Theme Of Justice In Death And The Maiden

In this excerpt from the novel under the feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes, we are introduced to a young girl named Estrella. Throughout the excerpt Estrella’s character changes and develops in many ways. The author reveals these changes through her usage of literary devices such as selection of detail, figurative language, as well as tone.

She returns to discussing the match with Francesco’s daughter and states that she likes the fact that Francesco has participated in government, even if his positions have not been important ones. This statement conveys how much of a factor status and power were when considering a spouse and the spouse’s family.

In the surreal, dim lighting of her bedroom Paulina is shaken by a strangely disturbing laugh upon recognising Roberto Miranda's voice as that of her tormentor. This moment sees the birth or manifestation of another facet of Paulina's character, the part of Paulina's mind that fantasized about doing to her torturers what they had done to her. This is the unbelievably unreasonable Paulina; she is a Fury, a mythical deity, the embodiment of vengeance, unsusceptible to male logic or opportunistic, careerist rationalisation. Polanski makes Paulina throw the car over the cliff-edge. In doing this she is not only destroying a phallic symbol, and thus undermining Roberto's sexuality and any claims he has on sexual dominance or superiority, she is destroying a perfect symbol of the male thirst for power and control, and the pragmatic logic to which her need for revenge has been sacrificed, into the infinite, chaotic abyss that defies all these principles, and unquestionably swallows it up. In doing this she breaks the railing, civilized society has created to guard itself

Romeo wants revenge and fights with Tybalt. In this fight, Romeo kills Tybalt. When Romeo realizes the consequences of his actions, he says that he is “Fortune’s fool” (3.1.142). He believes that he has no control over the killings of Mercutio and Tybalt. However, these events are caused by his own rashness. Romeo chooses to fight with Tybalt and even starts the fight. Romeo fights to avenge his friend’s death. Romeo’s actions are rash because he does not consider the results of his actions. Romeo could resolve the conflict in some nonviolent way, but his mind is fixed on killing Tybalt. Romeo is exiled from Verona because he kills Tybalt. His rashness causes problems for his own family as well as for the Capulets and for the Prince. Romeo’s rashness in killing Tybalt leads to his killing himself.

The want for revenge leads many of the characters in Romeo and Juliet into murderous acts which eventually leads to severe punishments and a further need for revenge. The everlasting revenge in Romeo and Juliet is first born from ancient grudge between the Capulets and the Montagues, which is ultimately settled with the tragic, abrupt unifying factor of both Romeo and Juliet's death. Several instances within the interactions of the characters suggests that vengeance is driving force of the plot, and that consequently, there must ultimately be an end to the feuding and recoil, due to the fact that there must be a resolution after the thrilling climax..

In the play by Federico Garcia Lorca, The House of Bernarda Alba, a recurring theme throughout the play is freedom. Lorca expresses freedom using characters, situations and objects. The characters in the story are Bernarda’s daughters who are under her control and have extremely little freedom and privacy by being forced to abide by her rules. Freedom and Repression are most significant themes conveyed throughout the play, the two opposing themes together are important to understanding both the characters and the story as well.

Even though revenge sounds like fair game, one is never satisfied with the outcome. This is because people will still have a sense of humanity after they achieve revenge, meaning one will feel guilt. When Romeo slays Tybalt, he backs away fearing for what he has done as he only killed Tybalt to avenge Mercutio. After realizing the situation Romeo got himself into, he immediately regrets his actions. The sense of humanity made him realize he killed someone who was once alive and is his own family. In fact, revenge does not leave one satisfied with the outcome as Dr. Carlsmith claimed, "Rather than providing closure, it does the opposite: It keeps the wound open and fresh." The emotions of Romeo line up with Carlsmith’s claim since he did not receive closure but allowed more hatred to form from both families. To add on, revenge stops when the amount of people injured rises to a high amount resulting in guilt for the losses. With this ongoing rule, many suffer for the losses after one achieved hurting the other. This can be shown when two parties purposely hurt each other like the Montagues and Capulets. They will only stop until one of them give in. At the end of all the murders Romeo caused, both families grieved at the fact the feud caused all the losses forcing the two parties to call the feud off and continue living their lives. With all the deaths, guilt shown at the end of the play makes the idea of revenge look unappealing to the audience. With revenge leaving no one satisfied but instead leads to the emotion of guilt since everyone gets

This passage gives the reader an initial insight on the central conflict in the novel, Tita’s fight for freedom from Mama Elena’s suppression. Mama Elena is portrayed to have characteristics which resemble to that of the stereotypically domineering, abusive male figure. Tita must tread waters very carefully when she is anywhere near Mama Elena, otherwise she would be beaten for any reason. Yet as the novel progresses, Tita undergoes a change due to exposure and desire. With the introduction of Pedro (Tita’s lover who ends up marrying Tita’s sister), Tita experiences new emotions, desire and lust. Previous to meeting Pedro, Tita never felt the desire to defy Mama Elena, yet her new found love - lust - for Pedro gave her a reason to rebel. The introduction of the emotion of desire, a need sparked the flame of change in Tita. This concept of women in oppression finding something to strive for, even at a risk, gives women courage. As the age, old saying goes ‘if they can do it so can I’. By creating a relatable scenario, Esquivel hopes to show women that even if the task seems too great to overcome, they

The novella tells the story of a young migrant worker who is faced the the responsibility to help care for her family not only financially but in a manner of leadership as well. Throughout the story the character of Estrella changes drastically from a timid outcast to an outspoken leader. In the beginning Estrella is portrayed as a quiet young woman who is defined as an outsider. When looking at the character of Estrella she is characterized in the category as powerless. One reason that we can attribute Estrella’s state of power is her socio-economic circumstances. Coming from a family of five, Estrella assumes the role as the oldest daughter as well as second mother due to her father’s recent abandonment on the family. It is because of this abandonment that Estrella resents her mother’s older boyfriend Perfecto, who in return has gotten her mother pregnant.

In “Sweat” adoration and hatred continuously go back and forth and Delia even “attempted friendliness, but she was repulsed each time” (1092). The despair and isolation Delia felt in the end of the story, perhaps even more than the straightforward and steadily building anger, is what caused her to allow him to die in the end.

They have made worms meat of me,” (3.1, 68-69). This quote exemplifies that although Mercutio is neither a Montague nor a Capulet he still dies in a battle fought between the families. This incident heightens Romeo’s fatal flaw, as his reckless act of heroism turned out to be a burden as it caused the death of Mercutio. Moreover, Mercutio’s plague towards the families also foreshadows further tragedy, as Romeo then gets banished from the Verona, along with additional events which later on result to his death. Last, even after his death, Mercutio acts as a foil character to Romeo by causing a shift in Romeo’s gentle character. For example, after Tybalt slays Mercutio, Romeo avenges his friend by killing Tybalt. This act shows his alteration in character, as he was never seen as a ferocious character in any previous scenes. This is evident in the play when Romeo says, “Away to Heaven, respective lenity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now,” (3.1, 125-126). This quote exemplifies Romeo’s new perception, as he claims he is finished with sympathy and gentleness. This change in Romeo’s personality is significant because not only is he going to attack Tybalt, but also he is going to kill him, which then entitles him a murderer. This is significant because it further leads to his banishment, which in all leads to his death. The transition in the persona of Romeo is highlighted by the character Mercutio, which leads to the

In contrast, Mercutio attempts to stop Tybalt’s thirst for vengeance when he tries to duel Romeo but ultimately gets killed in the process of trying to save his good friend from being killed by Tybalt which causes Romeo to take vengeance upon Tybalt by killing him.

The Other is configured in the two writers’ works as victims of power play, their unjust mistreatment subsequently exposing underlying social inequalities. Through adopting the Gothic medium characteristic of Romanticism, the texts induce within the reader emotions of terror and pity towards the marginalised, leaving a profound effect which impactfully conveys the intended social criticism.

As a friend of Romeo’s, Mercutio supports the Montague’s in the ancient feud. An example of Mercutio defending the Montague’s is when Tybalt, a member of the loathed Capulet family, abuses Romeo and Mercutio intervenes on Romeo’s behalf. Attempting to restore peace, Romeo gets between the two combatants and Mercutio “hath got his mortal hurt” (Page 149; Act 3, Scene 1) on Romeo’s account. In spite of his “life shall pay the forfeit of peace” (page 17; Act 1, Scene 1), Romeo seeks revenge on Tybalt as he loves his murdered friend. As Romeo kills Tybalt out of love for Mercutio, Shakespeare suggests that love conquered the thought of being penalized with death.

Rossellini balances this theme of renewed hope with trauma and tragedy, in particular the death of the main female character, Pina. The audience is first introduced to Pina as both a bride-to-be and mother-to-be. The “to-be” attached to mother and bride suggests that there is a future. However, Rossellini brings this “future” to a tragic end in the closing scenes of the film. As Pina pushes her way through the apartment complex courtyard, through a barricade of Nazi soldiers to run after her fiance Francesco who has been captured. As she is running through the streets, she is tragically shot down and dies in the middle of the street. Francesco manages to escape Nazi custody, making it a senseless and pointless death. Not only is this the tragic death of an Italian woman, but also a pregnant one. It has been said that Rossellini’s style is a way of seeing. There is no other visual quite like the one Rossellini leaves the viewer with in the final scenes of this film. It is in this way that Rossellini is once again able to highlight characteristics of neorealism in his films. With Pina’s death, the characteristic of revealing the