Throughout the play, parenting is an important issue and the source of much conflict. Demea finds value in strict parenting to ensure the child is honest and works hard, while Micio finds values in instilling “shame and self-respect.”(Terence, 352) Unfortunately, the brothers can’t respect each other’s parenting styles. Micio feels that Demea’s style in based on instilling fear in one’s child and will ultimately result in the child distrusting authority and habitually lying. Without the fear of punishment, Micio believes that child will “go back to his naughty self in no time”(Terence, 352) On the other hand, Demea believes Micio’s parenting style will leave the child with no shame and a total disregard for the law.(Terence, 353)
To some extent both brother’s negative assumptions of the other’s parenting style is show up in the play. Act I scene II, Mico finds out from Demea that Aeschinus had broken into someone’s house and assaulted the owner and household staff in order to steal a girl he was infatuated with.(Terence, 353) Aeschinus did do this and it was definitely not lawful. In addition, in Act II scene I, after Aeschinus has stolen the girl, he tells Sannio, the previous owner, that he will buy her for a relatively small amount of money. Sannio is astonished at Aeschinus’s blatant disregard for his dishonorable actions, especially since Aeschinus turns around and decides to use a loophole in the law to his advantage.(Terence, 358-359) This shows Aeschinus’s fearlessness when it comes to authority. While Micio didn’t want Aeschinus to cower in its presence, he surely didn’t want to teach him to blatantly break the law in this manner.
In Ctesipho’s case, his first appearance comes with him merrily singing about Aeschinus helping him get what he wants. Ctesipho is delighted that Aeschinus would “sacrifice all for [his] comfort.” He goes on to insinuate that he is fine with gossip, robbery and fooling around as long as he doesn’t get in trouble for those actions. (Terence, 362) At this point, it would seem Ctesipho hasn’t a care into the world until the matter of paying for the girl comes up. Ctesipho then asks Syrus to pay for the girl so that his father, Demea, doesn’t find out about his
The Elizabethan Era was a time where everything flourished. After the Black Plague, England entered a time called the Renaissance. Family life during the time was simple and on a routine. Each day seemed more and more liked the day before. Each member of the family had a different impact on the community and society. Ordinary life in England consisted of being with family, working everyday, going to school, and eating food.
Many Elizabethan bedsides were haunted from “the terrors of the night”. Back then their ghosts were nothing like the pasty blobs we call ghosts now. Theirs were quite gruesome. Ghostly visitations were claimed to have been very unpleasant. Not only this, but they claimed it cast them into a state of spiritual confusion.
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, there is an overlaying presence of the typical roles that men and women were supposed to play. During Elizabethan times there was a major difference between the way men and women were supposed to act. Men typically were supposed to be masculine and powerful, and defend the honor. Women, on the other hand, were supposed to be subservient to their men in their lives and do as ever they wished. In Romeo and Juliet the typical gender roles that men and women were supposed to play had an influence on the fate of their lives.
Also it is apparent that the teenage characters in this play, are excessively disrespectful of their parents:
Although Abner’s aggression and vengeance leads himself to the wrong end, he teaches Santoris about standing up for himself and doing right thing. Throughout the incident with Abner planning to burn the barn, Santoris finally runs away from his own family. He thought to himself, “I could run on and on and never look back, never need to see his face again. Only I can’t, I can’t” (489). He escapes from the restrain from his mother and the rest of the family. But, he finally decides not to run anymore and stands up to face against the wrong his father is doing. By understanding the thought process of Sartoris, the readers can see the change in Sartoris surely is affected by seeing his father’s negative actions throughout the story. Santoris begins to understand what is consider the “correct” thing to do by seeing enough of his father’s incorrect actions. In fact, towards the end of the story, after the gunshots, Sartoris whispers to himself, “He was brave!”(491). Again, the readers can see that even though Sartoris doesn’t like to be under the fear of his father, he still respects his father for teaching him about family, doing the right thing, and standing up for himself as his guidance and remainders. Overall, the effect of Abner as his son’s role model is not be the best model to learn from,
The fundamental factor, that determines the differences in the boy’s lives, is whether their parents constantly agree with one another or not. Warren's parents always act as one unit; “his parents [board] him at school”, “[t]hey blushed” or “the meagre acreage that bore them down”. In every case, they are seen as a singular force, which makes decisions together. On the other hand, the Professor's parents could not act more differently. The mother keeps her house in “immaculate order” while the father leaves his room in ”disruptive chaos”. They are polar opposites, the “mother [is] of the sea” and of the physical world, while the father “[is] of the ... book” and of knowledge and learning. The biggest difference is that of the parents’ tolerance. The mother does not accept her daughters’ husbands as they “[are] not of her people”, while the father allows his children to chose their own paths in life. The father “never [tells his children] to do anything,... only [asks]”. It is this differences of opinions that allows the Professor to follow his dreams. Since Warren's parents always
failures from the past down the throat of their young child. This interaction foretells the conflict
Self preservation and personal comfort, another consistent theme throughout the story is continuously perpetuated as generation-after-generation of residents are introduced to the unspeakable treatment of this helpless child. Ironically when first exposed to the atrocity, most children were more disgusted and outraged by the horrible predicament of the child than the adults who by all accounts should have been responsible for its protection. This obvious moral role reversal signifies a purity and innocence that is often present in a child’s perspective that is untarnished by corrupt societal teachings and norms. Additionally, the comparison between the moral integrity of
In both William Shakespeare's Hamlet and August Wilson's Fences, the emphasis placed on parent-child relationship is vital, as family plays an important role in developing a character's values as well as his or her upbringing does. While Ophelia, Laertes, and Hamlet show loyalty to their fathers unconditionally, Cory, even though looks up Troy as a figure, eventually exhibits disrespect to him.
Naturally, Shakespeare’s very first Sonnet deals with themes of procreation and immortality, literally and figuratively birthing his series of Sonnets. Ideas of Genesis, or the creation of the world, show strong traces throughout the poem and serve as the piece’s main focus according to literary critic Helen Vendler. The sonnet also deals with the logistics of beauty; we want the most beautiful people to have children, so their beauty will be preserved forever—when the parent dies, the child they leave behind will remind us of their own beauty. Shakespeare utilizes metaphors in his language to help promote this idea, for example the image of a bud, growing until it inevitably dies and diminishes. Unlike flowers, Shakespeare tells us here that we humans have the opportunity to keep this beauty everlasting. The very beginning of Shakespeare’s infamous series of sonnets, Sonnet 1 celebrates the beauty of procreation and offers a plea for humanity centered around our duty as humans to procreate and let our legacies live on, so our spirits can live vicariously through generations of our children.
In his stage play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller introduces us to the family of Willy Lohan. There is greater influence of the parents to the children as is portrayed in the play. Willy Loman laxity has weighed heavily on the conduct of his sons, Happy and Biff. The main theme in the play is sustained in the play with the sons of Willy attaining their personality from their father. We learn that one’s upbringing shapes their behavior. The actions of those within one’s surrounding influence one’s behavior. This is quite evident in the case of a parent child interaction as portrayed in the play. Since most the time the child will look up to their parents, their ethical and
Intergenerational conflict has been an ongoing issue in literature, and real life. We see intergenerational conflict in Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights”, William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, and even in modern literature like Annemarie MacDonald’s “Fall on Your Knees”. More specifically, in Shakespeare’s plays we are introduced to many different forms of conflict. One of the most prominent is intergenerational conflict, especially in “Romeo & Juliet”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, and “I Henry IV”. Examples of intergenerational conflict in these plays include Romeo’s defiance of his parents, Juliet’s conflict with her father, Hermia’s paternal conflicts, and King Henry’s disappointment with his son, Hal.
In 'The Tempest' Shakespeare presents parent and child relationships as an emotional process that eventually ends in a sacrifice, leaving the parent and child happy. Through the characters of Miranda and Prospero, Shakespeare shows that for parents to make their children happy they need to sacrifice what they like but can live without.
Family is meant to care for each other, love each other unconditionally, and support each other. Of course, as any holiday at home can prove, complete support is not always possible. Sometimes family members hurt each other and even, in worst-case scenarios, kill each other over issues as important as protecting another or as petty as fighting over a boy. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and The Winter’s Tale, if family members operate with selfish motives, they hurt the hero and contribute to his fall; but if the family supports each other with only love, the hero can redeem himself from his fall and even succeed in finding lasting happiness.
Analyzing Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story between two teenagers who fall