The Significance of Act 1 Scene 1 in A Taste of Honey in Establishing the Relationship Between the Main Characters and the Social Context of the Play

The Significance of Act 1 Scene 1 in A Taste of Honey in Establishing the Relationship Between the Main Characters and the Social Context of the Play

In my opinion Act 1 Scene 1 is the most important scene of the play

because straight away we find out that Helen is a "semi-whore". We

also see the beginning of a strange mother-daughter relationship. As

soon as we read the first page we find out the setting and the time of

the play. The time of the play is very important because of the social

issues such as Helen being a single mum and a "semi-whore", also the

issues of gay and black people, who appear later on in the play.

At the very beginning of the play we find out what Helen does for a

living, we know this, because it is mentioned in the stage directions.

It is also mentioned when Jo says "And we're supposed to be living off

her immoral earnings." I don't think Jo likes the way Helen makes her

money. From this we get the idea that they are poor and always need a

bit of money. As a result of Helens "immoral earnings" she's always

running away from something, for example old boyfriends and looking

for something new. At this point in the play we see she is bored "Well

it's one way of passing time while I'm waiting for something to turn"

When she says, "turn up" I think she means a man to care and spend

time and money on her.

I will now talk about Helen and her relationship with Jo. Helen is

supposed to be Jo's mum but she's always putting her down instead of

supporting her. There was one part in the play when she's being kind

towards Jo and her paintings, but she couldn't help being nasty, "I

think I will hang this on the wall somewhere, now where will it be

less noticeable?" When I first started to read this sentence I thought

she might be starting to change, but it didn't last long, as she soon