Tragically Inane: The Cherry Orchard And Six Characters Essay -- essay

The deconstruction of the conventions of the theatre in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard predicts the more radical obliteration presented later by Pirandello in Six Characters in Search of an Author. The seed of this attack on convention by Chekhov are the inherent flaws of all the characters in The Cherry Orchard. The lack of any character with which to identify or understand creates a portrait much closer to reality than the staged drama of Ibsen or other playwrights who came before. In recognizing the intrinsic flaws of its characters, we can see how Chekhov shows us that reality is subjective, reality is not simple, linear, or clean, and that the real benefit of theater is to show this inane, subjective reality.There are essentially three flaws that permeate over the characters of The Cherry Orchard. The obvious first flaw is nostalgia. Madame Ranevsky is obviously the main character in this group, as she is really in charge of her family, and her inability to move on with the present is so striking in comparison with what the audience so desperately wants her to do. To her, everything is in the past - even the present. She can't get past the days of her childhood or the disasters six years previous. Even when she is forced to face reality - that the orchard has been sold - it seems like an event in the past. It has been inevitable from the beginning, and so even as it happens, the events are old news. A wonderful example of Madame Ranevsky's nostalgic focus appears as her last substantive line in the play: "One last look... Our dear mother used to walk up and down this room." Madame Ranevsky sees the past, present, and future as the past only.Gayef, Simon-Pitschik, and Firs are the other characters that complete this group fixated on the past. Their versions of the past differ slightly, but that is almost all of the difference between their individual versions of the flaw. Essentially, Gayef is a benign, ineffectual man, and so his past is consistent with that. Firs and Pitschik both have an aggravated sense of the beauty of the past. Firs sees being a peasant as a wholly beneficial experience - at least in the past. Pitschik seems generally confused about what is happening and what has happened, while still being obsessively nostalgic.The reason why this nostalgia can be compared to a tragic flaw is that it causes the characters it a... ...ant these inanities of life are to Chekhov's play is the action of the play. Nothing that happens on stage changes the situation of the characters in it one bit. None of the really important events occur on stage. The selling of the orchard, the chopping down of the orchard; all of it happens offstage. This tells the audience that the important part of The Cherry Orchard (and by extension, plays in general) is the human interaction. The plot means nothing in comparison with the specific traits and flaws given each character. That is what truly makes the play great. It is reality; everyone talks, no one listens, and no one changes.Chekhov has predated Pirandello in this technique that rips down conventions of the theatre. He paves the way for Pirandello to present Six Characters in Search of an Author. The father merely expresses what the audience knows, at least subconsciously, while watching The Cherry Orchard. The action the audience is forced to recognize in Six Characters is subtly broached in Chekhov's play. It is discussion, and it is real discussion. People are different, and people are unpredictable. Reality is tragically inane, and that is what the theatre shows best. Tragically Inane: The Cherry Orchard And Six Characters Essay -- essay The deconstruction of the conventions of the theatre in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard predicts the more radical obliteration presented later by Pirandello in Six Characters in Search of an Author. The seed of this attack on convention by Chekhov are the inherent flaws of all the characters in The Cherry Orchard. The lack of any character with which to identify or understand creates a portrait much closer to reality than the staged drama of Ibsen or other playwrights who came before. In recognizing the intrinsic flaws of its characters, we can see how Chekhov shows us that reality is subjective, reality is not simple, linear, or clean, and that the real benefit of theater is to show this inane, subjective reality.There are essentially three flaws that permeate over the characters of The Cherry Orchard. The obvious first flaw is nostalgia. Madame Ranevsky is obviously the main character in this group, as she is really in charge of her family, and her inability to move on with the present is so striking in comparison with what the audience so desperately wants her to do. To her, everything is in the past - even the present. She can't get past the days of her childhood or the disasters six years previous. Even when she is forced to face reality - that the orchard has been sold - it seems like an event in the past. It has been inevitable from the beginning, and so even as it happens, the events are old news. A wonderful example of Madame Ranevsky's nostalgic focus appears as her last substantive line in the play: "One last look... Our dear mother used to walk up and down this room." Madame Ranevsky sees the past, present, and future as the past only.Gayef, Simon-Pitschik, and Firs are the other characters that complete this group fixated on the past. Their versions of the past differ slightly, but that is almost all of the difference between their individual versions of the flaw. Essentially, Gayef is a benign, ineffectual man, and so his past is consistent with that. Firs and Pitschik both have an aggravated sense of the beauty of the past. Firs sees being a peasant as a wholly beneficial experience - at least in the past. Pitschik seems generally confused about what is happening and what has happened, while still being obsessively nostalgic.The reason why this nostalgia can be compared to a tragic flaw is that it causes the characters it a... ...ant these inanities of life are to Chekhov's play is the action of the play. Nothing that happens on stage changes the situation of the characters in it one bit. None of the really important events occur on stage. The selling of the orchard, the chopping down of the orchard; all of it happens offstage. This tells the audience that the important part of The Cherry Orchard (and by extension, plays in general) is the human interaction. The plot means nothing in comparison with the specific traits and flaws given each character. That is what truly makes the play great. It is reality; everyone talks, no one listens, and no one changes.Chekhov has predated Pirandello in this technique that rips down conventions of the theatre. He paves the way for Pirandello to present Six Characters in Search of an Author. The father merely expresses what the audience knows, at least subconsciously, while watching The Cherry Orchard. The action the audience is forced to recognize in Six Characters is subtly broached in Chekhov's play. It is discussion, and it is real discussion. People are different, and people are unpredictable. Reality is tragically inane, and that is what the theatre shows best.

Sociological Deviance

Deviance: Then and Now Tischler defines deviant behavior as the behavior that â€Å"fails to conform to the rules or norms of the group in question† (Tischler 139). What is considered acceptable or deviant behavior perpetually changes as the morals and norms of society change in accordance with the time and culture. When a certain behavior is condemned by the majority of society it can be considered deviant. However, labeling a certain behavior as deviant is difficult because not everyone will agree on what this behavior is. A behavior that is not accepted by one group of people may be considered commonplace to another group of people.Something that was once rejected by society can eventually grow to be accepted by society and even considered normal over time. This can happen through certain society's adaptation to behaviors and as a different perspective is developed amongst the society or group of people in regards to those behaviors. An example of a behavior that was once c onsidered deviant but is now acceptable or tolerant is interracial relationships. Interracial marriage/relationship were once a very controversial concept, but today, interracial marriage issues have become a thing past but and it is much more widely accepted.Interracial relationships used to be frowned upon by most societies mainly because certain societies or different races have a standard that they abide by as far as marriage, and this standard has to be met in order to conform to that culture's or time period's rules and norms. The whole idea of marriage also engages tradition in the sense that if something has historically or traditionally been done a certain way, it should always be done that way. Many people do not like the idea of change. Not until 1967 did the Supreme Court decide that state bans on interracial marriage violated the 14th amendment.From this point on, interracial marriage was legal throughout the United States, yet it was still not widely accepted by the ma jority of American society. The reason that interracial marriage went against cultural norms was because of the hierarchy of races that was in place. It was understood by the culture that a white person was at the top of the hierarchy and a black person was at the bottom. For two people on opposite sides of the hierarchy to unite in such an intimate way went against all rules of culture.People were only just getting used to the idea of having an integrated community; they were not yet ready to accept the idea of integrated marriages and families. This was the era of a lot of tension between blacks and white and many whites still viewed themselves as the superior race. The people who would have viewed interracial relationships as deviant would be almost everyone in the 50s and 60s, not because they were against integration but because it went against society's norms and it was a new concept to them. Even if it wasn't a crime, it was still a cultural taboo.People of extremist pro-segr egation groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, would have thought this behavior to be more deviant than others, while people of anti-segregation groups would have thought it to be more acceptable and maybe even supported it. Time and context play an important role in whether different race relationships are accepted. After laws banning this behavior were lifted, it started to become more and more accepted. As integration increased, the idea of interracial marriage as a deviant behavior decreased. Today, although racism does exist, it is looked down upon and most people would not openly admit to being racist.Because racism is not the cultural norm anymore, condemnation of interracial marriage is not widespread. Racism is actually considered more of a deviant behavior in today's culture than interracial marriage is. Context also affects whether one would consider interracial relationships as a deviant behavior. I think that in more conservative families or more segregated communities inter racial relationships would be considered deviant. For example, Alabama only just officially legalized interracial marriage in 2000, and many Alabama residents are still opposed to the idea of interracial marriage.In Los Angeles, or in an area with a more liberal culture, interracial marriages are not looked down upon by the majority of the population. Some of the most famous couples in Hollywood are interracial couples; Ice T and Coco have their own television show, and Heidi Klum, a Victoria Secret model, raised a family with Seal. While interracial marriages have become less deviant over the past 50 years, marriage at a young age has become more deviant in American culture. According to the Bureau of Census, the age at first marriage has increased drastically since the 1950s, form 23 to 28 for men and 20 to 26 for women.In the past, marriage was the first step into adulthood so people tended to get married at a young age. My parents were married when they were both 22 years old an d most of their friends married around the same age. However, the majority of my friends are 22 years old and it is a rarity for someone I know to get married so young. It is not the social norm anymore. Young marriage is considered deviant because it is uncommon, but it is not completely unheard of. I think that people with a more traditional lifestyle are more likely to marry at an early age and dismiss this behavior as deviant.Also, people with lower income and education level tend to marry young. Many people are adopting more contemporary views in how they would like to live their life. More women are seeking higher education, something that used to be rare. Women are more focused on finding a job and supporting themselves than on finding a husband. They used to be expected to stay at home and start a family. They were not expected to be educated. Most women only attended college for the sole purpose of finding someone to marry. But today, women have different priorities than th ey once had.A woman does not have to be a good wife to be considered a successful person. They definition of success for women has changed over time so women can be happy as either a wife or as a single women focusing on her career. People used to get married for reasons other than love; financial security, family ties, pregnancy, religion. Today, while those conditions do exist, men and women both strive to be more independent and therefore ignore many of those conditions. Men and women want to be financially independent so they marry less and less for security.In today's culture, there is less emphasis on obeying one's parents, so people do not marry just to please their families. Also, there is an increasing amount of single mothers and it is not frowned upon like it once was, it is even applauded in many cases. Because being a single parent is more of a societal norm these days, people feel less pressured to tie the knot because of pregnancy. Our culture has become much more acc epting, with less emphasis on rules, which allows both men and women to do as they please and not feel pressured by society to jump into a marriage that they do not want.Interracial marriages can best be explained by the sociological theory of deviance called the labeling theory. â€Å"Under the labeling theory, the focus shifts from the deviant individual to the social process by which a person comes to be labeled and the consequences of such labeling for the individual† (Tischler 149). It is not that the interracial relationship is deviant, but that the culture around them is labeling their behavior as deviant. People in the past thought that interracial relationships were unnatural and sinful.Condemnation of interracial marriage was a strong social norm, therefore, people who violated this norm were considered deviant. However, I do not think that the labeleing theory's ideas of primary deviance and secondary deviance apply to interracial marriages. I do not think that peo ple who engaged in interracial relationships were prone to more deviant behavior because of their relationship, but I think that this theory applies best when trying to explain interracial relationships as a behavior that was once deviant.None of the sociological theories of deviance really fit when trying to explain marriage at an early age. Rather, it is just that our values and norms change over time in society. What was once valued and considered important loses its significance from one generation to the next. In 20 years, our societal norms concerning marriage will probably have evolved even more, maybe marriage altogether will become a thing of the past. Women used to be expected to be only homemakers and mothers.Today, men and women are both equally eligible to go out and compete for the same jobs and make their own mark on society. This is not because of a specific sociological theory of deviance but because of the evolution of society. What makes a type of behavior deviant depends on several factors, the predominant and most notable one being culture. But because deviant behavior is culturally relative, one could give countless examples of this behavior because it is constantly changing or being redefined by different groups of people.The moral code of a culture is the â€Å"symbolic system in terms of which behavior takes on the quality of being ‘good' or ‘bad,' ‘right' or ‘wrong'† (Tischler 139). To decide if a behavior is deviant, one must be familiar with the moral code of the culture. They must assess the act in regards to the culture's rules to decide if it is normal or deviant. Interracial relationships were once considered deviant but only because of the rules of that culture. Early marriage, something that people in society once highly desired, isn't a main concern anymore.

Divorce Effects on Childrens Anxiety - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2301 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/06/24 Category Psychology Essay Level High school Tags: Divorce Essay Did you like this example? The effects of divorce are a sensitive topic among our society. It is practically a known fact that children with a broken family home in their early childhood can have long time effects in their adult life. This experiment is observing the harmful effects on childrens anxiety with divorced parents. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Divorce Effects on Childrens Anxiety" essay for you Create order Very early on in the baby stage, children are well known for getting attached to their nurturing mothers (Ainsworth, 1963). The healthy dynamic of a mother and children being attached is highly essential. In order for this experiment to be conducted, previous theories were analyzed and researched was conducted in order to form this current experiment being done. The attachment theory plays a factor in this mother-child bonding experience (Ainsworth, 1963). The attachment theory consists of infants having numerous components of instinctual responses that can bind the infant to the mother and the other way around Ainsworth, 1963). Examples include clinging, sucking, following, and the signaling behaviors of crying and smiling (Ainsworth, 1963). There was research on multiple children and mothers and ended up having three different infant attachment patterns (Ainsworth, 1963). First, the securely attached infants cry for a little bit, and they seemed satisfied to seek interest in the presence of their mother (Ainsworth, 1963). The second was the insecurely attached infants who would cry more frequently, although they were held by their mothers and they sought very little as well (Ainsworth, 1963). Last but not least, the not-yet attached infants demonstrated no discrepant behavior to their mother (Ainsworth, 1963). In todays society, it is common to meet another person with divorced parents than married parents. Even though much research has been done examining the effects of divorced parents on adolescent and adult children, not much research has been conducted on infants and young children. The sample size o f this study included 73 never-married mothers and 97 separated mothers (Clarke, 2000). The groups consisted of 170 members that were conditionally, and randomly selected from the two-parent families (Clarke, 2000). Their study concluded that the children in the one parent families did far less good than those in the two-parent families regarding cognitive differences (Clarke, 2000). They were each tested on assignments of cognitive and social abilities, as well as problem behaviors, attachment security, and their behavior with their mothers (Clarke, 2000). The main focus of this experiment is solely tied to the behavioral characteristics of the childs anxiety and possibly observing their adult life (Clarke, 2000). This theory correlates with this experiment because the attachment aspect of the theory specifies the adverse outcomes of the childs need for love and support (Clarke, 2000). If the child is neglected, then the likelihood of that child being happy will be less. Therefore the adulthood of that child being neglected will experience more negative effects of mental disorders (Clarke, 2000). Further studies have concluded that the grieving process a child is confronted with during a divorce, is comparable to the grief a child who has lost a parent experiences (Wallerstein, 1987). They feel like the family security they once possessed, has now vanished and those effects will have devastating consequences in their later years (Wallerstein, 1987). Unfortunately, when divorce is encountered, the father is usually the one separated from the family, leaving the children, especially boys, vulnerable (Wallerstein, 1987). What some might find puzzling is the fact that children intensely miss thei r fathers, regardless of their treatment they received (Wallerstein, 1987). At the time of a divorce, young children often experience hardship with adapting to changes and have trouble expressing their emotions (Pruett, Williams, Insabella, Little, 2003). The previous research stated that in their experiment their findings of children with broken family homes performed more poorly across different age groups regarding the tests of cognitive abilities they took. Also, maternal depression, anxiety, and stimulation and support were significant predictors (Pruett, Williams, Insabella, Little, 2003). In a meta-analysis of recent research, it discussed that a significant component that was consisted of Bowlbys attachment theory was that if the child is going through the early child-caregiver attachment it is going to make a reflection in the aspect of the specific interpersonal relationships the child will face throughout his/her life(Atkinson, 2014). This study talked about how the correlation that the early-child parent who ends up bonding were related to the childrens to their current relationships that they have with their peers(Pallini, Baiocco, Schneider, Madigan, Atkinson, 2014). The researchers in this study were also assuming that there is a link between peer relations and the attachment theory was going to be settled (Pallini, Baiocco, Schneider, Madigan, Atkinson, 2014). Also, cultural factors came into play as well in this study (Pallini, Baiocco, Schneider, Madigan, Atkinson, 2014) Also, in another meta-analysis the researchers focused on how parents are co-parenting would be different once they are divorced and how that will affect their child(Leclair, St-Amand, Bussieres,2018). This meta-analysis conducted 13 studies that were going to first view the significance between the child custody and the post-separation co-parenting also known as (conflict and cooperation) (Leclair, St-Amand, Bussieres,2018). There is now a clear understanding as to why post separation co-parenting is known for being one of the most dominant factors that explains why and what the psychological adjustments of families who are separating or already separated will be going through(Amato, 2001; Jamison, Coleman, Ganong, Feistman, 2014; Kelly, 2012; Kelly Emery, 2003; Lamb, 2012). The research team will determine the two-level effect on how the anxiety level with children who have divorced parents will have a higher level of anxiety than children who have married parents. The research team will also determine the three-level effect on how the amount of time spent with mom will have a higher level of anxiety than spent with dad. The main interaction will be there will be a higher level of anxiety with children with divorced parents and they will also have a higher level of anxiety spent with mom overall. Methods Participants The study will consist of 60 participants (20 males, 20 females, and 20 children). The mean age will be ranging from 10-year-old to late 40-year-old adults. The participants will be enlisted by completing a questionnaire that will indicate if they participate in the research, they will be compensated for ten dollars plus a five-dollar gift card of their favorite fast food restaurant. Materials Separation Anxiety Scale: It is consisted of two subscales (Vanderlaan, 2015). One is the worry subscale and the other is the separation subscale(Vanderlaan,2015). The worry subscale is about how the child feels about their parents and how worried they get when they are not with them (Vanderlaan, 2015). It has 8 items that will have responses ranging from 1 (not true) to 5 (very true) (Vanderlaan, 2015). The separation subscale is about how the child feels about being separated from their parents. It has 5 items that will have responses ranging from 1(not true) to 5 (very true) (Vanderlaan,2015). The high score in this scale is going to be 40. The low score is going to be 8 (Vanderlaan, 2015). In terms of variables, 40 indicates they have a higher level of worries and 8 indicates they have a lower level of separation anxiety (Vanderlaan,2015). Procedure Participants are recruited through questionnaires and they will be randomly assigned into three conditions. The first condition is going to be all week spent with mom. The second condition will be half with mom and half with dad. The third condition will be all week with dad. In each condition, they are given a game to play. The first condition will be playing the game Uno with mom, the second condition will be playing the bean boozled challenge game with half with mom and half with dad and the third condition will be playing monopoly with dad. Take an informed consent will from the parents by notifying and explaining the reason as to why the experiment is being conducted. The reason the experiment is being conducted is to determine the level of anxiety among children with divorced or married parents. They can withdraw from the experiment whenever they want. After the experiment is done they will be debriefed to the parents and children the reason as to why the experiment being cond ucted. The research team explained that they would were determining the level of anxiety among divorced and married parents. At the end of the research, they were given an information pamphlet and card to get in contact with the research team if they want to talk about anything that happened after the research to help them emotionally and psychologically. Results Two-level main effect Overall, 60 participants will complete all stage of the experiment. A 23 factorial ANOVA will be used to analyze the data. The children of divorced parents had a higher level of anxiety than the children of married parents (M =29.49, SD = 14.74; see figure 1). Three-level main effect Children who spent more time with their mom had a higher level of an anxiety than spending time with their dad (M =29.50, SD= 9.83; see figure 2). Interaction Overall, children with divorced parents and amount of time spent with mother will have an overall level of anxiety (M =29.50, SD = 6.00; see figure 3). Discussion The experiment predicts that children with divorced parents have a higher level of anxiety than children with married parents. The two-level main effect was children whose parents were divorced (M=43.00, SD=0.89) had a higher level of anxiety than children whose parents were married (M=43.00, SD=1.13). The three-level main effect is the amount of time spent with each parent per week. Children who spent time with their mom had a higher level of anxiety than spending time with their dad (M=48..00, SD=0.89). The main interaction is children had a higher level of anxiety with divorced parents than children with married parents and children had a higher level of anxiety with their moms than dads overall(M=31.5, SD=0.85) Children have a fear of separation anxiety for their parents especially when their parents are divorced. They have a hard time adjusting too with friends, school, and other family members. Not being able to see their Mother and Father at the same time is difficult for the child to understand and deal with. Although much research has been done examining the effects of divorced parents on adolescent and adult children, not much research has been conducted on infants and young children (Stewart, Vandell, McCartney, Owen, 2000) Nowadays, being divorced and a single mother are more common, it is very imperative to know that whether the psychological development of their children is going to be at risk compared to children who are in married families (Stewart et al.,2000). Children who are from a divorced family face many issues like doing poor in their academic performance, anger issues, and etc (Stewart et al.,2000). Further studies have concluded that the grieving process a child is confronted with during a divorce, is comparable to the grief a child who has lost a parent experiences (Wallerstein, 1987). There was a study that focused on the late adolescent years and they found that there was a particular developmental task that dealt with separation of their families and the association that would talk about the internal psychological structures and it was going to identify them to be able to commit to the final step on achieving their path to young adulthood (Wallerstein, 1987). There has been relevant to the fundamental questions explained by the recent research on the permanent effects that was consisting of psychic trauma (Wallerstein, 1987). In this study, there were findings that were able to show the effects, they might not be able to be noticeable as soon as possible, or even in a more directly clear-cut symptoms or behaviors, it may actually be thoroughly impacting a persons consecutiv e navigating them concepts and intimate possibilities of the universe (Wallerstein, 1987). There has been initial finding from this same study that was showing if the children were in an early latency period at that specific time of the marriage failure were going to be engaged with problems of detachment and disappearance (Wallerstein, 1987). They had a massive loss of the whole family being protective, and this eventually ended up giving them reactions of grief where the young children were grieving over a death of a parent, and this was associated with extreme anxiety that will threaten their modern accomplishments in this comparably, advanced universe institution and aggressive play (Wallerstein, 1987).In this study, the children feel like the family security they once possessed, has now vanished and those effects will have devastating consequences in their later years (Wallerstein, 1987). Unfortunately, when divorce is encountered, the father is usually the one separated from t he family, leaving the children, especially the boys, vulnerable (Wallerstein, 1987). What some find puzzling is the fact that children intensely miss their fathers, regardless of their treatment they received (Wallerstein, 1987). At the time of a divorce, young children often experience hardship with adapting to changes and having trouble expressing their emotions (Wallerstein, 1987). However, children who face having divorced parents is a big issue. Divorced families is a big issue in the United States too. The first limitation is that the experiment will only be exclusive to married and divorced families, so not everyone in public can join this experiment just because our sample is based only on 8-12 year old children. The second limitation will be the two-part questionnaire will only be limited to the children because they are the main subjects of this experiment. Finally, the last significant limitation will be the research team need to be able to conduct the experiment and use the right measurements just because this experiment is instead mainly subjective, the researchers want to make sure the participants answer match and are as honest as they can be, so it doesnt mess up the data were are going to gather from them. There are many ways to improve the order of this research in remembrance to anxiety. A repeated measures design would be helpful so the research team can measure the childrens anxiety levels and see if their outcomes or the variables will change according to their anxiety within time.