Illusion and Mendacity - 1706 Words

Peter Tim Soriano Mr. Chalmers ENG 4U 16 December 2013 Illusion and Mendacity In Tennessee Williams’ plays Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire, several characters suffer by lying and by being unaware of reality. Both plays demonstrate and signify the themes of illusion vs. reality and mendacity through past trauma, alcohol abuse, and through strained family and marital relationships. In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Brick is an example to all of these factors through his past with his friend skipper, his abuse of alcohol, and the lack of love he shows for his wife, while in A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche encounters similar problems as Brick with her past trauma and her alcohol problem. The two plays share many similarities†¦show more content†¦She could not give him the help he needed and as a result, he committed suicide. Since then, Blanche has been living her life based on lies and does not know what reality is anymore as she says, â€Å"I don’t want realism. I want magic!† (117) After Mitch fi nds out that she has been hiding her age from him, Blanche confesses that she does not want reality instead she wants magic. In the same quote, she also confesses that she does not tell the truth, but tells what ought to be truth. Blanche’s past traumas relates Brick’s past trauma’s in a way that they both lost someone important in their lives. When Blanche lost her husband, and when Brick lost his friend Skipper, both Brick and Blanche find themselves living in illusion to escape reality, through abuse of alcohol. The abuse of alcohol is shown in both plays with Brick, and Blanche. From the beginning of the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, it reveals that Brick is an alcoholic. He uses alcohol to escape from reality ever he lost his friend Skipper. At one point, Big Daddy talks to Brick about his issues and he asks Brick if the doctor had lied to him about the cancer results, Brick answers by saying that â€Å"Mendacity is a system that we live in. Liquor is one wa y out an’ death’s the other†¦.† (94) Brick reveals to Big Daddy that the doctors lied to himShow MoreRelatedSymbolism, Imagery and Allegory in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire2119 Words   |  9 Pages`American Dream at a higher level. He is also symbolic of the old world in contrast to the new world of `no-neck monsters.    Big Daddys cancer is a microcosm of the mendacity eating away at the Pollits. This could be Williams way of commenting on how the old spirit of America is dying through the mendacity spreading throughout it.    This way of thinking would certainly encapsulate the post-depression feeling of the time found in plays such as Millers Death of a SalesmanRead More Big Daddy and the American Dream in Tennessee Williams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 890 Words   |  4 Pagesradio-phonograph, TV set and liquor cabinet. He seems incredulous at the size and symbolism in this possession. He writes, This piece of furniture (?!), this monument, is a very completer and compact little shrine to virtually all the comforts and illusions behind which we hide from such things as the characters in the play are faced with . . . (Williams 660). He is quite right. Not only does Brick hide behind the liquor in the cabinet, his true crutch, but the furniture does exemplify all theRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald2182 Words   |  9 Pages The promise of riches and success that comes on the back of hard work: the American Dream. Did it wither away? Was it lost in a sea of greed and mendacity, the roots of its vision forgotten amidst material success? Furthermore, if the American Dream is stripped away of its tangible aspects, acquired solely upon wealth; one is simply left with an idealistic concept that is unattainable. Such are the big questions posed to the reader in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. Published inRead More The Power of Money in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby1789 Words   |  8 PagesGatsby ignorantly, but elegantly, tells him San Francisco, geography losing to the pretensions of the romantic imaginations (Lehan 60). These and numerous other lies prove how James Gatz tries to recapture the past through the use of enamorous mendacity. There is one reason only why Gatsby tries so desperately to alter his past, his pursuit of one money stained Daisy. Jay tries to buy Daisy in various ways. Not only does he buy many material items to impress her, but he continues to accumulate asRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1840 Words   |  8 Pagesbeing born into a poor family generated an obsession with wealth and status that he has worked to attain his whole life. In Daisy he sees wealth, explaining the motives behind Gatsby’s desire while incorporating themes of the American Dream and mendacity. Jay Gatsby epitomizes the American dream which necessitates his obsession with Daisy Buchanan, the personification of wealth. Gatsby’s failure to achieve his goal of winning Daisy illustrates the hypocrisy of the American dream. Jay Gatsby playsRead More The Characters Of Samson And Dalila in Miltons Samson Agonistes2392 Words   |  10 Pagestrim . . . and streamers waving. She even smells sweet, being followed by a damsel train and amber scent of odorous perfume. It seems as if the Chorus has fallen under Dalilas spell as Samson had.    Samson, however, is under no such illusions. Perhaps his blindness prevents him from capitulating to her beauty, in the same way that in Greek mythology, sailors, having blocked up their ears, saw the Sirens for the evil creatures that they were, rather than be charmed to their deaths byRead More Displacement and Don Juan Essay5873 Words   |  24 Pagescounters the flesh’s dictates—avowals of innocence, justifications, explanations, protests—that proves frail. Almost caught by her old husband in flagrante, Julia stuffs Juan deep down in her bed and launches into some seventeen stanzas of bravura mendacity, one of DJ’s most sustained set pieces. â€Å"Ungrateful, perjured, barbarous Don Alfonso,† Julia declaims, â€Å"How dare you think your lady would go on so?† The rhetorical steam only builds from there: â€Å"’Yes, search and search,’ she cried, / ‘Insult onRead MoreExistentialism vs Essentialism23287 Words   |à ‚  94 Pagestheir â€Å"ideality,† the fact that they arise entirely through the projects of human beings against the background of an otherwise meaningless and indifferent world. Existential moral psychology emphasizes human freedom and focuses on the sources of mendacity, self-deception, and hypocricy in moral consciousness. The familiar existential themes of anxiety, nothingness, and the absurd must be understood in this context. At the same time, there is deep concern to foster an authentic stance toward the human

The Great Gatsby Character Analysis - 1071 Words

The stereotypical American Dream is being wealthy and successful, living in a nice house with a family. Once a person experiences this American dream, he or she becomes greedy and unscrupulous. This is evident in The Great Gatsby through the insights and backstories sprinkled intermittently through the novel. As the story begins it is clear that Tom Buchanan wants women other than his wife, Jay Gatsby wants to rekindle his relationship with Daisy Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan just wants to be loved. None of these characters get what they want and that is due to their dishonest actions before the story even started, which Fitzgerald interrupts the plot to tell the reader. In fact, they all end the story with less than they started with†¦show more content†¦If he left the room for a minute (Daisy) would look around uneasily and say: ‘Where’s Tom gone?’† (77). Tom was untrustworthy from the beginning of his marriage making Daisy feel this way. Also, he is later seen cheating with hotel chambermaid in Santa Maria. In the case of Tom, he already has the American dream because he is born into it and because he marries Daisy, has a child, and lives in the Hamptons. This derailing of the plot shows how it has corrupted him and causes him to cheat with Myrtle (who he also punches in the face for mentioning Daisy). It has directed him toward a snobby and lavish lifestyle and a marriage with no true romantic connection between husband and wife. Unlike Tom, Gatsby is not born into the American dream but he creates the name Jay Gatsby for himself when he is 17 and becomes friends with Dan Cody. Fitzgerald provides insight into Gatsby as a character when he writes, â€Å"His parents were unsuccessful farm people---his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all† (98). Gatsby always has an idea of success and American dream that he completely disconnects himself from his impecunious upbringing. Fitzgerald also give s the reader the backstory on the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy to explain why Gatsby later tries to take a married woman away from her husband in order to pursue the American dreamShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby Character Analysis1468 Words   |  6 PagesThe classic novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has a storyline that is permeated with many interesting characters. Character flaws are a main aspect that develops the plot line and keeps the readers interested. The characters that have a lot of flaws in their personalities that in the end lead to their demise is Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby. To start, the character Daisy Buchanan has many internal flaws occurring with her psychologically. Her most prevalent flaw is theRead MoreThe Great Gatsby Character Analysis956 Words   |  4 PagesIn the book, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is a strong message about the social class systems about the societies that exists between them. First, there are people like the Buchanans and Jordan Baker who were born into wealth and never really had to work for their money. Secondly, The new money people who can never really be like them, inherently because they have had to work for their money and sometimes finding it had been rough while doing so. (Houghton Mifflin) InRead MoreThe Great Gatsby Character Analysis720 Words   |  3 Pagesnovels that yield insights into the minds of its characters, but few are as honest or intriguing as Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is a novel that incorporates many different personalities. These personalities in clude kind hearted, vulgar, and heartless people. Fitzgerald uses lies and deception to reveal the characters true intentions. In this essay we will uncover the dark secrets of humanity. Early on in The Great Gatsby we are told that Nicks very wealthy cousin DaisyRead MoreThe Great Gatsby Character Analysis1458 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott’s Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, features the affluent, upper-class characters of Jay Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and the lead, Nick Carraway, and follows them throughout their New York lives in the summer of 1922. Nick is presumably so tolerant and willing to be around these people even when he discovers major character flaws because of their similarity with social placement. As this novel took place in the midst of the â€Å"roaring twenties†, which was filledRead MoreCharacter Analysis : The Great Gatsby1312 Words   |  6 PagesFitzgerald’s short story based on his own story involving his daughter Scottie â€Å"Babylon Revisited† is one of the many pieces of literature written by Fitzgerald that has not necessarily been forgotten, but has bee n shadowed in the success of his novel The Great Gatsby. This story revolves around Charlie, a man who had gone through incredible economic times, felt the crash of the stock market in 1929, and is now starting to get back on his feet, and his battle for custody for his daughter, Honoria, who had beenRead MoreCharacter Analysis : The Great Gatsby881 Words   |  4 Pages Gatsby in love with Daisy Gatsby was only a kid simple , poor but very optimistic despite the conditions he was living. â€Å" He was a very strict about his schedule. Pg 173 † And one day at 17 years of age i leave the house in search of its future. How did Gatsby and Daisy meet? The parents of Daisy offered a party, among so many people dressed very elegant , and people from the army one of them was Gastby, mixed among the guests dressed of the military. But that night Read MoreThe Great Gatsby Character Analysis1169 Words   |  5 Pagesnovel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraways role as both narrator and character makes for a dishonest, unreliable storyteller. Besides Gatsby, Carraway is one of the few characters in the novel whose past and values are truly examined to see what kind of person he is. Also, Carraway can be seen as a somewhat unreliable narrator since he is a sometimes biased, active participant and has a history with almost everyone in the novel. Carraway’s relationship with Gatsby and growthRead MoreThe Great Gatsby Character Analysis1071 Words   |  5 Pagesdevelopment of characters. Each individual donates a certain aspect of themselves in order to truly bring out the ideal message. The way in which a character values his/herself determines the impact they have on other characters, which leads to the progression towards the central theme. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby, the main protagonist, to balance out the beliefs between Gatsby himself, and all individuals who are a contributing factor to the plot. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to portrayRead MoreThe Great Gatsby Character Analysis888 Words   |  4 PagesThe Betrayal of Wealth in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1923. The book was later converted into a movie. The overall plot of the movie remained the same, but many details were changed or completely left out in the film production. â€Å"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all of the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.† (Fitzgerald pg.1) Throughout the novel many different symbols and moods are createdRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of The Great Gatsby1533 Words   |  7 PagesGatsby is a character who aspired to be successful and to realize his dreams of love and wealth, however, when he faced his reality he was never able to fully accomplish his dreams, revealing that one will use all their energy to hold on to a dream that will never reach a reality. Gatsby, while raised poor, dreamed of wealth as he grew up. When talking to Nick at the funeral, Gatsby’s father, explained to him that though he was poor, he always knew he had the potential of being something great.

Theoretical Perspectives of Race and Ethnicity Free Essays

Theoretical Perspectives of Race and Ethnicity Rebecca Spain ETH/125 April 4th, 2010 Melissa Terrell The three sociological theoretical perspectives of race and ethnicity are the functionalist, conflict, and labeling perspectives. The functionalist perspective is the perspective that shows how parts of society work in a structured manner to keep the survival of a society. The belief is that if a certain part does not contribute to society’s survival in an effective manner that it will not move form one generation to the next. We will write a custom essay sample on Theoretical Perspectives of Race and Ethnicity or any similar topic only for you Order Now (Schaefer, 2006). The conflict perspective is the perspective that society thrives on the conflict and struggles between social groups that compete against one another. The struggles and disputes mainly pertain to the dominant groups against the subordinate groups. (Schaefer, 2006). The final perspective is the labeling perspective which is the perspective that shows why one person’s accountability can be different from another person even though they are engaging in the same behaviors. (Schaefer, 2006). The three perspectives are all quite different in their theories. The labeling perspective stereotypes a group by gender, religion, race, or ethnic group instead of the actual behavior that takes place. For instance two people commit the same crime but one is wealthy and white and the other is poor and African American. The wealthy white person is to be given another chance based on their status and the dominant group that they belong to. The African American should be punished based on their status and the subordinate group they belong to. The conflict perspective is way more extreme than the functionalist and labeling perspectives. In the conflict perspective the dominant and subordinate groups are in a constant battle for power. The dominant group ignores and exploits the minority groups and continually will be able to get away with doing so because of the status of the dominant group versus the status of the minority group. The functionalist perspective is not as extreme as the conflict perspective and wants to understand why certain functions and systems continue in spite of opposition. The functionalist perspectives seem to have the theory that if ne group does not contribute to society’s survival that they will not proceed to carry on to the next generation. Functionalists do believe that some negative can be positive such as discrimination between races and ethnic groups. However these dysfunctions can cause conflict and instability in a set society. (Schaefer, 2006). The minorities in the labeling perspective seem to be stereotyped and discriminated against. The dominant group has the upper hand a nd will persevere when conflict arises because of their social status, racial and ethnic group. These certain groups that are being discriminated against may lose out on participating in certain events, activities, or jobs. These negative stereotypes can eventually lead to the social norm and can have a negative effect on society as a whole. The dominant group establishes too much power and that their stereotyping in correct and valid so they will proceed to do it. (Schaefer, 2006). The minorities in the conflict perspective become ignored and exploited by the dominant group. They are left fighting for certain social, political, and economical powers that they do not have but the dominant group has control of. The dominant group has power and control over certain political, economical, and social aspects and of more importance than the minority group and their subordiation is ignored by society. (Schaefer, 2006). The minorities in the functionalist perspective will not continue into the next generations if they can not contribute to society’s survival in an effective manner. According to this perspective that is how it should operate however there are still plenty of minorities and racial discrimination that still occurs. The dominant group can survive even though there is still discrimination even if it is negative because the belief is that the negative and can be a positive for both the minority and the dominant groups. The dominant groups believe they are not responsible for problems faced by the minorities and they also will not allow minorities to question their own status because that would be questioning society itself. However these dysfunctions can cause strife between classes and minorities as well as tension, disputes and disrupts the peace of society. In theory all of these perspectives can keep the minorities from achieving possibly high status, jobs, or respect because they have been considered inferior for so long. (Schaefer, 2006). References Schaefer, R. T. (2006). Racial and Ethnic Groups: Understanding Race and Ethnicity. Prentice-Hall: Pearson Education Inc. How to cite Theoretical Perspectives of Race and Ethnicity, Papers