Escaping the Cage of Marriage in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House Essays

Escaping the Cage of Marriage in A Doll House      Ã‚  Ã‚   A bird may have beautiful wings, but within a cage, the beautiful wings are useless. Within the cage, the bird is not fulfilling the potential for which it was created - it is merely a household decoration.   In Ibsen's symbolic play A Doll House, Nora is the bird, and her marriage is the cage. Externally, Nora is a beautiful creature entertaining her husband with the beautiful images of a docile wife, but internally, she is a desperate creature longing to explore her potential outside the cage of her marriage. In a society dominated by the expectations of men, Nora must choose between the obligations determined by her role as wife in opposition to the obligations of self, in determining her true identity. Within the context of love, she commits forgery, and through this deception, discovers her marriage is nothing more than an illusion, and she nothing more than a doll within Torvald's house. In Act I, the Christmas tree symbolizes the Helmer's marriage. Externally, the tree is beautifully decorated, but internally it is dying because the tree has no roots to feed it. Nora and Helmer are playing the roles that society has taught them. He is the strong provider and protector; Nora is the helpless little woman who depends on him. Like the Christmas tree, the Helmer's marriage is just an image of beauty, dying on the inside. After Krogstad informs Nora that he intends to blackmail her, she tells the maid to bring her the tree and set it in the middle of the floor (center stage) (1581). Nora begins to decorate the tree:    [I'll put c]andles here [and] flowers here. That terrible creature! Talk, talk, talk! There's nothing to it at all. The tree [is] going to be lo... ...ond the cage, the beautiful wings carry the bird into a life worth living. A life where the birds have the opportunity to accomplish the obligations of their creation is the only life worth living.    Works Cited Baruch, Elaine Hoffman. "Ibsen's Doll House: A Myth for Our Time." The Yale Review 69 (1980): 374-387. Gray, Ronald, ed. Ibsen-A Dissenting View: A Study of the Last Twelve Plays. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1961. Ibsen, Henrick. A Doll House. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th   ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 1564-1612. Northram, John. "Ibsen's Search for the Hero." Ibsen: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Rolf Fjelde. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1965. 107-113. Templeton, Joan. "The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen. PMLA   104.1(1989): 28-40. Escaping the Cage of Marriage in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House Essays Escaping the Cage of Marriage in A Doll House      Ã‚  Ã‚   A bird may have beautiful wings, but within a cage, the beautiful wings are useless. Within the cage, the bird is not fulfilling the potential for which it was created - it is merely a household decoration.   In Ibsen's symbolic play A Doll House, Nora is the bird, and her marriage is the cage. Externally, Nora is a beautiful creature entertaining her husband with the beautiful images of a docile wife, but internally, she is a desperate creature longing to explore her potential outside the cage of her marriage. In a society dominated by the expectations of men, Nora must choose between the obligations determined by her role as wife in opposition to the obligations of self, in determining her true identity. Within the context of love, she commits forgery, and through this deception, discovers her marriage is nothing more than an illusion, and she nothing more than a doll within Torvald's house. In Act I, the Christmas tree symbolizes the Helmer's marriage. Externally, the tree is beautifully decorated, but internally it is dying because the tree has no roots to feed it. Nora and Helmer are playing the roles that society has taught them. He is the strong provider and protector; Nora is the helpless little woman who depends on him. Like the Christmas tree, the Helmer's marriage is just an image of beauty, dying on the inside. After Krogstad informs Nora that he intends to blackmail her, she tells the maid to bring her the tree and set it in the middle of the floor (center stage) (1581). Nora begins to decorate the tree:    [I'll put c]andles here [and] flowers here. That terrible creature! Talk, talk, talk! There's nothing to it at all. The tree [is] going to be lo... ...ond the cage, the beautiful wings carry the bird into a life worth living. A life where the birds have the opportunity to accomplish the obligations of their creation is the only life worth living.    Works Cited Baruch, Elaine Hoffman. "Ibsen's Doll House: A Myth for Our Time." The Yale Review 69 (1980): 374-387. Gray, Ronald, ed. Ibsen-A Dissenting View: A Study of the Last Twelve Plays. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1961. Ibsen, Henrick. A Doll House. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th   ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 1564-1612. Northram, John. "Ibsen's Search for the Hero." Ibsen: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Rolf Fjelde. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1965. 107-113. Templeton, Joan. "The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen. PMLA   104.1(1989): 28-40.

Drug Addiction †Essay Essay

Drug addiction is a pathological or abnormal condition which arises due to frequent drug use. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute drug use to the development of drug-seeking behavior, the vulnerability to relapse, and the decreased, slowed ability to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli. Causes Drugs known to cause addiction include illegal drugs as well as prescription or over-the-counter drugs, according to the definition of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. †¢ Stimulants: o Amphetamine and methamphetamine o Cocaine o Nicotine †¢ Sedatives and hypnotics: o Alcohol o Barbiturates o Benzodiazepines, particularly flunitrazepam, triazolam, temazepam, and nimetazepam o Methaqualone and the related quinazolinone sedative-hypnotics †¢ Opiate and opioid analgesics o Morphine and codeine, the two naturally occurring opiate analgesics o Semi-synthetic opiates, such as heroin (diacetylmorphine), oxycodone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone o Fully synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, meperidine/pethidine, and methadone HEROIN- The German drug company Bayer named its new over the counter drug â€Å"Heroin† in 1895.[7] The name was derived from the German word â€Å"heroisch† (heroic) due to its perceived â€Å"heroic† effects upon a user.[7] It was chiefly developed as a morphine substitute for cough suppressants that did not have morphine’s addictive side-effects. Morphine at the time was a popular recreational drug, and Bayer wished to find a similar but non-addictive substitute to market.[8] However, contrary to Bayer’s advertising as a â€Å"non-addictive morphine substitute,† heroin would soon have one of the highest rates of  dependence amongst its users.[9] Diacetylmorphine is used as a recreational drug for the transcendent relaxation and intense euphoria it induces. Anthropologist Michael Agar once described heroin as â€Å"the perfect whatever drug.†[23] Tolerance quickly develops, and users need more of the drug to achieve the same effects. Its popularity with recreational drug users, compared to morphine, reportedly stems from its perceived different effects.[24] In particular, users report an intense rush that occurs while the diacetylmorphine is being metabolized into 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM) and morphine in the brain. Diacetylmorphine produces more euphoria than other opioids upon injection. One of the most common methods of illicit heroin use is via intravenous injection (colloquially termed â€Å"slamming† or â€Å"shooting up†). effects- Large doses of heroin can cause fatal respiratory depression, and the drug has been used for suicide or as a murder weapon. cost- Price The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reports that the retail price of brown heroin varies from â‚ ¬14.5 per gram in Turkey to â‚ ¬110 per gram in Sweden, with most European countries reporting typical prices of â‚ ¬35-40 per gram. The price of white heroin is reported only by a few European countries and ranged between â‚ ¬27 and â‚ ¬110 per gram †¢ RISK- For intravenous users of heroin (and any other substance), the use of non-sterile needles and syringes and other related equipment leads to several serious risks: o the risk of contracting blood-borne pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis o the risk of contracting bacterial or fungal endocarditis and possibly venous sclerosis o abscesses †¢ Poisoning from contaminants added to â€Å"cut† or dilute heroin †¢ Chronic constipation †¢ Addiction and increasing tolerance †¢ Physical dependence can result from prolonged use of all opioids,  resulting in withdrawal symptoms on cessation of use †¢ Decreased kidney function (although it is not currently known if this is due to adulterants or infectious diseases)[47] CRACKHEADS GONE WILD Tony had a promising future as a professional athlete. Now he stands in front of a rundown house in Atlanta. ‘My momma always told me, you can be anything you want,’ he says. ‘This is what I brought my being down to.’ He holds up a pebble of crack between thumb and forefinger. ‘This is the most important thing in my life. If I had to choose between you and the blow, I’d forget you.’ ‘Miami Slim’, a greying black woman who has been addicted to cocaine since 1981, recalls her shame at sitting in a room with $7,000 of crack on the table and being unable to give her five-year-old son 50 cents to buy an ice cream. These are just two of the characters from Crackheads Gone Wild, an American DVD that takes the gonzo documentary genre made notorious by the 2002 video Bumfights (a series of tramp-fighting vignettes) to distressing new extremes. It presents ‘uncensored real stories’ of crack addicts in Atlanta while drawing on the voyeuristic appeal and entertainment value of reality TV. Like Hollywood’s upcoming action-romp Snakes on a Plane, the title alone plays on a brazen marketing nous. And it even has its own snappy logo – an illustration of a zombie-like bug-eyed crackhead. The DVD has sold 60,000 copies since release in December, primarily from sales through its website, crackheadsgonewild.com. Its creator, Daryl ‘Master Mind’ Smith, a 30-year-old graduate from North Carolina Central University with a degree in marketing, maintains his film is intended to raise ‘awareness’ of the crack problem in American cities. ‘But we also tried to make it entertaining,’ he says, ‘otherwise no one would want to watch it and the message wouldn’t get across.’ To this end, there is footage of a couple having sex in a park while simultaneously taking hits off their crack pipes. Smith claims he didn’t solicit the footage. ‘We just walked up on them. They didn’t care. I never gave anyone more than $5 or something to eat to film them. They wanted to do it because they wanted people to know their stories.’ One white female addict, clearly ravaged beyond her years, makes an impassioned plea for understanding on a street corner but is undermined by a man performing a  jerky dance behind her as he takes a hit off his pipe. A woman, posting a message on the film’s website under the name punkin1980, says she recognised the man as the father she hadn’t seen in five years. ‘It saddend (sic) me to look at him like that. Wherever he is now, I just want him to know that punkin still and always will love him.’ Smith defends himself: ‘In my mind, the exploitation was done for a good reason. What I was doing was exploiting the part of life that people choose to ignore. I just put it out there for people to see.’ Fuelled by mainstream rap culture and shows like MTV’s Jackass, there is a burgeoning market for such films. One series of DVDs consisting of nothing more than amateur footage of street fighting is sold under the title ‘Ghetto Brawls’. Bumfights which racked up $5 million in sales worldwide, featured alcoholic vagrants who were plied with booze and encouraged to perform stunts that included having their teeth extracted with pliers. Its makers were taken to court in a civil trial in 2003 for soliciting battery and promoting illegal fights. They received small fines and probationary sentences. There seems little chance that those behind Crackheads Gone Wild will end up in the courts. Smith says he obtained release forms from everyone who appears in the video and won’t use footage from those that refused. He says he knew some of the people he filmed over a period of years and watched them slowly deteriorate. ‘Many of these people are highly intelligent. I have footage of a lady who has a master’s degree in education and used to work on Capitol Hill. She got hooked on drugs and now she’s homeless. The point of the movie is: do not even try crack or this is what it will reduce you to. You will not have any control over your life and you will live and die for the drug.’

Essay about Battle Royal, by Ralph Ellison - 1897 Words

In the 1940‘s racial segregation gripped southern American life. The notion of separating blacks from whites created immense tension. Separate water fountains, bathrooms, restaurants, etc. were variables that helped keep races apart. â€Å"Jim Crow† laws in the south were intended to prevent blacks from voting. These laws, combined with the segregated educational system, instilled the sense that blacks were â€Å"separate† but not equal (174). Many people of color weren‘t able to survive through this time period because of the actions of whites. One individual who overcame the relentless struggles was Ralph Ellison. Ellison, a famous author, depicted racial segregation in the 1940’s through a fictional short story entitled â€Å"Battle Royal.† Battle†¦show more content†¦Ellison’s use of language helps imply the animalistic treatment of the young fighters (German). A writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, Michael Eric Dyson, is thoro ughly amazed by Ellison’s wordplay by saying, â€Å"He spoke elegantly of the beautiful absurdity of the American identity (Dyson).† The choice of words Ellison navigate through America’s history of ideas (Dyson). The portrayal of fighters emphasize the fact that â€Å"blacks† were socially inferior. White’s would of never thought to view blacks in the same â€Å"league† with them. At this time, no one could imagine the battle royal happening with white’s fighting with an animalistic intentions, while rich, black men sat smoking cigars, cheering for brutality. By using nouns and adjectives, the description of the young fighting has a deeper, harsher connotation. Blindfolded, I could no longer control my motions. I had no dignity. I stumbled about like a baby or a drunken man. The smoke had become think and with each new blow it seemed to sear and further restrict my lungs. My saliva became like hot bitter glue. A glove connected with my head, filling my mouth with warm blood. It was everywhere. I could not tell if the moisture I felt upon my body was sweat or blood (179). A fellow fighter is said to have â€Å"whimpered like a dog over his crushed hand (179).† The brutal action of undergoing a battle royal has the unseen indication that the cigar-smoking whites wanted to take the human out of the blacks andShow MoreRelatedBattle Royal, By Ralph Ellison963 Words   |  4 Pages Battle Royal Interpretive Essay Battle Royal is a short story that metaphorically address many such issues such as racial discrimination. The Author, Ralph Ellison, uses symbolism such as blindness and the concept of initiation to compare the world to a real life battlefield. Ellison intended to emphasize, both passive and aggressive elements of battle is necessary to achieve the American Dream. There is much symbolism used in the story. The protagonist’s grandfather is a symbol in himself.Read MoreBattle Royal By Ralph Ellison989 Words   |  4 PagesIt is undeniable that the short story by Ralph Ellison entitled â€Å"Battle Royal† is an intense one. It would be hard to walk away from reading his story without feeling some kind of emotion whether it be pain, sadness, fear, anger, or all of the above. This story portrays a black man, the invisible man, in the time when racism is still running rampant. He uses symbolism many times in order to portray meaning and delve deep into the mind and emotions of the main character, a black man. In the storyRead MoreBattle Royal By Ralph Ellison1308 Words   |  6 PagesThe short story Battle Royal by Ralph Ellison is a disturbing story about the conflicts between the black and white cultures and the main character and himself. In the story the conflicts between the two cultures had a definite impact on how the main ch aracter saw himself and caused the conflicts within himself. Battle Royal deals with racism and the suppression of the African American race and how it effected the actions of that culture. The main character of the story is an African AmericanRead MoreBattle Royal, By Ralph Ellison969 Words   |  4 PagesThe struggles of many black is should never be described lightly. Many african americans were treated like animals and never was given the respected deserved. In the story, Battle Royal, by Ralph Ellison, a young African American man is trying to fit into white society that holds majority of blacks back. During the beginning, the narrator is bewildered by his grandfather s last words. His grandfather spoke out about being a traitor in front of his family. The family was confused and concernedRead MoreEssay Battle Royal, by Ralph Ellison1341 Words   |  6 PagesEllison’s Powerful Battle Royal      Ã‚   I felt a wave of irrational guilt and fear. My teeth chattered, my skin turned to goose flesh, my knees knocked. Yet I was strongly attracted and looked in spite of myself. Had the price of looking been blindness, I would have looked. (Ellison 939)    These insightful words written by Ralph Ellison in the powerful short story Battle Royal, which later became the first chapter in the critically acclaimed novel Invisible Man, convey the repressedRead MoreBattle Royal By Ralph Ellison Analysis1089 Words   |  5 Pagesfactor though. Nobility has always looked down upon those without royal blood, and rich people have always looked down upon poor people. These factors are all present in Battle Royal by Ralph Ellison. In order to highlight the virulent relationship between the white men and black men in Battle Royal, Ralph Ellison focuses on a separation of class by way of race, wealth, and social standing. Because of racism, the main character (Ellison) in the story, along with his fellow African Americans, are treatedRead MoreRalph Ellison s Battle Royal985 Words   |  4 PagesRalph Ellison’s â€Å"Battle Royal†, is nerving, historical, and suspenseful. Ralph Ellison describes the events about how the young narrator goes to a meeting of city men and thinks he would be giving the speech of a lifetime. Although he does get to give his speech at the end of the night, the narrator goes through hell to get what he would like to achieve. Ellison has the narrator go through what mirrors to be what the African-American community in the twentieth century is shaping to be. Through theRead MoreAnalysis Of The Battle Royal By Ralph Ellison1383 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"The Battle Royal† by Ralph Ellison Life is full of obstacles, but no matter what it is we must struggle for survival. In the short story â€Å"The Battle Royal† by Ralph Ellison, the narrator talks about the clash between the African-American and white and the segregation issues. It features a young black man who has recently graduated from high school, and he is invited to give a speech to a group white gathering. While delivering the speechRead MoreAnalysis Of Battle Royal By Ralph Ellison1508 Words   |  7 PagesUnrelenting Perseverance Ralph Ellison’s excerpt â€Å"Battle Royal† from his novel â€Å"Invisible Man† reveals the African American’s struggle for social equality. It was written during the Cold War and Civil Rights movement and made an impact in the literature world and won an award. Ellison never provides a name for the narrator who refers to himself as the invisible man. The story begins with the narrator’s grandfather on his death bed instructing on how to deal with white people. The narrator felt thisRead MoreAnalysis Of `` Battle Royal `` By Ralph Ellison1405 Words   |  6 Pagesleads people to misunderstand what segregation truly did. Karen and Barbara Fields are two sisters who wrote Racecraft together to discuss serious racial issues of the past, present, and future. These issues are present in â€Å"Battle Royal†, a short story written by Ralph Ellison. A major theme in this story is the differentiation of class. White men seem to live the life and are able to obtain whatever they desire; the black teenagers in the story are set up to brawl each other to entertain the white