World Literature Egocentrism free essay sample

The effect of egocentrism in â€Å"A Doll’s House† and â€Å"Antegone† and its effect on their relationships and the characters themselves. The two word literatures: â€Å"A Doll’s house† by Henrik Ibsen and â€Å"Antegone† by Sophocleus, have both portrayed how the character’s egocentrism contributes to the tragic ending. The types or the role of each character are different, but they both have the same egocentrism: Helmer from â€Å"A doll’s house† and King Creon from†Antegone†. Helmer personally thinks that whatever he does is taken as the highest priority; he even calls his wife, Nora, as animal. Creon, because he is the king of his own empire, he is full of hubris and he, like Helmer, takes all of his actions as the highest priority. However, considering their similarities, their egocentrism affect both of them differently, albeit they have the same ending of losing their family. This shows that both of these characters have a number of similarities and differences based on their egocentrism. We will write a custom essay sample on World Literature Egocentrism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Helmer has a variety of characteristics, which makes him egocentric. His egotistical character has made him lose his precious wife, Nora. Helmer has never considered his wife, Nora, an equal being because he thinks that he has higher priority than in social ranking than an ordinary person. â€Å" And I wouldn’t want you to be any different from what you are- just my sweet little songbird† (15). It can be seen from this quotation that Helmer is the master and Nora is his pet or semi-slave. Helmer, since he is the head of the family, thinks that he is the â€Å"law† and those who go against him will be punished. â€Å" And worst of all, telling me a lie! † (177). By considering his expressions, it is obvious that Helmer thinks himself to be a god-like being of the family and in fact he is not. Helmer becomes indignant because Nora is â€Å"telling him a lie†; like telling the God a lie, Helmer believes that no one shall tell a lie to him. Helmer also expresses his egocentric character, which makes him ridiculous, by saying the good part of himself. â€Å" Oh I’m not so hard-hearted that I’d condemn a man outright for just a single slip† (79), and â€Å" Wasn’t that a good idea of mine? † (186). It is very obvious from the above quotations that Helmer is a type of man who cannot help himself from saying his good points, which eventually causes his relationship deteriorate. In addition to that, Helmer cannot consider ideas steadfastly and this leads to the loss of Nora. â€Å" My dear Nora, I can forgive you anxiety though its rather insulting to me† (189). Because he is egocentric, he considers things negatively rather than positively. The above characteristics of Helmer have led to the consequence of Nora leaving the house. In act three of the play, it can be seen that the characteristics of Helmer changes with his mood. That is why he takes action without the consideration of the outcome of what he has done. â€Å" I could risk everything I had- even my life itself to save you† (219). Before the climax of the play, Helmer is expressing his love to Nora, which made her bit comfortable. However, when the letter, written by Krogstad arrived, he turns into a different person. â€Å" For these last eight years you’ve been my joy and my pride- and now I find that you’re a liar, a hypocrite- even worse- a criminal! † (220-221). In addition to the above quotation, Helmer is also expressing his egocentrism, along with his indignation, to Nora. â€Å" You’ve completely wrecked my happiness, you’ve ruined my whole future† (221). Because he was only concerning himself and covered with emotions, he begins to thrash Nora with the above quotation. And I brought so pitifully low all because of a shiftless woman. The above quotation is contradicting to what he has just said before thrashing Nora. This is because he is self centered and can think of nothing but him. â€Å" And after I’ve cherished you all through our married life. N ow do you realize what you’ve done to me? † (221). Again this egocentric quotation shows that he has lost his prudence because of his current mood. However, Helmer’s character changes when the letter of cancellation arrived. It can also be seen from here that Helmer is egocentric. â€Å" Nora I’m saved! (222). His mid is full of â€Å"me, myself, and I† by looking at the above quotation. As his characteristic has changed, Nora asks him. â€Å" But I have Nora, I swear it- I’ve forgiven you everything. I know now that what you did all for love of me† (223). People will say that Helmer could have forgiven her earlier, but as I stated before, that Helmer’s personal temperament changes is dependent to his moods or current feelings, which is his egocentrism. â€Å"And my great wing will protect you† (223) and â€Å" I shall protect you like a hunted dove that I’ve saved from the talons of a hawk† (224). These quotations are contradicting what he has said before, because his problem is over and he does not need to worry about anything. However, realizes that â€Å" this is a reckoning† (225) and she knows that Helmer â€Å" doesn’t love her anymore† (229) because of his hypocritical temperament and egocentrism. As a result, Nora leaves the house. However, albeit Nora realizes the reality, Helmer still does not realize his egocentrism. â€Å" Over, All over! Nora, won’t you even think of me again? † (231). By looking at the above quotation, it is obvious that his tragic consequence does bring any effect to him. Creon has higher power, in pride, compared to Helmer because of his superior social ranking. â€Å" He can sail on a stormy sea† (13) shows that he believes he is the ruler of the sea. It also shows that he believes he is greater than Poseidon, who supposed to be the ruler of the sea. â€Å" He can entrap the cheerful birds setting a snare and all the wild. Beasts of the earth he has learned to catch Fish that teem in the deep sea with nets knotted of stouts cords of such inventiveness man† (13) indicates that he thinks he is the ultimate king of all living species and he is superior to others because he can â€Å"catch† them. These quotations show that Creon thinks that nobody is as high in rank as him, even Gods. Creon, like Helmer, thinks that â€Å"yet of all things is man the most wonderful† (13). This shows that the power of men is the most powerful and women shall work under men’s command. It can be seen from this quotation that Creon’s act of egocentrism has contributed to the gender inequality, which eventually lead to the tragic consequence, which will be stated after. Compared to Helmer, Creon has high reliability on â€Å"the law of men†, which made by himself. Because he makes the law, this also makes his egocentrism stronger. Creon, because of his egocentrism, his family turned against him and died. In the play, Creon orders the execution of Antegone, but her lover, Haemon, who is also Creon’s son, advices that his deeds are wrong. However, Creon tells him â€Å" I hate a son to have an evil wife† (21). Indicating that he ignores advice, made by Haemon. Creon’s egotistical behavior causes him to look things from only one perspective, which is from â€Å"the men’s law†. Even when the chorus, together with Haemon, urges Creon to things differently, he ends up saying â€Å" What? Men of our age go to school again and take a lesson from a very boy† (25). Because of his stubborn and egocentric behavior, nothing can veer Creon’s mind. Haemon goes up against him calmly to change his attitude, only finds out that Creon takes his advices as a threat and his relation ship deteriorate. â€Å" What? Threaten me? Are you so insolent? † (26), and â€Å" The fool would teach me no sense! You’ll pay for it! † (26), proves the above characteristic of Creon. As the family relationships deteriorate, Creon begins to gain consciousness of the reality and he decided to cancel Antegone’s execution. The deterioration of family relationship, stems from Creon’s egocentrism, is indeed different from Helmer because, Helmer did not realize what he had done whereas Creon did. â€Å"What shall I do? Advice me! I will listen† (38), shows that Creon has finally realized, from the consequence of his egocentrism, that whatever he has done is wrong and he tries to cancel the execution. However, by the time Creon has arrived, Antegone was already dead. Enraged of his tyranny, Haemon tries to kill Creon but he ends up having been killed by Creon. In addition to that Creon’s wife also turned up against him by cursing his name and committing suicide. This is how Creon’s egocentrism obliterated his families. Compared to Helmer, Creon accepts his guilt and he begins regretting himself from his tyranny. â€Å" The wrong I have done by ill- counseling† (43), â€Å"My own stubborn ways have barn bitter fruits†(43), and â€Å" the fault is me not yours†(43) shows that Creon’s regression is the effect of his strong egocentrism. This means that the effect of being egocentric is much worse in Creon than Helmer for relationship wise, but opposite for their individual wise. By comparing two characters in terms of egocentrism, it is incontrovertible that Creon had at least a sense of reality compared to Helmer, because he finally realizes his evil deeds that cause his relationships to be perfidious. Helmer, on the contrary, did not realize even after Nora left the house. This shows that Helmer has more hubris and egotistical than Creon. The similarities they have are their social ranking, gender inequality and egocentrism. Both Helmer and Creon have upper hierarchy and both of them are prejudice against womens and both of are considering them selves as the most self-centered person.