A Fools World- Ben Jonson's The Alchemist Subverts
English 110 - Literature as Social Criticism A Fool's World: The Alchemist Subverts The Status Quo Overrun by gullible souls piously intent on social elevation, Ben Jonson's The Alchemist is a comedic expose in which the fabric of society is inextricably linked to the status-quo and its ravenous desire for wealth and power. Through the characters in the play, Jonson presents an allusive manifestation of Elizabethan society, and a clairvoyant analysis of human vices. On the surface, it is a story that makes use of the alchemical powers of fiction to put a bleakly humorous spin on foolish people and those who greedily exploit them. However, through deeper inference it is obvious that what Jonson is proposing is not merely a portrait of the status-quo in his own society, but of the maleficent faults apparent in human nature. These conditions are deeply rooted and historically enduring. Ultimately, Ben Jonson's critique of the Elizabethan status-quo is relevant to our own society in which wealth, power, and the desire for status casts a shadow over a dismal human reality in desperate need of reform. The characters of the play are all spellbound with greed and in pursuit of some form of wealth or power. Despite their effor
Jonson presents us with the obvious consequences of a materialistic status quo, and we, as the audience and society, are left with the decision of which collective path to choose. This ambition arises from the accepted belief that every person has the right to cultivate their own desires and beliefs without consideration for any intrinsic moral consequences. The second division includes anyone who is, essentially, a con-victim. Perhaps in time we may come to see that a determined solution to this problem would be an asset to all, but it cannot be said that there has been much sign of any movement in this direction. It is an attractive notion to rally behind Subtle, Face, and Doll, to cheer on 'the bad guys'. The theatre becomes a deceptive mirror for the audience to live vicariously through. The essential point that must be realized is that the perpetuation of a materialistic, power-starved status quo is corrosive to the well being of society. The audience is the key to the success of Jonson's criticism only if they are able to influence a reform. The characters all end up worse off after their ambitious desires fail to materialize. The message is quite literal and clear: both dupe and cozener are left empty handed, and the social acceptance of the status quo is just as destructive as it is predominantly acceptable. Of course Subtle is unable to deliver the goods, and poor Dapper is left to ponder frivolously in the latrine until the final act. The first type is that of the 'cozener', the con artist. Rather than losing face in the community by committing to legal inquiry the seizure of his belongings by Lovewit and Face, he decides that he would "rather lose 'em" (5.
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