Naked in the Forest: a Relativist Reading of as You Like It

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Naked in the Forest A Relativist Reading of As You Like It By: Justin Algarin No matter where someone is in life, they are dissatisfied. Whether they got the promotion, but not the one they wanted, when they are first to be last in line, or even when they have everything in the world, but not enough. People run on a comparison factor. Societal life suggests that there is always something better than what someone currently has. It says that unless you have this, you cannot be happy. This dilemma with the institution constrains people from being happy with what they have. Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It, looks at how much effect the absence of the court provides. In nature, the characters become free, unsheathed from societal boundaries. Each character has their own problem that is essentially dissatisfaction with their current position. . Although constantly comparing their lives to others, the characters in As You Like It develop by learning to be content with what they have. Shakespeare’s comments on institutionally driven social/personal discomfort were philosophically advanced for people of his era. His analysis is derived on the basis of social status, relationships, and the individual. In this play, Shakespeare pits classes against each other. He makes Orlando and Oliver struggle with class, within the same class. In this case primogeniture is the class system. Instead of grieving over his father, Orlando grieves at the fact that he is penniless from his death. His claim at “mutiny” against his brother have him end up in the forest, hiding from his brother’s retaliation. Orlando could have chosen to live without money or power, but instead claims, “My father charged you in his will to give me good education: you have trained me like a peasant, obscuring and hiding from me all gentleman-like qualities. The spirit of my father grows
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