In The Glass Menagerie Amanda is a bad parent who puts her own needs before her childrens. Discuss.
‘The Glass Menagerie’ Amanda is a bad parent who puts her own needs before her children’s. Discuss. It could easily be perceived by many that Amanda is a bad parent to Laura and Tom, through the way in which she seems to put her own needs before her children’s in many of the situations within the play, ‘The Glass Menagerie’. A case of Amanda being a bad parent and putting her own needs first, could be demonstrated through the way in which she constantly takes control and dominates every situation only thinking of herself, as well as shirking her responsibilities at times on to her son, Tom. Amanda as the mother should be solely responsible, making sure they are cared and provided for. However, Tom seems to regularly have both Amanda and Laura’s problems unfairly unloaded upon him, and then he is expected to solve these problems. Such as, Tom was forced into finding a job at the warehouse in order to support both his mother and his sister, effectively taking over the main parenting role of Laura. This can be seen when Amanda states how as soon as Laura is provided for, married and independent, then Tom will ‘be free’ to go in the direction he so desires. As a parent, Amanda displays key characteristics such as selfish and domineering behaviour. This can be seen directed mainly at Tom throughout the play and a key example of this behaviour is how she
To what extent is Stanley the villain of A Streetcar Named Desire?
Grace Turner Friday 25th November ‘To what extent is Stanley the villain of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire?’ Within literature a villain is traditionally malicious in character and inflicts pain both emotionally and physically; someone who becomes an obstacle the protagonist must struggle to overcome and who takes pleasure in bringing about their demise. ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is the famous story of Blanche du Bois and Stanley Kowalski’s passionate power struggle; written by Tennessee Williams in 1947, the Play is set in New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 1940s. To judge what extent Stanley is a villain it is necessary to first assess which criteria of a typical villain he fits. Throughout the play Stanley proves that he inflicts emotional pain on Blanche, and by not letting her forget her past and by destroying any possibility of love in her life Stanley becomes an obstacle she must attempt to overcome. It is Stanley who brings about the protagonists demise. However, although it appears that Stanley is vindictive and only bringing Blanche down for his own personal gain, one could argue that he is doing it for his relationship with Stella as Stanley would like things to return to the way they were before Blanche arrived. Stanley talks about how he wants their relationship to
Pozzo & Lucky's Relationship in "Waitng for Godot".
Pozzo & Lucky’s Relationship During the two character’s appearance in act 1 we learn a lot about both characters through the relationship they have with each other. While Lucky’s lack of speech under Pozzo’s domain makes it difficult to identify his personality, we can still infer a lot about him. ‘Pig’, ‘hog’ and ‘swine’. All abusive vocatives thrown at Lucky by Pozzo. An instant indication that the relationship between these two characters is far from friendly, and makes the relationship between Vladimir and Estragon seem certainly pleasant. It is clear that Lucky acts as a type of servant to Pozzo and this is clarified when he attempts to describe their relationship in the quote “He wants to mollify me, so that I'll give up the idea of parting with him”. It is instantly clear that Pozzo’s character is extremely arrogant. He lords over the others, and he is decisive, powerful, and confident. When his character is introduced he refers to the other two as human, but as inferior beings; then he condescendingly acknowledges that there is a human likeness, even though the "likeness is an imperfect one." This image reinforces his authoritarian god-like stance. Pozzo's superiority is also seen in the manner in which he eats the chicken, and then casts the bones to Lucky with an air of complete omnipotence. Yet there are several quotes after he becomes
Act 1, Scene 4 of Murmuring Judges. Discuss Hares presentation of the prison system in the scene, and in the play as a whole.
Question 2: Reed Act 1, Scene 4 of Murmuring Judges. Discuss Hare’s presentation of the prison system in the scene, and in the play as a whole. ‘The treatment of offenders was demeaning, unsafe and fell below what could be classed as decent.’ This quote has been taken from a 2011 independent HM inspector report of Wandsworth Prison. The aforementioned quote shows that there is little difference between the current prison system and the social context of the 1980’s prison system, which is the backdrop of Hare’s fictional play. Unfortunately, this is a sad in indictment of the present day prison system which has barely changed in the past twenty years. In this context, in Act 1, scene 4 we see the character of Gerard’s first impressions of the prison system. We previously saw the character of Gerard in Act 1, scene 1; when Mc Kinnon, and two other men were convicted of a warehouse robbery. He now faces the first moments of his four year custodial sentence. Hare’s stage directions create the impression that the building is an old, overcrowded, Victorian prison. The playwright evokes that feeling in the act’s opening stage directions: ‘we move into a gloomy, enormous space’ and ‘with a gigantic door discernible at the back.’ By the use of the adjectives, ‘gloomy’ and ‘enormous’, this demonstrates the feeling that the prison is a
Are The Contrasting Themes in Lady Windermeres Fan Important?
Are The Contrasting Themes in “Lady Windermere’s Fan” Important? Throughout “Lady Windermere’s Fan” we are introduced to many contrasting themes. Such as conflict and harmony, trust and betrayal and deception and truth. These are the main contrasting themes that Wilde has used throughout this play. The balance of these contrasting themes certainly improve the overall effect of the play, adding viewing value in the form of intrigue and enjoyment. However, are these contrasting themes important to the play and if so, how and why? Although this is a comedy, Wilde derives much comedic value from the conflicts within the play. Let’s take into consideration the conflict between Lord and Lady Windermere. This conflict arises purely due to a misunderstanding (when Duchess of Berwick tells Lady Windermere of her husband being with another woman e.g. “He goes to see her continually, and stops for hours at a time…”) and through deception on the part of Lord Windermere (although he promises to his wife that he has not cheated he will not tell her of why he and Mrs Erlynne were meeting), albeit for altruistic reason. The conflict is never really heated or serious and the audience can appreciate the humorous situation as we know that all will end well and any misunderstandings will be clarified by the end of the play, as is an example in “Much Ado About Nothing”
Hare uses juxtaposition throughout Murmuring Judges to show the seemingly inherent differences in class between the lawyers and the prisoners
Discuss how Hare presents ideas about class in this scene and at least one other point in the play. Within Hare’s play Murmuring Judges, there almost appears to be two class systems. The first is the standard upper, middle and lower, however, Hare almost separates the prisoners, the police and the lawyers as three separate classes of people, who each look down on the class below them. This allows us to see not only the perceived separations of social classes but also the classes that you are put into according to you profession and the classist attitudes held by those above. In the focus scene, Hare clearly shows his views about class through implications and connotations used in the lawyers and judges conversations. Immediately as the scene starts, “His Excellency AL Hadji Sulay Ibrahim Dunko” is announced by the toast master. Whereas within the perceived lower class of the police, DC Abdul Khan is referred to as Jimmy, here he is announced with his full name and title, which immediately suggests a difference in class and status between the two men. This is also clearly shown in the language used by all the characters in this scene, as phrases such as “Grand Days” and “the fishy stuff” in reference to caviar creates a semantic field which suggests the men view themselves and believe they are viewed by others as upper class. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of
To what extent is Wilde satirising Victorian society in The Importance of Being Earnest and how does this add to its comedy?
To what extent is Wilde satirising Victorian society in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ and how does this add to its comedy? The Importance of Being Earnest, subtitled, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a comedy of manners whereby Oscar Wilde rebukes the Victorian aristocracy for their social issues that seemingly prioritise the most trivial of things such as style and appearance above those of true significance such as. Wilde further achieves this by incorporating elements such as farce and melodrama in order to highlight their senseless main concerns. Wilde portrays the act of “Being Earnest” as being in opposing to its definition as having features of dishonesty and false morality, with one of the main characters Algernon stating that “The truth is rarely pure and never simple”. Wilde’s first satirical attack in the play is marriage. Algernon is shown to perceive marriage to be a business deal as opposed to the projected illusion of it as described in the play as being based on mutual feelings of love (evidence – Ceclily or Gwendolen). This is evidenced by Algernon’s sharply comical and paradoxical epigrams in response to his best friend Jack Worthing’s admittance of wanting to propose to Algernon’s own ward Gwendolen he states: “I thought you had come up for pleasure? ... I call that business.” Wilde is seemingly satirising concept of
How does Wilde use marriage and courtship to create comedic and dramatic effects in "The Importance of being Earnest"?
The Importance of Being Earnest Coursework How does Wilde use marriage and courtship to create comedic and dramatic effects? At the time when the Importance of being Earnest was written, in 1895, society’s stance on marriage was very different to that of today. In our present society, when some say the idea of marriage is dated and becoming less common, it may be difficult to comprehend how pivotal marriage was to the Victorians. Marrying for love is, surprisingly, a rather new idea. This was rarely the case with Victorian marriages, which were often business proposals. The aim of marriage was to draw profit and higher social status, and to collect the wealth of the other family involved. Failure to adhere to these expectations would be considered out of the norm. Even more rigid than this social rule was the class structure all Victorians abided by, which decreed that no one could marry out of their station, in order to preserve the wealth of the rich. As stated by K Danielová in her thesis on Victorian marriage, “The social class the future partners came from also played an indispensable role… Couples were expected to come from the same social class.” This is seen in the play for instance when Lady Bracknell tells Jack that he should, “acquire some relations as soon as possible,” in order for her to consider his engagement to Gwendolen. Clearly, she means
The Crucible
"The Crucible" Choose a play in which the dramatist explores conflict between two opposing forces. Show how the dramatist makes you aware of the conflict and discuss the extent to which you find the resolution of the conflict satisfying. "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller is set during the times of the infamous Salem witch trials. The play shows how a small Christian community is overcome with fear and resentment when accusations of witchcraft arise. Soon a battle between two completely different forces, honesty and falsification up rises. The play opens with a group of girls being caught whilst sporting in the forest. Suspicious eyes turn towards the girls and they attempt to shift the blame. Abigail Williams is the eldest and the leader of the girls. After an affair with the protagonist John Proctor, Abigail tries to place an incantation on Proctor's wife Elizabeth. During Abigail's attempts to shift the blame she draws a significant amount of the innocent population of Salem into her games. Due to the accusations the ones caught in this shambles have no option but to give up their soul and name accomplices of the devil. However, Proctor fights against this to save his own soul and those close to him. From the off it is clear corruption has a hold on the Salem community and as the play progresses its grasp tightens. The people of Salem follow their given laws at first
The Crucible
'The Crucible ' By Arthur Miller In the complex and interesting play ' The Crucible' by American playwright Arthur Miller the ending is very successful in both tying up the plot and sorting out the characters problems. Most notably John Proctor's. The final scene reaches its climax when Proctor reluctantly confesses to compacting with the devil and to doing his work. Proctor verbally confesses but this is not enough for Danforth who wants more in the form of a written ad signed confession which he plans to pin on the church door for the good instruction of the village. When Proctor realises this must be done or he will hang in a moment of rage he tears up his confession and secures his destiny to hang that morning with all the other upstanding, honest, innocent, members of the community. This final scene is expertly written by Miller and conveys the emotions of especially Elizabeth and John Proctor perfectly as thy try to come to an agreement to save John's life. Of course all this talking and emotion is brought to an abrupt end with Proctor walking towards the gallows and to his death with his name and reputation in tact but his life in tatters. John Proctor appears on the surface to be big, strong and well respected in his community. He is the sort of man that teenagers like Abigail often like but who is envied by other men for the above properties. This is evident most
