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
Before the play takes place, Abigail Williams and John Proctor had an affair while Abigail was working as a servant in their home. Eventually, John confessed and apologized to Elizabeth, pledging his faithfulness to her. Nonetheless, at the time the play takes place, Elizabeth still hasn’t fully forgiven him, and gives him a hard time about it. Abigail confessed the pretense of her accusations to him when they were alone, and now he has no way to prove that she’s lying to the court. But because he was alone with her again, Elizabeth becomes angry with him. She still doubts her husband because she feels that if it were any other girl he had to go testify against, he would not hesitate. But, because it’s Abigail, John feels he has to think harder on making a decision. He doesn’t want his name spoiled by a counter-testimony. John feels he is now justified in becoming angry because for the seven months since his confession, he has done nothing but try to please his wife, and she still approaches him with suspicion and accusatio...
This whole play by Arthur Miller shows how our community will turn on each other to save ourselves no matter if it’s right or wrong and it’s true in our society today. It also shows how a good man regained his happiness and holiness by standing up for what’s right against the lies and sacrificed himself for the truth.
Nevertheless, her attempts are futile as he dismisses her once more, putting his supposed medical opinion above his wife’s feelings. The story takes a shocking turn as she finally discerns what that figure is: a woman. As the story progresses, she believes the sole reason for her recovery is the wallpaper. She tells no one of this because she foresees they may be incredulous, so she again feels the need to repress her thoughts and feelings. On the last night of their stay, she is determined to free the woman trapped behind bars.
As the play continues, John is still in prison, but is now signing the paper confessing he is a witch. Doing this will save his life, but it will be a lie. After he has signed this he realizes that this is horrible decision to make.
Elizabeth is angry that John was having an affair with Abigail. John feels that he has endured enough. He knows what he did was not right, but he demands to Elizabeth that he needed a passion that she was not giving him. John uses emotional appeal to enforce his claim. She is offended at his suggestion that it was her fault that he was cheating on her. John says that he is only
John's decision to commit suicide was the right thing to do to make Ann happy. John thought that killing himself would make it easier for her to stay with Steven, who he thinks that she loves. John made a decision about his own life so he has the right to choose to kill himself. He also just wants Ann to be happy. He is "naively proud of Ann. He had bewildered by it once, her caring for a dull-witted fellow like him: then assured al last of her affection he had relaxed against it gratefully, unsuspecting it might ever be less constant than his own." (Pg.49) In John's mind he was making the right decision, so he was free to make it.
"secret words", and it gives him the ability to change to a man. Without her knowledge of
He knew such a thing would tarnish his reputation. The only reason he admits to this sin is because Elizabeth is accused and is in danger of losing her life. John realizes the only way to save his wife is to tell the court what Abigail’s true ambitions are. One other character who seems to care about their reputation and takes severe steps to protect it is Abigail Williams. From the start of the play, Abigail already has a bad reputation for committing adultery.
The narrator makes comments and observations that demonstrate her will to overcome the oppression of the male dominant society. The conflict between her views and those of the society can be seen in the way she interacts physically, mentally, and emotionally with the three most prominent aspects of her life: her husband, John, the yellow wallpaper in her room, and her illness, "temporary nervous depression. " In the end, her illness becomes a method of coping with the injustices forced upon her as a woman. As the reader delves into the narrative, a progression can be seen from the normality the narrator displays early in the passage, to the insanity she demonstrates near the conclusion.
Louise, the unfortunate spouse of Brently Mallard dies of a supposed “heart disease.” Upon the doctor’s diagnosis, it is the death of a “joy that kills.” This is a paradox of happiness resulting into a dreadful ending. Nevertheless, in reality it is actually the other way around. Of which, is the irony of Louise dying due to her suffering from a massive amount of depression knowing her husband is not dead, but alive. This is the prime example to show how women are unfairly treated. If it is logical enough for a wife to be this jovial about her husband’s mournful state of life then she must be in a marriage of never-ending nightmares. This shows how terribly the wife is being exploited due her gender in the relationship. As a result of a female being treated or perceived in such a manner, she will often times lose herself like the “girl
...ssion and intrusiveness. John’s lack of having an open mind to his wife’s thoughts and opinions and his constant childish like treatment of his wife somehow emphasizes this point, although, this may not have been his intention. The narrator felt strongly that her thoughts and feelings were being disregarded and ignored as stated by the narrator “John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him” (Gilman 115), and she shows her despise of her husband giving extra care to what he considers more important cases over his wife’s case with a sarcastic notion “I am glad my case is not serious!” (Gilman 115). It is very doubtful that John is the villain of the story, his good intentions towards doing everything practical and possible to help his wife gain her strength and wellbeing is clear throughout the story.
robbed her, as people will ” (417) Due to that fact that her father has driven all the men
Mamet, David. The. Oleanna: A Play in Two Acts. The Best Plays of 1992-1993. Eds.
When John sees his dad at the store, his internal conflict develops and this leads to his conflict with Grace. People in relationships tend to get into arguments with each other. It is a very realistic representation of his character. It would be unrealistic if a couple never argues. He accuses her of being a snob and this leads to the argument which is revealed when the narrator says, “They had never talked in this way, and now they were both quickly eager to hurt each other” (4). This illustrates that they were growing as a couple and were opening up to each other about their feelings. John finally lets his inner anger out on Grace and shows that he cares about her opinion on different matters such as how she views people from lower social class (3). John is a hypocrite since he calls Grace a snob when in reality he, himself is a snob because he is embarrassed of his dad’s lower social status. He is assuming that Grace would not like to be associated with him after finding out the truth. This is shown when he asks Grace, “You don 't like the kind of people you bump into here, … he asks recklessly, full of a savage eagerness to hurt her” (3). He is being naive for forcing his anger on Grace and not realizing the reason that is causing it. People tend to make foolish decisions when they are angry; likewise, John is trying to hurt Grace because he thinks he
Mamet's visual point of view gives the reader a better understanding of what makes a good movie. He uses a lot of examples about what works and what does not work. Some of the main examples of the visual point of views are Counter Cultural Architecture. For an instant, he uses his house as an example of how back in the day, people had a better understanding of the simple things. He simply states “It was built with an understanding of, wood, weather, and human domestic requirements” (Mamet 17). He expresses that more thought needs to been put into what you make. The more complex things that are in life aren't always the most efficient. In, addition to Counterculture Architecture movies also is another example Mamet gives. He explains how ‘bad