Character

Oxford Dictionary of English defines the adjective servile as the quality of “having or showing an excessive willingness to please others”. This is a trait of character that is often desired in a slave. But is it a required trait for a good slave or are there other ways to make them bide your words? In the stage play “The Tempest” (1611) written by William Shakespeare we are presented with the character, Caliban. Caliban is a native ofa remote island, the power of which 12 years earlier was usurped by the magician Prospero.

Prospero made Caliban his subordinate and additionally tried to civilize him. Caliban, however, violated Prosperds trust as he tried to commit rape upon Prosperds daughter, Miranda. Prospero and Miranda believe that they did Caliban a favour by teaching him their language and “civilizing” him. This belief is central in the discussion of imperialism and can be easily transferred to the English Empire even though it took place around 200-300 years after the play was written. Caliban represents the opinions of the colonized people.

His island has been taken over by a foreign power nd he feels impotent and in contrary to Prospero and Miranda he says that it hasn’t done him any good to learn their language: miou taught me language; and my profit ont Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you For learning me your language”. It seems as if Caliban has developed this hatred towards Miranda and Prospero over the last 12 years. As they have taught him more, he has become more aware that they were treating him badly. “When thou camest first, Thou strokdst me and mad’st much of me and then I loved thee”.

Caliban believes in the upernatural. He uses curses and mentions the god of his mother as a ruling power that is able to have influence. It is, however, not an almighty god, as Caliban mentions that Prospero is stronger that Setebos, the god. Before Prospero and Miranda started teaching him their language his knowledge was limited. He says that they taught him “how to name the bigger light, and how the less”. Hence, he has not had a word to describe the sun and the moon before Prospero and Miranda came. The argument between the three of them is generally kept in a very cruel tone, which emphasizes

A Million Little Pieces Characters James. The main character, miserable, self-centered, drug addict Mom.)James’ mother, she’s always upset, sad, she cries a lot, Dad. Is in charge of most family affairs, happy, concerned Nurse. she wears all white, smiles a lot administers the shots Men in White the men in white take him away. Doctor Baker kind eyes, rehab doctor, helpful James’s love interest Lilly black hair and blue eyes, a drug addict. Lilly’s Dad. She Left Lilly’s family when she was four of Lilly’s Mom. Heroin addict, prostitute Lilly’s Grandmother pays for Lilly’s, cared for Lilly as a child, dies while Lilly is still in rehab Roy. James’ roommate follows the rules Larry 35 southern accent, short, alcoholic Warren 50, tall, thin, well dressed John nervous and hypersexual ninja, addicted to coke.

Ken. Unit recovery counselor, nice at first but ends up being awful Hank the driver who works at the rehab, James friend, messy looking old man with white hair and blue eyes Dentist Stevens does James surgery, he doesn’t use pain killers Amy. James’ sober friend Lucinda. James sober friend Courtney. James sober friend Lincoln. Unit supervisor, he hates James Joanne. Staff psychologist, secretly dating hank Ed short man, nosey, blue-collar worker Ted tall man, deep southern accent Bill the founder of AA. Michelle one of the only people who come to visit James in rehab, James’ sober friend Bald Man Alcoholic, has a wife and two kids, cries during a group meeting and gets made fun of Mickey the gangster that Leo looked up to as a child, adopted him when he was a teenager, married to Geena Geena Mickey’s wife and Leonard’s adopted mother, very sweet Eric  Roy’s friend who tells the counselors that Roy picked the fight Julie James friend who comes to see him in rehab, very forgiving Kirk James friend, who comes to visit him in rehab, Matt Featherweight Champion, addicted to crack.

Daniel. Counselor at the family rehab center Sophie. Addict, alcoholic, married to Tony, is in the same rehab as James Michael. James’ friend, one of the guys who go with James to the bar for his first time when he’s out of rehab Kevin. James’ friend, one of the guys who go with James to the bar for his first time when he’s out of rehab Bob James friend, one of the guys who go with James to the bar for his first time when he’s out of rehab.

Chapter One- (112 pages)

James is a drug addict who is angry, sad, and on the verge of death. In order to stay alive, he must learn to live a sober life so his family sends him to rehab. In the rehab facility, he finds a group of patients he fits in with and gets in a fight with Roy.

Chapter Two- (113pages)

James continues to rehab and is doing well. He starts to make friends with Leonard and they help each other through rehab. James also begins to meet secretly with a girl named Lilly even though it’s against regulations. James has an older brother that starts coming to see him on visiting days.

Chapter Three- (113 pages)

James begins family counseling and is having a lot of trouble dealing with his parents. Meanwhile, Lily’s grandmother gets sick so Lilly leaves the rehab facility and relapses. Despite the consequences James goes after her, he does not relapse and they return together.

Chapter Four- (69 pages)

Aside from having nightmares about using drugs, James is doing well in rehab and Lilly is recovering. James is released from rehab, shortly after Lilly’s grandmother dies and Lilly commits suicide. James is doing well and has yet to relapse.

Miss Emily Grierson, the protagonist of William Faulkner’s “,” is an unusual character in the sense that she is depressed, withdrawn, and ill. Isolated in her father’s decaying mansion in Jefferson, Mississippi, unwilling to accept the passing of time, Miss Emily shows several symptoms of a mental illness. Throughout the story, Miss Emily is living all alone (except for her servant, Tobe) in her deceased father’s decaying mansion. Miss Emily’s story is told by the townspeople, who are very interested in the unusual traits that Miss Emily shows.

Miss Emily refuses to change with the town and the times, and stubbornly clings to the past. She is a lonely woman because her father scared all of her suitors away when she was younger. All alone and mentally ill, Miss Emily shows that she is mentally sick through her sad, stubborn efforts to cling to the past. Miss Emily shows her first signs of being unable to change with the times at the beginning of the story, when she refuses to pay her taxes and give her house a mailbox. The members of the Board of Alderman visit Miss Emily to collect her taxes, she is very offended at the action.

Miss Emily insists that she is not required to pay taxes in the city of Jefferson and that the officials can speak with Colonel Sartoris about the issue. However, at the time of this conversation, Colonel Sartoris has been dead for nearly a decade. Miss Emily struggles with moving forward with time because she does not want to change. She does not want to face the fact that she is all alone and unhappy. Miss Emily is unable to cope with the loss of her father, who was the only man in her life, and this is the main cause of Miss Emily’s mental illness.

The story then jumps forward about thirty years, and the townspeople recall another incident of Miss Emily being visited by town officials. At this time, Miss Emily’s father, Mr. Grierson, has just passed away, and there is an awful smell coming from the mansion. Judge Stevens, the town mayor who pity’s Miss Emily decides to solve the problem by sprinkling lime in her yard, rather than to confront her. At this point in the story, the townspeople feel sorry for Miss Emily because she is thirty years old, and still single because her father never allowed her to date or marry.

The next day, the women from Jefferson pay a visit to Miss Emily to offer condolences from her father’s death. Miss Emily refuses to admit that her father is dead, and holds on to the body for three days before finally turning it over for the funeral. The smell coming from the Grierson home, most likely from her father’s decaying corpse, shows Miss Emily’s inability to let go of the past and move on with the future. Later in the story, Miss Emily becomes very friendly with a construction foreman, Homer Barron.

The townspeople assume that Miss Emily is spending time with this gentleman because she was never allowed to date when her father was alive, and the pity her because Homer is below her social class. As Miss Emily and Homer Barron continue to see each other, Miss Emily goes to the local drugstore to purchase arsenic, with no explanation. The next day, the package is delivered to her home with a note saying the arsenic is for rats. After Miss Emily purchases a sliver toilet set that is monogrammed with Homer’s initials, the townspeople assume that Miss Emily and Homer have gotten married.

Soon after, Homer comes home one day, and never leaves again. Miss Emily’s appearance soon decays along with her home. No one from the town ever saw Miss Emily or Homer again, until her death at age seventy-four. When the townspeople come into the Grierson home for the funeral service, the townspeople find a room that appears to have been untouched for a number of years. Inside the room, the townspeople see Homer Barron’s dead corpse laid in the bed with an iron gray hair on the pillow next to him from Miss Emily’s latter part of life.

Miss Emily was unable to admit to the loss of both her father and Homer Barron because she had a hard hold on the past, and refused to let go of it until she finally died. Miss Emily was a sad character, because she was depressed, mentally ill, and unable to grasp the passage of time. It is seen by the townspeople through her actions that she was very sad and lonely, and willing to go to great lengths to keep from . Faulkner showed the struggle that Miss Emily had with this through her lack of upkeep to her home, her inability to change with the town of Jefferson, and her refusal to let go of her deceased loved ones.

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the main character is to blame for the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Abigail is a mean and vindictive person who always wants her way, no matter who she hurts. Throughout the play her accusations and lies cause many people pain and suffering, but she seemed to never care for any of them except John Proctor, whom she had an affair with seven months prior to the beginning of the play. The lies begin to unravel as the reader dives into the book. John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth used to employ Abigail, until Elizabeth found out about the affair between her husband and Abigail.

Immediately she threw Abigail out. Although John told Abigail that the affair was over and he would never touch her again, she tried desperately to restore their romance. “Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again. ” She claimed that she loved John and that he loved her. Before the play began, Abigail tried to kill Elizabeth with a curse. She thought that if Elizabeth were dead John would marry her. Further into the play, Abigail accused Elizabeth of witchcraft. She saw Marry Warren making a poppet.

Mary put a needle into the doll, and Abigail used that for her accusation. She stabbed herself with a needle and claimed that Elizabeth’s soul had done it. Although Abigail claimed she loved John, she may have just loved the care and attention he gave her. John cared for her like no one else had. In a way he could be described as somewhat of a father figure to her. When Abigail was just a child, she witnessed her parents’ brutal murders. “I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine… ” After her traumatic experience, she was raised by her uncle, Reverend Parris.

In the play it was said, “He was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with them”. Parris regarded children as young adults who should be “thankful for being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly lowered, arms at the sides, and mouths shut until bidden to speak”. Therefore, it is obvious to see that Abigail grew up without any love or nurturing. She also was without any real mother or father figures. Abigail grew up to be deceitful and treacherous, lacking trustworthiness. On account of the fear for her life, Abigail began to accuse the people closest to her of witchcraft. After she and the other irls were discovered in the forest dancing, she knew that they would be whipped and possibly hung. Abigail said that they were bewitched, and began to name those who were supposedly working with the devil. Nothing would stop her from protecting herself. When John forced Mary Warren to tell the truth about the lies that she, Abigail, and the rest of the girls were telling, Abigail proclaimed her innocence and then began to accuse Mary of being a witch. She claimed she saw Mary making a poppet of her, and sticking Abigail with a needle. “But God made my face; you cannot want to tear my face. Envy is a deadly sin, Mary. Abigail feared for her life so much that she protected it even when John was accused of witchcraft and was sentenced to be hung. Although she loved him, she would not sacrifice herself for him. In conclusion, the cause of the witch trials was Abigail Williams. Considering the facts about her love for John, traumatic childhood, and fear for her life it is easy to see that it was Abigail’s fault that the tragedy occurred. As the horrible person that she was, Abigail fought to get her way no matter who she hurt, and unfortunately in the end she did. Her web of lies entangled everyone she ever cared for.

What does one think of when the word “hero” comes up? The definition of a hero is afflicted with the main character in a book, play, or movie, which is typically identified with good qualities. But what if that is not the case? What if our hero is a cowardly man with a varicose ulcer on his right ankle and is physically unfit?

Meet Winston Smith, the main character in George Orwell’s book, “1984”. Winston is a member of the Outer Party, and is under the ruling of the Inner Party, living under a mask that he is a loyal follower of Big Brother as those who do not follow Big Brother are vaporized and are never to be seen again. No one has the courage to rebel as even thinking various thoughts can result an individual to be vaporized, with everyone being watched at every moment of the day. Winston feels frustrated through the Party’s laws as he cannot even think what he wants and soon leads to him rebelling.

Winston’s journey shows that he fails to rebel against the party in the end. However, Winston is meant to be a hero as a hero is justified through his actions, rather than by his ending; Winston shows characteristics of a hero through rebellious attitude to do what is right, his bravery to rebel against Oceanian law, and the perseverance to keep rebelling until the very end, as emphasized in the book “1984”. In the very beginning of the book, Winston already shows characteristics of a hero as he commits acts of rebellion against the unfair laws of the Party. He frequents the Prole district and shops in ordinary shops; buying many items from the past. In Oceania, the act of buying such items is against the law as “Party members were supposed not to go into ordinary shops” (Orwell 6).

Winston slips through the district and buys a diary as “At the time he was not conscious of wanting it for any particular purpose. Orwell 6)The fact that Winston buys items from the Prole district frequently shows how he enjoys doing these rebellious acts since it allows him to go back to the past. Winston shows his rebellious attitude again as he repeatedly writes “in large neat capitals DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (Orwell 18).

Winston cannot publicly revolt since Oceania is filled with telescreens to spying neighbours. There are even events such as the Two-Minutes Hate where citizens conform to propaganda. Winston rebels by his eyes as “there was a space of a couple of seconds during which the expression of his eyes might conceivably have betrayed him.” (Orwell 16) Winston is a rebellious man who revolts for freedom in a totalitarian society, showing how he justifies his actions as a hero.

After Winston staggers through thinking about whenever he should rebel further, he meets Julia soon afterwards and decides to rebel together. He no longer wonders if he should rebel, he rebels because it is the right thing to do to gain freedom. He officially starts his rebellion with Julia by making love to her “even if it were only once in his whole life. The sexual act, successfully performed, was rebellion. “(Orwell 68). This shows how Winston is brave by even connecting with Julia, as it can end in both of them being vaporized in the end.

Winston continues his act of bravery by pursuing a place where he and Julia can continue rebelling in private; he rents out the room above the antique shop. Here, the both of them commit more crimes that could entitle them to death. For example, Winston stops “to talk with Mr. Charrington for a few minutes on his way upstairs.”(Orwell 150) in a society in where trust is rare. Winston also comes to this room to talk about more acts of rebellion with Julia, and of course, they also continue to make love despite it being against the law.

Winston attains the title of a true rebel when he searches for O’Brien to join the Brotherhood, stating that “We believe that there is some kind of conspiracy, some kind of secret organization working against the Party, and that you are involved in it. We want to join it and work for it.”(Orwell 170) At this point, Winston realizes that there is no turning back as O’Brien “began asking his questions if he is to fully commit to being a part of the Brotherhood and Winston agrees, showing great bravery for committing thought crime and other acts of rebellion. His bravery for committing these courageous acts shows Winston in a heroic light, as he fights the Party with heavier crimes.

Winston is dead set to persevere until the very end. His ultimate goal is “to die hating them”- with “them” referring to the Party and Big Brother. Winston does not deny that he would be caught; “The first step had been a secret, involuntary thought, the second had been the opening of the diary. He had moved from thoughts to words, and now from words to actions. The last step was something that would happen in the Ministry of Love.” (Orwell 159) However, he continues to rebel by enduring both physical and mental torture; with “questioners now were not ruffians in black uniforms but Party intellectuals, little rotund men with quick movements and flashing spectacles” (Orwell 241).

Soon, he faces O’Brien torturing him through electric shocks so Winston can be converted into loving Big Brother, where Winston still doubts the certainty of the Party. O’Brien brings up that “The earth is as old as we are, no older. How could it be older? Nothing exists except through human consciousness.” (Orwell 265) Winston retorts back, saying “But the rocks are full of the bones of extinct animals – mammoths and mastodons and enormous reptiles which lived here long before man was ever heard of.” (Orwell 265) Winston “obeyed the Party, but he still hated the Party.” enough to say “I hate him” (Orwell 282), posing a problem to the Party as one should accept the Party or Big Brother entirely.

Being broken, Winston “knew that he was in the wrong, but he preferred to be in the wrong.” showing that he still has the drive to continue to fight for freedom, as he still wanted it badly. This causes him to go to Room 101- and he betrays Julia due to his fear of rats. It is easy to see that everyone ends up betraying what they love most, as the purpose of the torture is to replace anything you love most with Big Brother.

His perseverance shows how Winston- despite failing- is a heroic character as he attempted to hate Big Brother until the very end. The cautionary tale of “1984” emphasizes Winston as a hero through his dedication to rebel as far as he could, his courage for taking action in rebellion, and showing the right attitude for what is right; making him an excellent protagonist for a hero is defined through what one does, and not by what happens to the hero.

Albeit the tragic ending, does Winston’s failure to reach his goal denounce him from a hero status? In the end, the credibility of Winston being a hero is ultimately up to the reader as he can only be a hero if he fits the definition of a hero. The question is, what is a hero?