Troubles in the Proctor Household Essay Example for Free

Troubles in the Proctor Household Essay Run High in Proctor Household In the beginning of Act II of Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, the story presents an interaction between John Proctor and his wife, Elizabeth. The interaction between the couple emphasizes that their relationship is anything but normal than that of a married couple. The main cause of their awkward relationship stems from Johns wandering lust. John Proctor has conflicting emotions towards Elizabeth because both of them are trying to avoid the huge fact that he committed adultery. The conflicting emotions are present when John Proctor tries to avoid confrontations with his wife, the small talk between them where John constantly tries to please Elizabeth, and the lack of mutual agreement between them. Throughout the scene, John Proctor tried very hard in order to avoid altercations with his wife. In a patriarchal society of the 1600’s, it would be very common for a woman to be subservient towards her husband. In the Proctor household, it is no different since Elizabeth quietly questions her husband’s authority because she â€Å"fear(s) to anger him† although she has all the leverage she needs in an argument by simply stating the fact that he cheated on her (Miller 53). However, John displays the complete opposite behavior of what is expected of a male in a patriarchal society. Firstly, when John comes home and tastes the soup his wife prepared, he is â€Å"not quite pleased† with it for it was not seasoned well (Miller 49). After adding more salt himself, John notices that Elizabeth is intently watching him taste the soup. Instead of being a typical husband back in the 1600s by criticizing such a small mistake about how his food is seasoned, he compliments on how good-tasting the soup is while knowing that it was the product of his handy-work. By holding his tongue, he avoids a confrontation between him and his wife over a very small issue of not putting enough salt in the soup. Additionally, John seems not to be the typical male in his society when he, â€Å"as gently as he can† asks for some cider (Miller 51). It is clear that this is not what his normal behavior would be because, as Elizabeth is fetching him his cider, she feels â€Å"a sense of reprimand†¦for having forgot† (Miller 51). Because Elizabeth felt as if she did something to wrong her husband, she expects that John will make a huge fuss over the issue. However, John casually brushes off her mistake by just changing the subject to him tending to the fields. His careful behavior towards Elizabeth makes him adopt the tone of a husband that has done something to immensely displease his wife and is trying not to anger her. Clearly, it shows that John has conflicting emotions towards his wife because he wants to act as a typical husband back in the 1600s, but he remembers the heinous crime he committed and tries to avoid confrontation and the possibility of the two of them talking about his mistake. John Proctor’s entire conversation with Elizabeth is mostly saying things to please her in an attempt to make-up for his affair. For example, while eating his meal he makes constant remarks about their farm being extremely big and the reason for coming home so late was because he was busy â€Å"planting far out to the forest edge† (Miller 49). In this obvious attempt to please Elizabeth, John hints at the fact that he has worked very hard on their farm. By hinting at this, he hopes to show Elizabeth that he is working for the greater good of the family and that he is not spending time with Abigail. Furthermore, John wants to make sure that Elizabeth sees all his hard work when he suggests that on â€Å"Sunday†¦ (they’ll) walk the farm to together† (Miller 51). The above passage clearly shows how much John is trying to please Elizabeth because he openly said that they would go explore the farm on Sunday which is supposed to be dedicated to a day of prayer where no one is supposed to do any work and if an individual skips church service, they would get in trouble. Secondly, John tries to please Elizabeth with material wealth when he breaks the awkward silence between them by explicitly saying that â€Å"if the crop is good I’ll buy George Jacob’s heifer. How would that please you? † (Miller 50). By asking Elizabeth her opinion on what she thinks about his decision to buy a heifer shows an atypical relationship between a husband and wife back in the 1600s since the male usually does not ask for their wife’s opinion on their decisions and that John is also trying hard to please his wife. The typical male attitude toward women voicing their opinions on things is also present in John’s demeanor when he explodes at the slight thought that Elizabeth â€Å"has lost all faith in him† due to the fact that he â€Å"faltered slightly† at the thought of hurting Abigail’s reputation (Miller 54). The constant battle in John’s demeanor to act as the man of the house as well as the caring husband act he is struggling to put up in order to make up for his mistake is an example of the conflicting emotions he is experiencing while dealing with his wife.

The Character of Esteban in The House of the Spirits :: House of the Spirits Essays

The Character of Esteban in The House of the Spirits Allende portrays Esteban as having a strong and harsh character in the novel, The House of the Spirits. Yet, after leaving, his mother and sister, and starting a new and independent life, Esteban changes much. For the first time he is successful and wealthy. He feels as if he has no problems, mainly because he does not have a family to weigh him down. Trueba's move to Three Marias seems to appease his hunger temporarily, before his monstrous, demanding, and ever growing needs overwhelms him. The type of lifestyle achieved by Esteban Trueba in Three Marias far surpassed that of living with his mother and sister, however only brief moments of satisfaction are incurred. These, previously mentioned, moments created a hunger for perfection and greed that would continue perpetuate at any cost. Receiving a letter from Ferula brings back memories for Esteban of his sad life with her and his mother, which forces him to endure his memories of poverty and pain. He even remembers the smell of medicince, which had encompassed their home. These memories force Esteban to reflect on the reasons why he left them. He reminisces on that portion of his life, occupied by the deterioration of his family. Ferula endured many burdens as well, due to their father's drinking, then his death, their mother's age, her chronic sicknesses, and Esteban's childho od care. A direct result of these chaotic years is the siblings inability to relate. When Esteban bought a luxury, an elaborate coffee with his money she scolded him for "spending Mama's medicine money on [his] private little whims" (Allende 43). Eventually Esteban tires of this oppressive way of life and goes to search for a "destiny that was bright, free, and full of promise" (Allende 44). At Tres Marias he hopes to find his Eden. All this cargo from his past is called to his attention by the letter he receives from Ferula. The letter does result in inflicting guilt on Esteban, for his lack of morals and complete selfishness. Ferula tells Esteban, in the letter, that their mother wants to see her son again before she dies. "Esteban had never really loved his mother or felt at ease in her presence," but he knew that resisting this visit to pay his last respects would be unethical (Allende 71).

Television: the Undiscovered Drug

Television has brain-washed the majority of our youth. The first thing I hear as I get home are TV mumbles. I open the door and to no surprise there is my younger brother in full motion on the coach, hand in remote, flipping through channels. My brother could not be any more of a coach potato. He watches TV all day and night. I refer to him as the human TV guide. So much endless television can dull our minds, take away time from completing important activities, and has exposed us to a world of violence. First off, Television has dulled the mind of our youth easily.Youths today are used to having their information passed to them on a silver platter. Not as many teens like to read anymore because it involves too much work. My brother hates to read, not only because there are words involved in that activity, but also because it is now impossible for him to visualize the world presented within the book. It is also impossible for him to focus on a book because of the short attention span he has developed, and reading books just takes too much time for him. Television presents the world to him, a different world every thirty minutes, which holds his attention. Similar article: Teenagers’ Leisure TimeThis now leaves him no mental work to do, except to decide which channel he would like to watch. Because watching television requires no mental work, the brains of the adolescents that watch television are not stimulated enough. This may lead to a slower learning process, which would then explain my brother’s inability to memorize the multiplication table. Second, Television consumes time youths should be dedicating to more important and more essential things in their lives. Television takes away time that should be devoted to homework.When my brother gets home from school, he will immediately flip the television on, leaving his homework for later. When he finally decides to do his homework, the television will remain on, and he will sit on the couch with his books propped up in front of him, giving it only half of his attention. Homework takes longer to complete, and it probably will not be his best work since only half of his co ncentration was focused on it. Television also takes time away from quality family time. Most adolescents do not have a strong family connection.Families whose only time together is at the dinner table will waste precious quality time with their heads turned towards the television. The youth of today lose the strong morals and values they can get when spending time with their family. Television can even take away time from friends. When I spend time with my friends, I like to talk with them or go out. When my brother spends time with his friends, they spend the whole day watching the television. Their conversation revolves around what they are watching on the television. Most teens have the majority of their day devoted to the television. Lastly,Television has exposed a world of violence towards our youth causing them to be apathetic towards situations. Many television shows make at least one of the three aspects, violence, drugs, and sexual immorality, a normalcy. Adolescents of to day model their behavior after characters who live in world of violence, and they do not realize that what they are doing is wrong because to our youth, whatever they see and hear on television is right. For example, my brother has become a lot less sensitive towards all his friends at school. He thinks its okay to laugh if somebody gets hurt accidentally even if it could be serious.Or abruptly scream nonsense! He also believes its okay to manipulate people as long as he gets his way. Violence on television is glamorised and styled, and watching it does not hurt. So maybe this contributes to my brothers way of thinking their is no consequences. It is pretty short sided to blame everything on television because my brother should know what is â€Å"right† and what is â€Å"not† but how can he be really sure when television glorifies all sorts of violence? In Conclusion, When television was first invented, its purpose was to bring the family together and perhaps present a way in which we could receive information faster.In modern times, the television has managed to affect our youth in various ways we would not have imagined. The family gathering concept has disappeared. We have accomplished a faster way to transmit information, but it was a little too much information a little too fast for the wrong audience. I suppose my brother chooses to react this way because he is already too accustomed to being a coach potato. Television has taken over our way of life and we must stop the effects it has had on our youths and our society before it is too late.

Dowry, Dower, Curtesy Legal Concepts About Marriage

Dowry is related to property or money given upon marriage, and dower and curtesy are concepts connected with property rights of a widowed spouse. Dowry Dowry refers to a gift or payment by a brides family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. As an archaic usage, dowry can also refer to dower, the goods a woman brings to a marriage and retains some power over. Less commonly, dowry refers to a gift or payment or property given by a man to or for his bride. This is more usually called a bride gift. In South Asia today, dowry deaths are sometimes a problem: a dowry, paid on marriage, is returnable if the marriage ends. If the husband is unable to repay the dowry, the death of the bride is the only way to end the obligation. Dower Under English common law and in colonial America, dower was the share of a deceased husbands real estate to which his widow was entitled after his death. During his lifetime, she was, under the legal concept of coverture, not able to control any of the family property. After the widows death, the real estate was then inherited as designated in her deceased husbands will; she had no rights to sell or bequeath the property independently. She did have rights to income from the dower during her lifetime, including rents and including income from crops grown on the land. One-third was the share of her late husbands real property to which dower rights entitled her; the husband could increase the share beyond one-third in his will. Where a mortgage or other debts offset the value of real estate and other property at the husbands death, dower rights meant that the estate could not be settled and the property could not be sold until the widows death. In the 18th and 19th centuries, increasingly dower rights were ignored in order to settle estates more quickly, especially when mortgages or debts were involved. In 1945 in the United States, a federal law abolished dower, though in most states, one-third of a husbands estate is awarded to a widow automatically if he dies without a will (intestate). Some laws limit the rights of a husband to bequeath less than one-third share to his widow except in prescribed circumstances. A husbands right of inheritance is called curtesy. Curtesy Curtesy is a principle in common law in England and early America by which a widower could use his deceased wifes property (that is, property which she acquired and held in her own name) until his own death, but could not sell or transfer it to anyone but children of his wife. Today in the United States, instead of using common law curtesy rights, most states explicitly require that one-third to one-half of a wifes property be given outright to her husband at her death, if she dies without a will (intestate). Curtesy is occasionally used to refer to a widowers interest as surviving spouse in the property left by the deceased wife, but many states have officially abolished curtesy and dower.