The Character of Torvald Helmer and Nils Krogstad in A Dolls House Ess

Torvald Helmer is the least likeable character in A Doll's House, a play by Henrik Ibsen. Torvald is sometimes portrayed as a sexist pig. Such a reading does an injustice to Torvald. There is more depth to his character if one follows the hints that he had actively covered up for Nora's father. The first hint came when Nora told Kristina that Torvald had given up his government post because there was no prospect of advancement. It may be that there was no opportunity for getting ahead because promotion was slow in the bureau, but it may have been because his most intimate co-workers (those who would have used the familiar Du with him) were aware of what he had done. While the management did not prosecute him (just as Krogstad was not prosecuted), those acquainted with the incident could prevent his advancement into an office where his larcenous tendencies could do real harm. A second hint is that Helmer saw Krogstad as a threat to his new post in the savings bank: "he seems to think he has a right to be familiar with me." Did he suspect that Krogstad knew the one awful secret that could destroy him? The third hint follows that trail: Krogstad expected that Nora had sufficient influence to persuade her husband not to dismiss him. Why did he believe this unless he had some su spicion of her past influence? A further hint comes when Helmer remarks: "I pretend we're secretly in love--engaged in secret--and that no one dreams that there's anything between us." Why does he want that? Is this not a reference to the conflict of interest regarding her father? Lastly, after reading Krogstad's letter, almost immediately Nora's father comes to mind; he exclaims, "So this is what I get for condoning his fault! I did it for your sake, and t... ...e Artist. Coral Gables, Florida: University of Miami. Koht, Halvdan. 1971. Life of Ibsen. New York: Benjamin Blom. Meyer, Michael. 1971. Ibsen. A Biography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company. Northam, John. 1965. "Ibsen's Search for the Hero." Ibsen. A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Â   Notes: 1. Clurman (1977:115, 117). Brandes (1964:77-78): "The man is thoroughly honourable, scrupulously upright, thrifty, careful of his position in the eyes of strangers and inferiors, a faithful husband, a strict and loving father, kind-hearted. . . ." 2. Brandes (1964:49) says that Ibsen views Helmer as a stupid and evil man, whose "stupidity arises solely from his self-righteous egoism." 3. Clurman (1977:115-116) presents the traditional interpretation of Krogstad: "a soft man driven to hardness."

Macbeth: The Bloodbath Essay

Macbeth is by far the bloodiest of William Shakespeare’s plays. It begins with a civil war battle between the Scottish and Norwegian army, where Macbeth embodies his heroic and courageous figure. However, Macbeth eventually transforms into a villain, who murders the innocent with a lust for power. For the most part, blood is symbolic of violence and destruction. The frequent repetition of this imagery represents the murder, and the emotion following the murder, which is guilt. Shakespeare uses imagery of blood throughout the play to exemplify and express the guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after their deeds. After each murder, the act of guilt and regret increases. However, Macbeth soon accepts the fact that he will never be the same after murdering Duncan, which hardens him. Since he will never be the good captain he was at the civil war, he goes on killing left and right. Shakespeare’s nuance use of blood imagery traces Macbeth’s moral transformation from goo d to evil. Though Macbeth is known as an evil figure throughout the play, him as the heroic captain towards the beginning exemplifies the good character he could have been. During the civil war, Macbeth is known as a wounded captain who performs an action that is unlike him through the rest of the book. After Macbeth completes his good deed, he says, â€Å"For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name), / Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution† (1.2.18-20). Macbeth has killed Macdonwald, a leader of the Norwegian forces fighting the Scottish. The blood that pours out of Macdonwald’s flesh represents good blood. The murder is for the sake of Scotland, which brings peace and victory. As a result of victory, Macbeth is given a new title: â€Å"Go, pronounce his present / death, / And with his former title greet Macbeth† (1.3.74-6). Duncan has given the title of Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth. However, this victory is very much the begin ning of Macbeth’s downfall because of his gradual lust for power. Although guilt and regret express Macbeth’s concern for the deeds he has done, he soon accepts the fact that he will never be the same after Duncan’s murder. The good blood that is shed after the murder of Macdonwald is the only good blood in the play. After Macbeth murders Duncan, he begins to realize that he will never be the same, â€Å"Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine† (2.2.78-80). The blood imagery represents his life changing forever because the blood of Duncan (the murder) will never go away. Not even Neptune, the God of the sea can wash it away. This murder is used for only Macbeth’s benefit, which sheds bad blood. In addition, the blood imagery also epitomizes the guilt and regret that follows the murder. Macbeth has now dug himself in a hole that is nearly impossible to get out. After the death of Banquo, there are a series of times where Macbeth meets the ghost of Banquo. Once Macbeth sees him for the second time, he says, â€Å"I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er† (3.4.168-170). Macbeth says that he might as well continue killing because he has nothing to lose. It is like he is an evil, immortal killing machine that will not stop. He has already killed Duncan, Banquo, and will soon kill the family of Macduff. Moreover, Macbeth is regretting his crimes because he thinks about returning to his old self. Though Macbeth seems to love Lady Macbeth unconditionally, blood and murder has brainwashed him so much, that her death does not even faze him. Lady Macbeth is the reason for the start of Macbeth’s downfall. Furthermore, she brainwashed, taunted, and persuaded him to kill Duncan, which led to his collapse. After Macbeth hears about the cry of his woman, he says, â€Å"I have supped full with horrors, / Direness, familiar to my slaughterhouse thoughts, / Cannot once s tart me† (5.5.15-17). Macbeth exemplifies his decline and is not bothered by this cry because he has experienced his own bloody terrors. Murder and blood has scarred his life forever, ruining his relationship with his wife. During the final face off between Macbeth and Macduff, Macbeth says, â€Å"But get thee back. My soul is too much charged / With blood of thine already† (5.8.6-7). The blood imagery represents each and every one of his murders in the past. Furthermore, Macbeth admits his burdens to Macduff and is reluctant to fight him. Macbeth  is conscious that he has already killed his family and is sure of killing him too if they fight. As a result, Macbeth is the one drowning in his own blood by the blade of Macduff. Shakespeare uses blood imagery to ultimately stress the overwhelming guilt and regret that Macbeth feels after each murder. It is like a reminder of the wicked crimes that have been committed. In addition, blood imagery guides the reader through Macbeth’s path and transformation from good to evil and his downfall. Blood and murder blind Macbeth from what is and was most important to him at the start; Lady Macbeth. It is almost as if his life tarnished and is meaningless as more blood piles on throughout the play. After Duncan’s death, his mind revolves solely around his lust for power, which leads to his downfall.

The History of the Man-Made Invention of Money

The basic definition of money is anything that is commonly accepted by a group of people in exchange for goods, services, or resources. Every country has its own exchange system of coins and paper money. Bartering and Commodity Money In the beginning, people bartered. Bartering is the exchange of goods or services for other goods or services. For example, someone might swap a bag of rice for a bag of beans and call it an even exchange; or someone might trade the repair of a wagon wheel in exchange for a blanket and some coffee. One major problem with the barter system was that there was no standardized rate of exchange. What would happen if the parties involved couldnt agree that the goods or services being swapped were of equal value, or if the person in need of goods or services had nothing the person who had them wanted?  No deal! To solve this problem, humans developed what is called commodity money. A commodity is a basic item thats used by almost everyone in a given society. In the past, things such as salt, tea, tobacco, cattle, and seeds were considered commodities and therefore, were once used as money. However, using commodities as money created difficulties. For instance, lugging heavy bags of salt or dragging recalcitrant oxen around could prove practical or logistical nightmares. Using commodities for trade led to other problems as well, as many were difficult to store and could also be highly perishable. When the commodity traded involved a service, disputes also arose if that service failed to live up to expectations (realistic or not). Coins and Paper Money Metals objects were introduced as money around 5000 B.C. By 700 BC, the Lydians became the first in the Western world to make coins. Metal was used because it was readily available, easy to work with, and could be recycled. Soon, countries began minting their own series of coins with specific values. Since coins were given a designated value, it became easier to compare the cost of items people wanted. Some of the earliest known paper money dates back to China, where the issuing  of paper money became common from about 960 AD. Representative Money With the introduction of paper currency and non-precious coinage, commodity money evolved into representative money. This meant that what the money itself was made of no longer had to be of great value. Representative money was backed by a government or banks promise to exchange it for a certain amount of silver or gold. For example, the old British Pound bill or Pound Sterling was once guaranteed to be redeemable for a pound of sterling silver. For most of the 19th and the early part of the 20th century, the majority of currencies were based on representative money that relied on the gold standard. Fiat Money Representative money has now been replaced by fiat money. Fiat is the Latin word for let it be done. Money is now given its value by government fiat or decree, ushering in the era of enforceable legal tender, which means that by law, the refusal of legal tender money in favor of some other form of payment is illegal. Origin of the Dollar Sign ($) The origin of the $ money sign is not certain. Many historians trace the $ money sign to either the Mexican or Spanish Ps for pesos, or piastres, or pieces of eight. The study of old manuscripts shows that the S gradually came to be written over the P and looking very much like the $ mark. U.S. Money Trivia Likely the earliest form of currency in America was wampum. Fashioned from beads made of shells and strung in intricate patterns, more than simply money, wampum beads were also used to keep records of significant events in the lives of Native American tribal people. On March 10, 1862, the first United States paper money was issued. The denominations at the time were $5, $10, and $20 and became legal tender on March 17, 1862. The inclusion of the motto In God We Trust on all currency was required by law in 1955. It first appeared on paper money in 1957 on One-Dollar Silver Certificates and on all Federal Reserve Notes beginning with Series 1963. Electronic Banking ERMA began as a project for the Bank of America in an effort to computerize the banking industry. MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) was part of ERMA. MICR allowed computers to read special numbers at the bottom of checks that allowed computerized tracking and accounting of check transactions. Bitcoin   Released as open-source software in 2009, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that was invented by an anonymous person (or group of people) who used the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoins are digital assets that serve as the reward for a process known as mining and can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services. They employ robust cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Records of these transactions are known as blockchains. Each block in the chain contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Blockchains, by design, are resistant to data modification. As of August 19, 2018, there were more than 1,600 unique cryptocurrencies available online, and the number continues to grow.