The Theme of individualism in “The Twelfth Night” and “The Pardoners Tale” The Twelfth Night presents one of the most vivid forms of gender role playing in Shakespearean plays. In retrospect, the plight of the core hero sin the play establishes in order to achieve a savage gender debate that ultimately leads to a happy ending. The plot of The Twelfth Night also brings into focus many aspects of Elizabethan culture as well as vivid contradictions. On the other hand The Pardoners Tale is ramified with subtle themes of greed and individualism, which we can also see across the board in the story of the twelfth night. This paper seeks to see out the similarities and differences in the theme of individualism in birth. While the individualism in The Twelfth Night is purely centered on love and romance, the other is focused on morality in society and wealth. Plot in the Pardoner’s Tale The twelfth night begins with the story of a lady of noble descent called Viola who is shipwrecked in a foreign country. Her situation is very desperate as she had previously lost her father in the past twelve months. At this point she also thinks she has lost her brother and life seems to be unbearable. Viola asks the captain to help her find gainful employment at the duke house. The captain dresses her up as a page boy and helps her get a new identity as Cesario. The female side of Cesario is never really forgotten as she quickly falls in love with the Duke. The fact that the duke is single probably triggers her reaction to the situation. The duke on the other hand is busy pursuing a noblewoman by the name Olivia. Granted that Viola is actually a girl, they get along well with the Duke and shortly becomes one of his favorite pages. On the other hand, Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking her to be a boy. This introduces a great love triangle. The fact that viola cannot possibly love the noblewoman and the fact that the Duke insists on loving the noblewoman creates some confusion. Viola is actually used as the go-between of the two, severally sending letters back and forth. At the end of the play, Viola’s true identity surfaces when her brother miraculously enters the scene. This creates a mixture of misery, joy and relief for Viola. She is depressed that her antics have finally been discovered. At the same time she is very happy that her brother is still alive. Finally, she is very much relieved that she does not have to pretend to be somebody else other than herself. The ending of the story is a sweet one. Olivia quickly falls in love with Viola’s brother, believing him to be Cesario. The two get married hurriedly and the duke discovers them in utter shock. This prompts serious questions on viola’s identity which the duke gladly reveals. The duke then marries Viola, who was his best friend up to now. Plot in the Pardoner’s Tale The pardoner’s tale represents a series of events that surround morality and greed in Elizabethan England. Initially it had been ...

1. The Theme of individualism in “The Twelfth Night” and “The
Pardoners Tale”
The Twelfth Night presents one of the most vivid forms of
gender role playing in Shakespearean plays. In retrospect, the
plight of the core hero sin the play establishes in order to
achieve a savage gender debate that ultimately leads to a happy
ending. The plot of The Twelfth Night also brings into focus
many aspects of Elizabethan culture as well as vivid
contradictions.
On the other hand The Pardoners Tale is ramified with subtle
themes of greed and individualism, which we can also see
across the board in the story of the twelfth night. This paper
seeks to see out the similarities and differences in the theme of
individualism in birth. While the individualism in The Twelfth
Night is purely centered on love and romance, the other is
focused on morality in society and wealth.
Plot in the Pardoner’s Tale
The twelfth night begins with the story of a lady of noble
descent called Viola who is shipwrecked in a foreign country.
Her situation is very desperate as she had previously lost her
father in the past twelve months. At this point she also thinks
she has lost her brother and life seems to be unbearable. Viola
asks the captain to help her find gainful employment at the duke
house.
The captain dresses her up as a page boy and helps her get a
new identity as Cesario. The female side of Cesario is never
really forgotten as she quickly falls in love with the Duke. The
fact that the duke is single probably triggers her reaction to the
situation. The duke on the other hand is busy pursuing a
noblewoman by the name Olivia.
Granted that Viola is actually a girl, they get along well with
the Duke and shortly becomes one of his favorite pages. On the

2. other hand, Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking her to be a
boy. This introduces a great love triangle. The fact that viola
cannot possibly love the noblewoman and the fact that the Duke
insists on loving the noblewoman creates some confusion.
Viola is actually used as the go-between of the two, severally
sending letters back and forth.
At the end of the play, Viola’s true identity surfaces when her
brother miraculously enters the scene. This creates a mixture of
misery, joy and relief for Viola. She is depressed that her antics
have finally been discovered. At the same time she is very
happy that her brother is still alive. Finally, she is very much
relieved that she does not have to pretend to be somebody else
other than herself.
The ending of the story is a sweet one. Olivia quickly falls in
love with Viola’s brother, believing him to be Cesario. The two
get married hurriedly and the duke discovers them in utter
shock. This prompts serious questions on viola’s identity which
the duke gladly reveals. The duke then marries Viola, who was
his best friend up to now.
Plot in the Pardoner’s Tale
The pardoner’s tale represents a series of events that surround
morality and greed in Elizabethan England. Initially it had been
presented by the author as a comic relief, used to present a good
story after having a bad one. The previous stories were
somewhat depressing, necessitating a comic relief and an
easygoing story that would serve as an entertaining attempt.
The story begins with three friends who were considered
selfish. This leads us to the story. The three friends drink and
brawl all night focusing on their individual happiness alone. All
they care about is their selfish desire to be happy. In a rare feat
of compassion there are moved to go and hunt death because of
the loss of a mutual friend. This results to an exaggerated form
of revenge.
On arrival at the supposed place of death, they find treasure
which disorients them in a big way. They immediately start
scheming of how they will each get the whole loot. Ironically,

3. all friends, “considers it morally right to steal from even
widows”. They decide that to would be good to spend the night
there and move on the following day. One of the friends decides
to go for food in town. While at it he plans to kill the other two
and keep the wealth for himself. This leads him to the gross act
of poisoning the rest in their food. The other two at the same
time secretly wanted to eliminate the other one. They plan to
attack him upon his return and kill him so that they do not have
to share the wealth with him.
At his arrival, the friend is promptly killed. They then settle
done to eat the food he brought so that they can continue with
the journey. At this point, the remaining two perish in the food
poisoning. This leads to a situation of total loss, where none of
the three friends is able to end up with the wealth due to selfish
ends that they seek to fulfill.
Individualism in the Pardoner’s tale
The theme rotates around greed and individualism. From the
prologue of the story, we find the inevitable theme of
selfishness and lack of consideration for others. The fact that
the narrator considers it morally right to steal from even
widows and vulnerable children as long as they accumulate
wealth is rather gross. The pardoner admits that he does not
really care of the amount of turmoil he causes as long as he is
able to get money and wealth. This represents an egoistic sense
of individualism that ultimately brings to focus one of the main
themes of this story even before its narration. The quote below
is a testimony of the degree of greed and individualism
exhibited in the narration; whereby one of the three friends
makes it very clear that his ‘work’ is to gather as much wealth
as he can.
“And thane my bulles shewe I, alle and some; oure lige lords
seel on my patente, that shewe I first my blood to warente, that
no man be so boold ne preest, ne clerk, me to destourbe of
cristes hooly werk” (51-54)
Throughout the story, it is clear that money comes in as the
most important factor as long as it trickles in steadily. This can

4. be a representation of modern day society. In the tale, the
concept of capitalism is aptly captured in all sections of the
plot. The theme of individualism is supported by the quote
below.
“But that is nat my principal entente; / I preche nothyng but for
coveitise” (432–433).
The three friends pretend to have common interests and mutual
care for each other which we discover to be false. Contrary to
what many would expect, the three friends are actually enemies
in disguise. They present some of the most selfish and
individualistic intentions through the story. The fact that they
are scheming against each other repeatedly is testament that
indeed there is something wrong with each one of them in
loyalty.
One of the most chilling events in the story reveals the extent of
individualism as portrayed by one of the friends. He goes to buy
food and upon his return, he would rather lose two friends than
share the gold with them. This necessitates his selfish move of
poisoning the food, so that both of his friends can die in the
process leaving all the treasure for him. This sort of
individualism is a recurring theme in this text. The theme is
supported by the quote below
“Now, for the love of Crist, that for us dyde . . . now wol I telle
forth my tale” (658–660).
The two friends on the other hand would rather lose their
seemingly caring friend than share the loot with him. Again,
this introduces a whole new aspect of individualism. The two
plot on how they will kill the one friend. Technically, there is
no assurance that one of the two remaining friends is not
planning to kill the other after they kill the common enemy. The
reader is treated to a buffet of individualism in this part of the
story.

5. Finally, we note that the three friends completely lose focus
when they stumble upon gold as they try to avenge their friend.
Technically, if they were sincere about avenging their friend’s
death, then they would have continued to pursue this vision
Individualism in the twelfth night
The theme of individualism in the twelfth night is very evident.
From the time Viola gets to the palace, it is clear that she
wanted the Duke for herself and could do anything to get him to
love her. This is irrespective of the fact that he seemed to love
another womanIt is also clear that Viola was ready to do
anything to get the attention of the duke. In the process, she
ended up being too close to him under false pretense. She was
utterly responsible for many machinations and plots to bring her
closer to the duke at any cost. In the process, she gets so
consumed in it that she forgets her duties as a page and
repeatedly switches roles between a boy and a girl
The theme of individualism is manifest when characters such as
Malvolio show selfish desire to update their social status by
marrying nobility. Malvolio was just an ordinary person servant
with overly big goals, probably too lofty for her. This theme
was not an uncommon thing in Elizabethan period. Ladies were
known to befriend nobles in order to upgrade their social status.
For men though, this was a little bit too ambitious for Malvolio.
Men were generally expected to stick to their status.
The betrayal and misrepresentation of Malvolio reveals a lot of
hypocrisy in the court. This incidence reveals the theme of
individualism when all the fellow servants in the court turn
against Malvolio and contribute to his ultimate eviction. Each
of them seem to be very keen on ensuring that Malvolio will
somehow be relegated to a prison for falling in love with his
mistress.
The theme of individualism is however refuted when Olivia
refuses to marry the duke in as much as their social statuses
were somewhat similar. In this rare sign of hope, the
noblewoman refuses to marry the ruler, choosing rather to court
his assumed page boy. In this rare event, we can see that the

6. lady goes against expectation to choose sincere love against
social class and status. Further, greed or individualism is
exhibited when viola insist on loving Duke, while she is quite
aware that Olivia is her fiancée. To this effect, she makes the
following statement which is a reflection of greed.
“Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife” (1.4.42)
Further, on page 39 in the opening of the song sang by the
clown, this statement that introduces the song reveals on the
greed that would not allow her to wait to her true love. The
word roaming is used symbolically to depict that the young
woman was lustful and thus could not wait for her man to come.
Instead, whe kept seeking affection from other men.
“O mistress mine, where are you roaming?
O, stay and hear; your true love's coming (2.3.39-40)
Lastly, in a diferent scene as the clown sings, the theme of
greed and individualism. In that scene, Sir Andrew is tring to
entice a young girl to allow him to kiss her.
By'r lady, sir, and some dogs will catch well (2.3.60)
In the end, we see very clear signs of individualism at the
weddings. The weddings signify a major theme in the plays,
detailing the theme of individualism and self-indulgence, when
the duke seems to be lost in romance at the expense of the
countries.
Conclusion
Years before the advent of capitalism, individualism was always
a major theme in the life of men. As early as the Elizabethan
era, the concept of individual gain at the expense of communal
gain was always a recurring theme. This should explain the why
this theme is repeated in the two stories detailed here.
Individualism is may not be the main theme in the two plots, but
it is certainly a mutual area of concern.

7. Works Cited
Shakespeare, William, John Maule Lothian, and Thomas
Wallace Craik. Twelfth night. Cengage Learning EMEA, 1975.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The pardoner's tale. Ed. Carleton Brown.
Clarendon Press, 1835.
Written Interview
Instructions: Recently, at a CFA society meeting in Pittsburgh
you met a senior portfolio manager who works at BlackRock.
She tells you that she is looking for a junior partner to train and
eventually take over her book of clients. You both exchange
business cards, and later that day you send her a courtesy thank
you e-mail. You do not expect a response, especially with
today’s current job market.
However, much to your surprise, she responds today with a brief
note and the following list of questions in the form of a written
interview. In her note she explains that a portfolio analyst at
BlackRock is a highly coveted position. Due to the high
number of applicants for the job, she informs you that this
written interview will be used as a screening process to select
the final three candidates for face-to-face interviews. Please
answer the questions below honestly and to the best of your
ability, providing a full answer that is about three sentences
long (unless the question asks you to make a list), doing your
own research (and providing sources), and proofreading and
typing your answers. Answers may include your own opinion or
those of advocates and/or critics of particular investing
strategies.

8. 1) What exactly does a portfolio manager do? What are the
chief elements of an Investment Policy Statement and how does
it relate to the responsibilities of a portfolio manager?
2) What qualifications (i.e. resume) would you expect to find in
a qualified portfolio manager? (Please list & explain)
3) Compare and contrast the qualifications you currently have
with those you plan to obtain within the next ten years. (even if
you have no intention of becoming a portfolio manager, please
list & explain the qualifications desired in a portfolio manager)
4) Please consider the concepts of “economic moats“ and
“durable competitive advantage”? How would it be applied to
individual stocks? How about to industries? For example,
suppose a client would like to know what industries you think
will do well in the next year (short-term) and over the next ten
or more years (long-term). What domestic and global securities
within the client’s portfolio would alleviate the client’s
concerns? (Please list & explain)
5) How do you decide what stocks to buy? What is your
favorite investment strategy? Please provide examples or
sources (i.e. research backup).
6) What is the “Fama French Three Factor Model?” What is
“Jensen’s Alpha?”
7) Please briefly describe equity “style analysis.”
8) What does Altman’s z-score signify?
9) Please explain diversification and beta. What would you say
to a client that only wants to be invested in tech stocks?
Domestic stocks? Bonds?

9. 10) What would you say to a client that wants investments with
the highest return and the lowest risk?
11) What is meant by ‘portfolio performance attribution”?
Please comment on this topic as it pertains to different stocks,
industries, and countries.
12) Please use www.morningstar.com to find two non-leveraged
ETFs. Please locate, compare, and explain at least three
measures of risk-adjusted portfolio performance. On the basis
of these measures, which fund would you prefer to invest in,
and why?
13) Please briefly describe “quantitative equity portfolio
management” that uses simultaneous screening and z-scores.
14) Please briefly describe two strategies that use options to
hedge the risk of holding a stock. What are the benefits and/or
drawbacks of each strategy?
15) You are a portfolio manager managing a portfolio of $30
million that is benchmarked to the S&P 500 Index. The bets of
your portfolio is 1.25. One-month S&P 500 futures are trading
at 2,000 with a ‘tick size’ of $250 per $1 move in the index.
a. Due to an upcoming economic report, you want to hedge all
of your market risk for one month - how many futures should
you sell?
b. Suppose that instead you only want to reduce your beta to
0.50 for the same time frame – how many futures should you
sell in that case?