Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw - Essay Example

Raina is moved by how Bluntschli treats her; Sergius, though he loves his fiance, does not treat her with respect, unlike Bluntschli, who respects her while still noting her feelings towards him. After Sergius and Bluntschli attempt to fight it out for who gets the girl, Sergius and Raina break off their engagement, and each person marries the one that they wish to.

            While the story might appear to be a drama, with the heartache that goes on between each person, it becomes clear at the end that, despite the events that lead up to the end, the story can be considered to have ended happily. Unlike other stories that involve love triangles, “Arms and a Man” did not end in despair, no lives were taken, and there were no hard feelings toward each other after everything had been said and done. It may not have been a happy, heartwarming tale, but it could have been worse. Especially as the two men in question were both from the military, with one being a captain and the other being an honored hero.

            The emotions between everyone remained secret, and those that knew kept them to themselves, making sure that they would not arise to others. This shows the respect that the others had for the relationships that their partners were currently in. Furthermore, both Raina and Sergius, while caring very much for each other, had found someone else that made them even happier, and respected this for each other. Perhaps this was why, in the end, each person was able to live happily with the person of their choosing with very few tears shed.

            “Everyman” is a morality play that was written in the late fifteenth century by an anonymous playwright. The play is centered around God’s sadness that people have abandoned Him for material possessions and sends Death to take Everyman to heaven to face judgment before God. Not wanting to be alone on his journey, Everyman tries to seek the aid and companionship of others, such as Fellowship, Knowledge, Good Deeds, and Kindred, among others. However, the others, though eager to help Everyman, refuse to complete with him his journey to heaven. In the end, Good Deeds is the one that accompanies Everyman to his grave, with the moral of the story being that a man will only have his good deeds left when the time comes for him to die.

            It is quite clear that Everyman represents simply that - every man. The other characters, such as Knowledge and Fellowship, are aspects of a person’s life that help to define them while they are alive. However, it is Good Deeds that define a person after they have left the earth; therefore, they should have done more good deeds in their time alive than any other act, especially one that involves them acting selfishly. The characters’ roles in the play show how vital an action is while someone is alive, though the act may not seem clear until after the person has died.

            God had grown tired of people depending too much on material goods and less on the things that matter, such as those things that should be kept close to the heart, such as fellowship with God and helping others out to the best of the individual’s ability. Once a person dies, they will either be remembered for the good deeds that they did or for the good deeds that they did not do, the opportunities that they passed up to make a difference in someone else’s life. The morality play had been directed toward the audience to get them to start thinking about how they were living their own life, and whether they would be going to their grave by themselves or accompanied by their Good Deeds.