Monarchy versus Liberal Democracy: A Study of Defense Mechanism in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Lenny Abrahamson’s Room

This paper, by employing comparative study, seeks to highlight the adoption of defense mechanism by analyzing the possible similarities and differences in the behaviors, and the strategies of the characters and the respective impact of the political contexts of The Tempest, the last play written by...

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Main Authors: Ma’soomeh Sehat, Hossein Jahantigh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Lasting Impressions Press 2018-06-01
Series:International Journal of English Language and Translation Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.eltsjournal.org/archive/value6%20issue2/23-6-2-18.pdf
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author Ma’soomeh Sehat
Hossein Jahantigh
author_facet Ma’soomeh Sehat
Hossein Jahantigh
author_sort Ma’soomeh Sehat
collection DOAJ
description This paper, by employing comparative study, seeks to highlight the adoption of defense mechanism by analyzing the possible similarities and differences in the behaviors, and the strategies of the characters and the respective impact of the political contexts of The Tempest, the last play written by Shakespeare and Room, the movie nominated for the best picture academy award of 2015. It begins with a discussion about displacement as the most dominant form of defense mechanism employed by the protagonists of the two selected works belonging to different eras, cultures and genres. Both protagonists displace their oppressive puissant onto their children. In The Tempest, Prospero displaces his brother by his daughter, while in Room; Joy’s son displaces her rapist captor. The discussion then turns to the fact that although Prospero and Joy show almost the same behavior, only Joy, Room’s protagonist, is condemned. The Tempest is written in a patriarchal society governed by a monarch, while Room’s happenings are depicted in a liberal society. The deep correlation between political atmosphere and individuals’ behavior pushes the study to examine the reasons for the resultant contrast between the two selected texts by focusing on the political context in the production of each. Monarchy needs obedient subjects whereas democracy is meant to respect individuals. Consequently, people, in these societies, think and behave differently. The findings of the research show how political orders result in disorders in the behavior of characters, e.g. patriarchal orders are not only justified by Monarchy’s nature but are also produced by it, while democracy, as shown in the modern setting of Room, harshly condemns violation of individualism and pushes Joy, the protagonist, to a suicide attempt.
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spelling doaj.art-b6fec1d847f743cd8e7c429f3b74285b2022-12-21T21:58:07ZengLasting Impressions PressInternational Journal of English Language and Translation Studies2308-54602308-54602018-06-010602209216Monarchy versus Liberal Democracy: A Study of Defense Mechanism in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Lenny Abrahamson’s RoomMa’soomeh Sehat0Hossein Jahantigh1Faculty of Foreign Languages, Yazd University Iran Faculty of Foreign Languages, Yazd University Iran This paper, by employing comparative study, seeks to highlight the adoption of defense mechanism by analyzing the possible similarities and differences in the behaviors, and the strategies of the characters and the respective impact of the political contexts of The Tempest, the last play written by Shakespeare and Room, the movie nominated for the best picture academy award of 2015. It begins with a discussion about displacement as the most dominant form of defense mechanism employed by the protagonists of the two selected works belonging to different eras, cultures and genres. Both protagonists displace their oppressive puissant onto their children. In The Tempest, Prospero displaces his brother by his daughter, while in Room; Joy’s son displaces her rapist captor. The discussion then turns to the fact that although Prospero and Joy show almost the same behavior, only Joy, Room’s protagonist, is condemned. The Tempest is written in a patriarchal society governed by a monarch, while Room’s happenings are depicted in a liberal society. The deep correlation between political atmosphere and individuals’ behavior pushes the study to examine the reasons for the resultant contrast between the two selected texts by focusing on the political context in the production of each. Monarchy needs obedient subjects whereas democracy is meant to respect individuals. Consequently, people, in these societies, think and behave differently. The findings of the research show how political orders result in disorders in the behavior of characters, e.g. patriarchal orders are not only justified by Monarchy’s nature but are also produced by it, while democracy, as shown in the modern setting of Room, harshly condemns violation of individualism and pushes Joy, the protagonist, to a suicide attempt.http://www.eltsjournal.org/archive/value6%20issue2/23-6-2-18.pdfDefense MechanismDisplacementMonarchyLiberal DemocracyRoomThe Tempest
spellingShingle Ma’soomeh Sehat
Hossein Jahantigh
Monarchy versus Liberal Democracy: A Study of Defense Mechanism in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Lenny Abrahamson’s Room
International Journal of English Language and Translation Studies
Defense Mechanism
Displacement
Monarchy
Liberal Democracy
Room
The Tempest
title Monarchy versus Liberal Democracy: A Study of Defense Mechanism in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Lenny Abrahamson’s Room
title_full Monarchy versus Liberal Democracy: A Study of Defense Mechanism in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Lenny Abrahamson’s Room
title_fullStr Monarchy versus Liberal Democracy: A Study of Defense Mechanism in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Lenny Abrahamson’s Room
title_full_unstemmed Monarchy versus Liberal Democracy: A Study of Defense Mechanism in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Lenny Abrahamson’s Room
title_short Monarchy versus Liberal Democracy: A Study of Defense Mechanism in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Lenny Abrahamson’s Room
title_sort monarchy versus liberal democracy a study of defense mechanism in shakespeare s the tempest and lenny abrahamson s room
topic Defense Mechanism
Displacement
Monarchy
Liberal Democracy
Room
The Tempest
url http://www.eltsjournal.org/archive/value6%20issue2/23-6-2-18.pdf
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