Life is made up of a variety of populations that come from different backgrounds and carry dissimilar views on life. However, all people essentially have a common aim: to live a good life. Since the term ''good'' is vague in nature, people could possess various ideas towards the achievement of a good life. Two different pieces of work that demonstrate different views towards a good life are The Crucible (TC) by Arthur Miller and One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (ID) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn were published in 1953 and 1962 respectively. These two books achieve the purpose of illustrating the route to a good life by the use of characters seizing different traits and by the manipulation of human dignity and moral values that dictate whether
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In TC, the effect of characterization is demonstrated through the contrast between the traits of the main protagonist, John Proctor, and the Reverend of Salem Village, Parris. For Proctor, the idea of a good life revolves around maintaining his name and preserving his reputation, even if the price of this attainment is death. The Salem Witch Trials aided in displaying Proctor's idea of a good life, since they were a collection of unfair, impractical accusations. The trials were fueled by the bigotry and intolerance of the theocratic state and the Puritan community that considered religion and law to be inseparable. Abigail, a stubborn and seductive young girl joins a group of other girls in the village and they start to pretend that they constantly receive demonic messages by loose spirits in the village. Once the trials begin in Salem Village, Proctor realizes that he can stop Abigail’s rampage through Salem but only if he confesses to his adultery. Proctor tries to reach this good life by revealing that Abigail is ''a whore'' and that the court is ''pulling down and raising up a whore''. This truth led to the court's …show more content…
Solzhenitsyn depicts the harsh world of forced labor camps, where the prisoners, known as ''zeks'', are trapped in a labor camp, called a ''Gulag'', near Kazakhstan, in which the inmates have to work as a group in the low temperatures of the region. As long as the temperature is below 40 degrees Celsius, these prisoners are subject to extreme labor, such as building new stories of a building. The State regulates everything and even though the prisoners come from different backgrounds, religious types and nationalities, they are all forced to collaborate and build up a pool of slave labor that is seen fit by the State. This totalitarian system is able to destroy even the strongest characters, making it difficult to create a good life. To Shukhov, a good life revolves around being satisfied with the day's work and with the amount of food rations given to him day after day. Shukhov is characteristic of a mainstream uneducated peasant during the Stalinist era, but it is seemingly true that Shukhov endorses his inner nobility in the midst of degradation. Shukhov accepts his new identity and of the living conditions that he is forced to thrive in. He attempts to build a satisfactory existence for himself within the illogical Gulag system, eventually resulting in him being a
In TC, the effect of characterization is demonstrated through the contrast between the traits of the main protagonist, John Proctor, and the Reverend of Salem Village, Parris. For Proctor, the idea of a good life revolves around maintaining his name and preserving his reputation, even if the price of this attainment is death. The Salem Witch Trials aided in displaying Proctor's idea of a good life, since they were a collection of unfair, impractical accusations. The trials were fueled by the bigotry and intolerance of the theocratic state and the Puritan community that considered religion and law to be inseparable. Abigail, a stubborn and seductive young girl joins a group of other girls in the village and they start to pretend that they constantly receive demonic messages by loose spirits in the village. Once the trials begin in Salem Village, Proctor realizes that he can stop Abigail’s rampage through Salem but only if he confesses to his adultery. Proctor tries to reach this good life by revealing that Abigail is ''a whore'' and that the court is ''pulling down and raising up a whore''. This truth led to the court's …show more content…
Solzhenitsyn depicts the harsh world of forced labor camps, where the prisoners, known as ''zeks'', are trapped in a labor camp, called a ''Gulag'', near Kazakhstan, in which the inmates have to work as a group in the low temperatures of the region. As long as the temperature is below 40 degrees Celsius, these prisoners are subject to extreme labor, such as building new stories of a building. The State regulates everything and even though the prisoners come from different backgrounds, religious types and nationalities, they are all forced to collaborate and build up a pool of slave labor that is seen fit by the State. This totalitarian system is able to destroy even the strongest characters, making it difficult to create a good life. To Shukhov, a good life revolves around being satisfied with the day's work and with the amount of food rations given to him day after day. Shukhov is characteristic of a mainstream uneducated peasant during the Stalinist era, but it is seemingly true that Shukhov endorses his inner nobility in the midst of degradation. Shukhov accepts his new identity and of the living conditions that he is forced to thrive in. He attempts to build a satisfactory existence for himself within the illogical Gulag system, eventually resulting in him being a