Constant Fight Between Conflicting Values And Ideas example essay topic

English Mid Term Paper In past literature and present literature, there will always be characters that don't get along, or whose ideas, interests and values differ. In most cases, this sets up a classic protagonist / antagonist conflict. Most literature that is a story of some sort always has a protagonist and an antagonist. There must be a character that is trying to achieve something (protagonist) and there must be someone trying to stop the protagonist from doing what he / she is destined to do (antagonist). In conclusion, most writers give a basic idea to the reader that no matter if you are a protagonist or an antagonist and no matter what your values, interests or ideas are, its always worth fighting for what you believe in. In all literature, there is always a constant fight between conflicting values and ideas, and in all cases whoever it may be, they put up a fight because that's what they believed in.

Although in the end there is only one on top, it's worth the battle. Take for example Barbara Kingsolver's novel Pigs in Heaven. The story is about a young woman, Taylor Greer that adopts a young aboriginal girl, Turtle, and almost looses her to a native woman, Ann awake Fourkiller. Fourkiller believes that Turtle should go back to the tribe because it is in her best cultural interest because she needs to learn about her ancestors. Taylor on the other hand thinks that the child should stay with her because she is the only mother that Turtle has ever known. As you can see, there is a very obvious protagonist / antagonist conflict.

Taylor is trying to lead a normal life with her new daughter. Fourkiller on the other hand wants to take the child back and help the child understand where her ancestors came from. Kingsolver does a very good job of showing how these two characters differ. Both characters have very different interests. Taylor's interests are primarily with the young child, and so is Fourkiller's.

The main difference is that they both want what's best for the Turtle, but they both have different ideas on what's best for Turtle. Kingsolver developed the idea of fight. Both Fourkiller and Taylor stood up for what they believed in, even though they had totally different interests and ideas. Another example of character conflicts of interests is in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The play is about Hamlet who at the start of the play is going through some tough times. First of all his father is decreased and his mother, Gertrude, married his uncle, Claudius.

Later in the play we find out that Claudius killed Hamlet's father. Hamlet, throughout the play is constantly struggling to avenge his father's murder and restore power to the Hamlet name (to the throne). Hamlet wants what is rightfully his, the throne. Claudius on the other hand lied and plotted his may to the throne. He will do anything to keep power over Denmark, even plot to kill his own nephew. As you can see, Hamlet is the protagonist and Claudius is the antagonist.

Hamlet is trying to avenge his father's death and become King of Denmark, while Claudius is simply trying to stop him. The reason that Claudius is even worried about loosing the throne is because it is not his in the first place. Hamlet was next in line to be King, but Claudius planned it perfectly so it made it look like he was the best man for the job. In the end everyone ended up dying. It was possible that the ambitious values of both characters could have done them in the end.

Shakespeare did an excellent job establishing the idea of stand up for what you believe in, mainly because there was so much death and tragedy in the play. Both Claudius and Hamlet had very different values and ideas, but still they both fought for what they believed in, until eventually they both died. In the novel Night written by Elie Wiesel, develops a graphic story about a young man in concentration camps during the Holocaust. In general, all the Jewish people were fighting for their lives and freedom. During the Holocaust, many people died for no good reason and were treated very poorly by the German Nazi's. In this novel there was not just one protagonist, all the Jewish people were the protagonist.

Through the years of the Holocaust, they were fighting for their lives, trying to redeem their freedom. On the flip side, there was not just one antagonist, all the German Nazi's were the antagonist, trying to destroy a culture. These extreme conflicting values sets up yet again another protagonist vs. antagonist setup. Elie Wiesel did a superb job establishing the idea that people should stand up for what they believe in, no matter what the cost. If a Jewish person stood up for what they believed in, they would be killed. Many times did this happen, and many people died.

When looking at the Nazi's, although their ideas are not liked by a large percentage of the globe, they stood up for what they believed in, wiping out an entire race of people. There are many examples of these conflicting value ideas. It is found in a large portion of literature, and is a fundamental part of story line the development of the story and characters. With these conflicting values comes obvious arguments and fighting. These examples shown above prove that people are motivated to do what it takes to establish their ideas and interests. The main idea that these authors and many other authors establish, is the idea that your ideas and values are worth standing up for, even if they are conflicting with other values or your values are very different from others.

The reason for this fight is because individual's values are very important to them, and if they believe that something is right or something is wrong, they should speak their mind..