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... irving. It is the role of man to teach his children the ways of the world and make that world suitable for living. It is the men that make all the decisions in life, and fight for freedoms they cherish. In Shaw's case he wants nothing else but the end of democracy and the start of socialism where all new children can live together equally.
Shaw writes Jack Tanner as he would himself in this play (Mayne 22). In a work of literature there is always a character that embodies the spirit of the author. It is a natural occurrence for an author to put himself in his work. Throughout Man and Superman Anns function is to get a husband, never is it spoken, would you like to get married? or if you choose to marry. It is written, as I must get married.
Indeed she must because Shaw realizes that at this time in history it is vital for a woman to have a mate. She can do nothing else but breed and comfort her husband. In act II line 74 Tanner says it best with what other work has she in life but to get a husband? It is a womans business to get married as soon as possible, and a mans to keep unmarried as long as he can. What Shaw tries to express that is sometimes lost on critics is the presence of the life force and what it does to both sexes. This force drives the two together, in fact Tanner mentions the force as Ann slowly weakens him into marrying her (Odonnel 81).
Shaw writes the battle for marriage as a battle for freedom and individuality (Odonnel 81). To the last line in the play Jack wont give up his freedom, but the life force proves too strong and he succumbs to it. It is this period in the play where he runs away, argues and does everything in his power to stay single that Tanner is being forced to learn why superman is needed (Bentley The Life Of The Drama 39). Superman in the sense that the next generation needs to be able to combat the evils of democracy, but these warriors can only come about from the marriage of a woman like Ann and a man like Tanner. It takes a man with radical ideas and a woman with shrewd ideals to produce a child worthy of a battle for society (Bentley Bernard Shaw 105). Shaw errs in this play though.
He writes with great verbosity the objection Tanner has to getting married and writes pages to demonstrate the determination of Ann to show the need for supermen but does not solve the problem (Bentley The Life Of The Drama 39). He only writes it to break the verbiage of democracy and get the idea out in the minds of his readers. There is no blue print for how its done, only that the need is there and waiting for the compliant few. This here is the arrogance that many critics come to hate in Shaw. He is a man of a million ideas with no way to make the flourish. The feeling of the need for a marriage is ever present but not that of a want for a marriage because Shaw wanted it that way.
If he had wanted a romance with sparks flying he would have allowed Ann to marry Octavius. In fact he goes as far to say through Ann that a compassionate man like Octavius never marries (Act IV line 303). This lack of emotion between Ann and Jack Tanner is Shaw's way of mocking marriage that there is no need for it other than that of the life force it gives. That marriage picks you; you dont pick marriage. To say that Shaw wrote devoid of emotion is an unfair assessment of the play, his romantic writings lacked spark but there is emotion where it is needed. Bruce R.
Park stated that Shakespeare showed love and Shaw showed ideas (74). After reading a Shavian writing this would appear true, where Shakespeare excelled in love Shaw surpassed in opinions. The majority of the third act in hell is jam packed with emotion (Park 75). It is here that Man and Superman earns its tragic in tragic comedy. It would have been literary suicide for Shaw to incorporate the sometimes mystifying Don Juan in hell scene if he didnt want it to mean something. All strange things must hold some idealistic standing otherwise they wouldnt be strange.
It is here that Shaw attacks his main targets of religion, marriage, democracy and the deception of society. The interaction between Don Juan and the Devil is just as important as that of Ann and Jack Tanner. Due to the fact that Tanner dreams up this sequence and is said to be Don Juan in his dream we can now parallel the two characters. After juxtaposing Don Juan and Tanner it becomes apparent that Shaw is using Don Juan as a vessel for his revolutionary ideas (Brustein 108).
He becomes a rebel against God and is transformed into a saint and thus an idealist, it is he who becomes and predicts a superman who is God defying. It can be said that Don Juan is Tanner not bound by earthly obligations, in fact Shaw makes it a point to write Don Juan opposite from his normal stereotype as a womanizer and even goes so far as to mock those in hell who do look for sexual satisfaction. Don Juan embodies everything Shaw feels his superman is to be. He holds the ideals of libertine such as Tanner but owes nothing to the life force that would ground him to earth. However, it is this life force that stops a great man like Tanner, that ultimately chooses who will become a superman.
Don Juan states that evolution strives to make god-like men, but only those men seen fit by the life force, which Shaw considers himself as a chosen one (Ohmann 37). The satire Shaw uses in this section is great for not only does he write that hell is a place that can be enjoyed but also that he was brought there due to a duel over a woman. It took a less than noble death and a trip to hell to make him into what is needed to overcome the failure of democracy (Brustein 100). Shaw writes Don Juan as the opposite of the womanizer he is commonly referred to for a comical effect and to make the dream sequence all that more unreal. His sexual drive is taken away because the ecstasy two people bring each other is basically impersonal and thus leads to conflict.
Shaw is avoiding this conflict and adding a vital character trait of unselfishness needed to combat society and become a superman (Odonnel 81). It is the interaction between Don Juan and the Devil that Shaw uses to advance his ideals in the play. It seems to be a fascinating conversation but in actuality it is didactic in the eyes o...
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Research essay sample on Man And Superman Don Juan
