Midsummer Night's Dream Character Essays

OK its not really an essay though... we are supposed to choose 3 characters from the book and write what teen social group they belong to in modern times and why. Some social groups would be like Jocks, Popular kids, Nerds, Geeks, Loners etc. So far i only managed to do two. please review them, give me your thoughts and perhaps suggestion for a third character

Character 1: Popular Puck

Though there is little character development in A Midsummer Night's Dream and no true protagonist, people generally think of Puck as the most important character in the play. The mischievous, quick-witted sprite sets many of the play's events in motion with his magic, by means of both deliberate pranks on the human characters and unfortunate mistakes.

However, if Puck were to live in a modern society, like the one we live in right now, I think he would be grouped as a popular person. Being Oberon's jester, it is his job to make Oberon laugh, and because of that, he has gained a name for himself. In fact he is popular enough that most fairies would recognise him for who he is: Robin Goodfellow, also called Puck, as shown in Act 2 scene I of the Midsummer Night's Dream book.

And if you look into our society's main social groups, you would find that, like Puck, a lot of popular guys have fun and laughter at the expense of others. The others would laugh alongside because they wanted to appear cool as well. It would appear that Puck is guy with a vast sense of humour, that he would enjoy turning poor Bottom's head into an ass. That is another characteristic of a popular guy; he has a great sense of humour.

Character 2: Helena

From the very start of the book, we are introduced to Helena's problem. She loves Demetrius, but Demetrius however, liked Hermia. She declared that Demetrius loved her before he saw Hermia and that "He hail'd down oaths that he was only mine" And thus she is determined to regain Demetrius' love even if he hates her now. She declares to Demetrius that "I am your spaniel. The more you beat me, I will fawn on you."

While her determination and courage is admirable, if she lived here in the twenty-first century, I think that she would belong in a very unpopular social group. She would be categorized as a loner. After all, no one likes her, and she is always alone. Only her childhood friend Hermia would "hang out" with her. Therefore her life was a typical loner's life. She was rejected by Demetrius, whom she loved, when he saw Hermia. She could only find sympathy from lots of people, but never from Demetrius, whom she so desperately loves.

Being an emotional woman, Hermia wallows in self-pity, never trying to solve her problems. She merely keeps wishing that she had the charm of Hermia to keep Demetrius for herself. When Hermia and Lysander tell her about their plans to run away and be married, she chooses to reveal the plans to Demetrius in hopes of winning him back.

and just one last thing. I can't really find a way to conclude both of these essays please give me some advice too. Thanks!

You seem to have made a solid, if somewhat shallow, case for the two people you have picked so far. You might want to go into a bit more detail. You might restructure each paragraph, actually, and start each one by describing the social group you think the character you are talking about belongs to. So, what are the characteristics of a popular person, a loner, etc. At the moment, you only really give one or two key features of each -- you can come up with more. Then, you can quote from the play to show how Puck meets those characteristics, how Helena meets them, etc. For a third character, how about Demetrius, who starts off professing love for one woman then immediately loses interest in her when he sees someone more attractive. I know, that probably doesn't happen with modern teenagers, but maybe you can find some sort of parallel anyway . . .

This is great!! What a cool idea! I think you need to reference the line number after you use direct quotes! So add that in there...

I was going to suggest Demitrius, too! What would he be, a jock? :)

You have a nice writing style! Maybe you should try making an argument about a different type for Puck, just to see what you come up with. Then, you can use insight from that to enhance the type you chose for him.

I see no errors...

Character 1: Popular Puck
If Puck were to live in a modern society, like the one we live in right now, I think he would be grouped as a popular person. Being Oberon's jester, it is his job to make Oberon laugh, and because of that, he has gained a name for himself. In fact he is popular enough that most fairies would recognise him for who he is: Robin Goodfellow, also called Puck, as shown in Act 2 scene I line 30-35 of the Midsummer Night's Dream book.

Though there is little character development in A Midsummer Night's Dream and no true protagonist, people generally think of Puck as the most important character in the play. The mischievous, quick-witted sprite sets many of the play's events in motion with his magic, by means of both deliberate pranks on the human characters and unfortunate mistakes.

And if you look into our society's main social groups, you would find that, like Puck, a lot of popular guys have fun and laughter at the expense of others. The others would laugh alongside because they wanted to appear cool as well. It would appear that Puck is guy with a vast sense of humour, that he would enjoy turning poor Bottom's head into an ass. And that is another characteristic of a popular guy.

Last but most definitely not least, a popular guy has to be charismatic. But what does the term charismatic mean? Charisma is often used to describe an elusive, even indefinable personality trait that often includes the seemingly uncanny ability to charm, persuade, and/or influence people. And for Puck, that ability is certainly there. Even when he got into trouble by mistaking up the lovers, he was able to speak so sweetly to prevent himself from getting into trouble with the king, as seen in the book, Act 3 scene 2, lines 345 till 360.

And thus, with all this evidence at hand, it is impossible not to claim that Puck is, indeed, a popular guy. After all, who can be enemies with someone who will be your friend and will restore amends?(found in the last lines of the book)

hows that?

Better. Now, take all of the references you make to specific passages [Act 2 scene I line 30-35 , Act 3 scene 2, lines 345 till 360., (found in the last lines of the book) ], and replace them with actual quotations, using a proper citation format (MLA, most likely).