Evolution Within a People in A Dolls House and An Enemy...

Evolution Within a People in A Dolls House and An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen In all cultures it is easy to see the effects of change. Change can be a revolution, a new form of thought, or a new idea surfacing. No matter what these changes are, they often emerge from the minority. In several cases this results an uprising, turning the social system on end. Simple examples of this type of change can be seen in the French or American revolutions, and even in the hippie movement of the 1960s. These changes depict how an idea shared only by a select few can snowball into the mindset of thousands. Within A Dolls House and An Enemy of the People, Henrick Ibsen shows his standpoint on the benefits of social change, and†¦show more content†¦She discovers how selfish her husband truly is when she is momentarily caught into a scandal. Though she would do anything to protect him, he would not raise a finger to assist her if it meant tarnishing his social standing. Upon discovering this, Nora stands up for herself and leaves all that she has known in orde r to find her true identity, and save her children from a similar fate. This evolution of character embodies a revolution within the female half of the population. Nora represents a faction of the population which was widely unrepresented, and generally considered the lowest minority. Through A Doll?s House, Ibsen shows his love of social change. An Enemy of the People presents a very different form of change. In this instance a very important figure in the society, Dr. Stockholm is the minority. He finds an error in a recently built bath house that is currently funding a large portion of the city. Stockholm immediately notifies everyone possible, and begins the process to correct the error. His brother, the mayor (representing the majority), tries to hush up the whole problem in order to search for a method that will allow for financial gain to continue from the baths, while fixing the problem. Dr. Stockholm refuses to be quieted and continues to barrage the people with his drive to work his solution. The mayor quietly reminds the people of the monetary issue, and the turn against the doctor, calling him an enemy of the people.Show MoreRelatedThe Changing Relationship Between Individual and Society in Modern Drama3272 Words   |  14 Pagesmankind; theirs is the role of observing, criticising and evaluating. A common theme visited by playwrights in modern drama, was the question of the relationship between the individual, and the society in which he lived. The Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen, who wrote in the last half of the 19th Century, broached the subject from a rather feminist angle, stipulating that it was wrong to view an individual woman as a nonentity without rights outside the role of motherhood or marriage; In the 1930sRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Harold Pinter s The Room 9709 Words   |  39 Pagesnot realism† (Pinter, Harold Pinter: Plays, 2 ix) Widely acknowledged as one of the great post-war generation dramatists, Harold Pinter’s fame rests on not only his popular dramas but also on his political activism which is rooted in his concern for people and their condition in realms which can be termed as social, professional or political. In fact it can be said that many of his works starting from the early comedies of menace to the later overtly political plays run parallel to his political activism