HANNIE RAYSON'S Inheritance is predominantly about divisions. It is set in Victoria's Mallee, one of the few regions to represent most accurately the "typical" bush of our mythic past. It is the 21st century: more than 85 per cent of Australians inhabit the urban areas sprawling along the coasts, and more and more rural areas struggle to survive. The first half of the play concerns a celebration - twins Girlie Delaney and Dibs Hamilton are celebrating their 80th birthdays, and with the gathering of their families comes the eruption of simmering resentments and anxieties about the future of Dibs and Farley Hamilton's farm, Allandale. The second half starts with a funeral and portrays the shattering of the tenuous links that held the family together. Rayson's structure of 54 short scenes reflects the fracturing of the family and its fortunes. Characters are disaffected and isolated; there is a turning away from others, symbolised by the dissipation of the farm to fund Maureen's Hansonist political career. The first act ends with a fight between Nugget and Lyle; the second act demonstrates that each is defeated, as Farley's death exposes the fissures in his family. But, Rayson suggests, Nugget has more resources, greater flexibility with which to respond to change and loss than Lyle, whose inarticulate puzzlement in the face of change paralyses him. To an extent, the characters in the play represent aspects of the Australian identity and experience. However, Rayson's vivid grasp of speech patterns to evoke character, and her ability to manipulate the audience with humour and pathos move the text beyond mere polemic and stereotype. In an almost Brechtian way, she positions us to analyse as we are entertained and moved. The characters address the audience; the fast movement from scene to scene juxtaposing past and present and prevents us from identifying with particular characters, forcing us to assess their points of view; there are few characters who fail to repel us, as they display truly human complexity and fallibility. That fallibility is usually associated with greed and a ruthless disregard for the needs of others. Emotional needs are rarely acknowledged by those most concerned with taking what they maintain is theirs, and this confusion of feeling and finance contributes to the play's ultimate bleak mood. The title Inheritance is an ironic reminder that the sins of the fathers are visited on the children, that: "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind." The house of old Norm Myrtle is indeed troubled, as we see in the families of his daughters, Dibs and Girlie.
Throughout the play Bennett reviles Doris’ character by showing her affection to the past, she talks to old photographs of her dead husband, Wilfred, and talks aloud to him. This indicates Doris’ apparent loneliness and how she feels “left behind” by the rest of her generation. When talking about the people she new in the past like Wilfred, she takes on there voice, this shows how she...
...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.
The notions of the Australian voice as multifaceted and diverse, is insightfully expressed in Tim Winton's short story anthology The turning and the Drover's wife by Henry Lawson. Australian voice in literature often explores the quality inherent to the Australian identity of overcoming hardships. The stories Fog, On her knees, and The Drover's wife explore these hardships through the notions of mateship,and the importance of family in facing these challenges.
The scenes, which cover thirty years of the characters’ lives from eight to thirty-eight, each revolve around an injury that Doug has acquired through his accident prone life. The play progresses in five year intervals, jumping backwards and forwards, in a nonlinear progression. As they travel and run into each other’s lives, the two characters face new injuries. As the play progresses every five years, a new injury is added to one or both characters. Their lives intersect through these injuries, leading them to compare their wounds, both physical (Doug) and emotional (Kayleen), and drawing them closer together. With each new scene, old injuries and problems may have gotten better or resolved, but some became permanent. Yet, through these experiences, they are bonded together through bloodstains, cuts, and bandages.
...the betrayal and dishonesty that is omnipresent in the play. Not only do they simply embody this concept, but they also serve to conclude the events of the play, by being the ending to what started the beginning.
...of the characters’ lives as their motivation affects what they do. The play’s overall theme of manipulation for personal gain as well as general control transmits to me clearly that we are not in control, of the events that happen to us. In spite of that revelation we are in control of the way in which we react to the circumstances in our lives. Hence, no human fully grasps the capabilities to control the way we act. We simply allow certain circumstances to overpower us and dictate our actions. Ultimately, I learned that we are our actions and consequently we should acknowledge the accountability that is implied when we act a certain way. Instead of blaming others for the mistakes we make, we should understand that we have the control as much as the power to make our own decisions rather than giving that ability someone else.
Within the confines of the movie, before the reading of the novel, this writer found the following several elements of the story confusing: who is Fergus and how does he fit in; Sarah’s standing on the hill looking toward her mother’s house seems unfinished; why does the Reverend Sorleyson treat his wife, Victoria, with such distain; what is the significance of the meal in which Hamilton orders Sarah to cook the fish for the Catholic woman; why does Frank voice no objections at the marriage of Sarah and Hamilton? Read on and ye shall uncover the answers.
... as it unfolds. It is saddening to see these characters fail again and again to understand each other, and themselves. Within our own lives however, we are not so different from the characters of the play. Many things are beyond our comprehension, and it is easy for suffering to arise when people are without understanding. Alas, Shakespeare has given us fair warning of the tragedy that could spring from incomprehension. It would be unwise to take this warning for granted; perhaps a pursuit of greater understanding will correlate with less tragedy among our lives.
The major events in the play, all develop around the memories of Tom Wingfield. The character, who takes care of his mother and sister, due to his father who left them at a young age. The next major event is when Jim who was a potential suitor for Amanda, comes and eats dinner with the family. Later on in the dinner, Amanda learns that her suitor Jim has girlfriend.
...hut the child out of their lives. Rather than dealing with the mistake or misfortune as a parent should do and stand by their child’s side, both parents ran away and tried to hide from the problem. The feelings of each character were completely forgotten and lost. Each were treated as some sort of object that could be thrown away and replaced. And ultimately, the outcomes in their lives reflected their poor parenting. The choices they made unfortunately came from the lack of skills they were taught when they were young and impressionable. Neither character knows what it is like to be a part of a loving family because they were both used as objects for money or fame. Sadly, the lack of parenting led to the demise of each and we are reminded, from over a hundred years ago as well as today, that successful parenting today will lead to successful adults for the future.
All the pieces in Alan Bennett’s collection deal in some way with people who are isolated or marginalized, either because of circumstances or because of their own idiosyncrasies. Every character is, in some way inadequate. Graham is a mother's boy, whose dubious sexuality seems to have caused him severe mental stress. Susan, the vicar's wife, is an alcoholic woman, trapped in a loveless marriage, whose caustic intolerance of her husband's calling alienates her from the rest of the parish and forces her into behaviour which is damaging and dangerous. Irene Ruddock is narrow minded and malicious, believing herself to be a guardian of public morals, when, in fact, she is no more than a dangerous slanderer. The actress, Lesley, believes that her talent is genuine, but has not the intelligence or wit to realise that she is, in reality, a failure. Muriel Carpenter has spent her whole married life refusing to face up to reality and suffers tragic consequences from years of selective vision and poor Doris finds her age and upbringing have made her an anachronism in modern society.
As complex, troubled characters Blanche and Viola established a relationship with the audience, which leaves the audience feeling sympathetic toward them both. The nature of the sympathy felt by the audience varies between characters. Viola loses her brother, and is wash...
The neglect from the parents is amplified with the symbolism of the snowflake quilt and the allusion to “Hansel and Grethel.” In the real world, parental abuse and neglect can negatively impact a child’s life forever. Examples of long term effects would be depression or drug and alcohol abuse. Bishop portrays these examples of the cruelty of neglect by using certain literary techniques in “The Farmer’s
The characters of the play are in no way able to comprehend what may lie
The first act introduces us to the charming and affluent Conway family; Madge, the intelligent socialist teacher, Alan, the unambitious yet good-natured son, Kay, the aspiring novelist, Hazel, beautiful and haughty, Robin, a former soldier, Carol, the sweet youngest child, and Mrs. Conway, the innocently frivolous mother. The family spends the evening celebrating the end of World War One and each expresses their optimistic hopes for the future. The family amiably interacts with other characters like Joan Helford, Ernest Beevers, and Gerald Thornton. However, Act two opens with Kay coming to visit home after working at meaningless job in the city in 1937. The second act has a much gloomier tone and there are several notable differences between the optimism of the 1919 Conways and the embittered 1937 Conways, on the verge of another World War. None of the characters has done what they had hoped and each is unhappy in their own way; with the exception of Carol, who has died many years prior to act two. As the family disperses into disarray, Kay returns to 1919 time in act three. No time has passed since the end of act one. The mood is still jolly as before but the audience, and to an extent Kay, has the foreboding feeling that the 1919 Conways will become the 1937 Conways. Kay becomes unable to join in the gaiety of her party as she