Arms and the Man
In the play Arms and the Man, by Bernard Shaw, Major Sergius Saranoff is definitely one of the most round characters. Sergius possesses many distinct characteristics, which single him out from the other characters in the play. Many of these qualities have been accumulated through his military experience; it is apparent to anyone of this military background from his army uniform and his rugged face. Major Saranoff is an extremely important character in the play due to his engagement to Raina, the sole child of the richest family in Bulgaria, the Petkoffs and because of his highly regarded military status. Sergius is proven to be a round character as he shows three main qualities throughout the play, bravery, spontaneity and deceitfulness.
The military has always been a tool where one may demonstrate bravery and this was the way that Sergius proved how brave he was. The Bulgarian army that he was leading was composed mostly of heavy cavalry, which were charging a battery of machine guns. This action, in itself, is one of true bravery, or sheer stupidity. Luckily, the wrong ammunition was sent to the Swiss army and Sergius and his cavalry came on top. Two conclusions can be drawn from this insane action, either Sergius knew that the ammunition was faulty or that Sergius decided that they were going to be slaughtered anyway and that they should risk charging. Either way, Major Saranoff showed an extremely courageous and brave gesture. As shown in the beginning of the first act, all of the characters in the play recognized Sergius as a war hero except Bluntschli. “…led a charge on his own responsibility – headed it himself – was the first man to sweep through their guns” (p.307). Bluntschli saw him as...
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...ious that Catherine is mad, for two main reasons, the first because Sergius vowed to marry Raina, and the second because he is choosing a servant over Raina.
From the three main qualities which Sergius demonstrates throughout the play, courage, impulsiveness and faithlessness, it is proven that he is a round character. The cause to Sergius’ peculiar actions and emotions are not certain although after going through the stage of near death at the battle field, Sergius most likely stopped thinking about worries of the world and most certainly did not care too much about anything. This is the most logical explanation to the cause to this change. Although not apparent, one must wonder that, after the emotions demonstrated by Raina towards Sergius throughout the play, at one point Raina did love him and that this new image of himself has changed Raina’s opinion of him.
As one of the most well known ancient Roman love poets, Ovid has demonstrated bountiful talents within his writing. When reading myths from his book titled Metamorphoses, you gain an enlightening insight of how he viewed mythology. To Ovid, love was the origin of everything. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that most of his poems relate to the theme of love. However, not all poets are the same and every re-telling of a myth has its own unique perspective. In this paper I will compare and contrast the myth of Medea in Euripides Medea and Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 7. I will then explain how Ovid’s approach to love and loss correlate to his general approach to myth as a whole. I will support my belief with evidence from Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 14.
Gives reasoning’s and explanations behind the accusations of murder, poison, and incest. Also deviates from Gregorovious’s idea that Lucrezia is weak, instead portraying her as an intelligent and tragic woman.
...eing killed by the land owner. Although his father dies, Sarty’s decision frees him from terror but not grief and despair. Sarty rationalizes the death and evil of his father by thinking, “He was brave!... He was in the war!. . .He was in Colonel Sartoris cavalry” (349). The young Sarty did not know his father was a mercenary soldier and fought only for money, not honor.
Colonel Shaw, son of wealthy. He was 23 years old when he enlisted to fight in the War between the States. He is a very honored man and he constantly writes letters to his family. When Colonel Shaw went to war he had to realize how brutal war really was. When he fought in the Battle of Antietam, He was exposed to watching his men fall. But still he showed bravery, because he would yell to go forward when ev...
He claimed he truly loved her yet he was annoyed by all the little things she did. “I tried to combat these absurd manias.” The husband fought to make Cristiana’s superstition’s go away even when he knew they were a big part of her. He did not truly love her because of he did, he would love all of her.
In the first part of the play Egeus has asked the Duke of Athens, Theseus, to rule in favor of his parental rights to have his daughter Hermia marry the suitor he has chosen, Demetrius, or for her to be punished. Lysander, who is desperately in love with Hermia, pleads with Egeus and Theseus for the maiden’s hand, but Theseus’, who obviously believes that women do not have a choice in the matter of their own marriage, sides with Egeus, and tells Hermia she must either consent to marrying Demetrius, be killed, or enter a nunnery. In order to escape from the tragic dilemma facing Hermia, Lysander devises a plan for him and his love to meet the next evening and run-off to Lysander’s aunt’s home and be wed, and Hermia agrees to the plan. It is at this point in the story that the plot becomes intriguing, as the reader becomes somewhat emotionally “attached’’ to the young lovers and sympathetic of their plight. However, when the couple enters the forest, en route to Lysander’s aunt’s, it is other mischievous characters that take the story into a whole new realm of humorous entertainment...
One strange element is why Egeus was so set on Hermia marrying Demetrius. Lysander came from as good a family as Demetrius. Both were well possessed with property and money so Egeus's power is made to seem senseless.
Infatuation causes Helena to lose all sense of dignity, as can be seen when in the woods, she desperately pleads with Demetrius to ?but treat me as your spaniel?. Here, Helena also becomes irrational, obsessed with pursuing Demetrius, though it is obvious that Demetrius is fixated on winning Hermia?s hand in marriage. Helena?s infatuation also causes her to see things from a skewed perspective, for she falsely believes that when she divulges Hermia?s plans for eloping with Lysander, Demetrius? love for Helena will rekindle. As the audience, we know that the most probable course of action for Demetrius upon hearing such news is to pursue Lysander and Hermia, or to report them to Theseus or Egeus. Clearly, infatuation has clouded Helena?s ability to think clearly, and she sees things in her own idealistic way.
This paper contains 237 words of teacher’s comments. What one perceives is influenced by one’s environment. The setting and commentary surrounding events changes our perception of them. Any innocent gesture can be perceived in the wrong way with enough persuading from someone else. Even if someone has total faith in another person's innocence, they can be persuaded to doubt them through the twisting of events. Once just a small amount of doubt has been planted, it influences the way everything else is seen. This occurs throughout the play, Othello. In this play, Iago influences Othello's perception of events through speeches and lies, making him doubt Desdemona's fidelity. Iago uses his talent of manipulating events to exact his revenge on Othello. Iago's twisting of events in Othello's mind leads to the downfall of Othello as planned, but because he fails to twist Emilia's perception as well, he facilitates his own eventual downfall.
Aristotle continued to express a tragedy arouses both pity and fear, pity for the doomed hero and fear for all humans who are subject to the same forces and weakness. It would not be difficult to discover that Othello demonstrate weakness and fear in the play, and Shak...
... She first criticizes Hero’s choice of a ruff; then she indirectly denigrates Hero’s wedding gown by contrasting its simplicity with the duchess of Milan’s lavish garment (3.4.14-23); finally, she mocks the prim and proper Hero by making a coarse sexual allusion (3.4.27). When Hero rebukes her, Margaret refuses to be shamed and defends herself: “[ashamed] of what, lady? Of speaking honorably? Is not marriage honorable in a beggar? Is not your lord honorable without marriage? (3.4.28-31). By implying that honor is achieved not through any marriage but through a “good,” socially suitable marriage, Margaret implicitly criticizes the inequality in her society and expresses her desire for a marriage that will not leave her “below stairs” (5.2.10). But she is acutely aware that she has no such marriage prospects as she resentfully watches Hero’s wedding preparations.
One of the first impressions gained of Othello is that he is a great war hero. Before much else is said of him, tales of his skill and valor in battle are illustrated and he is shown to be a great and famed warrior. He naturally possesses many attributes typically associated with soldiers. From the beginning Othello is noble, quick to act, judicious, trusting, and gives much weight to the importance of duty. These are all traits that serve to make him great at the beginning of the play, and later, ironically become key elements in his downfall. These aspects can be considered the internal causes of Othello’s tragic flaw. “Othello's nature is all of one piece. His trust, where he trusts, is absolute…. Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must leave or bear no life. If such a passion as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-night incontrollable flood.” Othello is pure an...
The time period of Greek theater’s popularity was a very influential time in our world’s history. Without knowing what Greek theater was all about, how can someone expect to truly understand a tragic play and the history it comes with? The history behind the character of Oedipus, in the play Oedipus the King, is very complicated. His intricate past dealing with prophecies, family members, and murder is the main focus of the story. There are many characteristics that complete Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero; these being the presence of hamartia and peripeteia, a sense of self-awareness, the audience’s pity for the character, and the hero is of noble birth.
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is written in an entertaining and adventurous spirit, but serves a higher purpose by illustrating the century’s view of courtly love. Hundreds, if not thousands, of other pieces of literature written in the same century prevail to commemorate the coupling of breathtaking princesses with lionhearted knights after going through unimaginable adventures, but only a slight few examine the viability of such courtly love and the related dilemmas that always succeed. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that women desire most their husband’s love, Overall, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that the meaning of true love does not stay consistent, whether between singular or separate communities and remains timeless as the depictions of love from this 14th century tale still hold true today.
Sergius, is seen a self-centered egotistical romantic soldier. He is the foil to Captain Bluntschli. Unlike Bluntschli, Sergius is an aristocratic young Bulgarian man who sees war for nothing but a way of becoming the romantic hero. He is described by Raina as handsome and charming. We see Sergius as the hero of the most recent Bulgarian Calvary raid which doesn’t help his viewpoint. It causes his view to be enlarged by all the heroism appreciation he receives for his noble courageous act. Despite knowing the true reason his heroic charge was a success due to the Servian army was out of