Ibsen S Focus on Warring Brothers

¶ … gathered some notes while going through the play and I used them in order to emphasize the difference between the two brothers. I found myself developing a paradox while trying to describe Peter and Thomas' difference -- on the one hand I saw the moral type of thinking that the latter put across and on the other I could observe that Peter was focused on the well-being of the town as a whole rather than on the well-being of people visiting the baths.

Although my morality tells me to side with Thomas, it is difficult not to side with Peter when it comes to a general form of good. Thomas' actions are not sustainable and are actually likely to damage the balance in town. Peter is able to see the bigger picture and likely thinks that by keeping the baths' contamination a secret he is going to both fix the problem and prevent people from learning about it.

When considering the overall condition of the town, it is probable that Thomas considered the long-term effects that the situation would have on people visiting the baths. In contrast, Peter considers the short-term effects of this concept and believes that by keeping the issue a secret he is more likely to avoid scandals. Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play "An Enemy of the People" provides audiences with an intimate view in the lives of people in a small nordic town.

The play's central character, Doctor Thomas Stockman, comes across a real dillemma when he discovers that the town's baths are contaminated. He is presented with the ability to choose whether or not he should expose the baths in the local newspapers and proceeds to express his thinking openly by criticizing the situation as a whole. The doctor's brother, Peter, is the local mayor and thus a person who is especially interested in how people see the baths, given that they play an important role in the town's economy.

One of the most intriguing aspects regarding the two brothers involves each character's job. Thomas performs a job that people typically associate with the well-being of others and with the struggle to make sure people that he interacts with are healthy. He perfectly describes this when he's relating to the degree to which people can be affected by the opinion of the majority: "The most dangerous enemy of truth and freedom in our society is the compact majority. Yes, the damned, compact, liberal majority." (Dr.

Thomas Stockman, Act 4) Peter, on the other hand, performs a job that is often seen like a place where people are more vulnerable to becoming corrupted or to becoming concerned about the well-being of a body of people rather than the well-being of each individual. Peter cannot help but to think about the way that a scandal could affect the town.

In a way, he seems to be the kind of individual who lives in accordance with the expression "you have to break some eggs in order to make an omelette." He sees his position as one of authority and perceives Thomas' thinking as harmful for the town as a whole. Peter does not care about the individuals affected as a consequence of visiting the baths. Instead, he cares about what would happen if people would no longer visit the baths.

Thomas seems to be one of the only individuals who sees beyond Peter's idea of logic -- he lobbies with regard to how morality should be one of the main priorities for everyone. One of the things that the two brothers agree about involves the power of the majority. Although Peter criticizes the fact that the majority gets to decide how the law works, he cannot help but to observe how his actions are fruitless in an environment where the majority dictates. "The majority is never right.

Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help rebelling against. Who are the people that make up the biggest proportion of the population - the intelligent ones or the fools? I think we can agree it's the fools, no matter where you go in this world -- it's the fools that form the overwhelming majority." (Dr. Thomas Stockman, Act 4).