Pittacus, an ancient Greek military general claimed that “The measure of a man is what he does with power.” In the literary works read throughout this course, men have tried to undermine and control their weaker counterparts in attempts to continue having power over them. The authors, Gaines and Ibsen use symbols to underscore the theme of men trying to control their weaker counterparts such as women or people of colour, in a ploy to establish their power over the other. This is shown with the use of symbols such as the use of the word “Hog”, the electric chair from A Lesson Before Dying, and Nora’s pet names given to her by Torvald.
As the execution date nears, the electric chair arrives to town in a large black truck. Its presence is noted …show more content…
The use of the pet names have the sole purpose of controlling how Nora behaves and acts, giving Torvald power over her. At the beginning of the play, Torvald is introduced as he calls Nora: “Is that my little lark twittering out there?” (Ibsen 3, I). The use of this specific nickname when Torvald’s character is introduced is crucial because it sets the stage for what kind of character he is going to be and what kind of relationship both Nora and Torvald are going to have. The use of the word ‘little’ ties back to how Torvald insists on treating Nora like a child; someone who is inferior than him. If he treats Nora as a child, it gives him an open window to control her, giving him more power over her. As the play plot further progresses, Nora is trying show Torvald how out of practice she is in dancing so she dances the Tarantella wildly and awkwardly. Torvald, in reply to Nora’s dancing says: “Come, come, don't be so wild and nervous. Be my own little skylark, as you used” (Ibsen 56, II). He orders Nora to go back to being small, childlike, soft, the same way that he had imagined Nora to be. It is as if Torvald believes that Nora becomes a whole different person when she dances slightly wildly. So he sees it as his own duty that he has to remind Nora to go back to being the same Nora of his liking. The reason why Torvald feels as if it his duty to remind Nora of going back to the way she use to be is because he still believes that Nora is childlike and does not know any better. He controls the way how Nora should be like, thus keeping power reserved for him. Inevitably, the climax of the play is reached when Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter and goes on to humiliate Nora. It is then resolved after he reads Krogstad's second letter in which he says that he has pardoned them. Disguised as
As the execution date nears, the electric chair arrives to town in a large black truck. Its presence is noted …show more content…
The use of the pet names have the sole purpose of controlling how Nora behaves and acts, giving Torvald power over her. At the beginning of the play, Torvald is introduced as he calls Nora: “Is that my little lark twittering out there?” (Ibsen 3, I). The use of this specific nickname when Torvald’s character is introduced is crucial because it sets the stage for what kind of character he is going to be and what kind of relationship both Nora and Torvald are going to have. The use of the word ‘little’ ties back to how Torvald insists on treating Nora like a child; someone who is inferior than him. If he treats Nora as a child, it gives him an open window to control her, giving him more power over her. As the play plot further progresses, Nora is trying show Torvald how out of practice she is in dancing so she dances the Tarantella wildly and awkwardly. Torvald, in reply to Nora’s dancing says: “Come, come, don't be so wild and nervous. Be my own little skylark, as you used” (Ibsen 56, II). He orders Nora to go back to being small, childlike, soft, the same way that he had imagined Nora to be. It is as if Torvald believes that Nora becomes a whole different person when she dances slightly wildly. So he sees it as his own duty that he has to remind Nora to go back to being the same Nora of his liking. The reason why Torvald feels as if it his duty to remind Nora of going back to the way she use to be is because he still believes that Nora is childlike and does not know any better. He controls the way how Nora should be like, thus keeping power reserved for him. Inevitably, the climax of the play is reached when Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter and goes on to humiliate Nora. It is then resolved after he reads Krogstad's second letter in which he says that he has pardoned them. Disguised as