Life In David Mamet's Oleanna

915 Words2 Pages

In life there are some situations that just do not go in your favor, therefore you should never underestimate the power of words and actions. That is why it’s important to think before you say or do something because It could change a life, or in this case, John’s life. In the play Oleanna written by David Mamet, he tells the powerful drama-filled story through two characters John, a College Professor, and Carol, one of his students, accused John of sexual harassment. Which led to him losing his opportunity of being granted tenure. During the story the audience can draw their own conclusion as to who provokes whom. Even though John is misleading, I feel as though Carol throughout the story is at fault for John losing his job, due to misinterpreting …show more content…

From beginning to end of this story Carol’s ignorance is obvious, her lack of attentiveness in a class that she has already failed once is rather surprising. Even though Carol accuses her college professor of sexual harassment, she still seems to be oblivious to what he is asking of her to improve her overall grade. She calls herself stupid in which John tries to comfort and encourage her that she is bright. But she still continues to call herself stupid and not putting in any effort to learn or fix it. Which can make the audience assume that she wanted him fired more than anything. The main point of her even meeting with him was her grade. It seems like she doesn’t really care about her grade or putting forth any action on her end to make it happen. The exchange of dialogue on page 21 shows her unwillingness to communicate or to expand on what steps she can take to help improve her grade. As the play continues Carol knows that she now has the power and is in full control of the situation and is taking full advantage of it. Her cunning and manipulative ways has ultimately led to the destroying a man’s life that he has worked so hard to

Open Document