Bertolt Brechts Mother Courage and Her Children and August Strindbergs Miss Julie Essay Example

Bertolt Brechts Mother Courage and Her Children and August Strindbergs Miss Julie Paper Ambition can define the intentions of a character in literature. In the texts Mother Courage and Her Children and Miss Julie, ambition is the force that can make or break the protagonists- Mother Courage and Jean respectively. While the degree of desire in both characters is similar, their ambitions steer off along two separate tangents. While Mother Courages ambition is to survive the war and use it to her advantage, in Miss Julie Jeans ambition is to rise up in class and take advantage of Miss Julie by using her as a catalyst. The failure of the two protagonists in achieving their goals can be attributed to their personalities, their social status, as well as certain incidents in the plays. In the play Mother Courage and her Children, the protagonist Mother Courage is seen to be the cause of her own downfall. She, a small time war profiteer1, has simple goals; to survive the war with her children and her travelling rummage business, and to make the best of what was given to her. These goals are emphasized by Mother Courage at many instances in the play, as is seen through the Sergeants reaction when he says, Could do with a swig yourself, ma. Thats life. Plenty worse things than being a soldier. Want to live off war, but keep yourself and family out of it, eh?2 Mother Courage shows a distinct love for her children and a keen eye for their safety. We will write a custom essay sample on Bertolt Brechts Mother Courage and Her Children and August Strindbergs Miss Julie specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Bertolt Brechts Mother Courage and Her Children and August Strindbergs Miss Julie specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Bertolt Brechts Mother Courage and Her Children and August Strindbergs Miss Julie specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Sergeant: I could use something else. Those boys are as healthy as young birch trees Mother Courage: Nowt doing, sergeant. Yours is no trade for my kids.3 This compassion was also focused towards her dumb4 daughter Kattrin as is shown through Mother Courages words- What happened? Someone assault you? Ill bandage it and in a week itll be all right. Worse than wild beasts, they are.5 However, this compassion can be seen as contradicted by its depth, as Mother Courage shows no more than a subtle acceptance of the hurt inflicted on Kattrin. There is no sense of anger towards those soldiers who hurt her, nor any desire for vengeance. Mother Courage has a short span of attention and often lacks attention entirely. This is evident as she is blind to the bitter truth voiced behind her- Sergeant (looking after them): Like the war to nourish you? Have to feed it something too.6 On the other hand, in Miss Julie, Jeans plight was different from Mother Courages. Jean as a valet expresses his desire as wanting to become part of the upper class, with wealth and nobility to his name through his words- I want to climb up, up to the top and look round plunder the birds nest up there where the gold eggs lie.7 Jean wants to have a title as is expressed when she says, Id be a count, and youd be a countess!8 This urge is due to his already sophisticated nature and his jealousy of his employer, Miss Julies father, the Count. August Strindberg, makes it clear that Jean is an ambitious slave who can live without honor9. This proves reason as to why Jean takes sexual advantage of Miss Julie. However, he acts dignified and respectful whilst talking to the Count. This respect is motivated by his aspiration to be the Count. This is evident from when Jean refers to the Count as his lordship10 and claims Ive [Hes] never met anyone I [he] respected as I [he] do [does] him.11 Jeans sexual act is to satisfy his sexual as well as social hunger. By taking advantage of the situation, he thinks he can run away with Miss Julie who will provide capital for his hotel venture as well as the means to become wealthy and well looked upon. However, he realizes that being an aristocrat is far from his desires. He realizes that what he was aspiring towards was not something worthier and more solid.12 Jean also eventually learns that Miss Julie cannot do anything for him- Jean: You seem I could make you into a countess, but you could never make me a Count.13 Jeans character is moulded by his ambition. He manages to convince Miss Julie to enter his room without arousing suspicion of foul play by saying, No. Into my room, then. We cant bother about conventions now. And you can trust me. I am your true, loyal and respectful-friend. Through his words, Jean shows his manipulative, deceptive and also his cunning nature. He finds no fault nor any guilt in lying to Miss Julie about his past dreams and desires of being with her- Jean: The oat-bin? Oh that was just talk14 On the other hand, Mother Courages character is also overcome by her ambition. It causes her to undermine the role of her children in her life, as well as accept her losses. She is extremely loyal to her children, but her loyalty often shifts in the case of partners and her side in the war as is depicted through her words Im joining our side this time.15 The two protagonists remain focused on achieving their goals throughout the play, indicating a steady sense of ambition and determination. This is suggestive of how their characteristics and personalities are well apt for their success. Their determination foreshadows a certain sense of this success, which is contrasted during the development of the play by their negative qualities that begin to surface. Another striking aspect shared by the duo is their unfazed nature even after the realization of having failed. After Miss Julies alleged suicide, or even prior to that, when Jean realizes that the upper class too can fall, he merely accepts the situation and carries on. Similarly, Mother Courage continues to tread forward even though, one by one, she loses her children. Neither character shows any signs of defeat or subsequent remorse at their situations. Jean does admit to his defeat shortly, but immediately goes on to attacking Miss Julie with great cunning, therefore bringing the focus away- Jean: I had no hope of winning you, of course- but you were a symbol to me of the hopelessness of my ever climbing out of the class in which I was born.16 During adverse conditions and situations, the two characters act swiftly, but not accurately. Jean entirely misinterprets his situation with Miss Julie and believes that by convincing her to move away to Switzerland with him, the entire sexual folly17 will be saved. His intentions were to use her to provide capital for a hotel business; but the tides turn when he discovers she has no money. Instead of watching Miss Julie suffer, he convinces her to take her own life as it is assumed in the text. Mother Courage faces many hardships throughout the play as compared to Jean who faces only one. She is first faced by the loss of her son Eilief, then the loss of her other son Swiss Cheese, and finally the hurt inflicted to her daughter Kattrin who subsequently dies. As seen when Eilief was taken away by the recruiting Sergeant, she simply accepts the situation, packs up her cart and continues her journey. This is shown in the dialogue between Mother Courage and her son Swiss Cheese- Mother Courage: Wheres Eilief? Swiss Cheese: Went off with the recruiter. Mother Courage (stands quite still, then): You simpleton Youll have to help your brother pull now, Kattrin.18 Mother Courage does not act as a mother is expected to; there is no distinctive outburst or backlash at any of these instances. She is a woman who simply moves along, emphasizing on the ongoing nature of the circle of life and her steady state of mind. Both Mother Courage and Jean require a second party in their ventures. Mother Courage requires a man as is seen by the diversity of the fathers of her children whereas Jean required Miss Julie- Jean: Oh, now and then a man has strength enough to hoist himself up in the world but how often does it happen?19 It shows the flaws in their independent attitudes; though they carry a large ego and a flattering show of independency. Both the characters turn towards second parties to provide a platform for them to stand upon- in Jeans case, to move upwards from, in Mother Courages case- to live stably. The two protagonists are caught in a vicious circle; one cannot leave the vicinities of his social order, while the other could not save her family, nor make a decent living from her sales during the war. Their seemingly selfish intentions attempted to be covered by noble deeds, shine through, thus leading to their downfall. Wealth and reputation comes above the death of a young woman, and similarly, wealth again comes in the view of three childrens deaths. Both characters share a distinct and compassionate desire to succeed, but are pulled away from this success by a certain negative qualities which they possess.

Informative Essay Sample on the Soviet Union

Informative Essay Sample on the Soviet Union The Soviet Union has always been an Imperialist country, in it constant quest for supreme power. The Cold War period steadily increased this quest to find a balance of power technologically, economically, militarily and territorially. Cuba was once annexed by the United States, after the American-Spanish war of 1898 and American business flourished under the (1933) Batista government (Harris, 2002). After great tension, Batista claimed dictatorship which Fidel Castro challenged legally, leading a group of rebels led by Castro to overthrow the corrupt Batista government. Cuba was then open to become a super-client of the Soviet Union. It can be assumed that through the aide of Soviet Imperialism, Cuba vastly improved its political might. Therefore without Soviet backing, Cuba would not have the material strength to pursue its own imperialistic tendencies. The reasons for this include the Soviet Unions great programs of military and economic aide for Cuba, eventually leading to the political dependence of Castro to the Soviet Union. Cubas revolutionary spirit to liberate Latin America is also based on Soviet military supplies sent to Cuba. These assumptions will be discussed in detail further on. The Soviet Union, like many powerful countries uses imperialism. Imperialism is a countries quest to spread its influence onto another country for the purpose of economics, religion or power. The Soviet Union, being a power bloc needed to acquire as much support as possible, to remain a superpower (Hoffman, 1986). Since the Cold War was taken very seriously by the Soviet Union, the location of the country it is to imperialist is also important. Location of an imperialised country can include building boarder security, and strategic defence as well as economic resources (Hoffman, 1986). After the Cuban revolution of January 1st 1959 (Harris, 2002) a pro-socialist island in the Caribbean Basin which opposed American involvement was sitting on [Americas] doorstep (Hoffman, 1986). This island was the perfect strategic territory for the Soviet Union, because it was so close Latin America (Rubinstein, 1988). However, seeing that Cuba was pro-socialist was so close to the United States, Soviet military build up on the island was essential for its protection. One of the many threats Cuba faced from the United States, started with Cuban destruction of US-owned land on Cuban soil. The United States responded to this action by banning Cuban trade, including the importing of sugar, and the exporting of medical aide (Hoffman, 1986; Harris, 2002; CNN; 1996). US threats continued through the build up of Cuban rebels, trained by the CIA in Florida. Because the Cuban people desperately needed to export sugar, and import oil for production, Cuba developed a trading agreement with the Soviet Union (Hoffman, 1986). The beginning of this trading partnership, slowly laid down the foundation of Cuban dependency on the Soviet Union. This tie with the Soviet Union has continually scarred the Cuban foreign policy with non-socialist states, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union (Harris, 2002). The Soviet Union also saw the threat the United States placed on Cuba, and aided it with massive military supplies and military personnel (Rubinstein 1988). The United States did not like the Soviet-Cuban relationship which was constantly growing; they especially did not like Fidel Castro, Cubas leader. In an attempt to overthrow the Castro government, the CIA trained many pro-Batista Cubans to try and inspire the Cuban people to revolt. They invaded in an area called The Bay of Pigs. Their attempt failed horribly, the United States miscalculated the mass support for Castro, and the Soviet Union by the Cuban people (Hoffman, 1986; Harris 2002). This failed attempt embarrassed the United States, and was the first of many plots against the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro. Tensions between Cuba, the Soviet Union and the United States were once again reflected within the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 (CNN, 1996). Soviet militarization of Cuba had been steadily increasing after the Bay of Pigs incident, so much so that the Soviet Union started to set up nuclear missile silos within Cuba (Hoffman, 1986). The United States, afraid of nuclear conflict demanded Khrushchev immediately remove the existing missiles, and turn back further Soviet supply ships, carrying missiles (Rubenstein, 1988). The conflict was resolved as stated by Harris, 2002 the missiles are removed on condition that the US removes missiles stationed in Turkey and cease its attempts to overthrow Castro. This resolution greatly made Cuba an untouchable state from US intervention, as it was completely under Soviet protection. Within Latin America, the Cuban revolutionary spirit for social reform has remained unmatched, even by the Soviet Union which condemns Castros revolutionary procedure (Hoffman, 1986). The Soviet Union however has led many unsuccessful revolutionary attempts within Latin America; on the other hand CubaÐ ¢s guerrilla fighters have aided revolutionaries in Guatemala, Guinea, Angola, Mozambique, South Africa and the Republic of Congo (Harris, 2002). Much of the aide for these revolutionaries is in the form of Soviet weapons (Hoffman, 1986). The growing strength of the Soviet Union and Cuba has led to an unmatched military force (Hoffman, 1986). The Soviet Union is greatly aided through the use of Cuban military advisors and personnel throughout the globe, in 1986 more than 70,000 troops and advisors were overseas in 23 different countries (Hoffman, 1986). The Soviet Union and Cuba quelled the opposition within Angola (an African country fighting for freedom against apartheid). The massive military build-up of Cuba from the period of 1959-1986 created Cuba to become the greatest military power within Latin America (Hoffman, 1986). Because the Soviet Union has become Cubas main economic, political and military supplier, Cuba could not help but become completely dependant. Cubas dependence on the Soviet Union can be clearly seen through the militarization of Cubas society (Hoffman, 1986). Hoffman states that innovative approach to development has waned [Cuba] has become more and more dependant on Soviet economic assistance over 3 billion dollars per year. Cubas dependence is also reflected by Cubas response to the Soviet Union cutting back more than $10 million a-day subsidy (Manegold, 1989). To conclude, the Soviet Union successfully imperialised the island of Cuba, creating it to become completely dependant in all factors. Through the use of military intervention, the Soviet Union has ensured that Fidel Castro would remain in power, preventing further US led attacks against the Cuban leader. Soviet aide to Cuba through the use of military armaments let Cuba revolutionise Latin America by supporting guerrilla fighters and allowing social reform. In other words, if it was not for the Soviet Union, Cuba as a revolutionist country would have been overthrown by US led attempts against the island, and leader Fidel Castro. In return, the Soviet Union had grown to an unmatched military superpower thanks to the support of Cuban advisors and troops. You can also order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on the Soviet Union topics from our professional custom essay writing company which provides students with high-quality custom written papers.