. In one instance, the Lilliputians treat Gulliver as if he is a god. They appease his wants and needs, despite the fact that such provisions may cause a famine, due to his substantially larger consumption needs. This shows their devotion and admiration of the “man-mountain” Gulliver. Behind the satire, the Lilliputians represent the lower class because they deify Gulliver (upper class) due to his Goliath- like stature.
The prince sees the lives of his friends more important than other lives in the kingdom. From the text, the friends are "light-hearted," which refers to people who never really care much about others. Prospero never wants to rescue some of his friends who could question him on his inhumane acts. His “magnificent revel” also attests to his selfishness. It is unfortunate that Prospero was celebrating in the palace rather than mourning for his ordinary citizens who are dying from the Red Death (Roth 52).
Boaz and Unk’s relocation to Mercury, and in particular the former’s contented acceptance for the externally meaningless task of taking care of the Harmoniums, reveals the possibility for personal happiness and growth when one forgoes society’s expectations: Unk, who “was at war with his environment”, fared far worse in his exile compared to Boaz, who “had never felt better in his life”(203). Boaz, though effectively carrying a bigger burden than Unk as a commander, takes the situation much better as he decided to make the most of his circumstances, disregarding the duty imposed onto him by his society in favor of finding passion and beauty in the simplicity of the Harmoniums and life itself. Unk/Constant’s return to Earth and subsequent public humiliation (in the name of Rumford’s religion), contrasted with his comparative isolation in meaningless tranquility on Titan reveals a potential for personal growth when freed from the demands of society. Upon his return to earth, Rumford’s “just” utopia applies their “reformed” societal standards onto Constant, trapping him once again into a social construct that curbs his individuality and potential for growth, granting him the role of “the most memorable, magnificent, and meaningful human being of modern times” (261) while
According to the online dictionary of Merriam Webster, vanity is described as: “The Quality of people who have too much pride in their own appearance, abilities, achievements (…) The Quality of being vain” and “Something (such a belief or a way of behaving) which shows that you have too much pride in yourself, your social status, etc.” In my opinion, these descriptions fit the corrupted Dorian Gray perfectly. Dorian was a pure, innocent boy, until he was corrupted by Lord Henry, which made him aware of the power of his own youth and beauty. But, before I focus on Dorian himself, I am going to focus on the society revolving him. In the novel we can see that society prizes beauty above everything else and it was founded on a love of surfaces.
For example, Tom Buchanan has a very powerful status, which attracts Myrtle because she strives to be in the upper class. Tom Buchanan takes advantage of the fact that George is an oblivious, poor man when he says “He’s so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive” (Fitzgerald 26). Because Tom views George at a lesser value than himself, it makes it easy
The unique characteristics that discern one from others are rejected instead of being celebrated. Equality, whose physical features and intellectual capacity are quite compelling, are consequently considered “evil” (Rand 18). He stands out amongst his brothers to the revulsion of the authoritarian figures, and the Council unscrupulously attempts to shrivel his eagerness by belittling him to the role of “Street Sweeper.” After being deemed a Street Sweeper, Equality tries to believe that he is “happy, and [he is] proud of [him]sel[f] and of the victory over [him]sel[f]” (Rand 26). A conflict, in turn, begins to rouse within Equality as a result of straining to convince himself that he is “happy” and “proud” of stifling his genuine feelings. A dispute between the morality of Equality and that of his government gradually unfurls within of
Document 1 states, “For all men in general this observation may be made: they are ungrateful, fickle, and deceitful, eager to avoid dangers, and avid for gain, and while you are useful to them they are all with you, but when it [danger] approaches they turn on you”. This statement describes how corrupt and cruel men are, and how these terrible actions are also greatly reflected upon royalty. During the 15th century, royalty believed they were all that mattered which when mixed in with Machiavelli caused a lot of controversy with the people during the Enlightenment. An example of this would be King James I in Document 2 who describes all the good things about the monarchy and how it is the best thing in the world. He calls the monarchy the, “supremest thing on earth,” trying to convince people of how great this form of government
A biographer described Hermann as a "huge, selfish, overbearing businessman" (Corngold). In "Letter to His Father" Franz Kafka described him as "a true Kafka in strength, health, appetite, loudness of voice, eloquence, self-satisfaction, worldly dominance, endurance, presence of mind, [and] knowledge of human nature". Hermann was working as a fancy goods and clothing retailer, he was a practical man who did not value literature or creativity. His authoritarian and bullying character caused Franz to always feel ostracized, like he was unworthy and a failure to his family. In my opinion, this is why he portrayed Gregor Samsa as an insect.
Another thing they also have in common is after they get power they do bad things with the power they have. Cassius is a senator in Shakespeare 's “Julius Caesar.” He is jealous of Julius Caesar because of all the power and love he gets, as shown in the quote "Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about." This quote basically states that cassius is tired of Julius being better and that he thinks they should not be beneath him. Cassius also seeks to get his own power. To achieve this he manipulates Brutus as shown by this quote, “Well, Brutus, thou art noble; yet, I see, Thy honourable metal may be wrought From that it is disposed: therefore it is meet That noble minds keep ever with their likes; For who so firm that cannot be seduced?” This quote shows that Cassius believes he has power over Brutus and that he will eventually be
A notable example of this is when NIck says: “They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” (Page 162). This statement reveals how he understands the major role money plays in corrupting an individual. Unlike the whole West Egg crowd, Nick does not let money, dishonesty, or materialistic items dominate his life. Instead, Nick portrays an honest person who resides in an average house; poles apart from the size of Gatsby and Daisy’s mansion-like homes In the end, even the greatest of the characters in The Great Gatsby are conformed by illusions; whether it roots from society, or the fact that they lived in an era of drunkenness and mischief.