It has often been said that what we value can be determined only by what we sacrifice. Consider how this statement applies to a character from a novel or play. Select a character that has deliberately sacrificed, surrendered, or forfeited something in a way that highlights that character’s values. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the particular sacrifice illuminates the character’s values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole.
You may choose a novel or play from the list below or one of comparable literary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot.
A healthy relationship should be argument free and supportive. Arguments only ruin relationships and push people apart, and without support, a relationship is pointless. While some may think that this is true, a relationship without arguments is simply unrealistic and will lead to more problems with holding things in. In Edward Albee’s play, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, George and Martha begin to show that argument and lack of support destroys the relationship, yet as the play progresses one realizes that the two care about each other more than most other couples, and would do nearly anything for each other. The sacrifices made in a relationship outweigh the failures and problems faced.
By taking time to listen and understand what is going on in the relationship rather than shutting down, a couple is able to grow together through hardships. In the play, George and Martha are unable to conceive a child, and rather than letting this bring them down and ruin their marriage, they continue to grow together by building a false reality around their problems. In doing this, they create a game in which George is the game master, willing to spend his time to make his wife happy by losing the game and constantly be willing to go along with what his wife wants or says, changing the rules on the fly. In most relationships, the arguing and fighting within would be a red flag, yet to George and Martha, it becomes a distraction from their main problem and shows how much effort George and Martha are willing to put in to make each other happy. George does not only sacrifice his time and effort in being the game master, as he is willing to sacrifice more.
Sacrificing one’s life and reputation outside of the relationship makes the bond between the couple nearly unbreakable. I’m the game being played, George sacrifices his entire life and reputation for Martha. George’s dream is to become the head of the department and to move up in the college, yet in order to move up, most people have to get published. George could have been published, yet he chooses not to. In doing this, he is able to spend more time being the game master and helping his wife cope with the problem of not being able to conceive. By letting his own hopes and dreams die away with the burning of the book he wrote, he shows his wife that he will sacrifice everything for her, creating a relationship that is arguably unbreakable. When Martha cheats on George and takes him upstairs, they come back downstairs and she is talking about George rather than Nick. She tells Nick that George has been the only one she ever loved, and had always been there for her, and Nick is understandably in disbelief, as they seem to hate each other and she just cheated on him. This, however, was almost for George, in an attempt to see how far she can get away with to see what George will do about it. Most people will think that by cheating, they should break up, but in some odd way to George and Martha, it shows how much they both care, as they would do anything for each other. George and Martha show how sacrifice makes an incredible, unbreakable relationship, while Nick and Honey show the contrast to the two.
When a couple does not communicate or sacrifice for each other, they create a relationship that is toxic. Nick and Honey appear to be in a much healthier relationship in the beginning of the play, yet eventually one can see that their relationship is much worse than George and Martha’s. The couple do not give anything up for each other, and seem to be forced together, with a lack of love for one another. Nick is a controlling man who expects Honey to do his bidding, while Honey is a manipulating woman who made Nick marry her with a fake pregnancy, which seemed real. The two cannot conceive either, yet they seem to get upset when talking about this rather than talking about it and growing as a couple.
A relationship is not defined as healthy or unhealthy based on the amount of arguing or the closeness of the couple. As shown in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, a relationship can be defined by the sacrifices made for the other and how much one is willing to do for the other. In a time where young people don’t understand relationships, this play is able to be connected to people in today’s society. A relationship is not about not fighting, in reality fights happen, what matters is how much someone is willing to sacrifice for the other to make the relationship work.
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