The language Bennett used was that of an old lady, but it still had some common speech in it, he uses many contractions to mimic everyday speech. “Them’s her leaves.”
Bennett reveals the character through layers of meaning and dramatic irony. He uses colloquial and dialetic terms that are associated with particular social groups so the readers can associate with what she’s saying. Bennett uses a single speaker – the old lady. He uses only one person because the message comes across stronger. He uses everyday talk from a northern town “Never see a bonified caller.” He does this because then it sounds like a real person, a real person doesn’t speak the queens English every second of the day.
This poem is a tragic-comedy and a rollercoaster of emotions for the reader. Doris tells us about a lot of her life, her childhood, the early years of her marriage and now as an elderly woman. This instantly makes the audience feel as if we know her so we are more sympathetic to her situation.
This main thing that links everything is the fact that she is now alone – her only child was stillborn, and she is a widow – there is nobody to help her, and again the fact that5 this is a monologue reinforces this. The fact that we don’t know what happens at the end – even though we can make an educated guess, makes us think the worst and feel sorry for her even more. Doris shares her feelings and fears to the audience, this emphasizes what old people are going through and shows they still have feelings and are still real people.
The use of dramatic irony makes us feel connected to the character because we feel their feelings and feel involved in the story because we know something that another character doesn’t.
The major point of Alan Bennett’s monologues is to inform the public of the state of care homes and to highlight the fact that old people do still have feeling even though they are rapidly being forgotten about.
There is evidence of serious neglect in English care homes. Under cover investigators have given statements which included “…She was black and blue all over her face…”;”…the clothes stank of urine and excrement.
This is obviously important to old people because they are either at these care homes or will go to one in the near future. This is not the kind of environment we should be sending old, vulnerable people to. When it comes to medication, 57% of care homes were found to be failing – homes were found not to be keeping proper records of medication given. In some cases medication was not stored properly. Also, 30% failed to meet the ‘protection from abuse’ standard, which is meant to ensure that residents are safeguarded from physical, financial or material, psychological, sexual abuse, neglect, discriminatory abuse or self harm, inhuman or degrading treatment, deliberate intent, negligence or ignorance.
The old lady has an abundance of friends, she hasn’t got one single person to call her friend. This shows a major breakdown in communication in society.
Bennett uses a lot of pauses to build up tension. These pauses make you think what the old lady is going to do next. The old lady asks for help when she thinks someone is at the door “Help. Help. Oh stink.”
Bennett also uses short sentences which provide the same effect as pauses. By the old lady saying ‘help.’ She is admitting she is in trouble which builds up tension in the reader because we wonder how she is going to get out of the situation.
Also, by saying “oh stink” she is emplying she is in trouble which makes the reader worried which also builds tension.
“I’m going to have to migrate or I’ll catch my death.”
Bennett is putting the image of death in our minds. This makes us put the image of death and the old lady together and this makes us think about her dyeing.
The conversation between the old lady and the policeman is the final straw that broke the camel’s back for Doris. It may have been the last conversation Doris ever had. It was her last chance to get help, but she didn’t take it. She decided she would rather die than go to Stafford house and loose her dignity. This was a proud old lady who would rather die now while she has her memories and dignity intact. “...and half of them daft, banging tambourines.”
She enjoys her independence and doesn’t want to be put in a place to die where she has to stay with people she wouldn’t like to associate herself with. “I don’t want to be stuck with a lot of old lasses, and they all smell of pee.”
She is set on her ways, especially when it comes to hygiene. “she said, ‘You’re prejudiced, you.’ I said, ‘I am, where hygiene’s concerned.’”
Bennett also uses tragic comedy here.
“You’ve done it now, Doris. Done it now, Wilfred.”
She speaks to Wilfred as though she actually believes he’s still in the picture and that he can hear what she’s saying.
“Done it now.” Implies this is the end for Doris. These builds up tension to the reader because they know the end is near and wonder what is going to happened next.
She talks as id she was a child again. “I wish I was ready for bed. All washed and in a clean nightie and the bottle in…”
She wishes things were simple again as like when she was a child.
She sings a song that she remembers from when she was a child, which she only half remembers. Her memory is fading, which is a sign of old age.
“Never mind. It’s done with now, anyway.” The old lady doesn’t explain what she means but we can gather that ‘it’s done with now’ means her life is done with now, her life is over. This makes tension because we don’t know what has happened to Doris, we can only guess.
Alan Bennett’s Monologues are primarily to reach out and touch people’s emotions.
The part that touched me the most emotionally was the fact that she was alone. She didn’t have anyone. No family. No friends. It worries me that in this society old people are just ignored and forgotten about. Swept under the carpet. The old lady lost everything she loved. Her beloved husband Wilfred, her stillborn child, even her ability to clean her own house. Old people don’t have any dignity these days. They are at the bottom of the list. People are narrow minded and think that old people are going to die soon so what’s the point in bothering with them. I think that in society old people should be given better pensions, taken from government taxes.
Bennett monologue opens our eyes to the true feelings of old people today. This highlights the fact that their lives are not all rosy and perfect as some of them appear to be. This poem makes us think that some old people’s lives are made so hard that they would potentially take their own life.
