Work together with your group to craft a working thesis statement in response to this prompt about Tartuffe. Your thesis statement should follow the guidelines for a strong thesis statement that I covered in the PowerPoint presentation. Work hard to make your argument subtle and surprising and your evidence compelling. If you finish with the thesis statement, begin outlining the structure of the full essay.
It strikes me that even though it’s abundantly clear which of Tartuffe’s characters are “bad” and which ones are “good,” both types of characters employ similar means toward their ends. There is much manipulation, dissembling, lying, and treachery in this play, and not just on the part of Tartuffe. So, my question to you is: what makes the good characters good and the bad characters bad? What separates Tartuffe’s villainous hypocrisy from the more laudable “cleverness” of characters like Dorine and Elmire? Your essay might focus either on a comparison/contrast of a few characters, or you might examine concepts like “hypocrisy” or “cleverness” directly, noting how they are represented through particular characters.
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ReplyDeleteTypically, we view good characters as the people defending themselves, and bad characters as the people making the attacks. (THESIS) In Tartuffe’s case, manipulating Orgon and plotting to take the family’s treasures was an attack on the family for his own gain, while Dorine, Elmire, and others use their own tactics of manipulation to defend themselves and their family.
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Though it is clear that Orgon is manipulated easily, Dorine’s plot against Orgon’s wishes for Tartuffe and Mariane to marry and Elmire’s sexual advances toward Tartuffe in the presence of Orgon have noble origins in order to preserve the family unit, whereas Tartuffe is willing to cheat Orgon’s family for personal progression as shown through his attempt to strip Orgon of his possessions.
ReplyDeleteWe have three because we are indecisive:
ReplyDeleteThe outward actions of Tartuffe, Orgon, Elmire, and Dorine are similar because they use manipulation however their inward motivations are what make them different. While Tartuffe is driven by greed, Orgon, Elmire, and Dorine are driven by self-preservation and morals.
The manipulative tactics of Tartuffe, Orgon, Elmire, and Dorine are similar and have parallels, but Tartuffe’s disguised intentions are what separates him from Orgon, Elmore, and Dorine.
The manipulative tactics of Tartuffe, Orgon, Elmire, and Dorine are similar, but Orgon, Elmire, and Dorine are motivated in their manipulation to restore order while Tartuffe causes disorder to accomplish his goals, causing Tartuffe to be portrayed as a hypocrite.
ReplyDeleteTartuffe’s characters consist less of “good” and “bad” than those that benefit from the in-group (the family, the fiances) versus those that threaten this position from the outside (Tartuffe and his servant); this play is less about morality than about preserving the security of the home and its structure of class, veiling the anxieties of outside intrusion through a Christian moral lens.
-metaphor of threat to home is literalized by climax of play
-Tartuffe is the only male character without (provable) claims to property ownership
- they accept Tartuffe off of the street as a peasant because he appears morally good to society
- Orgon commits worse action by threatening his son, Dorine and saying he will give up his family and friends for Tartuffe, while Tartuffe takes advantage of a man who has clearly put too much faith in his character
- the play is suggesting that we should not look after the peasant class because they are morally wrong, if Tartuffe was a morally just person then it would make the upper class look bad
While characters like Elmire and Damis eavesdrop and deceive Tartuffe through manipulation, these characters are trying to maintain the equilibrium of social order; unlike Tartuffe who tries to destroy the family’s relationships, social rank, and livelihood due to his selfish nature.
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