Molieres the Imaginary Invalid :: essays research papers fc

Moliere's "The Imaginary Invalid" Moliere's "The Imaginary Invalid" is a farcical play about a hypochondriac who is so obsessed with his health and money that he ends up neglecting his family. The story involves several different themes and plots within one family. A new interpretation of this 17th century play is now being performed at the Arts Club Theater; it incorporates some new changes and modernizations in addition to the traditional improvisation. Morris Panych has definitely succeeded in delivering a new, more comical version of Moliere's final play. Moreover, the dominant theme of this play is body versus mind. The play is about a wealthy, but stingy man who believes that he is constantly sick (Argan). However, there is an obvious doubt to whether he is really sick or if he is just imagining his illness. Therefore, the primary theme is Argan's internal struggle of body vs. mind. This theme is developed throughout the play into smaller themes such as masculinity versus femininity, greed versus love, and death versus life. Two of the major changes from the text to the play are Argan's degree of illness and his death. In the text, there are very few elaborate descriptions of Dr. Purgon's treatment. However in the play by Panych, there is no shortage of enemas and other "bathroom" related scenes. I originally thought this change was for comical purposes, but after some additional thought I questioned whether Argan was imagining his illness or if he really was ill. In the text, by not having too many bathroom scenes, Argan seems to be imagining his illness (thus, he is the imaginary invalid). In Panych's stage version, Argan shows several symptoms of being ill; this definitely confuses the original play by Moliere. One of the original purposes of the play was to criticize, among other things, the medical profession in Moliere's time. Now, if Argan really was sick, does that mean that the doctors were correct in their analysis? No, it doesn't. I believe that Panych intended to show that it was the doctors' treatments that made Argan ill and eventually killed him. Another major change from Moliere's version is Beralde's gender and role in the play and in the family. Beralde is transformed into Argan's sister, instead of his brother. Panych saw male versus female as a major theme. If you look at the structure of the original play, all the people who truly love Argan and mean him well are female, except for Beralde. In fact out of all the different characters who take advantage of Argan, only one of them is female-

Emily Dickinson Comparative Poems Essay

Emily Dickinson was a religious person, but she always questioned faith and religion in her poetry. She seems to not take a solid stance in the debate between science and faith. However, Dickinson seemed to particularly struggle with the idea of â€Å"faith† and what it really meant. This is evident in most of her poetry, but two poems that indicative of this are â€Å"Faith is a fine invention† and â€Å"I heard a Fly buzz–When I Died†. â€Å"Faith is a fine invention† is a short poem comparing faith and science. I see this poem as a concise and truly accurate claim. Dickinson is basically portraying that religion is okay, just as long as the individual is aware of when it is appropriate to depend upon it. I think this poem does mock religion a bit. She never says that all people who put their trust in their religion are ignorant, but I do believe that she is implying that some may be consumed by their faith, to the point of blindness. Faith cannot solve everything, and those who believe it does are somewhat ignorant to believe so. Dickinson also refers to â€Å"faith† as an â€Å"invention† in the first line of the poem. I feel that to imply that something has been invented would be to suggest that it’s artificial and not concrete. Maybe man has invented religion as a means of a scapegoat in situations, so that’s why faith, to Dickinson, is â€Å"†¦ a fine invention / When Gentlemen can see–† (Dickinson 1-2). It is an invention, because religion sometimes may become a tool to draw attention away from immorality. This is true about those who claim to have strong faiths, but are very quick to find faults in others. Faith should not be way of taking the blame off of oneself. If someone cannot view their own behavior as immoral, are they completely blind? This poem somewhat satirically mocks how people use faith in situations where it may prove to be completely useless. Certain life problems, health ailments especially, cannot be solved by reliance on faith. In a crisis, religion can’t be relied upon to save an individual. I feel that the â€Å"microscope† in line 3 holds multiple meanings. The microscope a tangible tool to help us see things that we cannot see with just the naked eye. This is a metaphor for humans being able to see the truth and reality of a situation. This presents a realness in the poem, as opposed to the â€Å"invention† of faith. â€Å"In an emergency† (Dickinson 4) science would prove to be useful while faith would not. I would argue that this poem definitely forces readers to contemplate her faith. The poem is short, but conveys a clear message. Many individuals turn to god when they are in the midst of a life crisis. However, faith is not the answer â€Å"in an emergency† (Dickinson 4). God cannot always save us, so we must open our eyes and take a closer look to realize this. We must save ourselves sometimes, despite the trust many people have put in their faith. The poem â€Å"I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I Died† is a poem about death. The speaker has already died, and speaking from the grave, they describe the last few moments of their life. Before the speaker is about to reach â€Å"the light† (Dickinson 14), the buzzing fly that is in the room comes between the speaker and the light. The conclusion of the poem is truly ambiguous and leaves the reader wondering whether or not the speaker reached what would seem to be heaven. It also causes the reader to question if heaven, to Dickinson, is even real or not. The fly coming between the speaker and heaven is representative of reality. The speaker was hoping that before they died, they would be greeted by god, or perhaps Jesus. Dickinson really seems to question god’s existence in this poem. She conveys the fact that many humans try to console themselves with stories about god and heaven. Even when the speaker is about to die, they are hopeful to be greeted by god or jesus, but this is really not the case. Heaven does not provide an afterlife, if heaven really even exists at all. Life is the only tangible thing. The fly interrupting the silence illustrates the ordinary, the average, every day tangible things. Although Emily Dickinson was a religious woman, I did interpret this poem as having an agnostic theme about it. It even leads me to believe that Dickinson was unsure herself if there was truth to faith, and if god was real. She recognized that people liked to almost fantasize about a softer side of death. I believe that people who claim to have very strong faith are guilty of that. Knowing, or at least hoping that you will be taken to heaven by god when you die is a comforting thought. People don’t like to think about the harsh reality of death. As in â€Å"Faith is a fine invention† Dickinson points out that faith is something that man has created. If man has created it, can it actually be real? The way she questions faith in many of her poems would convey to the audience to believe that she had very deep struggles with her own faith and religion.

The Merger Between Houston Natural Gas Company - 1077 Words

Enron’s history dates back to the Omaha-based Northern Natural Gas Company, an interstate pipeline company formed in 1932. In 1979, the Northern Natural Gas Company merged under their holding company InterNorth. Accordingly, InterNorth branched into a more diversified energy company working in natural gas marketing, production, and transmission alongside plastics innovation and other energy-related products. In 1985, during the reorganization of the merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, the company named itself â€Å"HNG/InterNorth Inc.† and built a large headquarter complex in Omaha, much of it being formed with pink granite (locally dubbed as the â€Å"Pink Palace†). Six months after the reorganization of the company, Samuel Segnar, the company’s first CEO, departed--paving way for Kenneth Lay (HNG’s former CEO) to replace Segnar. The next year, Lay received the post of chairman. Following Lay’s entrance into HNG/InterNorth Inc ., chapter two began with a running start. Soon after Kenneth Lay’s takeover, he moved the headquarters to Houston and changed the company name. Originally, with his secretary Nancy O’Neil, they selected the name â€Å"Enteron† (spelled as EnterOn). After consultation, they were informed that enteron was an approximation of the word â€Å"intestines† in greek. The name was quickly abbreviated to Enron. This error was found only after all stationary, business cards, and other items were printed. So no matter the rate of the change, there was already aShow MoreRelatedHistory And Formation Of Enron966 Words   |  4 PagesFormation of Enron Enron was formed through the merger of Houston Natural Gas (HNG) of Houston, Texas and InterNorth of Omaha, Nebraska. HNG covered the Florida and California market, their pipelines running from east to west. InterNorth catered the Iowa and Minnesota market, their pipelines running from north to south. HNG was formed in 1920, providing gas to retail customers in Houston. The company sold its retail gas business in 1920 and ventured into the gas exploration and production business. In theRead MoreEnron And Its Innovative Growth1409 Words   |  6 Pagesinnovative growth: After a merger in 1985, between two relatively small regional companies Houston Natural Gas Co., and InterNorth Incorporated, Enron Corp was formed. Enron Corporation became one of the biggest energy, and service company across the united states. Following this merger, Kenneth lay, who was at the time the CEO of Houston Natural Gas, also became the CEO of the newly formed Enron Corp. With his savvy skills already adopted in the smaller regional natural gas company, Kenneth Lay, was readyRead MoreEnron Was A Successful Multi Billion Dollar Company1555 Words   |  7 PagesEnron was a company that operated one of the largest natural gas transmissions networks in North America. At the top of its game, Enron was a successful multi-billion dollar company that marketed electricity and natural gas. 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Enron has been form through the merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth Incorporation and initially named it as HNG/Inter-North Incorporation, before renames it as Enteron. In 1986, the company name has been shortened to Enron Corporation. At the beginning of the operation, Enron only involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity and gas throughout the United States. A fter thatRead MoreThe Gas Of Houston Natural Gas1953 Words   |  8 PagesEnron was formed through the merger of Houston Natural Gas of Houston (HNG), Texas and InterNorth. Houston natural gas covered the Florida and California market, their pipelines running from east to west and InterNorth catered the Iowa and Minnesota market, their pipelines running from north to south. HNG was formed in 1920, providing gas to retail customers in Houston. The company sold its retail gas business in 1920 and ventured into the gas exploration and production business. In the year 1984Read MoreEnron And The Natural Gas Industry1542 Words   |  7 PagesEnron Background: Enron, based in Houston, Texas, was founded by Kenneth Lay as an energy and pipeline company in 1985 from the merger of two natural gas pipeline companies, Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth. The impetus for Lay to start Enron was the deregulation of the natural gas market in the mid 1980’s, which relaxed the rules on natural gas prices and allowed for more flexible agreements between natural gas producers and pipeline managers. These changes essentially eliminated the practice