“The Beggar’s Opera” by John Gay is an opera that tells the story of Peachum, who runs a gang that commits criminal activities. Peachum’s daughter, Polly, falls in love with Captain Macheath, who is a highwayman. Polly’s parents are not happy with the marriage as they do not want her money to go to Macheath and they make plans to kill him by having him hanged for his criminal activities as a highwayman. In “The Beggar’s Opera” betrayal and using people occur in order for a character to gain something for themselves. Peachum desires money for himself from his gang and he betrays them when they are no longer of use. Friendships in the play are not portrayed as being good ones as friendships are for self-gain such as to get information. Lastly, …show more content…
Macheath is in trouble because he has married Polly. Her parents plan to have his life because they disagree with the marriage. Macheath is talking to some of the members of the gang and tells how useful their friend, Peachum, is to them. Macheath states, “Business cannot go on without him. He is a man who knows the world, and is a necessary agent to us…for the moment we break loose from him, our gang is ruined (547. 2.2. 29-35).” Macheath is looking at a gang member as being useful to him and if they lose him the gang would be lost. Therefore, Gay portrays self-gain even in …show more content…
In marriage, being a widow is the hope to be gained by a woman according to Peachum. He states, “Where is the woman who would scruple to be a wife, if she had it in her power to be a widow whenever she pleased (544.1.10.26-28)?” The play shows that marriage is not a thing of value because what a wife has to gain comes through being a widow. Polly’s parents are talk about how it would grieve them to hang Macheath. Mrs. Peach says, “our own lives are in danger (545.1.11.13-14).” Peachum agrees with his wife that for their own gain and to save their lives they should have Macheath killed. Polly has gained a watch and marks of Macheath’s favor by allowing him some liberties. Macheath is telling Lucy that Polly is not his wife for self-gain. He tries to make it look like Polly is only joking. I believe he is doing this to make him look good to the lady. Therefore, he could be gaining the affection of another woman by making Polly look bad. Macheath mentions that Polly’s, “vanity makes her think he’s her own forever and ever (552.2.9.69-70).” Polly seems to think her vanity helps her gain a man according to
Adeline Mowbray (hereafter referred to as ‘AM’ in in-text citations) by Amelia Opie, protagonist Adeline is moulded to a certain extent on Mary Wollstonecraft, was originally published in 1804, six years after the publication of Richard Polwhele’s polemical poem “The Unsex'd Females” (1798). This poem intended to undermine radical female writers, particularly Mary Wollstonecraft, by attacking her personal life. Such works were emblematic of the “discursive battle”, according to April London in ‘History, romance, and the anti-Jacobin’s “common sense”’, that was occurring between the conservatives and the radicals in the 1790s which could be attributed to a mutual concern regarding control over the reading practices of a politically charged audience
A theme that has permeated throughout time, and even to contemporary epics is friendship. Friendship plays a powerful role throughout the original Star Wars trilogy and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series. Both of these tales involved friendships that had important implications in the story and reflected the cultures of the times in which these films were made. Whether it was a pre-existing friendship, one between their mentors, or just amongst the people the main character met in their journey, friends always played an important role. Starting off, the more interesting friendships to examine are the narratively pre-established relationships.
She begins to see the faults in Nanny’s view of marriage, as a marriage without independence was not a better life than being alone, where she could do as she pleased. Through her loss of voice, she begins to realize not only the importance of having her own self-values in a relationship but the power of having economic and social security to gain control. She discovers that “marriage did not make love”, in her realization, as power becomes an often dynamic in marriage (38). Out of desperation to regain the independence she lost, she marries for opportunity, symbolizing that “Janie’s first dream was dead” (30). Now love is not what she searches for, but instead the prospect of
Greedy Iago Friends come in various ways,some are meant to teach lessons, others are there for life, and the rest want to see your downfall. Iago from the play, “Othello,” by William Shakespeare, betrays the bond of Othello’s friendship, poisoning Othello’s life and everyone else they encounter. And all for what? Status, Job Position, Pleasure? Iago, consumed by revenge and jealousy, inflicts evil upon his fellow neighbors.
As the characters are compassionate to others, despite their disconnection
A friend may be a foe and a foe may be a friend. First off, the author, Marie Lu, uses plot twists to develop the theme of how friends may be foes and foes may be friends. One way Marie showed this is, using Taylor, a large antagonist in the book, as a lie. She wasn’t who she seemed. Jax, a character from the book, states, “You think Taylor works for Zero, don’t you?”
Children most often like to make their parents proud. Whether it is pursuing the career of their childhood dreams, or by simply making an “A” on a test. Examples like such occasionally lead to high expectations that the child may not be able to meet. Sometimes those expectations contradict the dreams of their own, leading up to the most crucial question. To please the parents or to please oneself?
In marriage, a man should possess certain qualities in order to be a good husband. In a man’s marriage, he must provide both financial, and personal support. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, characters Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake all have some of these qualities in their marriages. Therefore, Janie’s first husband Logan does not provide support for her and has very poor qualities in their marriage. He requires Janie to do unnecessary work on his farm and is not a supportive husband.
Overall, their marriage is the most important thing to them because it reassures their position in the “old money” aristocracy, and provides them with security in terms of social stability. For the most part, despite being is a marriage full of infidelities and misery, Daisy is unwilling to leave this lavish lifestyle for a shot at
All of the main characters fight for friendship even if they do so in different ways and for different reasons. All of them feel in need of someone to talk to if it is about science, about what horrible things one has done or about being different and alone. Another feature is the loss of friendship in all cases. Victor loses his friends to death, and so does Walton while the creature never really “fulfilled his dream of being anyone’s true friend” (Jeray 69). This way the novel not only shows the importance of friendship and having companions but also the possible consequences of either being rejected by everyone or of losing beloved people partly even due to own
“Othello” written by William Shakespeare revolves around this protagonist who is depicted as strong and powerful. To everyone he is known as Othello or the Moor. Throughout the play, Shakespeare portrays numerous counts of jealousy and manipulation around many of the characters. It is mainly illustrated through Iago, the antagonist of the play, who manipulates other to their downfall. Iago who is known for always being true and honest towards others has easily earned the trust of everyone around him, thus giving himself an advantage on his schemes.
People may seem to be someone that you may want to be friends with, but they may actually be your worst enemy. Over time people may have behavioral change to their personalities after a while, so you have to make sure the people you think are your friends aren't taking advantage of you. People even might try to trick you on doing something only to benefit them, not thinking of being nice to you. Hester was a sinner and everyone sees her as a bad person due to her committing adultery.
Friendship; a relationship between two people where there is a state of mutual trust and love. In the movie Holes, the director Andrew Davis teaches us about friendship and how strong friendship can be. The movie shows that friends will come and go but the good ones are meant to stay. There are many different examples of friendships in Holes that show us that friends support each other in the good times and the bad.
Both Mr. Peachum and Macheath show what are usually bad character traits and archetypes. While Polly in my eyes portrays almost a damsel in destress/ lovesick naive girl archetype. However, what makes the Beggars opera, unique is how the story
That is one of the ways that friendship is depicted in this