How does Hare convey the changes in Gerard McKinnon 's state of mind during the course of the play?
How does Hare convey the changes in Gerard’s state of mind during the course of the play? Gerard McKinnon is the protagonist of Hare’s play. He is at the principal point of the action. He is the character, which draws together various strands of the action in the plot, for example, the barrister, the police, the prison officers and the prisoners. Ultimately, he is the victim of the policing system, which “fitted him up”, the unwilling legal representatives who let him down, the bench, which sentenced him, and the prison service, which fails to protect him. Hare’s exposition starts dramatically with stage directions. “ Then suddenly from nowhere they’re all there- the judge, the jury, the battery of lawyers.” Hare’s powerfully dramatic opening is used to emphasise the visual impact of the “power” of the court. Gerard is juxtaposed with the legal system. Hare portrays him as being vulnerable as he is set apart from the other suspect’s Travis and Fielding through the use of lighting. “ But the emphasis is on McKinnon.” The whole company is lit to show the power of the law, and then changing it to concentrate on Gerard in the midst of it all, is delicately done by Hare to represent him as the victim. Hare uses the dramatic device of a stream of conciseness in order for the audience to gauge his innermost thoughts. The repetition of the phrase “
Discuss the view that Tony Lumpkin in "She Stoops to Conquer"is nothing more than a comic country bumpkin.
Discuss the view that Tony Lumpkin is nothing more than a comic country bumpkin. (40) Traditionally the pastoral genre celebrates the virtues of simple, unsophisticated life far from the city or court, in which the population is stereotyped as unintelligent and fatuitous. Tony is characterised as jovial and carefree through language and form. He is uninhibited and is interested in ‘fun going forward’ without being diverted by any sense of commitment, ‘mother, I cannot stay’, which mirrors the unpredictability of nature and country. Through characterisation, Goldsmith uses Tony’s character as a symbol for the simple, idyllic country life where drinking, enjoyment and singing are paramount. Although Goldsmith challenges this stereotype of the rural population through the character of Tony throughout She Stoops to Conquer and subsequently illuminates the theme of opinion vs. reality. Goldsmith’s nominalisation of Tony Lumpkin initially presents his character as stereotypic of a simple country dweller. ‘Lumpkin’ could be a subtle indication of Tony’s figure. ‘Lump’ suggests that Tony is a stout man, which reflects his uninhibited lifestyle lead in the country; relaxing and singing songs in the Three Pigeons, ‘toroddle, toroddle, toroll’. This mirrors Third Century idealised pastoral life in which shepherds and shepherdesses enjoyed a life of blissful
Edward Albee's presentation of Nick and his role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
In ‘Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf’ by Edward Albee, a main character that is revealed in this play is Nick who plays an important role presented by Albee in different ways. The play which, ‘’shows malicious humiliation and love and tenderness and bitterness’’ is set on the campus of a small, New England university. Nick is presented in part as an on-stage audience for George and Martha to act out their verbal banter. Moreover the character of nick is used as a compare and contrast to George. The audience sees nick as an image of youthful pride, unblemished, athletic whose very life is dedicated to eliminating the imperfections in human genes, but is himself revealed as flawed in the play. The young couple Nick and Honey are presented as ‘’passive observers. They serve solely as the objects of manipulation’’. George and Martha simply use the younger, less experienced couple to manoeuvre for advantage in their own bitter struggle. This is further shown in act two by George when he states, ‘’I’ll tell you what game we’ll play. We’re done with humiliate the hosts… how about a little game of get the guests?” George attempts to regain power which is an ongoing theme in the play by humiliating nick and honey. He uses what nick told him about honey’s hysterical pregnancy against them. Secondly, Nick’s role as a compare and contrast to
In the country, people are forced to confront their faults and lead a more honest way of life. Consider She Stoops to Conquer in the light of this comment.
In the country, people are forced to confront their faults and lead a more honest way of life. Consider She Stoops to Conquer in the light of this comment. (40) Traditionally the pastoral genre celebrates the virtues of simple, unsophisticated life removed from the city. The rural countryside hosts a nostalgic population longing for a bucolic paradise where people live in peace, harmony and honesty, similar to the existence of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the fall. This depiction of idyllic rural life is presented by Goldsmith in She Stoops to Conquer, however the deception of characters throughout the play can be seen to distort this view of traditional country life. Goldsmith uses the character of Mr Hardcastle to epitomise the honest nature of country folk. Mr Hardcastle is presented as a traditional, old country squire, who is characterised as open and direct. He confesses honestly that he ‘loves everything that’s old’ and that he’s not interested in ‘vanity’. ‘Vanity’ suggests superficiality and that true character traits are omitted by ‘jewels’ and ‘ornaments’ in order to deceive those around and promote a dishonest appearance. Hardcastle associates this ‘vanity’ with the town, which is seen traditionally in pastoral literature as nefarious and corrupt compared to the simple, pragmatic country setting. It could be interpreted
A tragicomedy is a comedy with serious elements or overtones*. To what extent can the History boys be classed a tragicomedy?
A tragicomedy is ‘a comedy with serious elements or overtones’*. To what extent can the ‘History boys’ be classed a tragicomedy? The play is comic and shows clear features of comedies throughout, such as slapstick humour and farce. This is combined with ‘serious elements’ (often used for humour) such as Hector fiddling the boys, which fits in with the genre of tragicomedy. The debate rises where the serious elements seem not to fit into a comedy, such as the protagonist dying, potentially preventing a happy ending. Some argue there are too many elements that do not fit into the genre of comedies, for ‘The History Boys’ to even be classed a tragicomedy. Serious elements are used for humour in the play, which fits into the definition of a comedy with serious ‘overtones’. The obvious example for this is Hector fiddling with the boys. When Dakin asks Scripps ‘What happened with Hector? On the bike?’ he replies with comic dialogue, saying ‘I think he thought he’d got me going. In fact it was Tudor Economics Documents, Volume Two’ (pg21). This line always gets a laugh from the audience, and the humour fits into the genre of comedies. As the boys do not take the paedophilia seriously (the audience is aware Scripps is not affected, as he cracks a joke and acts normal), the audience do not either. This distancing effect of comedy allows the ‘serious
Examine the ways in which the relationship between the public and the police is presented in Hare's "Murmuring Judges".
Examine the ways in which the relationship between the public and the police is presented in this extract and elsewhere in the play. In Murmuring Judges, the second play in Hare’s trilogy which examines institutions, Hare presents the relationship between the police and the public as one of mutual dislike. Interestingly, Hare never openly shows the public to dislike the lawyers, who act as the antagonist throughout the play due to their uncaring attitude towards client, but it is omnipresent towards the police, who are shown to be more in touch with people. Here, Hare is perhaps consciously suggesting that the people dislike the police as they are the ‘face of justice’ and thus perceived by the public to be the ‘enemy’. Although Hare does present the police to hold some racist and prejudiced views, showing they clearly aren’t perfect, he does largely present the police in both Murmuring Judges and his research book Asking Around as trying to do a hard job in difficult times. From our first introduction to the police, we see they are instantly disliked by the public. In Act 1 Scene 3, the first to involve the police, Keith states “you’re all bloody bastards” which immediately creates sympathy from the audience for the police. This sympathy is increased throughout the novel, where Hare generally presents the police as good people, an example of which is
In Murmuring Judges, David Hare uses Barry to represent the stereotypical bent policemen that were seen as typical in the late 1980s and early 90s
Barry role and representation In Murmuring Judges, David Hare uses Barry to represent the stereotypical ‘bent’ policemen that were seen as typical in the late 1980s and early 90s. Through Barry, Hare shows not only corruption in the police force, as evidenced by Barry planting the Semtex, but also suggests that the police were overworked and under budgeted, “too much overtime”. Here, Hare shows the dichotomy of sympathy for the police alongside corruption, as he shows Barry to be trying to do is job in difficult times, however, the overarching role of Barry is to show corruption and immorality in policing. Throughout the play, Hare shows the effect of the 1984 Criminal Evidence Act, intended to make policing more about paperwork, and shows how the police feel it is undermining their job; “we should all just sit in the nick and make policy drafts” highlights how this has changed the nature of policy. Barry is presented as against this, and continues to use older methods of policing, “It’ my method.” Through this, Hare portrays police corruption, as Barry’s methods are often immoral and even illegal. Hare also presents Barry to see some crimes as “boring” and “pointless”, which suggests he is only interested in crimes he can get a good result for, such as bringing down Travis and Fielding in Gerard McKinnon’s crime. Hare also shows Barry to think
How Does John Osborne use Humour at the Beginning of 'Look Back In Anger'?
Francesca Briggs How Does John Osborne use Humour at the Start of Look Back In Anger? John Osborne uses dark humour in ‘Look Back In Anger’ to suggest the changing moods in which the male protagonist, Jimmy, partakes during the play. The dark humour is almost disconcerting and off-putting. Osborne also reveals a satire feel through Jimmy and Cliff’s dialogue, as they seem to mock and make fun of their society, which they are apart of. “Who buys this damned thing? (throws is down) Haven’t you read the other posh paper yet?” In this quotation Jimmy mocks such the society in which he lives, when he says ‘who buys this damned thing?’ he must have bought it himself for it to be in his own possession, thus mocking himself. Jimmy comes across as a very stubborn personality in the play and doesn’t seem to like change, bit mocks his own life and does hint that he wants change, but is too cowardly to admit it. “God, how I hate Sundays! It’s always so depressing, always the same. We never seem to get ant further, do we? Always the same ritual.” Jimmy almost mocks his own lifestyle and moans for change within it. But when the opportunity arises on behalf of change, he declines it, “And have my enjoyment ruined by the Sunday night yobs in the front row? No, thank you.” It is as if he is complaining about the routine of which his life undertakes, but is too
Discuss David Hare's presentation of the prison system in the in the extract and elsewhere in the play.
Discuss David hares presentation of the prison system in the in the extract and elsewhere in the play. David Hare presents the prison system as a disorganised and uncared for institution. Hare portrays the attitudes towards the prisons through the neglect of the prisoners. In Act 1 Scene 4, we see Gerard being ordered to strip without any reason. The guards expect an automatic response as it is “procedure”. This approach to prisoners and prison life degrades the prisoners. Hare also uses the attitudes of the police force and lawyers to show that there isn’t any consideration towards prisons. Throughout the play both the police force and lawyers have had their voices heard unlike the prison, this is due to the sense of finality when Gerard is sentenced. It is only through Irina that Gerard understands the hope in an appeal. Hare also contrasts the grand sets of the lawyers against the bleak settings of Gerard’s prison. Similar to most of the penal system, Hare portrays the prisons to be incredibly archaic describing it as “Victorian”. The old fashioned prison suggests it is out of date to cater to the needs of the prisoners. The unsanitary living conditions suggest the prisoners are undervalued. Hare reinforces the separation of criminals and the public by the treatment of Gerard in Act 1 Scene 4.Where he is stripped and left standing “in the middle of the
Comment on Sherriff's presentation of Stanhope in the first two acts of Journey's End.
Comment on Sherriff’s presentation of Stanhope in the first two acts of Journey’s End In the first two acts of ‘Journey’s End’, Sherriff presents Stanhope as a character who is, although in many ways the model war-hero, plagued by the flaws of alcoholism and mental decay. Throughout the first two acts of the play Sherriff shows these to change the audience’s understanding of, and feelings toward, him as events unfold. The audience is first introduced to the character of Stanhope in the conversation that takes place between Osborne and Hardy at the beginning of Act 1, which also provides insights into the men’s situation. The two accounts of Stanhope we hear are vastly different; while Hardy sees him as a ‘sort of freak’, telling stories about when he ‘drank a whole bottle [of whisky] in one hour fourteen minutes’ and ‘knocked all the glasses off the table’ after an argument, Osborne, established as his second-in-command, does not encourage Hardy’s gossip and clearly has great admiration for Stanhope, saying ‘I love that fellow. I’d go to hell with him.’ However, though the two characters have very different opinions of their commanding officer, Sherriff nonetheless provides the audience with some concrete facts about Stanhope’s character: most importantly, that he has been fighting in the war for ‘three years’, having come ‘straight