silver 2039
Deity
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
- Messages
- 16,208
Help me!! I thought this was a pretty decent essay until I asked my English teaacher for feedback and this is what she said:
I mean WTH!! Wat am I supposed to do now?
Hello,
Oh great that so great....Bloody woman she tells me this the day before its due? What am I supposed to do now!!!??? I"M SO BLOODY FUJNBFG"GJnhaFKGNG'AFS.NJAFNGDJFG
helP!!!
AGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!ARGH!!!!!
The essay is about the Role and Actions of Nora and Antigone and its worth 20 bloody percent of my final mark!!!!!!! ARHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRH
WHY!!!!!????? WHY!!!!!? WHY BLOODY ME?!!!
I mean WTH!! Wat am I supposed to do now?
Hello,
No topic
Introduction is not effective
often i do not know why you are saying something
the essay is not convincing. it needs to be clear and should help bring out the topic/aspect
too many large quotes.
you need to revamp the whole thing.
Oh great that so great....Bloody woman she tells me this the day before its due? What am I supposed to do now!!!??? I"M SO BLOODY FUJNBFG"GJnhaFKGNG'AFS.NJAFNGDJFG
helP!!!
AGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!ARGH!!!!!
The essay is about the Role and Actions of Nora and Antigone and its worth 20 bloody percent of my final mark!!!!!!! ARHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRH
WHY!!!!!????? WHY!!!!!? WHY BLOODY ME?!!!
World Lit Essay
The play a Doll’s House was written by Henrik Ibsen in while the play Antigone was written by Jean Anillouh in the 20th centaury. Both plays have similarities and differences in terms of the role and actions of their protagonists Nora Helmer and Antigone. While both are protagonists both are imperfect characters and have their flaws and the actions they take are neither right nor wrong.
In a Doll’s House Nora Helmer as a woman has a number of expectations by society as shown in this dialogue.
Nora: What do you think are my most sacred vows?
Torvald: And I have to tell you that! Aren’t they your duties to your husband and children?
As a woman she is expected by Torvald and society to put her husband and children before herself. In the beginning of the story she appears to accept the role that society expects of her seen when she states “Free. To be free, absolutely free. To spend time playing with the children. To have a clean, beautiful house, the way Torvald likes it.” In this line she expresses the desire to please Torvald and conform to society’s expectations. However later we learn that she is not content with her position. She occasionally acts out against Torvald’s and society’s injunctions. For instance Torvald dislikes her eating macaroons because it spoils her teeth, yet she eats macaroons behind his back. Another instance is when she herself says “It’s something have such a consuming desire to say so Torvald could hear.” and then she says “I have such a huge desire to say –to hell and be dammed!” shocking Dr. Rank and Mrs. Linde. Her actions show her desire to break free of society’s restrictions and carrying out a small act of rebellion against Torvald’s authority. Nora furthermore completely refuses to accept some of society’s rules. For example when she is speaking to Krogstad about her illegally taking out a loan she states “This I refuse to believe. A daughter hasn’t the right to protect her dying father from anxiety and care? A wife hasn’t a right to save her husband’s life? I don’t know much about laws, but I’m sure that somewhere in the books these things are allowed. And you don’t know anything about it-you who practice the law? You must be an awful lawyer Mr. Krogstad.” Nora adamantly believes that she was doing what society wished of her. She was being a good wife by saving her husband’s life and a good daughter by not giving her father more problems. Yet she is informed by Krogstad that what she did was wrong and she cannot accept this.
The character of Nora is one in which there is a great underlying spirit of individuality shown by her small acts of rebellion against the authority of Torvald. Eventually she is pushed toward standing for herself and leaving Torvald as she realizes that Torvald is not the strong man he poses as and she is disillusioned with him and her desire for freedom comes out. She says “I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve survived. You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. It’s because of you I’ve made nothing of my life.” she feels that she has been basically a “doll wife in a doll house” and that she has been degraded by how her father and Torvald, both of which are characters that are reflections of society treated her. Ideally perhaps she would be a noble heroine removing herself from the male domination of society. However this is not the case as Nora is a flawed character. Despite her attempts to conform to her duty as a devoted wife she is willing to flirt with Dr. Rank and tease him. Yet when he professes his love for her she draws away saying “Oh how can I dell what I know or don’t know? Really, I don’t know what to say-Why did you have to be so clumsy, Dr. Rank! Everything was so good.” Nora wants the excitement that comes with flirting yet she does not wish to accept the consequences of her actions. She wants everything to remain the same and not change and when she starts losing control she cannot accept it. This is similar to how Nora reacts to Torvald’s tirade against her. She dislikes the fact that their relationship has changed and thus decides to walk out abandoning her husband and children. Torvald is willing to compromise with her even though it goes against all his beliefs; he says “I see. There’s a gulf that’s opened up between us-that’s clear. Oh, but Nora, can’t we bridge it somehow?” yet Nora rejects all his proposals of aid, and continuing contact. Her intentions are perhaps noble in that she wishes to be independent but misguided in that she is naïve, as she walks into the cold and darkness outside without having any idea of her future unwilling to accept the consequences of her actions.
In Antigone, Antigone is the fiancé to Haemon and her role is as Creon puts it to” to produce sturdy sons” as he believes that she will be more useful to Thebes by doing that. Society expects Antigone to act in a manner that a princess should, the Nurse says to her “A nice thing for a king’s daughter I must say! You half kill yourself to bring them up, but they’re all the same….And yet you used not to be like the others, preening in front of the glass and putting rouge on their lips and trying to attract attention. The times I’ve said to myself ‘My goodness, this child isn’t vain enough! For ever in the same dress, with her hair all over the place-the lads’ll be after Ismene with her curls and her ribbons, and this one’ll be left on my hands’ And all the time you were just like your sister-worse, you little hypocrite!...Who is it? Some young layabout I suppose? A boy you can’t even introduce to you family as the one you love and want to marry? That’s it isn’t it?...Isn’t it? Answer me, you brazen hussy!” The Nurse’s statements are quite contradictory, she on one hand berates Antigone for meeting a boy, then criticizes her for not being vain enough like her sister to attract boys and then at the same time criticizes her for being like her sister. The Nurse’s quote shows the contradictory expectations that society has for Antigone they expect her to be both virtuous and attract boys at the same time. Ismene who is also a representation of societal expectations says “Antigone! Please! It’s all right for me to die for their ideas. But you’re a girl.” due to her gender Antigone is not expected to be brave and courageous like the men. Antigone openly rejects these societal expectations as she says “Only a girl! The tears I’ve shed because of it!” openly stating her desire to not be subject to the societal expectations and restrictions placed upon her. Her sister Ismene also warns her against defying Creon and the authority he possesses saying “He’s the king, Antigone. He’s stronger than we are. And everyone agrees with him. The streets of Thebes are full of them” Ismene fears the consequences that they will have to suffer if they go against society and authority yet Antigone is defiant and is determined to bury her brother rejecting all reason.
When confronted by Creon about her reasons for deciding to bury her brother Antigone states “I had to just the same. People who aren’t buried wander in search of rest. If my brother had come home tired after a day’s hunting I’d have taken off his boots, given him something to eat and got his bed ready. Polynices has done with hunting now. He’s going home, to where Mother and Father and Eteocles too, are waiting for him. He’s entitled to some rest.” she believes that she is doing her duty as a sister. At first glance Antigone’s actions seem to be that of a noble heroine going against a cruel tyrant. However this is not the case as Antigone is a flawed character. She is more determined to die than to see that her brother is buried. She is not afraid of change like Nora in Doll House she does not wish to grow up, nor does she wish to see Haemon change as she says “I love a Haemon who’s tough and young…A Haemon who’s demanding and loyal, like me. But if that life of yours, that happiness of yours, are going to pass over him and erode him-if he’s not going to turn pale anymore when I turn pale-if he won’t think I must be dead if I’m five minutes late-if he doesn’t feel alone in the world and hate me if I laugh and he doesn’t know why-if he’s going to become a conventional spouse and learn to say yes like the rest-then no, I don’t love Haemon anymore!” this quote shows Antigone’s fear of change and how she despises everyday normal life. Antigone has decided that if she cannot control change in her life then she must have a glorious death. She is also very stubborn when Creon tries to talk to her and convince her to live she says “I don’t want to. It’s all very well for you, but I’m not here to understand. I’m here to say no to you, and to die”. No matter what Creon says Antigone is not willing to change her mind and live and Creon is not the tyrant he seems to be as he himself says “Now just listen. All right- I’ve got the villain’s part and you’re cast as the heroine. You’re well aware of that. But don’t try to push it too far, you little nuisance. If I were just a ordinary brute of a tyrant you’d have had your tongue torn out long ago, or been taken apart with red hot pincers, or thrown into a dungeon. But you can see something in my eyes that hesitates. You can see that I let you speak instead of sending for my soldiers. So you taunt and defy me to the top of your bent. What are you after, you little Fury?” So instead of appearing noble Antigone appears almost to be a misguided, naïve, and stubborn child and she eventually forces Creon to put her to death uncaring of how the living must suffer because of her actions.
In both Doll House and Antigone it initially appears that Nora and Antigone are the noble heroines standing up to the oppression of society and going against the role that society has designated for them. However it turns out that in both plays things are not as clear cut. There is no good side and bad side, Creon and Helmer are not wrong and Nora and Antigone are not right.
though i consider myself by far not the best at English on this board, drop plotinus a line 
Although i've seen many weird cr*p in valuating one's knowledge, so maybe that's just ok...
Will the teacher accept it a day late if you're "sick" the day it's due?
