Elizabeth sees his inner goodness shine when he refuses to lie about being involved in witchcraft, and she realizes how unfair she has been. John Proctor saves the lives of the others who are accused when he unselfishly declines to save his own. He acts as a martyr when he places others before himself. He would rather die an honorable death than live a dishonorable life, which is what precedes him to be the tragic hero of the play. John Proctor, being a very complex character stuck in a world full mischief, madness, and chaos shows a major change as the play unfolds.
The Motivation of Iago William Shakespeare’s Othello is a story based on betrayal, jealousy, hate and revenge. The villain in the play, Iago, is said to be one of Shakespeare’s most evil characters. On a search for power, nothing is going to stand in his way. His actions throughout the play are a direct result of his trying to attain what he believes is rightfully his. Iago’s mean and insensitive manipulation is geared towards the innocent and ends up causing the destruction of Roderigo, Cassio, Desdemona, Emilia, and Othello.
Upon Malvolio’s entrance in Act II Scene V, Sir Toby states “here’s an overweening rogue!” (Act 2, scene 5, line 27) after plotting with Fabian and Maria to punish Malvolio, referring to him as a “little villain” (Act 2, scene 5, line 12). Upon his entrance in the scene, Malvolio states his ambitions for nobility, “To be Count Malvolio!’ (Act 2, scene 5, line 32) to the group. The disdain the other characters have for Malvolio throughout the play is only met with vanity, hubris and patronizing comments on Malvolio’s part, doing very little to conjure any remorse for the character following his downfall later in the play. Malvolio opposes the fun and festivities of the “Twelfth Night” and chastises the characters in the play several times for their celebrations. Malvolio questions their actions in the form of patronizing dialogue by asking “My masters,
In Crime and Punishment, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is painted to be both an immoral and moral person throughout the book and the moral ambiguity seen in his character is a crucial element in proving the idea that human beings are a complex mix of good and evil, which is one of the novel’s main themes. Raskolnikov’s more “evil” side is obvious all through Crime and Punishment. Firstly, the murder itself is a clear representation of his immorality. Someone who is considered a “good” person by society would never commit such a heinous crime. Furthermore, his reasons and justifications for murdering the pawn broker lead the reader to believe rather strongly that Raskolnikov is indeed a “bad” person.
He has the good traits and flaws of a typical hero such as loyalty and intelligence. Hamlet's negative features include his rudeness towards others and his violent nature. To be a good antihero, the audience must also have sympathy for the character. Also, Hamlet's main flaw, which inevitably leads to his downfall, is his procrastination towards killing Claudius. As an anti hero, Hamlet's good traits, loyalty and intelligence are seen throughout the play.
This use of dramatic irony creates humour for the audience as Benedick is unable to defend himself without giving away his identity. The audience also can’t help but wonder if Beatrice does truly know its Benedick that she is talking to. While this is obviously a very comical and light-hearted scene, it contrasts greatly against the character of Don John and the scenes he’s involved in. Don John is the ‘villain’ behind the breakup of Claudio and Hero’s love, by falsely accusing the ‘pure’ Hero of being unfaithful. This shows the darker side of this Shakespeare comedy as Don John is a ‘plain dealing villain’ who ‘cannot hide who he is’.
“I am not what I am”(1.1.68). Shakespeare incorporates this quote so early in his play, Othello, to show that Iago is a purely malicious and selfish character who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. While Iago appears to be merely just a dishonest person at first, he proves himself to be one of the most horrible villains in literature that takes absolute pleasure in crumbling the lives of others with no sense of empathy whatsoever. Shakespeare is able to develop Iago's maliciousness and complete lack of emotion throughout the play by using direct and indirect characterization as well as other literary devices. Shakespeare at first characterizes Iago as jealous and devious.
Characters that are surrounded by such resentments start to internalise them, allowing them to seep into other parts of their life. Ishmael and Carl both experience this, Ishmael, learns to despise the Japanese during World War II because he detests Hatsue for having rejected him, “fucking japs”. Carl likewise hates the Japanese because the war takes him
He subjects the poor characters of his novel to every imaginable evil that man has been wont to commit in order to prove that this could not be the best of all worlds. Secondarily, Voltaire also seems to have other bones to pick. Hardly a paragraph is written that does not contain a sarcastic comment about or outright mockery of some person, idea, or institution. It is a credit to the skill of the author that he is able to present his criticisms with a humor that is as intoxicating as it is relentless and controversial. The sheer number of insults and implications made by the author coupled with a healthy sprinkling of aristocratic inside jokes would indicate that he essentially wrote this book for himself and other like-minded intellectuals of the enlightenment that disapproved of the status quo or could at least appreciate his cheeky sense of humor.
Let me go. Enough.”(4.1.73-74) It is apparent that he cannot differentiate between good and evil that he creates this “fate” that he is following that seems good to him but evil in others’ eyes. After murdering the king, Macbeth is not satisfied with just being king because the heir to the throne is Banquo’s son so “Instead of watching that happen, [Macbeth] will challenge fate to battle and fight to the death.” (3.1.74-75) This literally shows how he just made an evil decision all by himself (with no outside influences this time)