Madame Butterfly by David Henry Hwang Book Report

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 663 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1

Page 1 of 2

M Butterfly

Creating Honor in M. Butterfly

Gallimard's statement early on in Hwang's M. Butterfly that he is always seeking a new ending in which "she" comes back to him, and in which he can find honor, does not initially seem to be fulfilled by his actions in the final scene, at least not on the surface. Left alone and disgraced in his cell, having loved a man he thought to be a woman for twenty years and finding a much deeper betrayal, that his lover had been using him to spy on his country's actions, Gallimard kills himself. Suicide is not an end associated with honor in the Western tradition, and thus a surface examination of the final scene in the play seems to suggest that Gallimard has failed on all counts: he has not succeeded in bringing his lover back, he does not really bring about a "new" ending, and the end does not contain any honor from the dominant perspective of his society.

Stuck Writing Your "Madame Butterfly by David Henry Hwang" Book Report?

View All Our Example Madame Butterfly by David Henry Hwang Book Report

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

M. Butterfly is a play about transformation, allegory, and symbolism, however, where life works in the same way as literature and theatre -- where life is theatre, in fact, full of artifice and illusion that is meant to bring about real emotion and real connections, and to provoke real thought. Seen in this light, and in the context of the opera Madame Butterfly that serves as a specific and explicit symbol and analogy of Gallimard's life, this protagonist manages to invoke the presence of his lover and achieve a certain level of honor in his death.

It is perhaps overly simplistic to say that suicide is seen as honorable in many societies, and especially in many Asian societies, but this basic fact is of immense importance in properly understanding the ending and the impact of M. Butterfly. It is not an effort to somehow escape from his problems that drives Gamillard to his fatal action, nor is it shame at the fact that he was….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Madame Butterfly By David Henry Hwang" (2012, May 02) Retrieved June 6, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/madame-butterfly-david-henry-hwang-57086

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Madame Butterfly By David Henry Hwang" 02 May 2012. Web.6 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/madame-butterfly-david-henry-hwang-57086>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Madame Butterfly By David Henry Hwang", 02 May 2012, Accessed.6 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/madame-butterfly-david-henry-hwang-57086
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example