Discoveries can be emotionally meaningful and confronting, and can lead individuals to new values and changes. This is evident in the play ‘Away’ by Michael Gow which explores the self-discovery and transformations of differing characters. Through the constant problems and events of an iconic Australian trip to the coast, the character Tom realises the severity of his sickness and that there will be certain aspects of life he will never experience. Ed Sheeran’s ‘Castle on the Hill’ further emphasises the idea of experiencing new aspects of life and the importance of these. Both texts, ‘Away’ and ‘Castle on the Hill’, reflect on the transformations of an individual after the discovery of the significance of life, ultimately leading to new values. …show more content…
This is clearly seen in ‘Away’, as the character Tom is the catalyst for change and enforces the self-discovery of others whilst experiencing it himself. Gows intertextuality and allusions to the Shakespearean play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is seen in Act 1, scene 1, when Tom plays the mischievous Puck in the school production. This suggests his role in the transformative discoveries of other characters. In Act 4, scene 1 Tom’s illness is a significant element which influences the discoveries seen. The setting of the beach in this scene represents the healing of the characters and permits them to rediscover themselves, their families, and see their own lives positively. The power of nature assists the influence of Tom’s illness to change and transform the individuals of this play. The song ‘Castle on the Hill’ is a nostalgic narration of Ed Sheeran’s journey growing up which considers discovery as a deeply transformative and impacting experience. The titular itself, ‘Castle on the Hill’, appears to be a defining childhood event and catalyst for Ed Sheeran’s return journey back to his home, his new values and perspectives of this place. The reference to Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’ in the chorus lyrics evokes feelings of nostalgia, which it appears to be doing so effectively for Sheeran as he reflects on his past. Both texts demonstrate the power of the influence of others, …show more content…
The personal isolation and withdrawal from society of the character Tom is shown through the symbolism of his physical isolation on the beach in act 4, scene 2. Within this act Toms vulnerability is revealed with a tragic comedy when he tells Meg of his illness and attempts to persuade her to have sex with him. This vulnerability was previously unseen as Tom finally comes to the realisation of the severity of his illness and that he will not experience certain aspects and activities of life. Gow explores the power of nature by using the storm as the most significant turning point of this play and as a motif throughout. Through this scene it is established that nature is an important factor that influences Tom’s self-discovery. Tom’s realisation in this act links to Ed Sheeran’s ‘Castle on the Hill’ which takes on a bildungsroman approach as Sheeran gradually discovers the importance of the events he experienced while growing up such as “I was running from my brother and his friends/ And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass as I rolled down”. A contrast between the play and song can be seen, as although both individuals have discovered the significance of life, the character of Tom realises he will never experience all that life has to offer whereas Ed reflects on his experiences and wishes to return and explore further. In the play ‘Away’ and the song ‘Castle on
Characters in the play show a great difficult finding who they are due to the fact that they have never been given an opportunity to be anything more than just slaves; because of this we the audience sees how different characters relate to this problem: " Each Character has their own way of dealing with their self-identity issue..some look for lost love o...
This extract emphasises the lonely, outworld feeling that would have been felt living in such settings. This puts into perspective the feeling that will be felt during the coarse of the plot development.
Margaret Edson explores an unpopular theme (redemption) using the changes in the character of the protagonist, Dr. Bearing. After her ovarian cancer diagnoses, she realizes that she lives an incomplete life with excess devotion to her career and academics and less regard for humanity. She faces heart breaking loneliness that makes her regret the fact that she listened to and followed her English professor’s advice that scholars are unsentimental. Margaret Edson’s “W; t”, therefore, has a thematic bias on the redemption of Dr. Bearing as she tries to emerge from her arrogant self and shed her unsociable character. Dr. Bearing interacts with two contrasting characters in the play that leads her to a state of self realization making her change for the best.
“His life was not confining and the delight he took in this observation could not be explained.” (Cheever 216) He had a perfect family, high social status and very few problems in his life, or so he thought. His life is so wonderful that anything objectionable is repressed. Not until he takes the “journey” into realization, where he learns through others that his life has fallen apart.
“The Swimmer,” a short fiction by John Cheever, presents a theme to the reader about the unavoidable changes of life. The story focuses on the round character by the name of Neddy Merrill who is in extreme denial about the reality of his life. He has lost his youth, wealth, and family yet only at the end of the story does he develop the most by experiencing a glimpse of realization on all that he has indeed lost. In the short story “The Swimmer,” John Cheever uses point of view, setting and symbolism to show the value of true relationships and the moments of life that are taken for granted.
... Amanda’s past inside Tom’s memory, removes the audience from the real world to the image and back, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the play.
the main theme of the play. With out this scene in the play I don’t
Tom's closing speech is a great moment. The descending fourth wall puts a powerful but permeable barrier between Tom and his family. They are behind him, behind him in time and in the physical space of the stage, and they are inaudible. Yet he cannot seem to shake the memory of them, and they are clearly visible to the audience. Although he has never explicitly spoken of one of the play's most important themes‹the conflict between responsibility and the need to live his own life‹it is clear that he has not been able to fully shake the guilt from the decision that he made. The cost of escape has been the burden of memory. For Tom and the audience, it is difficult to forget the final image of frail Laura, illuminated by candlelight on a darkened stage, while the world outside of the apartment faces the beginnings of a great storm.
Every time the family comes to a confrontation someone retreats to the past and reflects on life as it was back then, not dealing with life as it is for them today. Tom, assuming the macho role of the man of the house, babies and shelters Laura from the outside world. His mother reminds him that he is to feel a responsibility for his sister. He carries this burden throughout the play. His mother knows if it were not for his sisters needs he would have been long gone. Laura must pickup on some of this, she is so sensitive she must sense Toms feeling of being trapped. Tom dreams of going away to learn of the world, Laura is aware of this and she is frightened of what may become of them if he were to leave.
The pointedness of the play is created through a distinct plot path. The observer is lead through the story, seeing first how greatly Amanda Wingfield influences her children. Secondly, the play-goer notes how Tom Wingfield desperately struggles and writhes emotionally in his role of provider- he wants more than just to be at home, taking care of his all-too-reminiscent mother and emotionally stunted sister. Tom wants to get out from under his mother’s wing; his distinct ambitions prevent him from being comfortable with his station in life. Lastly, Laura struggles inside herself; doing battle against her shyness, Laura begins to unfurl a bit with Jim, but collapses once again after Jim announces his engagement and leaves her, again. Each character struggles and thrashes against their places in life, but none of them achieve true freedom. This plot attests to the fact that true change and freedom can only come through the saving power of God Almighty and Jesus Christ, and by letting go of the past.
Composers show how confronting and meaningful discoveries can be through how their characters and settings of their works are depicted. I agree with this statement, because the discoveries made within a text by the audience are there to piece together the picture of which is the texts underlying motive. Examples of this can be seen in the texts ‘Rainbow’s End’ a play by Jane Harrison and the children’s book ‘The Rabbits’ by John Marsden and Shaun Tan. ‘Rainbow’s End’ follows a family of three Aboriginal Australian females; Gladys - single mother trying to support her daughter and help her succeed in life, Nan Dear – Gladys’s mother and Dolly – Gladys’s teenage daughter, showing the struggles that they as an Aboriginal family face in a Anglo-dominant, 1950’s Australian society. ‘The Rabbits’ is an allegory, or retelling, of the British colonisation of Australia, with the British being represented by rabbits and the Indigenous Australians being represented by numbats, an endangered Australian native animal. Both of these texts display themes of discrimination and assimilation towards aboriginals, giving us the chance to discover and understand their struggles.
Part of Tom’s desire to leave is this treatment at the hands of his mother. In the beginning of the play, he loses his appetite because of his mother’s “constant directions of how to eat it” (923), and at one point she said that, in reference to books that she took from Tom, she “took that horrible novel back to the library,” (931) and that she “won’t allow such filth brought into [her] house!” (931). Part of Tom’s desire to leave is this treatment at the hands of his mother; another part is his job, and how monotonous and stagnant it is at the workshop. [PP2] Together, they leave Tom feeling trapped in his lifestyle of struggling through the days. He mentions to seeing a magician show at the movies, which sums up his feelings of
Michael Neill in “None Can Escape Death, the ‘Undiscovered Country’” interprets the main theme of the play as a “prolonged meditation on death”:
He opens the play with a very exposing account of what life used to be
Taking an inevitable outcome into something worth analyzing is Hamlet’s approach on life. To question the subject of death, love, family, and loyalty sums up the complex thoughts of modern man. Shakespeare unveils a journey into Hamlet’s mind through the documentations of his soliloquies. Hamlet is more than a prince, he is the revolutionary hero who undergoes many tragedies, yet confronts the idea of being surrounded by those events, and shares with us his philosophical contemplations. With the many occasions in Hamlet’s life, we gradually become enlightened in his way of thought and his obsession with the mysteries of change, life, and death.