The theme of jeaslousy in 'A View from the Bridge'
Choose a play in which one of the main concerns is love or jealousy or betrayal or reconciliation. Explain what the concern is, and show how it is explored throughout the play. A play in which one of the main concerns is jealousy is "A View from the Bridge" by Arthur Miller. I will explain what the concern is, and how it is explored throughout the play. Eddie Carbone is a longshoreman living in Brooklyn, in a community which is proud of protecting illegal immigrants. He lives with his wife, Beatrice, and his adopted niece, Catherine. One of the main concerns in the play is jealousy. Eddie's jealousy is explored through his inner conflict and his struggle to control his developing lust for his niece. The source of Eddie's inner conflict is his relationship with his niece, Catherine and Miller presents this through his protectiveness of her. When we are first introduced to Catherine she is waving from the window to Eddie and his friend. She is wearing new clothes and has her hair done in a different style. Eddie lectures her on her short skirt and the increasing male attention that she has been receiving; "You are walkin'wavy! I don't like the looks they're givin' you in the candy store. And with them new high heels ... the heads are turnin' like windmills." At first it seems that he is simply concerned for his niece's wellbeing. Also, feeling jealous could be
What Concerns does Miller present to us Regarding the Community of Salem in Act 1 of 'The Crucible'
"What Concerns does Miller present to us Regarding the Community of Salem in Act 1"? Throughout Act 1 Miller presents the reader with a number of concerns regarding the community of Salem as well as with individual characters. These range from the inherently religious life of a Salem villager to the feelings of mistrust and the ability to decieve held by many of them. In the following paragraphs it will be explored how Miller is able to develop these apprehensions as the Act progresses. From the very first description Miller is able to paint Salem as an isolated and claustrophobic town, setting the scene in a "small upper bedroom" in the house of Reverend Parris. The reader is presented with a very much static scenario in which "raw and unmellowed" furnishings sit unsettlingly around the room and this disconcerting feeling is built upon with the discovery of Parris "kneeling beside the bed...in prayer" while his daughter lies "on the bed, inert". Miller immediately makes us question the situation we have been plunged into and as our curiosity about this secluded community grows, so to do our concerns. As we progress further into the Act Miller clarifies that the previous scene was in fact as isolated as the rest of Salem, and to the outside, European, world the town is seen as nothing more than "A barbaric frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics". This builds anxiety as
Mrs Lintott - The History Boys
Mrs Lintott is an interesting character within The History Boys, presenting the only female influence and yet another type of teacher which Bennett tried to explore throughout the play. In her conversation with Hector we are able to first determine her character set aside from her job and the audience are able to distinguish her personality in a lot more detail. Mrs Lintott portrays her opinions about the view on women in History, in the social context, and the subject itself. "Mrs Lintott: The new man seems clever. Hector: He does. Depressingly so. Mrs Lintott: Men are, at history, of course." In these lines Mrs Lintott expresses that it is a normality, to her, that men are clever at History. When she says 'of course' there is tone of sarcasm in her voice, showing how sardonic and dry she is. By doing this the audience understand more in depth the way in which she converses outside of being a teacher, because she is having a conversation with Hector, so looses the restrictions that are intrinsic with her character and teacher persona. The sentence structure in this line is very short and simple, portraying the abruptness and often emotionless tone to her speech, contrasting with Hector who is vibrant and eccentric with words and language. There is a link here to later in the play, when Mrs Lintott vents her frustration about the passion of her subject being drained from
Discuss Hares use of Sir Peter as a criticism of societys legal system in Act 1 Scene 2 and in 'Murmuring Judges' as a whole.
Re-read Act 1 Scene 2 of Murmuring Judges (p3-9). Discuss Hare's use of Sir Peter as a criticism of society's legal system in this extract and in the play as a whole. In Act 1 Scene 2, and in the whole of Murmuring Judges, Sir Peter is used by Hare to represent the negative side of the legal system; namely, that lawyers are only concerned with upholding their own wellbeing and reputation. In this scene, Sir Peter's arrogant character conveys that lawyers at the top of the judiciary system have an impersonal, non-compassionate view towards the individuals they are supposed to be defending. For example, the fact that Sir Peter "smiles, unruffled" when challenged about losing a case reflects his lack of care for the suspect he poorly defended, therefore he is inconsiderate about how his failure has had a detrimental effect on the suspect. The audience perceives this due to his salient facial expression, therefore receiving Hare's intended message that the system at the time was self-absorbed and incapable of sympathy. A prominent event which incontrovertibly influenced Hare to raise awareness bout this notion was the wrongful imprisonment of the Birmingham Six. The fact that this group were framed for a crime they were not involved in exemplifies the problematic nature of the emotionally withdrawn lawyers, who lack diligence to persevere in cases due to deficiency of true
Shaffer portrays Salieris response to Mozart and his music in a way that helps the audience understand and sympathize with his state of mind. Discuss this statement through a detail exploration of Shaffers use of authorial techniques at th
Shaffer portrays Salieri's response to Mozart and his music in a way that helps the audience understand and sympathize with his state of mind. Discuss this statement through a detail exploration of Shaffer's use of authorial techniques at the end of the library and the march scenes In the library and March of Welcome scenes, Salieri is put in very awkward situations, physically and emotionally. In both scenes, this is due to Mozart being himself, which is what Salieri despises the most, and makes this all the more tragic. The emotions he feels are at their peak at the end of the scenes, and the way the stage directions are written, and how Salieri is speaking allow the audience to capture his emotions and somehow sympathize with the man who also believes he struck a deal with a deity. We first encounter Salieri's emotions for Mozart at the end of the Library scene; the aria that is being played has a significant effect on him. Piercing me through till breath could hold it........the squeeze box groaned louder" brings the attention to pain Salieri is trying to cope with whilst at the hands of this merciless adversary Mozart. The word piercing brings to mind an idea of stabbing, murder, death which heavily influences a sense of concern for Salieri as he is having his hopes destroyed. However, the conflict runs deeper than that, he knows the music itself is beautiful, and he
Max characterisation - The Homecoming
Max characterisation Pinter presents Max as the dispossessed alpha male, fighting in an ethological battle against his 3 sons. His attempts to retain his power are unsuccessful as his questions and insults are, for the most part, completely ignored. He feels unheard in his own home as he asks "do you hear what I'm saying? I'm talking to you"; he has become subordinate and has lost his dominance. Seen as a patriarchal interrogator and intimidator in his younger years, highlighted by him entering the play with a question "what have you done with the scissors?" and telling stories about his 'glory days', Max uses exclamations, expletives and questions to try to draw out those around him. Feminising his brother and sons, by calling them insults such as "whore" and "slutbitch", Max tries to regain ground in the power struggle between the Hackney predators. By calling Sam a "bitch" he not only emasculates him but also attacks his suspected homosexuality. Max's reminiscence of when he and MacGregor "were two of the worst hated men" he attempts to instill fear and trepidation among those listening to his story and to scare Lenny into submission. His speech is reminiscent of that given by Ronnie Kray, infamous London thug in the 50s/60s, who said he and his brother were "fucking untouchable". His language register is similar to that of Max, pugilistic, aggressive and filled with
To what extent is Willy Loman a tragic hero?
To What Extent Is Willy Loman A Tragic Hero? The play, "Death of a Salesman", written by Arthur Miller, is about the 'American Dream' and a man so disillusioned by it that he becomes a modern day 'tragic hero'. Tragic heroes derive from the Greeks, but Shakespeare adapted his own genre for tragedy. Most Shakespearean tragedies all fit the same pattern, which is that the protagonist is of noble birth and have a fatal character flaw which usually leads to their demise. Arthur Miller took Shakespeare's ideas for what a tragic hero should be and made them relevant to this time period. One particular critic thought, "a contemporary audience can no longer accept that a tragic hero is punished by comic force...A tragedy must be brought about by... recognisable social factors." 1This means that the factors of Shakespearean and Aristotelian tragedies are outdated for a modern day audience, audiences cannot accept that the protagonist falls due to a higher power, it must be something they can relate to or understand. Willy Loman is a struggling salesman around the age of sixty. He lives with his wife Linda and two sons Biff and Happy. Willy does not fit the usual criteria established by Shakespearean or Aristotelian tragedies. Firstly, he is not of noble birth, although in the play Miller makes a link known to the audience because Willy is made to appear of noble birth as he is in
How does Tennessee Williams suggest that Stanley is an animalistic character in the play A streetcar named desire ?
How does Tennessee Williams suggest that Stanley is an animalistic character in the play "A streetcar named desire" ? Stanley Kowalski is Stella Kowalski nee Dubois' polish husband. He works as an engineer and has acquired many rowdy friends from his place of work. Stanley does not seem to function without Stella. When Stella's sister Blanche comes to stay all of Stanley's most horrible animalistic traits seem to come to the surface. The first act of animal like behaviour we see in the play is in the very first scene where Stanley chucks some meat which is still bloody at Stella who is up at the window. This symbolises Stanley to be the provider in the family just like in a wolf pack when the male wolf goes out and hunts for meat for his family. That fact that the meat is still bloody also brings Stanley bring meat Stella and a wolf bringing meat to his family closer. The second time we see Stanley is when Blanche has arrived and Stella has left the room because Blanche has upset her. Even though Stanley has never met Blanche before he doesn't care at all about taking his top off in front of her and making himself more comfortable. This could imply that Stanley is quite territorial and wants to show Blanche that it is his home and he can do whatever he likes and be dressed however he likes in his own home. Being territorial is a very animalistic trait. Furthermore
Scene Analysis of Scene Seven of "A Streetcar Named Desire" by
Scene Analysis of Scene Seven of "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams As a connection to Stanley's questioning Blanche about her affair in the "Hotel Flamingo" in Scene Five, Scene Seven starts with his revelation of Blanche's past life in Laurel. Having "thoroughly checked on [the] stories" (187) about what Blanche has done there, Stanley is confident to nail the "pack of lies" (186) that are used so skilfully to deceive Stella and Mitch - she has never been kissed by a fellow and she quits her job because of her poor nerves. The competition between the two extreme, dominating powers of Blanche and Stanley is one of the main concerns in the development of the play. In Scene Seven, Tennessee Williams, the playwright of the play, delicately renders the shift of dominating power from Blanche to Stanley through the Stella's response about the "stories". At first, Stella reacts strongly to the stories about Blanche's past life, stating them as "contemptible lies" (187); however, her strong defence of Blanche is gradually defeated by Stanley's powerful statements and reliable evidences - she feels sick when she knows that Blanche "[gets] mixed up with a seventeen-year-old boy" (188), and even walks in a "dazed way" (189) when she hands the towel to Blanche. In the scene, Williams makes use of the bathing to show us Blanche's dependence on illusion. Through her
Explore Shepards use of setting, lighting and sound effects in Fool for Love; how do these elements enhance the action of the play?
Explore Shepard's use of setting, lighting and sound effects in Fool for Love; how do these elements enhance the action of the play? Within Shepard's play 'Fool for Love' his use of setting, lighting and sound effects all have an impact on the audience. All these background uses are used to enhance the actions that are carried out throughout the play; the effects highlight the key importance of the actions to show that they represent an emotion or feeling. Within the beginning of the play Shepard has a detail amount of stage directions, which are based upon mainly the lighting and setting. "Low rent hotel room... Faded green plaster walls... Dark brown linoleum flooring... faded blue chenille bedspread." The setting informs the audience that because the play is set within a motel room this can be seen as the link to the past where May's life was always changing and how May has never been able to settle in life causing her to live within a cheap lifestyle. The setting within Shepard's opening scene can be seen as a link towards Tennessee Williams play 'Streetcar named Desire', Within his opening scene which is set within the street where there is a sense of decay within the background with the decompositions of the buildings. However within the opening scene the setting contrasts with the use of sound and music. 'Merle Haggard's tune "wake up"' this is a pop song which are
