World Literature: Dishonesty Due to Necessity? In the plays A Doll’s House and Fences, both Nora Helmer and Troy Maxson are guilty of dishonesty and deceit.
Dishonesty Due to Necessity? In the plays A Doll’s House and Fences, both Nora Helmer and Troy Maxson are guilty of dishonesty and deceit. They both keep secrets
from their spouses that, when discovered, have a devastating affect on their marriages and families. Consider Nora Helmer and Troy Maxson and the secrets that they
kept from their loved ones. What do these secrets reveal about Nora’s and Troy’s characters? Are they bad people incapable of honesty or are they dishonest because
of their circumstances? Is their deceit due to necessity? Also consider how their secrets and the underlined theme of deceit impacted the overall plot of the plays.
Please address these questions in a two to three page journal entry. Your journal entry must be typed in double spaced, 12pt Times New Roman font with one inch
margins at the top, bottom, left, and right. Be sure to number your pages and put your name, my name, the course, and the date in the top left hand corner of the
page. Your journal entry is due by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, September 15, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnX8XSKs18c
Dishonesty Due to Necessity?
Dishonesty might as well have disparate implications of an individual’s character based on the surrounding circumstances. Additionally, those affected may perceive the dishonest act as entirely unjustifiable and selfish of the subject in question. These aspects are demonstrated through the stories of Nora Helmer and Troy Maxson in the novels A Doll’s House and Fences respectively. Although in different settings and plots, the two characters exhibit dishonesty as a major attribute whose effects go beyond the damage of the individual’s reputation to include exerting unnecessary burden on other family members. However, one might argue that dishonesty among Nora and Troy does not necessarily stem from a viewpoint of necessity in equal measure.
Nora has always been treated by the husband as vulnerable and incapable individual who is not in a position to even make valid decisions. To the husband, Torvald, she has been raised in a manner that only affords her the position of a “doll” in the family and so she has to agree with everything her husband says and does. Surprisingly, she appears to be comfortable with being referred to by such as terms as “skylark” and “little featherbrain.” Consequently, Nora’s submission has fueled Torvald’s authoritative and patronizing habits to the extent that it even appears as though she is delighted by such treatment that renders her as a defenseless being. Nora’s dishonesty is evidenced by a life that is marked by impulsiveness, manipulation, and defiance.
Troy is presented as a character whose actions and expectations entirely stem from self-created illusions. This view of life is attributed to his dreams having been thwarted such that he does not believe in any other person’s ideas but instead values his own above all. Troy is fond of self-denial and lying to his close friends, something that further complicates his relationship with his family and friends. Additionally, Troy is so dishonest that he even has a secret extramarital affair.
Nora, however, appears justifiable and her dishonesty seems to be a necessity. This argument holds as her entire life has been marked by extreme pampering and treatment as a vulnerable being who is completely innocent. Her dishonesty is a necessity as the only way that she can express her opinions without the husband feeling disrespected while being manipulative. In fact, she does this in a well thought-out manner as she still assures her husband with such affirmations as “I wouldn’t do anything that you don’t like.” Additionally, her dishonesty is a necessity as she is absolutely innocent and inexperienced about the outside world- a scenario that has been facilitated by both the father and the husband who have treated her as a “doll.”
Troy, on the other hand, is not justified in his actions which grossly revolve around self-driven illusions that culminate into dishonest acts. Troy’s dishonesty is not a necessity as he has created his own world marked by very defiant terms, something that he can entirely avoid. For instance, there is no justification for his extramarital affair. Additionally, his decisions beat necessity as his death leaves behind a family with the unnecessary burden of having to disqualify his acts. That is, the family and close friends have to demonstrate that any actions that they may have taken were entirely unwillingly forced on them by Troy. Therefore, Troy’s hypocrisy that is absolutely based on unjustifiable self-made illusions makes his dishonesty very far from being a necessity.
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