Critically discuss Michel Foucault's concept of knowledge/power with reference to Arthur Miller's film "The Crucible."
In "The Order of Things" (1973) Michel Foucault describes an episteme as the combination of institutions, discourses, knowledges and practices that organise the way we do things, making some actions acceptable and others unthinkable. He also says these processes of organisation in society are generally invisible. Critically discuss Michel Foucault's concept of knowledge/power with reference to Arthur Miller's film "The Crucible." Michel Foucault's is a theorist who demonstrates a modernist way of thinking. Based on one of David Morley's definitions of the postmodern phenomenon being "a form of cultural sensibility and a mode of thought, particularly appropriate to analyzing the period" (Morley: 1996, p.50), Foucault could be considered a postmodernist and a poststructuralist. However, some may consider his earlier works, like The Order of Things, to be structuralist as it may have possibly reflected a lack of distinction at the time it was written and received. Rather than narrating the nature of reality, Foucault intended to give descriptions of a variety of structures of knowledge also referred to as episteme. Arthur Miller's film "The Crucible" explores issues that are parallel to Foucault's thoughts of power and knowledge, however, Miller uses actual historical events as the background for his modernist ideas. The concept of knowledge and power explored in Foucault's
Provide evidence for the Relevance-theoretic hypothesis that the identification of explicatures is equally inferential, and equally guided by the Principle of Relevance as the recovery of implicatures.
Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen Neuphilologische Fakultät PS II: Pragmatics Dozentin: Sabine Braun Felicitas Schäfer WS 2004/ 2005 5.12.2004 Task: Provide evidence for the Relevance-theoretic hypothesis that the identification of explicatures is equally inferential, and equally guided by the Principle of Relevance as the recovery of implicatures. The process of explicating requires the hearer to "flesh out" the utterance expressed by the speaker. Afterwards the proposition expressed is recovered which is called explicature. An implicature can only be derived once the hearer has recovered the explicature. In different words: if the hearer discovers a deeper meaning behind the explicature, then this can be called implicature. These processes are based on the Relevance Theory, where maximal contextual effect is wanted for minimal effort. Firstly, explicatures are defined as "assumptions that are explicitly communicated"1 by using "the linguistic clues provided, the appropriate contextual information and the Principle of Relevance as a basic guideline" 1. The process of explicating can be split up into: reference assignment, disambiguation, bridging and enrichment. If we take the following example into consideration, we can use it to make the process of explicating clearer. Ms Miller: Doctor, doctor! You've got to help me. I'm shrinking. Doctor: Sorry, I
The Crucible - Do you agree that Proctor is a "melodramatic hero" whose committed choice for personal sacrificing death returns order to the world?
Wednesday 8th of October 2003 Question - Do you agree that Proctor is a "melodramatic hero" whose committed choice for personal sacrificing death returns order to the world? John Proctor is one of the main characters from the Crucible. The play has the structure of a classical tragedy, with John Proctor as the play's tragic hero. Honest, upright and proud man that thinks for himself and stands up for his values against everything else. Proctor is a good man who places great emphasis on his reputation. John Proctor is a strong, steadfast farmer who doesn't allow himself to be caught up in the "hysteria" of the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. Although the people of Salem respects and see him as a good citizen, he is independent and has a strong opinion about what he's having to see. Proctor is also very honest, speaking his mind no matter what. He is certainly not a perfect man though he is feeling guilty after being lecherous with his wife's servant, Abigail Williams. In the village most if not all were Puritans. This was a very simple religion that extreme strictness on religion and morals therefore his problem was sinning against one of the 'Ten Commandments' being a great fault in the Puritan society. Salem society influences the ideas and actions of John Proctor. He fulfils the requirements of a "melodramatic hero" by his actions throughout the story. His
Tokyo ben and Kansai ben - Japanese has many local dialects.
ID number 4580175 ERS section 3 Assignment 5: Compare/contrast Due date: 2 December 2002 Tokyo ben and Kansai ben Japanese has many local dialects. The two dialects with the largest number of speakers are the eastern and western dialects. The eastern dialect is called "Tokyo ben" which is equivalent to standard Japanese and the western dialect is called "Kansai ben" which is spoken in western Japan such as Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. There are four main differences between Tokyo ben and Kansai ben affecting vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation and grammar. The first difference is vocabulary. Different dialects use different words for the same things. For example, "arigato"(thank you) is used in Tokyo ben while "maido ookini"(thank you) is used in Kansai ben instead (Rie-Higuchi,2002). The easterners say "yano-assatte"(the day after tomorrow), "shoppai"(salty) and "-nai"(not) whereas the westerners use "shi-asatte" (the day after tomorrow), "ka-rai"(salty) and "-n" or "-nu" (not) (Shibatani,2002). The second difference between two dialects is spelling. The numbers of syllables decrease in Kansai ben. Many words in Tokyo ben are shorten when are used in Kansai ben. For example, the word "yoku"(very well) in Tokyo ben become "yo"(very well) in Kansai ben(Shibatani, 2002). "Omoshiroi" (interesting) is spelled in Tokyo ben while Kansai ben spells
The Significance of a Line From Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
The Significance of a Line From Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Neelum Raza, Junior "Isn't that remarkable." This single, brief statement may appear to be a trite cliché, yet in Death of a Salesman this favorite exclamation of Willy Loman takes on a much broader meaning. In the early part of the play, however, when Willy makes this remark, the reason is not particularly remarkable, or, if so, only in Willy's terms. Yet, during the course of the action the line develops into a comment on Willy's prosaic and confused mind. To start with, the remarkable aspect of the quote is that Willy Loman utters it when he is faced with an epiphany, a sudden realization. To demonstrate, this line takes on significance in the scene where Willy goes to borrow money from Charley. Willy always thought of Charley as the epitome of what Willie thought he detested. Yet, when Willy realizes that this man whom he had disparaged over the years was, indeed, his only friend, he says in utter amazement, "Isn't that a remarkable thing." As with other utterances, the realization is not remarkable, except that Willy had never been able to see reality long enough to recognize Charley's importance. This single line, then, demonstrates how Willy may finally begin to realize, too late, just how much he is liked. Another realization occurs between Willy and his son, Biff. After an emotional scene in
What do you find interesting about the way Miller presents the character of Abigail in act 1 of the crucible?
What do you find interesting about the way Miller presents the character of Abigail in act 1 of the crucible? What I find interesting about Abigail is the power of her conviction; she is after all only seventeen. Whilst all the time knowing she is a fraud. As an audience we are aware of everything that goes on in the play. We see the lengths that Abigail is prepared to go to in order to protect herself. She is prepared to sacrifice the lives of those around her in order to ensure that her own position is not marred. We learn that Abigail is an orphan, which allows Miller to create an opening through which he can draw upon sympathies from the audience. Before Abigail even speaks Miller has created a character with a very appealing set of attributes. She is strikingly beautiful which gives her the ability to ensnare any man as John Proctor finds out. We know from the text that he has fallen victim to Abigail's deadly charm before, and is still tempted by her even now, "I'll cut off my hand before I ever reach for you again". She is young only seventeen so she has all the ways of a woman and yet maintains the vulnerability of a child. This alone is a deadly combination as she can control how your response by playing upon each of these attributes to her advantage. When trying to convince Parris that she didn't conjure spirits she doesn't hesitate to blame those around her,
Discuss the themes of success and failure in Miller's 'Death of a Salesman'
Discuss the themes of success and failure in Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' is a tragedy, which is based on the American Dream. Most people go through their lives as 'ordinary' and that's perfectly okay according to most views. It is not okay, however, for Willy Loman, the aging salesman who is the protagonist of Miller's play. Death of a Salesman is centred around one man trying to reach the American dream and taking his family along for the ride. The Loman's lives from beginning to end is a troubling story based on trying to become successful, or at least happy. The 'American Dream' was to be successful at work and bring up a perfect family. Willy sets himself goals to a standard, which are too high for a salesman like himself. "....was rich! That's just the spirit I want to imbue..." Willy's age doesn't help with what he wants to achieve. He becomes de-moralised by this and continues to set more goals which are unachievable for a salesman at the age of 60 like himself. With Willy continuously setting standards too high he continues the theme of failure throughout this play. But it isn't just Willy who suffers, it's the whole Loman family. In contrast to Willy's views on success and failure his son Biff, sees both in a different way. Biff sees the true success in life and causes tension in their relationship. "Why does dad mock me
English Essay- Death of a salesman
Willy returns to the past on several occasions. Look at each of these 'visits' and say what they tell the reader about Willy. As Willy has grown older he has trouble distinguishing between past and present, between illusion and reality an is often lead through flashbacks where much of the story is told. The flashbacks usually show the summer after Biffs senior year of high school when all of the family problems began. Willy has many encounters with his past. The first one we come across is when Willy has returned home, talking to Linda about his day, when he says something about the car, "I was thinking of the Chevvy" the Chevvy that he drove was of happy memories however it makes the reader feel that Willy is a bit confused at first because he says he could not open the car window. Also it states that the car is of high importance to Willy. There are many encounters with the car later on. When Willy is describing his journey he mentions the scenery too, " but it is so beautiful up there, Linda, the trees are so thick and the sun is so warm" it is the scenery that has made Willy so happy and thinking of the Chevvy. This refers back to the stage directions when Willy returns back for another visit to the past, it is said that " The apartment houses are fading out and the entire house and surroundings become covered with leaves" this may be that the pas has something to
Death of a Salesman and the American Dream.
Lawencia Lester 1-09-2004 Eng 1102 Death of a Salesman American Dream "The American Dream" is that dream of a land in which life should be better, richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and are recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. The Lomans are a family in search of the American dream. Willy Loman is an elderly salesman lost in false hopes and illusions. As he has grown older, he has trouble distinguishing between illusion and reality. Linda is Willy's wife and is the arbiter of peace in the family. She is protective of Willy. She wants him to be happy even when the reality of the situation is bad. Biff Loman is Willy's son.Biff was a star football player in high school, with scholarships to two major universities. He flunked math his senior year and was not allowed to graduate. He became a drifter and was lost for 15 years. Happy Loman is the youngest son. He lives in New York in an apartment. Happy which they call Hap
Discussing Joe Keller.
Joe Keller Joe Keller lives on denial. As Miller has said, "The truth and mankind are cousins, not brothers and sisters." He is a survivor doing what he has to, to get by and, to Miller, that is an entirely recognisable, if, finally, unacceptable, motive. In an early draft we are told that Keller had been poor until 1938, a victim of the Depression. The war had thus made him and he knew what it was to have nothing. That fact is removed from the final version but not the fear of losing everything. Nor was he the only person cutting corners during the war. In small ways many people were compromising, cheating on rationed goods, even profiting from the conflict. It is worthwhile recalling that Miller began this play during the war and expected it to be produced during the war. He thought, therefore, that he would merely be speaking aloud what everyone knew on a daily basis, though he suspected that the play might cause something of a furore. Joe Keller justifies his actions in terms of the family, to which alone he acknowledges responsibility. Like so many of Miller's characters, he wishes to leave his mark on the world, to justify his existence, and how else but by passing the business onto his sons. He forgets, however, that he has a responsibility which extends far beyond the family. Indeed, in some senses, this had been a central