An Enemy of the People Notes

Act I and II

-Brother vs. brother trope (mayor of the town vs. the scientist)
-Hovstad is trying to take the people out of power....Possible revealer?
-Dr. Stockmann refuses to listen to other people's suggestions about his work, wants to keep it simple
-Dr. Stockmann is the prophet
-The mayor doesn't want to correct the problem his brother (Dr. Stockmann) has found, says it would take too long and would lower the town's economy. But we think the mayor is just embarrassed that he decision caused poor health in the town and is jealous that his brother was the one to discover it.

Act III

-Petra supports her father....Part of the ignorant masses?
-Petra gets into an argument with Hovstad because he tries to sway her against her father
-Mrs. Stockmann is a trope....worrying mother, cautious, protective
-Hovstad not a revealer, oppose the message

Act IV

-The people are blind to the truth, they just follow the authority
-"wool over their eyes"
-Mayor doesn't cross any boundries, stays in his element, steps back
-Public attacks Dr. Stockmann because they don't want to believe that he could be right, don't want change
-The drunk man tries to back up Dr. Stockmann, tries to help reveal the message, but instead gets banned from society for being a follower of Dr. Stockmann.
-The people are confused, first they were kind of for Dr. Stockmann, now they are against him

Act V

-Stones....to be passed down from generation to generation
-Some people believe Dr. Stockmann, but are too afraid to go against public opinion
-Everyone is against him now, the people in power have brushed him off and made him seem a fool
-Dr. Stockmann- AEOTP!
-Dr. Stockmann doesn't want his boys to become a part of the ignorant masses against him
-Petra gets kicked out of school, the family gets kicked out of their home, Dr. Stockmann loses his job, as does Captain Horst
-Nobody "dare do anything else" because they are afraid of going against public opinion
-They are like sheep being corralled, if one gets out of line the dogs go after it...where in the community anyone who supports Dr. Stockmann and strays from the public opinion is attacked (loses job, respect, etc.)
-The mayor tells his brother that if he goes away and then comes back and makes a public apology stating he was wrong, he could possibly get his job back
-Kiil has too much pride in his baths so he tries to pay Dr. Stockmann off by giving him tickets to the baths, asking him to take back what he said about his baths being the most poisonous
-Hovstad and Aslaksen try to come back to Dr. Stockmann's side but he rejects them saying that they betrayed him
-Mrs. Stockmann agrees with everything her husband says, but I don't think she really ever makes a revelation, is just part of a separate ignorant mass and blindly follows her husband because she understands only some of what he says and believes that to be true
-Wolves need victims to keep living
-stays in the end but takes his boys out of school so he can teach them to be open minded, and tells his boys to get boys off the street that he can teach as well