NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
... f Bernard Shaw. The relationship Don Juan has with the Devil can be seen as neither negative nor positive, however, the relationship with Ann and Octavius is another story. From the first scene of the play the audience realizes that Octavius is meant to have his heart broken. The shrewd character of Ann only teases Octavius to become someone that can be called less than a man. Shaw uses this negative influence of Ann on Octavius to demonstrate the power women have and to show the fact that the life force is the only factor that can truly create a marriage.
It can also be said that the dead father of Ann had and still has a negative influence on his daughter. He runs her life even from beyond the grave because she honored every wish he had. Tanner has to confront her several times to get her to live her own life, not knowing that this is exactly what she wants to hear from her future husband. Octavius and Tanner are at opposite ends of the spectrum and Shaw uses this to demonstrate how the misunderstood radical is the one who is chosen by the life force to thrive over the failed democracy (Bloom 5). Roebuck Ramsden has a positive influence on Ann and the others but is seen as an outdated person. He is the idealistic liberal that is made the butt of Shaw's jokes.
No information is given to him and it seems as if the younger more shrew cast members take advantage of him (ODonnel 89). However, all have much respect for the man and wouldnt dare dishonor him. Despite the fact that Tanner and Ramsden dislike each other immensely they hold a great deal of respect for one another and they both stand strongly by their beliefs. Much like Octavius and Tanner are polar on romance, Ramsden and Tanner are opposites on the matter of government. Bernard Shaw uses personal feelings as a means for ironic amusement as a fact of life; much of the satire in Man and Superman is done this way. The relationships and conflicts we see are nothing more than ironic twists with a message used by Shaw to get a laugh by the educated few (Fiske 62).
Perhaps that is the problem with Bernard Shaw that his humor and themes are written so only he and those like him can understand them. If he had written in a more universal tone possibly he would be praised more today than he is. Despite all this, the points are made and a Shavian style survives. After reading Shaw's Man and Superman several themes are apparent. However, there are two main themes that can be combined into one grievance with society, the superiority of man and the fallacy of democracy. Eric Bentley wrote in his book The Life of The Drama that Shaw didnt just want to show us his ideas but he wanted to make us understand through the relationships between the characters (49).
These relationships are where one can find the clues to the themes in the play. Though Ann ultimately gets what she wants in a marriage with Jack, it is his decision in the end. Throughout the play we see the dominance of men, its not as visible as in other literature but it is ever present. There is an air present that every decision must be approved by a male and that there are different levels of superiority. These levels go as deep as heaven and hell with Don Juan and his former lover.
Don Juan's former lover needs his accompaniment even in the afterlife but even her father turns her down. Shaw is making the point with the third act taking place in hell that on earth men are bound by rules but in the afterlife is where true freedom can take place. This theme is ever present because we see the moral and social obligations that each character has, Hector to his father, Ann to her father, and even Speaker to Jack Tanner (Brustein 109). On earth there is always an obligation to someone, but Shaw makes the point that in hell there is nothing to worry about but you. The different levels of superiority are a major theme that can be taken away from Man and Superman. The play brings the rebellion Shaw has in conflict with flesh and blood reality to where he balances the ideals of philosophical moralist against the neutrality of the natural historian (Brustein 108).
Shaw uses the relationships between the characters to promote this theme and when looked at even deeper it becomes a commentary on society. Shaw is an avid socialist who constantly argues with current dogma and criticizes civilized society calling it one huge Bourgeoisie (Ohmann 27). In the play Shaw attempts to demonstrate the lack of social awareness that people have and the corruption that results due to it. This is how the morass of man due to woman can be compared with that of society.
Robert Brustein wrote that Man and Superman is like heaven and hell (109), similar in function but very different in ideology. It is this quest for supermen that Shaw wants to portray. These are the people who will champion his cause and it will only come about though the limitations and actions seen in Man and Superman. The style of George Bernard Shaw is that of many different writers. He is someone who has been influenced greatly by a variety of people, both in his diction and in his views. This becomes the focal point of many pejorative critics of the man.
They denounce him for his unoriginal ideas and trite styles. Shaw didnt write for acclaim, however. He seldom cared what others felt or said about his writing, as long as he got his point across that was good enough. It becomes apparent why so many critics disapprove of him when one looks at the list of contributors to his work. They range from Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Butler, Marx, Ruskin, Morris, Care and Wagner to Ibsen, Chekhov and even Jesus (Ohmann 30). During the time period of his life people as radical as these were feared and thus shunned by society.
A number of people on that list are great reformers and socialists. Today we have the term Shavian when discussing the radical type of literature produced by Bernard Shaw. The simple definition of Shavian would be to describe his style of writing, but the real meaning as J. Percy Smith put it is that Shavian means to vigorously object to doctrine (2). That is exactly what he does in Man and Superman; he attacks marriage, government and religion, subtlety and very powerfully. When a man writes in the public eye and is considered a ra...
Free research essays on topics related to: bernard shaw, man and superman, negative influence, heaven and hell, don juan
Research essay sample on The Literature Of George Bernard Shaw
