Lust and greed for power may lead to environmental degradation,” Discuss with illustrations from Henrik Ibsen's 'An Enemy of the People'
In an attempt to enrich oneself or remain in power or in business, man has done several activities that are
destructive to the environment for example in the play, an Enemy of the People several activities although gainful destroy the water system of the town.  
                 
Officials in the town would like to remain in power. Dr. Stockmann has scientific proof that the water system of the town is polluted and the situation should be corrected but Peter Stockmann sees this as a threat to his leadership and will have nothing to do with that.
-    Collection of revenue. Officials collect revenue from the baths for individual gains and are reluctant to take suggestions meant to rectify the degradation.
-    Gains from tourism. Should the baths be closed down even for repairs, the tourists would stop coming and this would affect the income they generate. The town’s officials are unsupportive to suggestions on closure of the Baths,
-    Investors: investors like Morten Kiil whose firms are polluting the water do not want them rectified or admit liability as they stand to lose profit/
-    Cost of repair: correcting the degradation involves relaying the conduit pipes and would cost a lot of money. For that reason, the mayor and his gangs are unwilling to have the situation remedied.
Businessmen won’t risk losing business. Although initially Hovstad wanted change when he discovers what may happen if the Baths condition is to be remedied he changes otherwise his paper may lose popularity and then he would be out of business

Read more...

Dr. Stockmann is a symbol of morality in the play, ‘An Enemy of the People’ With illustrations from the text write an essay on the truth of this statement

• Dr. Stockmann refuses to be blackmailed by Mr. Mortein Kill to say he was wrong so as to inherit his wife’s and children’s shares.
• When Peter tries to persuade him to write a letter of apology so as to consider his situation, he tells his brother, “A free man has no right to mess up with filth.
• When Aslaksen and Hovstad come offering the services of the people’s messenger after they had let him down, he throws them out using an umbrella.
• When everything has gone wrong for him, his landlord has evicted him, Petra has been dismissed from school and the boys have been told to stay at home he decided to educate his own children together with other street children, helped by Petra.
• Determined to stand up and tell the truth about the rot in the community, he continues giving his speech amidst protests and he is not deterred.

Read more...

Betrayal is a common vice in our society. Support this statement, drawing your illustrations from “An Enemy of the people” by Henrik Ibsen
Betrayal can be termed as a breach of the trust placed on a person or a group of people by others. An illustration is where by one’s best friend lets out a secret which the friend never expected to be done/politicians abdicating their responsibility to serve their electorate

• In the play, the town authorities have neglected their duty of ensuring the good health of the citizens. They do this being inconsiderate to the state of the baths.
• The tourists and invalids who visit this town spend huge sums of money on recreation and recuperation. They trust that the water is clean, yet the same water is contaminated with bacteria that cause diseases. This is betrayal of the trust the consumer places on suppliers.
• Peter Stockmann feels bitter that his brother has made the report known to the public. He argues that he is the one who organized for Thomas to be employed as the medical offices of health. For that matter he feels utterly betrayed by his brother arguing that Thomas is ungrateful.
• The masses are manipulated by the mayor into viewing Stockmann as insensitive to their welfare. They get convinced that it is them who shall foot the cost of rebuilding the baths (forty or fifty thousand pounds). It is for this reason that they are led to believe the doctor has betrayed their welfare, crowning him an Enemy of the people. Morten kill gets utterly enraged at the doctor report that the biggest source of pollution comes from his as his son – in – law should not have come up with such a report. He views it as a great form of betrayal.
• Morten kill gets utterly enraged at the doctors report that the biggest source of pollution comes from his tanneries at molledal.  He feels that Thomas as his son-in-law should not have come up with such a report.  He views it as a great form of betrayal.
• Morten kill in revenge purchases shares from the contaminated Baths with the estate he was to bequeath to Katherine and Thomas’ son’s it stems from selfishness.
• The masses insult Dr. Stockmann, tear his best trousers and want him expelled from the town yet he was all along fighting for their welfare. This is betrayal.
• Hovstad, Billing and Aslaksen assure Dr. Stockmann of their support in printing his report in the “People’s Messager”. They even praise his finding and Hovstad says it is a true reflection of the happenings in the town. However they later twin against him terming his report ‘a mere rumour and an exaggeration’ they refuse to print it thus betraying him.

Read more...

Drawing your illustrations from Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the people write an essay on how satire has been used.
i) Introduction                                                                                             (2mks)
   -Expect a definition of satire or an example of satire
   -Expect also a general statement of what to expect in the essay
    ii) Body                                                                                                          (12mks)

• The role of the media is satirized. Its role in community matters has been ridiculed. The Mayor through the media counter attacks the Doctor’s discovery that the Baths are a health hazard to the whole society. In his letter to the peoples’ messenger, he claims to have put the essential facts before the public in such a way that every fair-minded citizen can easily form his own opinion.
• It is ironical that Houstad makes comments that portray the people’s messenger positively yet it is clear that the paper is wrong. The writer uses this to satirize the media. The paper fails to portray the clear picture of the unscrupulous and the poor state of affairs the society is in.
• Hovstad, the editor of the people’s messenger is also satirized. He rejects a positive comment from the Doctor that he claims to be a free thinker. Hovstad in fear of the crowd is astonished. Yet as a writer and an editor he ought to be a free thinker not influenced by the common majority.
• To satirize the common or compact majority and their leaders the imagery of common mongrel and common barnyard hen he is used. The leaders are compared to well bred Spanish or Japanese hen, good pleasant or turkey or poodle whose brain is developed to a different degree from that of the mongrel.

• The common people including the Mayor are satirized – their intensive nature and twist of truth to suit themselves is summarized in the following imagery and comments:

  
  

  “The kind of common people….. not only to be found low down in the social side, they crawl and swarm all around us – even in the highest social positions. You have only to look at your own fine pretty Mayor! My brother Peter is every bit as plebeian as anyone that walks on two legs.

• The political situation in the country is also satirized. Dr. Stockmann says that from one end of the country to the other every man is slave of his party. That every man had no freedom to free thinking and has to go by his party’s whims.
• The crowd that attacked the Doctors house is satirized. They threatened to break every bone in his body. They do not do anything apart from following each other. They suffer from the fear of doing what is right for fear of the opinion the public will have.

iii) Conclusion
-Expect a recap or general statement/remark on the use of satire in the novel.

Read more...

Write a composition to show how relevant the title An Enemy of the People is to the play.
Introduction – relevance of the title – it is relevant – ref to Dr. Stockman at end of the play for –
His stand of condemning the towns baths when they are a source of the town’s livelihood
However point out that it is ironical.
point out who are the true enemies of the people.

a)     The Mayor who has no people’s welfare at heart and wants to conceal the truth of the matter for selfish reasons.
b)     Journalists – pressmen – refuse to publish the doctor’s manuscript to enlighten the masses and visitors on the dangers of the baths.
c)     Masses are their own enemies when they support the leaders blindly and for their ignorance.
d)     Father-in-law (mortein kill) buys shares, in the contaminated bath to sell at a higher price.

Read more...

Write an essay to support the statement: “The strongest man is he who stands alone.” Base your illustrations on Henrik Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy of the People.’
In the face of all opposition and betrayal by his trusted nemeses, Jesus Christ stood steadfast in his defence of God and Christianity that eventually led to his crucifixion. Similarly, in ‘an Enemy of the People,’ Dr. Stockman is declared “an enemy of the people” because of speaking the truth. His determination to emancipate the masses from oppression does not augur well with many characters in the play.
(i)    The Health resort
-    Dr. Stockman becomes the first person to see that the town could be made into a flourishing health resort.
-    However, this idea was met by stiff opposition from the town’s authorities who termed it ‘fancy and a crazy man’s imagination’ (p.16)
-    He had to fight single-handedly in support of the idea for many years through writing until he succeeds.
(ii)    The Discovery
-    Dr, stockman makes a great discovery about the Baths which are currently the main artery of the town’s life blood.
-    The Baths have become poisoned, causing diseases like typhoid, gastric fever. (p. 17 – 18)
-    The report indicates that the bacteria have got into the pipes, contaminating the water.
-    His discovery faces stiff opposition from the mayor who claims the doctor has made it behind his back.
-    The mayor demands that he withdraws his report – publicly denounces it.
-    Nonetheless, the doctor would not bow down to any forum of intimidation from the mayor i.e. the mayor threatens to sack him.
(iii)    The Press
-    The article was supposed to be published in the People’s messenger and the press had agreed to do so.
-     However, after being compromised by the mayor, the newspapers editors and the printer i.e. Hovstad, Billing +Aslaksen, withdraw their support for Dr. Stockmann
-    Once again, the doctor stands alone. He vows to press on + reveal the truth. He says, ‘Do you imagine that you can silence me and stifle the truth! You will not find it as easy as you suppose,’
(iv)    Public Meeting
-    At the meeting in captain Horster’s house, Dr. Stockmann is determined to reveal the contents of the report to the masses.
-    Yet again, his efforts are thwarted for the programme is hijacked by the press and the mayor who wants to control what Dr. Stockman says.
-    In his resolute + firm nature, the doctor out-maneuvers them and tells the people his mind: the contaminated Baths, the corrupt nature of the town’s authorities and the gullibility of the “compact majority”
-    He sacrifices all his energy for the sake of his society only for him to be declared ‘an enemy of the people’ through a popular vote but he remains unmoved in his quest for the truth.
(v)    Morten Kiil
-    Even his father-in-law applies pressure on him to change his mind and withdraw his report.
-    If this discovery spills out to the masses, his ginnery at Molledal risks being shut down for it is a source of the contamination of the Baths.
-    Consequently, he blackmails the doctor using Katherine + the children’s inheritance in order to coerce him tow his line.
-    On the contrary, he gets a rude shock when Dr. Stockmann’s resilience makes him not to buy his idea.
(vi)    The Aftermath
-    As a result of Dr. Stockmann’s determination +resilience, negative repercussions follow:
a)    He is sacked as the medical officer of the baths.
b)    His landlord kicks him out of the house
c)    His house is vandalized
d)    His family and friends suffer humiliation i.e. Petra, the boys and Captain Hoister.
-    Amidst all these upheavals, he remains optimistic and swears not to leave town, but stay on to continue fighting for the truth.
(N.B accept other relevant, well illustrated points)
Conclusion    
From the above discussion, it is true that the strongest man in the world is one who stands alone. Amidst all opposition, Dr. Stockmann does not give up, he remains optimistic hat the truth will eventually prevail.

Read more...

Cowardice is one of the factors that contribute to injustices in many societies even today. Write a composition giving clear evidence of this based on the play.

2.  C (i) The Mayor is a coward
    -he fears losing the next election
    -he fears facing the people to admit having messed up the construction of  the Baths, especially the laying of the conduit pipes
            The resultant injustice
           -the citizens’ lives and those of the visitors are exposed to dangerous  diseases e.g. typhoid and gastric fevers because he insists on lying that the Baths are clean
         C (ii) The aristocrats (owners of the baths) are cowards
-    They fear losing money through funding the relaying of the conduit pipes. Injustice
-    They attempt to pass the cost onto the middle and low class rate payers who have no stake in the project.
          C (iii) The press are cowards.
-    They fear losing their jobs if the people’s messenger fails to get funding from Aslaksen for printing.
-    They also fear the Mayor’s wrath
        Injustice
    -They fail in their duty of upholding and publishing the truth for the sake of the people and allow contamination, disease and death to continue to be a threat
C (iv) The school administration are cowards.
-    They fear the public after Dr. Stockmann has been declared public enemy.
Injustice
-    Mrs. Busk apologetically dismisses Petra knowing well that she herself has no justified complain against Petra’s performance as a teacher.
-    Mr. Rorlund suspends Ejlif and Morten indefinitely out of fear of being seen to identify with Dr. Stockmann’s family.
C (v) The business community are cowards
-    Mr. Vic fears the people and the political class and dismisses captain Horster unfairly.
-    The landlord gives Dr. Stockmann quit notice for fear of housing a tenant who is “An enemy of the people”
-    The glazier fears to come and replace broken window panes
    Injustice
-    The dismissal  makes Captain Horster jobless for no apparent reason
-    Dr.Stockmann’s is threatened with the possibility of being homeless yet he is fighting for the welfare of the people
-    Dr. Stockmann’s family is exposed to the cold because the glazier fears the public
C (vi) The masses are cowards
-    They are not resolute as to how much punishment Dr. Stockmann deserves
-    It is said they use pebbles and only two large pieces of hard core
Injustice
-    They attack an innocent man with his family because of the wishes of the political class (the mayor, Aslaksen and the press)

Read more...