The Rise of Consumer Culture Essay - 1687 Words

Consumer culture has developed over the years for many different reasons such as the demise of the social class and embourgeoisement which are both key factors in capitalism and has therefore led to the argument that consumer society merely reflects the rise of capitalism which I plan to discuss within this assignment. The origins of consumer culture have been discussed by Grant McCracken (1998) who argues that there is minimal agreement in regards to the origins of consumer society. McCracken took on the viewpoint that it would not be beneficial to look at a specific point in time in which consumer culture arose but to primarily focus on patterns of changes within culture and how these pattern of changes led to the reformation of society.†¦show more content†¦However the works of Neil Mckendrick (1982) led him to the viewpoint that consumer culture began in eighteenth century England with the commercialization of fashion which led to a mass change in people’s taste. So according to McKendrick the sudden change in people’s taste in relation to fashion during the eighteenth century meant that terminology such as ‘style’ developed and represented the shift in demand for items of clothing that was produced on a larger scale by new technology within the textile industry and marketing to a mass audience through improvements in printing technology which allowed and supported mass advertising to all members in society. The third was the development of the department store. According to McCracken the Department store changed the nature of purchasing activity because department stores essentially institutionalized consumption and changed the way in how consumers were influenced and to how much influence they were subjected to in relation to purchasing goods and services. From looking at the work of McCracken and McKendrick it is clear that the development of the consumer society came from an increase in the supply and demand mindset which is a key factor or element within a consumer society. Also the change in meaning in relation to consumption is another example of the development of the consumer culture because the term consumption was ignited through a new sense ofShow MoreRelated Consumer Culture Essay830 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"What is consumer culture?† In the late 19th, early 20th century a new phenomenon arose. Along with the development of industrial advances and urbanization of the emerging American culture was the growth and subsequent domination of the â€Å"consumer culture†. Consumer culture is a term that goes hand and hand with the American way of life today, but in those days it was a new and unique experience. 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Peer Gynt Free Essays

Peer Gynt Response Paper The story of â€Å"Peer Gynt† helps explore the state of mind of the self throughout the adventures of Peer Gynt, it also projects the human soul beyond the limits of time. In Peer’s words â€Å"I don’t know what I’m looking for† (Ibsen ) show that he is a young man experimenting with life by taking on various roles and disguises. In this respect, the story of Peer Gynt can be read as a psychological drama. We will write a custom essay sample on Peer Gynt or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, the presence of figures such as the trolls, the Boyg and sphinx illustrates that the play is also mythological. â€Å"Peer Gynt† is as well characterized by religious concerns and it is also metaphysical to some extent. This is pointed out through the way Peer lives through his dreams and attains salvation through Solveig. The first part of the play is Peer in his own society, an outcast, who needs to escape from a society that is restricting him. Weaving of tales is very important in this play since it is through his dreams that Peer will become emperor of the world. Only Peer knows how to create an imaginative world. To get out of his present state of poverty, Peer Gynt resorts to tale-telling to uplift himself and his mother from the cruelty of society. People become what they are because of society and the way it functions. The international travels of Peer shows a man who yearns for freedom from home, and pursues his dreams of power, sexual fulfilment, never growing old. These are the dreams of most people. Peer Gynt’s physical journey is also his mental journey through which he enters a process of discovering the human self. Peer’s quest is not so specific and in his pursuit he ultimately comes face-to-face with the search for identity. Peer steals away Ingrid during her wedding ceremony, only to abuse her and discard her. After this pitiful act he is forced to flee the village. This leads Peer to descend into the world of the trolls, where he finds the Green Woman, the Troll King’s Daughter. Descent in the world of the trolls, for Peer Gynt is the descent into an irrational world where only desires matter. The fact that Peer Gynt tries to to love the troll maidens so as to enter the troll kingdom shows that he is losing his bearings. There is a kind of beast or not civilized feeling which is represented through the trolls. Their world is the exact opposite of the world of morality. In act 2, we find Peer is simultaneously in the human world and the supernatural world (Solveig and the trolls). Ibsen’s dramatic psychology also centers upon the figure of the troll who are extremely self-centred. In most humans there is a troll, and that Ibsen’s play masterly shows this. This quote from the Boyg ,† He was too strong; women have saved him! † (Ibsen ) represents the better part of Peer’s nature takes up to him when Solveig comes to him. Peer Gynt as a self can only trust his own goodness when that goodness is reflected in someone else. The fact that he goes to help his mom through death shows the positive aspect of his nature. As his mother dies, Peer, across language, takes her through an imaginative world by weaving a tale of beauty. The complex bond between mother and son is there through imagination. The bonds with his past are severed with the death of his mother. Solveig and Ase are symbolical of human ties which make Peer Gynt and they save his soul many a time. However, Peer enters the lowest pits of mental, physical and spiritual degeneration when he takes up the sea journey. Peer fills the air with exaggerated stories and complete untruths. The fourth act which opens in Morocco is dramatically highly entertaining and it introduces themes which have to do with international problems. It makes visible the gradual want of Peer Gynt to become the emperor of the world. He comes out as a cynical businessman. From the peak of success, he encounters opposition, greed and treachery. He falls to the depth of the materialistic business man (slave trade) which makes him lose his soul. Peer Gynt simultaneously enters the world of pyramids and the netherworld he has created by entering the asylum. It represents the irrational uniqueness he wanted to attain. The beauty and sanity of the world he left behind now become more apparent. As Peer journeys through a landscape of his own disordered and crazy imagination. Peer’s, progress through the world becomes a spiritual regression. Spiritual exhaustion becomes a manifest as paralyzed moral will, non-commitment to a set of values, as self-alienation, depersonalization. Duplication and regression are the conditions the spirit is doomed to if it accepts the troll condition of â€Å"to thyself be enough† instead of the human â€Å"to thyself be true. † (Ibsen ) The shock to see mental isolation of individuals, of death propels Peer Gynt to move upwards. They put him back on the route to return. Being true to yourself is to seek for autonomy. We must note the fact that when he is robbed of all his property, Peer prays to God for help and his yacht mysteriously blows up with all on board. This evokes a feeling of mysticism. Through the quote â€Å"My world is ugly and happiness over,† (Ibsen ) Peer looks back upon his wasted life and peels an onion, he lets each layer represent a different role he has played but finds no core. Peer finally discovers that his ‘true self’ dissolved due to his self-seeking and ruinous lifestyle. By deserting family ties, Peer Gynt entered the worst stages of moral and physical decline. It is well known that it is relationships which make the identity, the self. Peer Gynt existed more genuinely in Solveig’s imagination and it is because of her faith, hope and love that he does not go to hell. Redemption comes through the love of Solveig which has endured and remained pure and untainted. Around Peer Gynt, who is a mythical figure in Norway, is a world and its people and also native myths, politics and religion. The play is a huge journey which has psychology but it also explores other edges of life. Bibliography Ibsen , Henrik. Peer Gynt. Mineola : Dover publications, 2003. eBook. How to cite Peer Gynt, Essay examples

Giraldi Cinthios Essay Example For Students

Giraldi Cinthios Essay The play, Othello was written by William Shakespeare in the later years of his career. Giraldi Cinthios, Tale of a Moor, based Othello on a story that was a mellow Drama, about a moor and his doubts about his wifes fidelity. In Shakespeares play the Moor (Othello) convinced by his jealous aid (Iago) that his wife (Desdemona) is not Being faithful. Iagos jealousy is motivated by his anger when he learns that Cassio of Florentine has been appointed Governor of Cyprus. He felt that he deserved this promotion and vowed to seek revenge against Othello. Othello being a Moor commanding the armies of Venice is a celebrated general and heroic figure whose free and open nature will enable Iago to twist his love for his wife, Desdemona into a powerful jealousy. Iago is Othellos ensign, and Shakespeares greatest villain. His public face of honesty and bravery conceals a satanic delight in manipulation and destruction. . The crucial moment in the play is the scene where Iago deceives Othello and induces him to fall. He does this by expanding the tactics used in prior scenes. Iago plants the seed of doubt in the Moors mind when he says, Ha! I like that not (III, iii) as they came upon Cassio and Desdemona talking. He then retreats into a guise as honest Iago as he did in the brawl (II, ii). When he was the reluctant truth teller who must have unpleasant news dragged from him by a determined Othello. The honesty by him being reluctant to speak is reinforced by the moralizing tone he takes with his commander. Iago actually lectures Othello about his jealousy the green-eyed monster and insisting that hell not speak slander he that filches from me my good name / Robs of that which not enriched him / And makes me poor indeed (III, iii). At the same time he is playing upon Othellos insecurities by lecturing him on how Venetian women are deceitful and treacherous by nature. The seizure of the handkerchief is a great achievement for Iago in his quest to destroy Othello and was aided by his wife, who apparently has no scruples about betraying her mistress in small matters. Shakespeare will eventually transform Emilia into a voice of moral outrage, and by the final scene the audience will applaud her role in Iagos destruction, but for now she is Iagos accomplice. It will take a great shock to inspire outrage against him-a shock that comes to late. Othellos accusations and refusal to accept Desdemonas denials are brutal and unfair, but his language recovers some of the nobility that it had lost in previous scenes. Iagos like sorrowful laments for what has been lost replace curses, and the audience is reminded of the heroism and dignity that Othello possessed at the beginning of the play. His cry o, thou weed, / Who art so lovely fair, and smellst so sweet, / That the scene aches at thee-would thou hadst neer / been born! (IV, ii) is a powerful expression of the love that he still holds for his wife, which has been ruined for ever by Iagos poisons. Othello is terr ibly wrong, but what Shakespeare demands that we sympathize with his error. Othellos words as he prepares to murder Desdemona reveal the extent to which he has allowed Iagos logic to dominate his own thinking. His fury has abated, but he is left with a sense of being an instrument of divine justice. Desdemona must die, because she has betrayed him. Othellos self-delusion is so strong that he believes himself to be merciful. He will not scar her body and he will allow her to pray because he says, I would not kill thy soul (V, ii). The actual murder is one of the most painful scenes in all of Shakespeares plays, because of Desdemonas manifest innocence, beauty, and purity. She proclaims to continue are love for Othello to the grave and beyond, returning to life only to gasp out exoneration for her husband. He rejects are last gift, but his illumination arrives quickly thereafter, and the audiences anger at the Moor dissipates as he is completely undone by the realization of his .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 , .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 .postImageUrl , .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 , .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256:hover , .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256:visited , .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256:active { border:0!important; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256:active , .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256 .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u68d5494a722a9f59c42ad3058ba7a256:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Antigone as Tragic Hero in Sophocles' Antigone Ant Essay