The Misanthrope essay by Joel Sunabe

Alceste, the main character in “The Misanthrope”, by Moliere, doesn’t necessarily have a humorous personality, but his actions, especially at the end, provoke “thoughtful laughter” in the reader. The beginning sets up his character as a very narrow-minded person, whose only focus is on one girl. By the end the reader sees how this gets back to Alceste, for the worse. It brings out “thoughtful laughter” when the pompous Alceste flees the city, with nothing left but a lawsuit.

At the end of “The Misanthrope”, Alceste says he want nothing more to do with Celimene. At this point the reader should be full of “thoughtful laughter” because of how Alceste had just contradicted himself from the way he’d been acting for the entire story. For example, in the beginning, the first thing the reader learns about Alceste is that he loathes people in general, the only expectation being the woman he loves: Celimene. In the very next scene Alceste goes on to prove how much he hates just about everything by criticizing Oronte and his poem to the point of being sued.

Towards the middle of the story, Alceste shows how he knows Celimene better than anyone else, and still likes her for it. When Acaste and Clitandre arrive to talk to Celimene, Alceste tires to get them to back off from her. He tries to show them that she isn’t as perfect as they thought she was by having her backstab a lot of other people. Alceste seemingly tricked Celimene into showing her dark side so that he could have her to himself.

In the end, Alceste must flee the city in order to escape his lawsuit. He asks Celimene to join him, but she tells him that while she would marry him, she would only live in the city, living amongst all the fakes that Alceste hates. After hearing this, Alceste goes back on his every word, practically wasting all of his effort he put into getting Celimene, and refuses to see her anymore. In this scene, Moliere showed how foolish and narrow-minded Alceste was. Moliere used his character to satirize the French Society at that time to show how it was full of fakes and hypocrites.

Romantic Era Reflection - Team 2, Period 1

The Romantic era was a time of emotions and spirituality and was the complete antithesis of the previous era. It was also a time to establish one’s worthiness, and to delve into the depths of their imagination. The Romantic era was very creative through many artistic aspects, especially writing. For example, Frankenstein is a one of a kind novel; it establishes a supernatural theme within the era, and also makes the readers experience the horrors of one’s deepest imaginations. The emotions in written works, sculptures and paintings are fairly strong; such as in Wuthering Heights, the emotions between Cathy and Heathcliff are so intense, in a positive and negative way. Another important factor that contributed to the Romantic era’s uniqueness was the negative impact industrialism had on the people and nature. This shift from an agricultural society to an industrial society created such turmoil and pollution; water was undrinkable, and the air was filled with fumes and toxins. However, there were some positives for this era; people became more educated. With the technological process advancing, more people needed to know how to run things in order to survive, so education was a must. Also, people were able to escape the real world through literature. The sense of spirituality was also a major contributor to the Romantic era; religion was not necessarily the epicenter of this movement, but it was mostly about connecting nature with oneself. The Romantic era stressed significance upon connections and relationships, either with nature, other people and one’s imagination. Literature, architecture and other popular art forms really captured the essence of humanity and its many important aspects.

- Sara Patterson, Helen Lee, Miranda Gontz and Tori Kause, Period 1

Lauren Broder Asher P.1 Macbeth Essay

What is fate? The dictionary defines fate as a force predetermining events. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth the characters’ perceptions of fate affected their actions. Throughout the play, the story moved forward because of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s distinct views about predetermined futures. Their thoughts and comments determined their awareness of these preordained outcomes. These techniques of characterization revealed that Lady Macbeth had little to no belief in fate, while Macbeth believed in his fixed destiny.

The main characters in Macbeth demonstrated their feelings about how fate was affected through their soliloquies. For example, Lady Macbeth received a letter from her husband about the witches’ predictions towards the beginning of the play. When she said, “Stop up th’access and passage to remorse, That no compounctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between The effect and it!”(Act I Scene V) she was asking to not feel pity so that she could carry out Duncan’s murder. Because Lady Macbeth automatically assumed she had to take action in order for Macbeth to become king, she did not believe that fate alone could determine someone’s future. On the other hand, during one of Macbeth’s thoughts to himself he said, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir”(Act I Scene III) which showed that he believed his future was already decided. This difference of opinion drove the story forward by creating controversy and arguments between the two.

Through their fighting and comments with one another, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth emphasized their perceptions of fate. Macbeth said, “Do you not hope your children shall be kings, When those that gave me the thane of Cawdor to me Promised no less to them?”(Act I Scene III). Macbeth assumed that he needed to take little to no action for the witches’ predictions to come true. In contrast, Lady Macbeth restated her beliefs about Macbeth’s future when she said, “Wouldst thou have that Which though esteem’st the ornament of life…”(Act I Scene VII). She felt that Macbeth would not become king unless he killed Duncan. This affirmed her strong belief that the future was not fixed. Because of Lady Macbeth’s sense that the characters needed to take action, the couple carried out Duncan’s murder and kept the action of the story moving forward.

In Macbeth it is extremely apparent that the couple had opposite feelings about fate. Through Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s thoughts and comments, their certainty about what fate is propelled the action in the play. Shakespeare’s use of characterization clarified the thoughts behind the events in the story. The variation in ideas about fate caused arguments between the main characters, as well as the murder of Duncan and the conclusion of the play.

misanthrope

The Misanthrope

In “The Misanthrope” by Molière, an important aspect of the play is created through the invoking of “thoughtful laughter” within and to the audience. This “thoughtful laughter” is found essentially as a product of Molière’s ironic elements in the play, which allow the audience to consider and relate the actions and thoughts of the characters more deeply.

In Act II, Scenes 1 and 2, the overarching irony of the play is presented between the interaction of Alceste and Celimène. This instance of irony is incredibly amusing. Alceste, the supposed misanthrope, has fallen deeply in love with the person, Celimène, who exemplifies the part of society he despises. Yet, it also suggests the idea of contradiction between one’s values and one’s happiness. Alceste, despite his best logic, cannot help succumb to his own heart’s desires. He loves Celimène, and Molière milks this irony for all it is worth. Irony allows insight into the situations and experiences that make us human, permitting us to laugh at ourselves. Alceste’s experience is neither unique nor uncommon and this ironic situation between the play’s main characters is very relatable, allowing the audience this chance to view human nature lightheartedly.

Overall, the presentation of humor as an intelligent, contemplative plot element with deeper meaning through irony provides a play with more direct and crucial insight into the way we as humans think and act. These subtle instances of human thought and character define the meaning of thoughtful laughter and it’s effect make Molière’s “The Misanthrope” a much greater and accurate depiction of the antics that make us human.

Theo Mandin-Lee Period 4