Shakespeare portrays about women

Shakespeare portrays about women William Shakespeares Much Ado about Nothing is mainly based on the battle of the sexes, and the relationships that are developed between the male and female characters of the play. Moreover, in Much Ado about Nothing Shakespeare does an astounding job at distinguishing the female stereotype of the Elizabethan Era, he develops this through the two main female characters Hero and Beatrice. Hero is portrayed as the typical female of the Elizabethan Era; Hero is of good keep and a well mannered girl. While on the other hand, Beatrice is the total opposite of typical female stereotype, she possesses a quick wit and a sharp tongue. Beatrice is never one to back down; she is an independent woman with a significant amount of self esteem. Beatrices character illustrates that the play rewards both conventional and unconventional women and prejudice against women in unnecessary and unfair. Hero was introduced in Act 1 Scene 1 of the play; she was introduced as the daughter of Leonato and Beatrices cousin. In the play Hero is represented as a very quiet, and shy girl, as she barely ever says anything and when she even speaks it is always in a very respectful manner. Throughout the entire Act one all she said was, My cousin means Signor Benedick of Padua. Similarly, Hero does not speak so much throughout the Act 2 Scene 1 most of what she says is He is of very melancholy disposition referring to Don John. The reader or the audience can see that Heros attitude is similar to the way typical women during the Elizabethan Era acted. Shakespeare might have chosen to present Hero in this manner to show the sharp contrast that exists between Hero and Beatrice. Moreover, it is apparent as the play goes on for the audience to see how much Hero does look up to her cousin Beatrice, for example is when Don Pedro asks to speak to Hero about Claudio she says: So you walk softly, and lo ok sweetly, and say nothing, I am yours for the walk, and especially when I walk away. [2.1.78-79]. The audience can see that Hero uses similar replies much like the replies that Beatrice would use to tease the men around her. By the same token, the character of Beatrice was also introduced in Act 1 Scene 1 of the play, and from the very beginning of the play Beatrice unlike Hero is represented as being a very clever and out spoken woman. Shakespeare makes sure that she comes off as a woman who is not afraid to speak her mind to anyone she comes across to. This is proven in act one, scene one when the messenger comes to deliver the message that the soldiers are on their way to Messina from the war. Beatrice and the messenger start a conversation about Benedick and the messenger tells Beatrice that Benedick is a lord to a lord, a man to a man, stuffed with all honourable virtues [1.1.53-54] she quickly replies, It is so indeed, he is no less than a stuffed man, but for the stuffing well, we are all mortal. [1.1.55-56] Beatrices sudden answer shows the audience that she is a woman who is not scared to speak her mind to anyone and that she will never back down from an argument. I believe that Shakespeare wan ted represent Beatrice in this manner to make a point that during the Elizabethan Era women were clever than men could imagine them to be. In addition during the Elizabethan Era that this play was first performed women had little or no power in the society a womans main role in this society was to get married and bear children, therefore, this was a way to prove the point that women were not the second class citizens that. Or in contrast, Shakespeare could have given Beatrice this character to simply just add a little humour into the play, because the thought of an independent and outspoken woman at that time was not taken seriously and was usually a joke. Furthermore, in the present day while reading, watching a movie about a Shakespeare play or even watching a Shakespeare play live, the audience must understand that during the Elizabethan Era every character of the play would be played by a male, even if the character was supposed to be a female. For example when Beatrice says Oh, that I were a man! What, bear her in hand until they come take hands, and then with public accusation, uncovered slander, unmitigated rancour? Oh God that I were a man![4.1.300-305] during the Elizabethan Era this particular line would have had a very comical meaning to the audience, because it would actually have been a male portraying a female character who would says this particular line, the present day audience does not grasp this irony because today, women are allowed to have part in the theatre and are not excluded. In fact another interesting thing to note about the Much Ado About Nothing is that even though Shakespeare is a male writer he was not a bias writer and in this play he showed that by not always letting the male characters win arguments or come out on top of any situation. Surely, in many situations it was the female characters that would come out on top, a great example of this is when in Act 4 Scene 1 Hero was accused of being unfaithful to Claudio. At first, the Claudio seemed triumphant in accusing an innocent woman; however, by the end of the play he is embarrassed to know that he was tricked into believing that Hero was being unfaithful when all along she was true to Claudio. Another, wonderful example of a woman coming on top is when Don Pedro and Beatrice are talking in Act 2 Scene 1 and Don Pedro asks Beatrice to marry him and she rejects him in a gentle way: DON PEDRO: Will you have me, lady? BEATRICE: No, my lord, unless I might have another for working days. Your grade is too costly to wear every day. But I beseech your grace pardon me, I was born to speak all mirth and no matter [2.1.300-304] One can never understand why Shakespeare would choose to do this but one can guess that it would either be humorous to the audience, because it would have been highly unlikely that during the Elizabethan Era a woman would prove a man wrong, or it may have been to illustrate that prejudice against a women of that time was wrong. In contrast, while the relationships between people of the same sex are very strong in Much Ado About Nothing; relationships within the opposite sex are diverse. The strongest example of this is in Act 4 Scene 1 when Hero is wrongly accused of being unfaithful to Claudio; Heros father Leonato believes a rumour rather than his beloved daughter: LEONATO: O Fate, take not away thy heavy hand! Death is the fairest cover for her shame That may be wished for. [4.1.115-117] Moreover, certainly this is true even in the female characters because, right after Hero got accused of being unfaithful Beatrice jumped in and said, O, on my soul, my cousin is belied! [4.1.146] one may think that Shakespeare that people of the same sex are much more likely to trust each other because they are more likely to understand the situation and can relate more to what that person might be going through. In contrast relationships between men and women in this play is a very diverse, one can see that there are two relationships in the play that show this diversity between men and women in Much Ado About Nothing. One relationship is the one between Hero and Claudio and the second one is between Beatrice and Benedick. Both of these relationships are very different; the relationship that Claudio and Hero have is merely based on Claudio wanting to marry Hero because of her wealth and her status. This can be seen because when Claudio finds out that the accusation he made towards H ero were untrue in Act 5 Scene 1, Leonato offers Heros identical cousin to be Claudios bride and he accepts without a second thought. LEONATO: My Brother hath a daughter, Almost the copy of my child thats dead, And she alone is heir to both of us. Give her the right you should have given her cousin, And so dies my revenge. CLAUDIO: O noble sit Your over-kindness doth wring tears from me. I do embrace you offer [5.1.278-284] This shows the audience that Claudio is not really in love with Hero he is in fact in love with the idea of Hero and the wealth that she will bring him. By the same token, this was very typical for men and women of the Elizabethan era to marry only for wealth and status, this is called dynastic marriage. In contrast to Hero and Claudios relationship, one can see that the relationship that Beatrice and Benedick have is real and that they truly do love each other. An example is when Beatrice and Don Pedro are talking at the ball in Act 2 scene 1 and Beatrice confesses that she and Benedick did have a fling: BEATRICE: Indeed, my lord, he lent it me awhile; and I gave him use for it, a double heart for a single one. Marry, once before he won it of me with false dice; therefore your Grace may well say I have lost it. Moreover, this shows the audience that there was something between them but neither Beatrice of Benedick ever talks in a detailed manner about the situation, therefore leaving a little mystery for the audience. Even though Beatrice and Benedick come across as being very aggressive, outspoken and very independent people, Shakespeare mildly starts to show the audience a little look at both of their softer sides. Furthermore, one can also see that their love is real because when Benedick hears Leonato, Don Pedro, and Balthasar talking in Act 2 Scene 3 about how Beatrice really loves Benedick, one can see that Benedicks true feelings come out and he said, When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married [2.3.233-235]. Same situation happened for Beatrice when she overheard Hero and Ursula talking about the love that Benedick has for her. After Hero and Ursula leave Beatrice states in her Soliloquy What fire is in mine ears? Can this be true? Stand I c ondemned for price and scorn so much? [3.1.107-108] this shows how shocked she really is that she comes across to Benedick as being so cold-hearted, she than goes to say No glory lives on behind the back of such. And Benedick love on, I will requite thee, Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand. If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee To bind our loves up in a holy band. [3.1.110-114] this change of heart that Beatrice has towards Benedick shows the audience that she is not the cold-hearted person everyone has come to know. Moreover, the audience feels more sympathetic towards Beatrice because she shows her genuine side that is willing to change herself to show a man how much she loves him. In conclusion, I think that at the end Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing does break all of the women stereotypes of the Elizabethan Era, and through different characters shows that prejudice against women in unnecessary and unfair. Moreover, Shakespeare managed to write a comedy that made fun of the battle of the sexes during the Elizabethan Era and showed that women were not just second class citizens, and that they had more of a role within the society.

The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe and Eveline by James Joyce Essay

The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe and Eveline by James Joyce 'The Tell Tale Heart' and 'Eveline' are stories based around the circumstances, which surround a central character. Both protagonists are portrayed in totally different ways. The characters in both stories are quite different. Eveline is the image of a girl's failure to become a woman. She tells herself that "she would not be treated as her mother had been," but she isn't aware that "such treatment offers her the only kind of security she knows". She has had to endure violence at the hand of her father, and she has let herself believe that she is in love with Frank when she isn't really. In 'The Tell Tale Heart', the story contains a nameless narrator who is the central character of the story. The narrator may be male or female because Poe uses only "I" and "Me" in reference to this character. Most readers may assume that the narrator is male because it is written in first person by a male author but the story can also be plausible if the narrator was a woman. In the times Poe was writing, he would be creating a story whose impact would be changed simply by imagining this horrendous deed being committed by a woman. In 'The Tell Tale Heart', the story covers a period of eight days where any important action usually occurs around midnight. This period of time is relevant to the story as it makes the reader more curious about the narrator's ordeal. The readers are deliberately not informed about the illness that the narrator had, and they are left to wonder whether the 'evil eye' is truly evil. The eight day period limits what the reader knows because they don't know what happened before. The narrator may have an extremely genuine reason... ...to people of the early 1900's. 'Eveline' was also written in the early 1900's and in that time it would have been Eveline's duty to look after her father rather than be in love. So the time in which the story was written would have really affected the way in which the story was perceived, as people in the early 1900's were less tolerant of behaviour written in the stories. James Joyce's portrayal of Eveline is very believable because many of the readers may be able to relate to the character as she lives an ordinary life. The narrator in "The Tell Tale Heart", is not very believable because it is not often that readers hear about someone killing a person because they have a "vulture eye", it's just unrealistic, but the story has a pull to it that makes readers want to read it because it is exciting and there is suspense, something which "Eveline" lacks.

A Comparison between Romeo and Juliet, and Much Ado About Nothing

Comparisons are great between many of Shakespeare’s works. Many comparisons can be made in lies, fights, and conflict between Romeo and Juliet, which is a tragedy, and Much Ado About Nothing, which is a comedy. After comparing them both they show these in all elements. First, characters in both plays include villains, lovers, and friends. In both pieces the topic of lies comes up many times. Many characters display this. The first act of dishonesty happened when Romeo and Benvolio tried to deceive the Capulet’s by attending their feast, uninvited. As a result, Romeo met Juliet, and instantly fell in love, which was the beginning of the play. When he met Juliet, Romeo said, â€Å"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night† (1. 5. 52-53). Romeo is already in love, when he has only just met this woman. This is the main cause of the entire tragedy. The most destructive act of lying was in â€Å"Much Ado about Nothing† when Borachio and Don John framed young Hero. â€Å"But you are more intemperate in your blood/Than Venus, or those pamper’d animals† (4. 1. 53-54). Claudio has just accused Hero of being unworthy due to a framed situation.. This entirely ruined their wedding. Consequences are also shown throughout both to prove the trouble of love. In both plays love is the bond that holds them together, in spite of many fights the two face. For instance, the entire tale of â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† is based upon a feud. The Montague’s and Capulet’s despise one another. The fight continues to dwell on; the families refuse to forgive and forget. â€Å"From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,?where civil blood makes civil hands unclean† (1. 1. 3). This stubborn mindset prevents young Juliet and Romeo from public love. In Much Ado About Nothing, the main plot also contains an angry perspective. Beatrice and Benedick are constantly bickering throughout the story. Both characters are witty and quick to start an argument. Your foolish reaction can often be expressed as Signor Mountanto† (2. 2. 4-5). This is just an example of Beatrice’s rude attitude, which is often displayed by Benedick as well. As there fighting continues, a love begins to grow. Possibly, the internal feelings they both had caused the continual disagreements. Lastly, the conflict of both plays proved the problems love may cause. Because of the rivalry the Montague’s and Capulet’s maintained, Romeo and Juliet were prohibited from being seen in public as a couple. This; however did not prevent the two from being together. â€Å"With love’s light wings did I o'erperch these walls/For stony limits cannot hold love out,† (2. 2. 66-67). Romeo says his feelings, and says it is impossible to keep him away from her. The secrecy between the two began and soon ended in problem. In William Shakespeare’s other work, â€Å"Much Ado about Nothing† there are also many secrets. The characters work together to show Benedick and Beatrice they have feelings for one another. â€Å"Dote on Signor Benedick, whom she hath in all outward behaviors seemed ever to abhor† (2. 3. 81-82). Both people were fooled into discovering love with each other. In conclusion we can say they are both the same piece of literature, however with dramatic diversities. As you read you begin to realize this even more so. Each characters and there feelings relate to another, and allows for a rather complicated, interesting plot.

Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes in Childrens...

Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes in Childrens Literature Caution should be used when selecting books including Native Americans, due to the lasting images that books and pictures provide to children. This paper will examine the portrayal of Native Americans in childrens literature. I will discuss specific stereotypes that are present and should be avoided, as well as positive examples. I will also highlight evaluative criteria that will be useful in selecting appropriate materials for children and provide examples of good and bad books. Children will read many books as they grow up. They take from these books visual images and these images are their perceptions, which can last a lifetime. There are too many†¦show more content†¦The image is harmful for the Native American because they have had to endure not having their trude identity known for five centuries. In his book, The White Mans Indian, Robert F. Berkhofer reveals how the Indian image was invented by White men. Columbus called them Indians because his geography was faulty. But the name- and, more important, the images it suggests- have endured for five centuries obscuring the true identity of the original Americans. The Europeans quickly agreed on a very simple (and self serving) set of assumptions about the native peoples they encountered in the New World: there were good Indians and bad Indians. The good were simple, free, and innocent; the bad were degraded, brutal, and untrustworthy. All individuals, all tribes, at all times could be understoodand all were inferior in the light of Western, Christian civilization. Children are harmed when they are bombarded with stereotypical images because they internatlize these negative perceptions and will hold the images throughout their lives. When a child sees or meets a Native American, their first impressions are the ones they were shown from the books and pictures they saw. If we allow our children to read material full of stereotypes, we are doing an injustice to both our children and the entire Nartive American race. When selecting a childrens book, one must be cautious toShow MoreRelated Fashion Magazines and Body Image Essay5340 Words   |  22 Pagesdata and relevant resources for such data to be precise and spontaneous in its respected details to support results. Few studies have explored mediating processes through which media exposure and use contribute to development and perpetuation of eating-disordered cognitions. The other purpose of this study was to test a structural equation model that incorporates several mediating processes through which womens beauty, fashion, health, and fitness magazines might influence the fearRead MoreThe Effects of Advertising on Children33281 Words   |  134 Pages............................................................................... 9 CTS provisions ................................................................................................................................. 9 Children’s and preschool children’s programs ............................................................................. 9 All C and P programs must be classified by ACMA prior to broadcast. ...................................... 9 Advertising directed to children..Read MoreUrbana at Feliza10754 Words   |  44 Pages(1864)hasbeen highly regarded as a privileged text for a number of reasons. Firstly, de Castros work was one of the longer prose narratives written in Tagalog. Thus, it joined Miguel Lucio Bustamantes Si Tandang Bacio Macunat, another original work in the native tongue, in the select group of discourses which proved that Tagalog could be used to explore facets of experiences other than those delineated in the awit and corrido or the pasyon. Against a context where pnvilege was bestowed on texts written inRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 PagesCost–Duration Graph 318 Crash Times 319 Linearity Assumption 319 Choice of Activities to Crash Revisited 319 Time Reduction Decisions and Sensitivity 320 Groupthink 404 Bureaucratic Bypass Syndrome 404 Team Spirit Becomes Team Infatuation Going Native 405 405 Summary 406 What if Cost, Not Time, Is the Issue? Summary 323 321 Chapter 12 Outsourcing: Managing Interorganizational Relations 418 Outsourcing Project Work 419 Best Practices in Outsourcing Project Work 423 Chapter