Dion Boucicault’s The Octoroon is an example of melodrama and artistic mastery. First, it has all the marking of a melodrama which was popular in the 19th century, where you have the villain poses a threat to a hero or heroine. Not only is there a villain but he is so villainous that he poses a threat to all around him, not just the hero and heroine (granted many will argue that Zoe cannot be the heroine, due to racial perceptions at the time of his writings) of the story. Moreover, I would say that this is a piece of artistic mastery, it walks the line of political and social sentiments so gracefully and pulls at the heart strings in all the right ways without being abusive of the readers’/audiences’ emotions. For the purpose of this response, it is fair to discuss the political aspects of the play. The overriding political theme is the playwrights’ objective to question the laws place in a democratic society. Boucicault seems to be taking a stand against many of the injustices he sees the law upholding or even validating, such as slavery. Within the play Boucicault demeans the central figure to law, which is that of Judge Peyton who has passed by the time of the action. We see this in Scudder’s recounts of the Judges mishandling of …show more content…
While they cannot save Zoe, they are able to keep Solon and her family together. They work with each other and the auctioneer allows some leniency to make it happen. They also do their best to keep Zoe from falling into the hands of M’Closky. One may say that this is Boucicault’s effort to make sure that the play is produced, and while that may be true, I prefer to think of it as his effort to emphasize that the nation is not all bad or all good but presents some challenges in their
When hearing the word Tragedy, it would not be surprising if several different individuals would immediately think of several unique examples of the word. Perhaps one is an opera enthusiast who immediately thinks of Puccini’s La Boheme. Another is a war enthusiast that thinks about History Channel’s new episode highlighting the harshest and bloodiest battles of World War One. Even a third one obsessed with Greek mythology could generate a handful of examples of tragedy. Tragedy, like love or comedy is a universal theme that can be used to entertain, enlighten and excite its audiences. William Shakespeare, a world renown writer, was a master of this genre writing works, including Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Hamlet. Another lesser known
Throughout most of the book the judge of the courtroom is up for a retention election. He is a circuit court judge and that means he has to do a partisan election and he must get 60% majority to keep his job on the bench. This makes a huge impact on some of the decisions judges will make in the courtroom. During the trail of white men who were going trail over beating a young black kid who was in their neighborhood. The judge was being affected harshly by this because if he was easy on the men then the black community would vote against him because the beating was racially motivated. On the other hand if he gives them a harsh sentence he could be looked at bad because these men were first time offenders. He gets accused of rushing the case because what he planned on doing was gives the one man who was the one who did the beating a harsh sentences and give the others probation. He wanted to get it on the record that he gave him a harsher sentence, and even after the sentence he was telling the media all about his reasoning for why and how he came up with this decision. He ended up give
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Inspired by the Wilmington Riots of 1898, Charles Chesnutt delves deep into the racial tensions of the South in his novel On the Marrow of Tradition. Despite being set well after the end of the Civil War, the struggle between the black and white races is far from over. The white race insists on maintaining complete control in every aspect of society, including personal matters. They are constantly demanding that the black community serve them. On the other end, the black race is struggling to survive the harsh conditions the white-dominated society imposes on them. Throughout the novel, Chesnutt reminds us of the ongoing battle between the two races. At the same time, Chesnutt explores the effect this has on various members in society. The youngest two characters in the novel, Dodie and Doctor Miller’s son, exemplify the conditions and consequences for the black and white races. Although they seem to be secondary characters in On the Marrow of Tradition, both Dodie and Doctor Miller’s son play a crucial role in the representation of their respective races.
In the Play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, audiences can be manipulated though the conventions the author use figurative language like puns to make the audience laugh and Irony to create a more suspenseful story. In Romeo and Juliet at the last scene of the play it is ironic that Romeo drinks the Poison after believing Juliet was dead and Juliet then kills herself after she wakes up from a fake death after she realizes that her lover is dead. Then Romeo and Juliet’s families who were in a feud notice that they caused Romeo and Juliet’s deaths without intending it and that brings forth strong emotions within the audience. Although a majority of people believe authors utilize imagery and metaphors to manipulate and influence their audience, The Crucible by Arthur Miller uses irony to manipulate and influence the audience more effectively than any other rhetorical appeal.
The greatest heroic tail of all time the Odyssey, by Homer. The Odyssey is a clear example of Cosmic Irony because, The main character odysseus is controlled by a powerful god or fate, odysseus falsely believes in his own free will, the god toys with the main character, and the character’s end is ultimately tragic.
Within the play, there are a variety of ways that the people of Laramie and those outside of Laramie frame Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, the murderers of Matthew Shepard. I find the fact that the play is able to present how the American people were able to frame them as outliers from society, yet still, acknowledge that the two were manifestations of society surprising. In most texts aimed at the public, the perpetrators of the Matthew Shepard murder are framed as being outliers, not connected with the majority of society. The Laramie Project is able to demonstrate that the pair are a reflection of societal prejudices through the use of contradictions of characters. The playwrights would present a character that used language suggesting that the behavior and attitudes of McKinney and Henderson were abnormal, then contradict those statements using members of Laramie who were either scrutinized by these prejudices or experienced similar ones. In creating these opposing narratives, the play is able to share all the perceptions of Laramie, while still holding the town of Laramie and the audience accountable for the murder.
Benjamin wrote the speech in the perspective of a mother of five who was facing a jury. She had been accused of fornication and consequently the birth of five children. The children, the youngest being very young were all the proof the jury needed to convict her. But she makes her case and terms the whipping and the fines she had already paid for her other four children as being unjust (Maestro). They were costly and in a big way reduced her ability to cater to the needs of her children. Women were not treated as an equal member of the society at the time the speech was developed. The speech challenges all knowledge about the judicial process and this focus makes it more effective rather than making a case for women which would have been ignored at the time. The setting, plot and characterization are three of the main concepts in the message “The speech of Polly Baker”, the culture that produced the speech applied double standards based on sex and gender.
The Odyssey is an epic composed by Homer, an early Greek storyteller. This epic was the basis for Greek and Roman education. Epics are long poems marked by adventure. The main character in an epic is an epic hero.
William Shakespeare's tragic play portraying the life in ancient Rome is one that closely follows many elements that make a drama interesting. The murders and the conspiracies behind the killings add to the plot of jealousy and patriotism. Within Julius Caesar also
Abner’s unchanging character is evident not only in his role as being cold-hearted but also in his role as being lawless. “Barn Burning” makes an interesting case for Abner Snopes as the pitiable creation of the landed aristocracy, who seeks dignity and integrity for himself, although his only chance of achieving either would seem to lie in the democratic element of fire as the one defense available to all, regardless of social class”(855).
By using these guidelines, Shakespeare created one of his greatest Aristotelian tragedies. This is because he applied the Poetics’ guidelines to complex plot, the tragic hero, and the establishment of pity, fear, and catharsis of the audience’s emotions. The complex plot follows Othello and his transformation from nobleman to monster through the exploitation of his tragic flaw. As the plot moves from exposition, complication, challenge, conflict, climax, and finally to dénouement, Othello goes through a recognition scene which leads to a reversal in his fortune and his scene of suffering.
Such as, Marriage, class discrimination, manners and sincerity. Those themes are presented with the Lady Bracknell’s help. Wilde has created, with Augusta Bracknell, a memorable instrument of his satiric wit, questioning all he sees in Victorian upper-class society. With her power and weakness shown, she, as an upper class lady, connects and presents the themes in the play.
Through the 8th Juror’s characteristic of a brave individual, it is evident that the play is symbolising him as a ‘hero’. From the beginning, he puts himself
A well-written tragedy is filled with irony. Oedipus The King is a great representation of a dramatic irony play. When reading the play the audience is very much aware of the outcome of the hero’s action far before the hero