Comparison and Contrast of Main Characters Essay

Nora and Tom argon the main characters of deuce plays, the Doll House and the candy Menagerie respectively. In comparing and contrasting these two characters, it is vital to analyze the plays and to gain and understanding of their per give-and-takealities and relationships with other people. Nora is the wife of Torvald, and their marriage is characterized by the domination of Tovarld every tail end Nora and her complacent passivity. As a wife during the late 1800s, it was typical of women to have been treated like children with undersize to no independence.However, it is the failure of Nora to remain stuck in her gender role as the immature ornament. Tom is the son of Amanda and the brother of Laura, and his position in the family is marked by the absence of his own father. Tom is expected to full maintain the family, yet his youth and inexperience, coupled by his mothers demanding exasperation, do not enclothe him to be a successful head of the household. In analyzing these two characters, it is interesting to note the ways in which Nora and Tom ar similar and different in regard to gender roles and passivity.Gender Roles & Passivity In regard to gender roles and passivity, it is clear that Nora and Tom are caught up in the expectations of other people and play out stereotypical functions to an extreme degree. Nora herself describes her situation as a wife with no ambitions and blames her husband, saying, I lived by performing tricks for you you and father have done me a great wrong its your fault that my animateness has been wasted (Ibsen, 1890, 117).In this comment, one can see the full frustration of Nora in regard to her pursue as a fully dependent wife. However, one could dispute her on the wholeegation that all of the culpability rests on the shoulders of her husband and not at all on herself. As far as Tom is concerned, he is stuck taking care of his mother and sister, when he would truly rather be making more(prenominal) of a life for himself , stating I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more stuffy than I intended to be (Williams, 1999, 97).Tom expresses his irritation with the situation of him being expected to perform all of the duties as the head of the household, a role which he increasingly rejects. Similar to Nora, he finds himself playing a part which he does not want to be playing. However, a vital difference is that Tom takes certificate of indebtedness for remaining passively in a role which does not suit him and does not try to place the full blame on other people. ConclusionNora and Tom are both characters who find themselves doing the bidding of other people in response to social expectations, rather than following their instincts in living their lives more for themselves. speckle Nora finds herself shaming her husband for her life mistakes, Tom is more apt to shame himself. However, in the end, both characters are able to break free of the gender roles and passivity which have bound them all too about and dependently to other people.Nora ends up leaving her husband, just as Tom ends up leaving his wife and mother. While Nora ends the play on a note of anger and full finger pointing, Tome ends the play with a feel of regret that he must leave his family. Nora and Tom are able to escape the oppressive forces in their lives, yet they have markedly different approaches to assigning fault. Works Cited Ibsen, H. (1890). A Dolls House. W. H. Baker. Williams, T. (1999). The Glass Menagerie. New Directions Publishing.