ENG LIT TWO PART ASSIGNMENT

SECTION ONE - Discuss the differences between modern and traditional drama. In 3-5 paragraphs.IN college level writing and content, using citation when necessary.

QUESTION ONE - Major Barbara

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George Benard Shaw writes his play Major Barbara during the modern era in Great Britain. This play is different from the other works of literature that we have studied so far. What strikes me the most about this work is the perspective and representation of women. The Salvation Army is staffed with female generals and officers. This is totally awesome. It is good to see women running things in this text. As far as religious faith and money, the play has many religious references,

"CUSINS. No: the price is settled: that is all. The real tug of war is still to come. What about the moral question?

LADY BRITOMART. There is no moral question in the matter at all, Adolphus. You must simply sell cannons and weapons to people whose cause is right and just, and refuse them to foreigners and criminals.

UNDERSHAFT [determinedly] No: none of that. You must keep the true faith of an Armorer, or you don't come in here.

CUSINS. What on earth is the true faith of an Armorer?

UNDERSHAFT. To give arms to all men who offer an honest price for them, without respect of persons or principles: to aristocrat and republican, to Nihilist and Tsar, to Capitalist and Socialist, to Protestant and Catholic, to burglar and policeman, to black man, white man and yellow man, to all sorts and conditions, all nationalities, all faiths, all follies, all causes and all crimes. The first Undershaft wrote up in his shop IF GOD GAVE THE HAND, LET NOT MAN WITHHOLD THE SWORD. The second wrote up ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO FIGHT: NONE HAVE THE RIGHT TO JUDGE. The third wrote up TO MAN THE WEAPON: TO HEAVEN THE VICTORY. The fourth had no literary turn; so he did not write up anything; but he sold cannons to Napoleon under the nose of George the Third. The fifth wrote up PEACE SHALL NOT PREVAIL SAVE WITH A SWORD IN HER HAND. The sixth, my master, was the best of all. He wrote up NOTHING IS EVER DONE IN THIS WORLD UNTIL MEN ARE PREPARED TO KILL ONE ANOTHER IF IT IS NOT DONE. After that, there was nothing left for the seventh to say. So he wrote up, simply, UNASHAMED."

This quote from the text is the most relevant to me because it is the topic of discussion in our modern society today. The religious connotations in the play all deal with what is moral. The play is modern because it confronts religious hypocrisy. Undershaft believes in money and worldly things. He believes that guns, just like money, is free game for all. He notes that it is religion and morality that governs the Armoror (society) and it should not be so.

· QUESTION TWO - Major Barbara

In the play Major Barbara there is an overlapping nature of religious faith and money. There are several times in the play that Andrew Undershaft mentions the fact that his religion, to the chagrin of others, is money.

Undershaft speaks of money being his religion because he doesn’t see a difference in the two and his beliefs are more based on power and money.

My religion? Well, my dear, I am a Millionaire. That is my religion. (Act 2, Line 164)

Not all believe in this “religion” of his as Lady Brit describes it as a “religion wrongness” Act 1, Line 67).

This “religion of wrongness that Lady Brit speaks of is shown later in Act 2.

CUSINS: Excuse me: is there any place in your religion for honor, justice, truth, love, mercy and so forth?  UNDERSHAFT: Yes: they are the graces and luxuries of a rich, strong, and safe life. (Act 2, Lines 232-233)

This seems to point to that wrongness in that Undershaft's view of power and money are in his eyes the groundwork for the things that are normally associated with religion.

· QUESTION THREE - Week 10

Barbara is a Major in the Salvation Army, and she remains intensely religious and gave to the reason for transformation for a large portion of the play. Be that as it may, her dad pits his own wacky arrangement of ethics and philosophical/religious perspectives against Barbara's, testing a great deal of her suppositions about religion and the most ideal approach to spread it to others/help the reason for conviction. They likely still have pretty profoundly unique perspectives toward the end, yet the exchange at any rate enables Barbara to isolate herself from a portion of the lip services and misinterpretations that her dad accepts were remaining in her/the Army's way.

Barbara likes that the Salvation Army is separated from the savagery and voracity in the world, dedicated just to serving poor people and sparing their souls. Be that as it may, when the Army gets a colossal gift civility of her dad and a whisky head honcho named Bolger, the association bounces on the money without the slightest hesitation all things considered, they'd be in risk of closing down without it. Despite the fact that Barbara is at first alarmed that the Army could be "bought" that way, she eventually appears to leave herself to the fact that this is the way the world works; without money and power, you wouldn't complete anything and after that the "bad guys" win.

Indeed, it appears to be fixing to power and self-governance, in case we're taking a gander at the Salvation Army gifts for instance. Despite the fact that on one hand the Army is getting to be obligated to specific interests by tolerating the gifts, they're additionally getting what they have to proceed and encourage their central goal. Yes, money and gunpowder; freedom and power; command of life and command of death. (2.273)

· QUESTION FOUR - Major Barbara

               In Major Barbara many of the main characters seem to be used to discuss the issues ideals and beliefs cause, due to their lack of alignment with objective reality. Andrew Underschaft, weapons salesmen and father to three, is used as a sort of “snake in the garden” figure. The garden he invades is one supposedly guarded by morals and the highest of ideals for humanity, but Underschaft sees their supposed “enlightened” ideals as similar to his own. He uses their ideals to display his perspective in such way that even though he may come off as callus or evil they can not deny that his logic resembles closely to that of theirs. A good example of Andrew’s use of manipulation of ideas is when he draws a parallel between his business’s motto “Blood and Fire” and Salvation Army’s motto, “Blood and Fire.”  He does this in hopes of persuading his daughter Barbara, a major in the Salvation Army, to understanding his perspective on objective reality. They make a bargain to visit each other’s places of work so that they may persuade one another into believing what they believe. For Barbara, she hopes to save her fathers soul and turn him from his wicked dealings in war and as for her father Andrew, he wants her to understand that the world is ever changing and so is societies morals continually must change with it. This is the same argument he tries to use to explain how religion is incompatible with society due to its inherit hypocrisy of beliefs. In the end, the snake himself, Andrew, won them all over to his point of view. Andrew’s perspective does not however have an issue with religion in its entirety, but he does have an issue with beliefs that are not grounded in objective truths.

· QUESTION FIVE - Virginia Woolf - Major Barbara

Major Barbara is saturated with religious imagery.  The myth is that Saint Barbara is a christian martyr who was persecuted by her pagan father.  In the story, Major Barbara is an upper-class, intelligent, meek and passionate Christian.  She feels a calling which confirms her devotion to a religious and prayerful life, and is attracted to a life of missionary work at the Salvation Army. The conflict begins when her father, Undershaft, declares he's a millionaire and that money is his religion.  He uses his money to inflict mental torment on his daughter, signifying that money is more powerful than faith.  According to Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate one and love the other."  Yet, Undershaft is adamant in his pagan view that money is his God. In the ending phrase of Matthew reiterates, "You cannot serve God and money."