Response Paper: Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a play taking place during the small Russian town of Anatevka. The circumstance is early twentieth century, when Jewish towns are often targeted by Russian demonstrations. Anatevka is resided almost entirely by Jews. The townspeople uphold the tradition: young girls are match-maked and married off to men, often without choice. The play shows the resistance of Reb Tevye’s three daughters to the tradition. It also shows the internal struggle of the father in his decision between his beliefs and his daughters’ happiness.
There is a plot departure from the book Tevye the Dairyman, which the play was inspired by: Tevye’s wife Golde and Tzeitl’s husband Motl dies in the book; meanwhile, no one died in the play. The play received criticism for being too culturally sanitized and lacking intellectual content, but perhaps the underlying theme of story doesn’t require precise translation from text to motion. The theme of the play explores the idea of detaching from unmoving tradition and embracing the changing culture. The essential underlying theme is not new;
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The scene is set in Mordcha’s inn. A few drunken men surrounds the two characters. The immediate circumstances of the dialogue is awkward. Reb Tevye is bewildered by the misunderstanding from previous lines when the topic of marriage was confused with the buying of Tevye’s milk cow. Lazar’s objective is to gain Tevye’s approval for marrying Tzeitl, and is clearly extracted from his speech. The obstacle is an indecisive and dumbfounded Tevye, who originally find Lazar to be antagonistic. We see the tactic of Lazar Wolf from his tone. Originally, he speaks in a loud, almost-demanding tone, then shifting the beat to a softer, explanative tone when confronted by the obstacle. His beat is subtle, but it is ultimately the decisive moment that sealed the
This book report discusses the plot, significant characters, setting (e.g., time of the story took place, historical background), problems and resolutions, themes or messages of the story. A reflection of the author’s writing style will be presented followed by a conclusion.
The plays, Trifles and A Dollhouse use the literary tool of symbolism to portray the way women were treated throughout the nineteenth century. Susan Glaspell uses the bird cage and the dead bird to signify the role and life of women in marriage and society, whereas Henrik Ibsen uses the dollhouse. These symbols allow the reader to recognize the plays main similarities in the treatment of women, such as men dismissing women as trivial and treating them like property; however, the plays portray the women’s lifestyles as different which seal their fates.
The use of simile in the last stanza ‘matchstick hands as pale as the violet stems they lived among’ is used to compare a frog to violet flowers, which are very delicate and easily broken. The innocence of childhood is painted through this visual technique as the narrator only sees the frogs being very delicate, but to the readers the simile also creates a vivid image of the condition of the ‘Frogs’/ the French. The use of first person helps to create a reminiscent tone about the narrator’s experiences, and further helps to stress the ideas of childhood innocence and the influence of war on children because the poem is written from a child’s perspective. The use of enjambment generates a conversational and personal tone, emphasizing to the readers the reality of the themes discussed throughout the poem. The use of symbolism of frogs as pets and also representing the French highlights the idea that adults saw ‘Frogs’ as insignificant or unworthy to speak about, whereas the children could not understand this adult thought, and they placed exemplary regard to the wellbeing of the
Playing out the lay is announcing one particular variant of the story, which suggests a strong emphasis on the reality of the story. General society articulation of the lay, with its going to protestations of truth, echoes a noteworthy topic on the diegetic level as the sonnet is famously worried about falsehoods. For sure, the ballad continues focusing on the significance of open remarks made on private matters and presents what Anderson called 'an interior group of onlookers, that reacts to Launfal's changing fortunes' in the lay. Most important strides in the story they are remarked through some illustrative of general society voice, which along with these lines both echoes and bends truths in dialect creation. There is, as a result, no
To begin, in the book Night, the Jews were being judged because of the way they looked, the religion they followed, and their ethnicity. Moishe the Beadle was deported because he was a foreign Jew. Rumors were spreading about Nazis coming into towns and taking over. After some Jews were deported, life became normal again. Everyone was doing everyday activities. “The deportees were quickly forgotten. A few days after they left, it was rumored that they were in Galicia, working, and even that they were content with their fate. Days went by. Then weeks and months. Life was normal again. A calm, reassuring wind blew through our homes. The shopkeepers were doing good business, the students lived among their books, and the children played in the streets. One day, as I was about to enter the synagogue, I saw Moishe the Beadle sitting
The play ?Trifles?, by Susan Glaspell , is an examination of the different levels of early 1900?s mid-western farming society?s attitudes towards women and equality. The obvious theme in this story is men discounting women?s intelligence and their ability to play a man?s role, as detectives, in the story. A less apparent theme is the empathy the women in the plot find for each other. Looking at the play from this perspective we see a distinct set of characters, a plot, and a final act of sacrifice.
In the play, Fiddler on the roof, it’s implied that political and social globalization takes place in the story. They are both highly different types of globalization, yet they both are easily recognizable in the book and the play.
The most obvious difference between Glaspell’s two works is the title. The play is entitled “Trifles” whereas the prose version is called “A Jury of Her Peers”. Both titles draw the attention of the audience to different parts of the plot. “Trifles” highlights the “trivial household items” in the plot whereas “A Jury of Her Peers” accentuates the women’s roles and how they question what is morally right (Mustazza 489). Mustazza’s article provides background knowledge and a reason why Glaspell may have changed and retitled the prose version. Since women were in the final years of fighting for the right to vote in 1917, changing the title from “Trifles” to “A Jury of Her Peers” made the piece more contemporary and
Of all Shakespeare’s thirty-seven plays, perhaps the best known and loved is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Many people think that it is unforgettable because of its poetic language and style. But, while these are factors that mark the play as a classic, it remains timeless because it explores many of the issues that are still important to people today. These issues, including loyalty to family and country, protecting loved ones, and deception are still prevalent around the world, and are especially prominent in the United States government. Another play that addresses major issues that are still relevant to society, especially women, is Susan Glaspell’s Trifles. Because Glaspell’s play
When a woman marries she is expected to give up her family, her last name, and her virginity. In other words she is expected to give up the life she knew. Susan Glaspell’s play Trifles tells the story of a woman that gave up her all to please society and her husband. The story examines a woman who sacrificed her tranquility, her talents, and her individuality. In the end, the woman even gave up her freedom.
In “Trifles”, Glaspell shows the oppression of women back in 1916 when the play was written. In the play, Glaspell shows the roles of both men and women. To show how men treated women, what was expected of the women, and how women overcame the patriarchal society that they were placed in. Also, “Trifles” having an effect on the society it was based on and how the roles of women have evolved over time.
The plot of both Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” and Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll House” provides scope for a few scenes that lack the presence of all or any men. These scenes, consisting of communication between the female characters, assist in developing the theme of women openly defying the fact that the society they live in is primarily run by men. All the power and authority in their society, no matter the situation, belongs to the men while the women are simply excluded. The women in these plays defy the norms set by society and manage to evade the expectations of their patriarchal societies.
The classic tale of a Jewish family’s struggle in a Russian society that is growing more and more hostile, Fiddler on the Roof is rich in historical and ethnic detail, with a central theme that crosses the barriers of race and class to become a classic musical that draws in audiences worldwide. Fiddler on the Roof is a favorite among many musical theatre lovers because of its humor, inspiring plot, and underlying theme of faith and tradition.
“Trifles” a play by Susan Glaspell, emphasizes the thought that women were kept in their homes and their contributions to the home and family went unappreciated and unnoticed. The play gives readers a view of how women were view and treated during the 1900’s. As a female analyzing the play, Mrs. Wright’s motive for killing Mr. Wright was quite clear. Susan Glaspell gives her readers a feminist approach, to demonstrate how Mrs. Wright’s murdering of her husband is justified.
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was born a year before the emancipation of serfism in Russia took place. Although he was the grandson of a serf, Chekhov was able to attend the medical school at the University of Moscow and become a physician. Chekhov started writing in order to support his family economically, becoming a master in drama and short stories. His literature is characterized by the use of colloquial language which could be understood even by the less educated and recently liberated serfs. Social change is the main theme in ‘The Cherry Orchard’, a four-act play written in 1904. In this play the different characters portray how changes in Russia after the emancipation of 1861 were taking place and although the play is set several