Cream Cracker Under Sette

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Craig Waters 23/11/07

Response to post - 1914 Literature talking heads series one by Allan Bennett.

GCSE English Assignment

"A Cream Cracker Under The Settee And A Chip In The Sugar"

For my GCSE Assignment I am going to discuss two monologues which are written by Alan Bennett. Talking Heads is a series of dramatic monologues written for BBC television. The plays have also been broadcast on BBC radio and performed in live theatre. The reason I have chosen these two is that they were the ones I thought were the most interesting, and accessible, in my opinion. The main character in "A Cream Cracker under a Settee" is called Doris, and she is portrayed as a very lonely and judgmental old lady.

The other monologue "A Chip In the sugar" is also portraying loneliness and selfishness in a different way; both of these monologues investigate serious human feelings and emotions.

The characters in both monologues are brought to life, and as you read them you feel very involved in their lives. "A Chip in the Sugar" begins in the bedroom and gives the reader the impression of loneliness and claustrophobia, within both the house and the characters life. This is also a theme in "A Cream Cracker under the Settee". Doris is the main character in this monologue and is played by a very famous actor called Thora Hird. It is set in the living room and a cold damp hallway of a small, semi- detached house. The monologue called "A Chip in the Sugar" has a main character played by Alan Bennett who was the author, so this especially original. This is also portraying a small house feeling again quite out of date. There is a great similarity in the atmosphere created in each of these monologues.
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The collection of monologues has, in my view, a great observation of human nature. Although there is only one main character appearing throughout each one, there is actually quite a lot of action and observations of life which keeps it alive. Sometimes a seemingly simple remark and one that does not seem very important, is actual key to the story.

The monologues were written in the 1980s, and first published 1988. I do though feel that the settings are quite old fashioned, and could be set in the 1960s. The reference in A Lady of Letters to ...

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