Fear and anguish brought out some of the worst qualities in the villagers causing them to turn against one another creating anger, conflict and damage unto one another. In turn these actions fueled by superstition, hysteria and ignorance could become just as fatal as the plague itself. The bubonic plague attacks many individuals in the village as it delivers continuous grief and loss to the whole town. Brooks structures her novel as a non-linear timeline as it jumps backwards and forwards starting after the events of the plague giving hints of what has caused the change in the community. Undoubtedly, the plague causes the disintegration of families in the town.
He was wealthy, took part in the politics of the village, however he was always trepidatious so as not to possibly endanger his name as enemies he made increasing his power within the town would attack him.”But if you trafficked with spirits in the forest, i must know it now for surely my enemies will and they will ruin me with it” When his daughter becomes ill possibly due to blasphemous actions she may have been part of, rather than follow the word of God. He lies and claims that no issue would be associated with his family despite this being sin and endangering Betty’s life. The fear of losing all he had completely overtook his duty to help his daughter recover. These events each showcased a severe situation in which the outcome among all three was the same. Fear overcame their faith showing how people in life-endangering events will immediately abandon all their morals and relationships and reveals how it can ruin families and nations.
‘Year of Wonders’ by Geraldine Brooks which is a historical fiction and circular structure form of text, explores the horrific ways the villagers in Eyam respond to a crisis by revealing the darker side of human nature. As the plague outbreaks, the villagers are faced with immense challenges and as a result some of the villagers are seen as selfish and uncharitable. “These times do make monsters of us all”. However Brooks also wants us to recognize that some are forced to show courage and compassion. Brooks contrasts a strong feminist theme and positions us to see their heroic gestures to the weaknesses of men as the villagers are faced with great tragedies.
Year of Wonders “The plague will make heroes of us all, whether we will or no” ‘Year of Wonders’ by Geraldine Brooks explores the fearful and heroic way the villagers in Eyam respond to a crisis. As the plague outbreaks, the villagers are faced with immense challenges, as some are forced to show courage and compassion, whereas others are seen as selfish and uncharitable. Brook contrasts the strength of women and their heroic gestures to the weaknesses of men as the villagers are faced with great tragedies. It is made evident that the women in the novel are the powerful support network of the community. Anna Frith the protagonist of the novel is viewed as heroic as she is “a woman who has faced more terrors than many warriors.” (p.15) Anna is faced with the death of her husband Sam Frith and her children Tom and Jamie as she has “tended so many bodies, people I loved and people I barely knew” (p.8) This shows the beginning Anna’s strengths, as she deals with the bodies of those killed by the plague and shows her willingness and courage to help others.
Macbeth’s decadence then led to his marriage to slowly fall apart. At first, him and Lady Macbeth really do love each other, and show affection for one another. Though, Lady Macbeth becomes less important to her husband, Macbeth, after the murder of Duncan and he allows the witches to take her place. The witches pretty much have him brain-washed toward the end of the play by making him believe that no man could ever bring harm to him. With him believing such nonsense, he just becomes his monster who is completely
All this is brought together to leave readers shocked, ready to rethink the importance of things in their own lives. The story begins with the author presenting a situation in which great fear exists. She hears a noise and is afraid of a burglar or murder inside her house. However, she soon comes to realize that her fear was not something real, but that the noise causing her fear was really just the shifting of the earth. The setting is important here in creating an atmosphere of dread which each human has experienced at one time in their life.
Because Nurse Ratched put fear the patients’ heart, they obey her every demand. However, when the new patient McMurphy who comes from a prison work farm to the hospital, the Big Nurse Ratched starts to lose the power she has over the patients. At the end, the conflict between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched, cost McMurphy’s health, his freedom, and, finally, his life. In the novel the obvious differences between two characters mostly shown in their personality, the way threading the people and their sexual view. First of all, Nurse Ratched and McMurphy have totally different personality and different point of view.
In Miss Maudie’s case, the Christians would drive by and verbally abuse her. Over the course of the novel, Scout, Atticus, and Miss Maudie are victims of a great deal of injustice, as depicted by the actions of the townspeople. Even so, these three characters in To Kill A Mockingbird seem to pull themselves through the war between themselves and the people they interact with. This novel is focused on injustice and how to cope with it and to not just ignore it and somehow, in time, find justice in the
Author Millers, The Crucible, is a play about the fear, of witchcraft in the sixteenth century, and what fear does to people in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. During the colonial time period, witchcraft was punishable by death. In Salem the idea of witchcraft not only feared the people, but also the community as a whole. The community of Salem was split into two demographics by poor farmers, and wealthy merchants, becomes a scared fearful town during the accusations, not knowing if your neighbor was or was not a witch. The church of Salem plays an important role in the outcome of the town; the church has immense power and control of the town.
In their day and age these characters would be judged by many factors including social and cultural backgrounds, crimes committed and personal traits. Both of these writers seem to conjure their audience into a state where it compels them to relate to certain characters. Lady Macbeth certainly loses or suppresses her feelings of cowardice. Throughout her appalling invocation to the spirits of evil to “unsex her”, proving her ambition to attain her goal. In Jacobean times women were seen as inferior and even in the Victoria era, thus she required external forces to crush her conscience to allow her to fulfil her ambition.