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"They will kill you I've known it form the beginning...THe temptation is too great and our poverty is too retched" -Teacher (pg 84)
"I can feel myself slowly turning into a murderer. My faith in humanity is powerless"
We can relate to temptation in terms of small things such as a game or our favourite food, but we have never faced a temptation so great before.
"We are weak, Christians and heathen alike...Flee, and lead us not into temptation by staying." - Pastor (59) Reveals that no one is immune from temptation.

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Why do you think Dürenmatt chose to reverse the gender norm?
Social commentary on the role of women in society- objecting to the way women are considered lesser

Do you think justice was served?
This depends completely on your perspective.
It is empowering to see Claire take back what was stolen from her but she did this in a cruel way.
Revenge isn't usually associated with being very morally/emotionally fulfilling. So this doesn't suggest Claire would have found Justice
She did manage to punish Ill for his crimes which hadn't occured before, but his punishment may not have been appropriate
For the village it may or may not be just. They obtained this wealth without earning it, just from 'killing' Ill. But in a sense Claire punished them for condemning her. This is because she belittled them as a whole, making them commit acts initially seen as immoral. They did this in desperation due to their poverty. Her offer combined with their poverty put them at her mercy which is likely what she saw as a just punishment.

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Swiss-German
Language- German
Affluent, wealthy country- not much poverty therefore Gullen is extraordinarily poor in comparison to the standard- they live below the standards for living in Switzerland- therefore an inferiority
the town holds "Western principles" (p70) --- "we're still in Europe, we're not savages yet" (End of Act one)
cigar conversation shows culture - (might be hard to understand as we do not smoke/know much about cigars)"green ones"
Villagers buying "white bread", which was more expensive than brown bread in the past but about the same price now.

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Need for revenge/justice
- can relate to the bitter need for revenge
- base human emotion/response- we have had those negative feelings towards others but never to that extent- others had never hurt us enough to elicit such strong feelings
- However, haven't experienced that kind of trauma. Haven't had lives stripped away- have not felt the need to harm others in that way
In some ways we can understand/imagine how Claire would have been treated when she was shamed out of the town (as we often see slut-shaming and the like in the media) however the town's attitude is reversed to be disapproving of Ill once the truth emerges
The resilience of Claire is difficult to connect with. Not only is she falsely condemned by the town she grew up in, lost her child and forced into a brothel, she is also the only survivor of a plane crash, which made all her limbs 'artificial'.
The age difference between Claire and us is another factor that hinders our understanding of her feelings. We do not have as much experience of the world as someone who is 62 years old.

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Do you wanna know how I got these scars? My father was a drinker...and a fiend. And one night, he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not...one...bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. He turns to me, and he says, "Why so serious?" He comes at me with the knife - "Why so serious?" He sticks the blade in my mouth - "Let's put a smile on that face!" And... why so serious?

What is justice?
Justice to one person (Claire) is not 'justice to another (Ill) "You're missing a chance to redeem yourself and become a halfway decent human being " (90)

It is hard for us to contemplate the ethics of the ultimatum or judge the town's decisions as we have never had to make such a difficult decision or been so desperate (since we live in an affluent country and have not personally experienced that level of poverty)

'justice can't be bought'
'The fire rises'
'everything can be bought'

Justice can become injustice and injustice can become justice, depends on which way you look at it.

You think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the darkness. I was born in it. Molded by it.

Innocent, altruistic people were harmed and had their lives ruined by Claire- unjust. 'I had my agents buy the whole mess and shut every business down. Your hope was a delusion, your perseverance was pointless, your sacrifices were stupid, and your whole life has been a useless waste.' Fair? Justice?

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Women should be cooking and cleaning

Dramatic reversal of roles- "Husband's are objects for display not for daily use" (pg 95)

Teacher discusses Clara: "Compared to this damned old lady, this shameless archwhore, switching husbands in front of our eyes, collection our souls?" Seeking for self promotion, pleasure, money- archetype- not just insult much worse- educated man labels her

"The world turned me into a whore" - she didn't't make the choice- she's not the archetype of a whore because society forced her into her role "That which we are educated into is what we become" -Eutopia

Dismissal of Claire- considered a "slut/whore/etc" no respect or voice due to status
- Reversal of roles- Ill becomes the condemned
pg 83- "No one would believe a bastard like you"
"Only a son of a bitch would do what you did to Claire"

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Why- live in Australia- highly affluent country which supports the unemployed, disadvantaged- not going to experience that level of poverty
Education
"Our last remaining pleasure/ The only pleasure we have left: Watching the trains go by" -the dire situation of the town

Mayor rejects offer: "In the name of humanity we would rather be poor than have blood on our hands"
Claire: "I can wait"
-points our how desperation wins over morals- or how money/power/affluence wins