappus, a 19-year old student, wanted to solicit a career advice and a literary critique for the poems he had written (“Rainer Maria Rilke: Letters to a Young Poet” 1). Kappus solicited the advice and critique of Rainer Maria Rilke, a pioneer Austrian poet (“Rainer Maria Rilke: Letters to a Young Poet” 1). Rilke wrote ten letters in order to provide assistance to the needs of Kappus. These letters were in Rilke’s work, entitled, “Letters to a Young Poet.”

As a result of this ambition and its outcome on his perspective, Faust 's rational dilemma has been retained by many to embody the indifference of man in the present day. All of Faust 's values and flaws, his strengths and weaknesses, are amplified so that his experiences and proper improvement are granted on a scope that is greater than life. At the end of the novel, Faust is granted salvation but continues to be seen as a great tragic hero. Faust’s misfortune has been portrayed as “rebellious," for he tries to stride above the constraints of humanity to explore that which is not inclined to mankind to have or experience. Faust 's countless experiences all convey the message that to find contentment one must learn to subdue

In the literary `movements' of neo-classicism and romanticism, Voltaire's Candide and Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther represent the literary age in which they were written. In the following composition, textual evidence will be provided to demonstrate how each book accurately represents either the neo-classicism age or the romanticism age. Candide and The Sorrows of Young Werther will be examined separately, and then examined together. After, a discussion about how each age seems to view the nature of man and the significance of moral and spiritual values will be presented. Also, a personal interpretation of the conclusion of each book will be given. Lastly, quotes

To this effect, I shall explore this text’s connections to Nietzsche's key intellectual influences. First, I shall address the impact of the Schopenhauerian view of the world on The Birth of Tragedy, in particular as regards the opposition between Apollo and Dionysus and the nature and goal of tragic art. Subsequently, I shall refer to the influence of Richard Wagner's thought in order to explore the relationship between metaphysics and art as humanity's "true metaphysical

When you’re reading literature it can be somewhat easy to spot the time period, beliefs, and politics. Those are just some factors that can be portrayed in a society. When most authors write they portray their past experiences into their work to create a better connection to what they’re writing about. Then the reader can relate their own personal experiences when reading the works to also get a better connection. Some of the works that will be discussed are written by authors who have portrayed their own experiences and they are “Tartuffe” by Moliere and “Faust” by Goethe. In these works of literature they show the different societies that are portrayed and the types of literary devices used by the author to give their point of view. Also, how each time period has changed throughout history and how it affects human lives. The literature around today would show a different reflection of society then the ones we’ve read over the course. People evolve and adapt to the changes around them, so in literature the authors Moliere who wrote “Tartuffe” and Goethe who wrote “Faust” allowed their works to reflect their society in which they lived.