An enemy of the People by Arthur Miller Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

An enemy of the People by Arthur Miller - Essay Example In his play entitled â€Å"An enemy of the People,† Henrik Ibsen uses the character of Dr. Stockmann to bring out the extent to which the society can compromise the desires and beliefs of an individual. Reading through the play, one gets to understand how hard it is for people who have compromised their principles to be confronted by someone who has not. The use of the styles of characterization, irony, and symbolism help the author to show the reader ways in which a person can be disliked by the very same society he is doing his best to help. Dr. Stockmann, the main character of the play is a popular practicing medical doctor as well as the medical officer of a small coastal town in Norway. He is the brother of the mayor, an authoritative figure in the town. In the play, Dr. Stockmann is the protagonist who struggles to do the right thing and stand against the social intolerances that he encounters in his day to day activities. As a health officer of the town, Dr. Stockmann d iscovers a problem with pollution that is causing illnesses to the town’s tourists. To this effect, he comes up with a solution to the pollution problem which he presents to the Mayor. However, he discovers that it would not be an easy task to get the attention of the authorities and the townspeople as it becomes clear to him that they only care about the financial gain of the baths and not the problems they present. He realizes that he is alone in his quest for being right and notes â€Å"†¦..† (Ibsen 1011). Dr. Stockmann experiences a lot of negativity from the very same people of the town he is trying to help. When he discovers the extent of pollution in the waters, he believes that people will be interested in finding a solution. However, the townspeople, even his friends term him an â€Å"enemy of the people† mainly because his suggestions take the prosperity associated with the benefits of the baths back. He even notes himself "I've decided. I am an Enemy of the People"(Ibsen 1028) when he finally accepts that most of the towns people will never support him. This brings out irony in the play. It is ironic because Dr. Stockmann had the best of intentions when he proposed limiting the damages of pollution by closing the baths. In any case, the people are their own enemy because their greed and desire for prosperity will in the end bring harm and destruction to the town. It is clear that people do not realize the shortsightedness of their stand against Dr. Stockmann’s opi nion of what is best for the town. Ibsen’s use of imagery as brought out by the character of Dr. Stockmann who points out images of pollution throughout the play. At the beginning, Dr. Stockman literally discovers the polluted baths which in this case, are getting polluted by literal filth from the tanneries. As the play progresses, images of dirty water are used as a symbolic representation of moral and societal corruption. According to Roshwald, there is the physical filth, as well as moral pollution, and one can see the biological poison as a representation of the moral corruption in the society (229). In a community, there are always selfish individuals who have compromised their principles and find it challenging when confronted by someone of integrity. The mayor is dishonest and callous, but his brother is an honest man and that is why as Roshwald notes, Dr. Stockman accuses his brother by saying â€Å"We are making our living by retailing filth and corruption!†

Theodore Roosevelt and his contribution to America Research Paper

Theodore Roosevelt and his contribution to America - Research Paper Example He used these enhancements to make serious and positive changes to the US. He focused upon some of the most important questions concerning the power of the government and the individuals within a nation. Body US was experiencing heavy amount of economic growth and was being regarded as the wealthiest nation when Roosevelt replaced McKinley as president. US were leading throughout the world in the production of iron, coal steel and timber when Roosevelt came into action. During that era US even experienced growth in the rate of population and exports. The growth experienced by US was beneficial but equally disastrous as this growth brought poverty, increase in child labor, unpleasant working conditions and unequal distribution of wealth. Roosevelt was of the opinion that government should intervene and limit the freedom enjoyed by private enterprises. Due to this he started regulating private businesses by making several changes to the laws and constitution, some of these changes in laws includes: the drug act, laws regarding the safety and inspection of working conditions in industries and the Pure Food Act (D'Silva 262). Although these changes were not appreciated by the business communi ty during that time period but today the importance of these changes are recognized by the citizens of US. Roosevelt was clearly of the opinion that one aspect of the society that should be directed and supervised by the government was the economy of a country. The laws and regulations added to the constitution by the president have aided the society in bringing Private Corporations such as Enron and Microsoft to justice. During the period of 1912, he tried for the third term as president under the Progressive Political party, during this session he coined and promoted some of the various changes to constitution that were later enacted under president Franklin, these changes included the stock market regulation, minimum wage clause and the Social security clause. Roosevelt played the role of an activist not only in America but throughout the world as he promoted the role of the United States as world power. During the period of 1898 US was at war with the Spanish nations and soon co nquered them, after the war US became responsible for supervising territories such as Cuba and Puerto Rico (O'Toole 300). President Roosevelt was a part of the war as an American solider and later he supported and made the American citizens realize that US was a global power. He was even a promoter of democracy as he promoted the Marshall Plan which was enacted after his death. The legacies of the president were a gift to the world and to the future of US, he was in love with the natural beauty, he liked to experience adventures such as hiking and climbing and he was the first president of US to make the issues experienced by environment as a issue to be countered by the government. He was persuaded by the Sierra Club and the chief of the US forests to take the issue of protecting the environment to the federal level as the issue could not be countered on the state level (O'Toole 240). His love for preserving the environment and his love for nature made him create policies in order o protect the