Being the cynical, seemingly unreliable pedophile he was, Svidrigailov at first appears like one of the weakest examples of a character who would trigger positive change in someone else; the author, however, implies otherwise. Throughout the discussions he has with Svidrigailov, Raskolnikov seems to intensely hate the character and consider him inferior in moral sense; Raskolnikov’s ability to recognize Svidrigailov’s “low” characteristics is one of the initiators of his rational thinking process concerning morality (a process that did not seem to exist in him as strongly before he met Svidrigailov). His passionate disapproval of Svidrigailov’s actions (as well as his attempted charitable act towards Dunya to make up for those actions), reveals in Raskolnikov an extremely protective and caring nature as a brother - and above all, the fact that he has a true “sensor” for negative (and positive) characteristics in humans. Even though Raskolnikov’s thoughts and ideas from his half-mad monologues and scenes of delirium are
Though, man’s world is a harsh and judgmental society. The reader can see this misjudged character by Grendel’s first encounter with man, the ability to show human emotions, and Grendel’s opinion towards the shaper. Grendel’s first encounter with man was the first time the reader can realize that Grendel is a misunderstood character. Grendel believes man is proud, vain, and unobservant to the world around him. “The world resists me and I resist the world.” (pg.
On one hand, Lennie, a physically strong man, becomes powerless because of the mental incapacity and is not able to wrestle against the forces that hinder his dreams -for lack of mental acuity. Therefore, he relies on George. On the other hand, George becomes powerless in that he has to rely on Lennie for companionship, in his quest to attain his dreams. At the end of the novel, George, tired of Lennie’s misdemeanor eventually shoots him to death. This action demonstrates that both characters have come into realization that their friendship is a hindrance to achievement of their dreams.
Furthermore Jack’s use of the word ‘should’ instead of could or would, to describe Roy, signifies how, at that point, Jack thinks that all other forms of manhood, other than Roy’s, is not correct . Jack admires Roy and over his time with Roy Jack sees the control and power Roy possess over Rosemary. This leads to Jack thinking that holding ‘power and control’ is necessary for being ‘masculine’. Knowing that he does not own these traits, Jack feels as though he is not a real man and for this purpose is not in favor of who he is. Jack feels the stress of the expectations of manhood from society, he perceives himself as not being manly when comparing himself to the ‘values’ of being a man, and consequently it is these feelings of insufficiency that make him despise who he
Machiavelli’s philosophy about the nature of man is that man as a whole is mostly bad and while retaining a few good qualities will lean towards his own self-interests when all things are equal; “that man has qualities that will bring him either praise or blame”. He also portrays men as selfish and fickle creatures as he writes, “..this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous..”. Hobbes on the other hand, views men in a “state of nature” as being completely self-centered and willing to do anything to get what they want; mankind lives in a dog-eat-dog world where everyone looks after only themselves and has no regard for others. Hobbes describes this self-centered way of life as being "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." He also shows men as incapable of conserving or prolonging their life without living under a ruling body, “augmentation of dominion over men being necessary to a man's conservation, it ought to be allowed him.” It is evident that both Machiavelli and Hobbes’ views of man greatly influence the way they think that man should be controlled.
Chris McCandless, a confident and self-reliant non-conformist, had the courage to risk all in pursuit of happiness. Challenging societal ideas that happiness came from material abundance or another being, McCandless wanted to prove that true happiness was found within oneself. He disliked society, not for how it treated him, but how dependent it was on the superficial. He sought to live in simplicity and rejected not only his privileged life and his family, but also his own identity. Disdainful of the materialistic, cash driven world, he detaches himself physically and mentally to build a new life as Alexander Supertramp.
The story is crushingly sad. Dave makes a bid for more respect only to inspire shame and humiliation. He ends up further entrapped in a situation that made him feel diminished—something less than a man and also, perhaps, less than a person. The symbol of manhood in which Dave has invested so much—both financially and emotionally—fails him. This would seem to be proof that a gun does not make a man after all.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is not a novel for the optimist. In his attempt, following Lord Henry's dictum, 'to cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul,' Dorian succeeds only in satiating the one and corrupting the other. Lord Henry is often pilloried by critics as a cynic who manipulates Dorian into doing the things that he advocates but is too withdrawn and too frightened to do himself. In this view, Henry is a tired man who wants to live vicariously through a younger, more beautiful specimen who has the ability (or so Lord Henry supposes) to experience life as Lord Henry believes it ought to be experienced. No doubt all this is true.
He only does this to Lennie to show him what it like for him having nobody there and how he needs a companion , like Lennie and George ." A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody." This shows how destructive loneliness is and how it changes his
But men generally abandon the care of their most important concerns to the uncertain prudence and discretion of those, whose interest it is to reject the best and wisest institutions; and it is not till they have been led into a thousand mistakes, in matters the most essential to their lives and liberties, and are weary of suffering, that they can be induced to apply a remedy to the evils with which they are oppressed. It is then they begin to conceive, and acknowledge the most palpable truths, which, from their very simplicity, commonly escape vulgar minds, incapable of analysing objects, accustomed to receive impressions without distinction, and to be determined rather by the opinions of others, than by the result of their own examination. If we look into history we shall find that laws which are, or ought to be, conventions between men in a state of freedom, have been, for the most part, the work of the passions of a few, or the consequences of a fortuitous or temporary necessity; not dictated by a cool examiner of human nature, who knew how to collect in one point the actions of a multitude, and had this only end in view, the greatest happiness of