Hobson's Choice by Harold Brighouse

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Recommended: Gender roles in english literature

Hobson's Choice by Harold Brighouse Maggie can be described as a woman of many qualities; there are many aspects of the play that can verify this statement. The scene starts with Maggie saying "Dinner at half past one girls, we’ll give him half an hour" This looks as if Hobson has gone to the pub but Maggie has told him that lunch is at one but he says its not. So Maggie says it’s at half one. From the words "We'll give him half an hour" it seems as if this argument is a regular occurrence. Maggie is a very dominant character and because of this, she makes a great saleswoman. "This is a shop you know. We're not here to let people go out without buying." In this scene, we also meet the other main character of the book, Hobson. He is an old man, who likes to show that he has money, by the clothes and the jewellery that he wears. Towards the end of this scene, we meet Willie Mossop. He plays an important part of this play. When we first meet him, he is a shy fellow. "I'm not much good at owt but leather." As the play progress, Maggie marries Will and they start up a business together. By the end of the play, Willie is a completely different person, he is no longer shy, but he is a very confident character who is not afraid to speak his mind. Thanks to Maggie Willie had changed in character. Maggie first becomes aware of Willies talent, when a customer, Mrs Hepworth, visits the shop and demands to see Willie. We find out here how little faith people have for Willie, as when Mrs Hepworth wants to see the maker of her shoes, Hobson tries to apologise as he thinks that Willie has done something wrong. "I assure you it shall not occur again, Mrs Hepworth." By the time Mrs Hepworth has left the shop, she has complemented Willie, insulted Hobson and Maggie has made up her mind that Willie is the man for her. A short while after, Hobson decided to go to the Moonrakers. While he had gone, Maggie took the opportunity to tell Willie her proposal and so she yet again calls him up to the shop. He is still shy and so he doesn't want to come right up. Maggie tries to builds Will's confidence, by telling him how clever he is and how he could do much better. "You're a natural born genius at making boots." This makes Willie feel a little bit better around Maggie as he now knows that she has confidence in him.

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