The play “Kelly”, written by Matthew Ryan uses one of the main characters Dan Kelly to effectively explore the struggles he faced including identity, acceptance and forgiveness. The writer and director successfully highlight these struggles through the use of the themes family, guilt, death and respect. The play “Kelly” focuses on Ned’s last night in Melbourne jail before he is hung. It depicts Dan Kelly visiting Ned on his last night as a priest to talk about his upcoming death and to resolve their past problems. In takes an exceptional person to retain their understanding of their own identity when others question it, deny it or even set out to destroy it. Many people find it hard to stand an assault on their sense of self and in the end, …show more content…
give in to the strong domineering personalities that want to shape the world in their own image. Whilst others can destroy our sense of self, it is importance for us to withstand our own doubts of self. Confusion about identity and self-doubt can arise when someone with whom we look to validate our perception of who we are refuse to confirm this perception. This is much the same in Matthew Ryan’s play “Kelly” where main character Dan Kelly struggles to find his own sense of self due to his past experiences. To fix this problem he feels as if he needs to start a new life in Queensland and let go of his past in Victoria. This is because he neglected both his family and the Kelly gang. By doing so, Dan felt as if he was forging a new sense of self by forgetting his past and moving on. But this was not to be the case. After his identity was questioned by Ned, Dan realised that he must hold the Kelly name and not change it. He also realised that he must live with his past and what he did to both his family and the Kelly gang. When a person questions someone else’s identity, they are not only questioning another person’s personality and image but reflecting on their own insecurities and lack of identity. When first joining a school, workplace or sporting club it can be noticed by many people that it takes a long time to be accepted and to also make friends.
Whilst at first you may be bullied and treated unfairly, you eventually find someone who is like you, someone with whom you can connect. Frustration about acceptance can arise when someone close to you treats with you disrespect. In Matthew Ryan’s play “Kelly” this seems to be much the case when Ned and Dan meet for the first time in his cell. Dan arrived in Ned’s cell and Ned wanted nothing to do with him – he played games with Dan using his intelligence to confuse Dan and make him yet again insecure about the decisions that he had made regarding his future. This is all due to their past experiences as a family and the Kelly gang. When Dan arrives as a priest in Ned’s cell, Ned can’t believe it as he thought Dan was dead. Ned also had a lot of hatred towards Dan for what he let happen to their sister and mates. However Dan doesn’t feel any of this and instead wants Ned to believe him and accept him for who he is. At the end of the play before Ned is taken away to be hung, he and Dan seem to be friendlier towards each other; with Dan discussing why he did what he did during the Glenrowan shootout and his mother’s arrest. From this it can be seen that even enemies can make friends, it’s only a matter of discussing past problems and resolving
them. For someone to forgive another takes a lot of courage and thought. Whilst at first you may think why should I forgive, but after a lot of thought and discussion, you eventually come to the decision to forgive. However, this is made harder by what the person has done and to what degree. Forgiveness can arise when someone close to you keeps something from you or talks behind your back. This is much the same in Matthew Ryan’s play “Kelly” when Dan meets Ned in his jail cell in the hope of Ned forgiving him for his past actions. At first Ned is not very open to discussion. This is because he feels as if Dan wants to get rid of his Kelly past. Yet in the end Ned doesn’t care and lets Dan decide for himself, but makes Dan feels as if he should remain a Kelly. At the end of the play Dan received the forgiveness that he wanted due to him listening to his brother and facing his past experiences head on no matter how bad they were. This shows that whilst it is important to forgive, sometimes it is better to discuss things and make friends that way. Michael Ryan’s play “Kelly” successfully discusses the struggles and motivations of the main character Dan Kelly through the use of identity, acceptance and forgiveness correlating with the themes of family, guilt, death and respect. The clever use of Identity shows how Dan feels when he first meets Ned in his jail cell, the clever use of acceptance shows how Dan feels after talking to Ned about their past and the clever use of forgiveness shows how both Dan and Ned feel at the end of the play. Dan’s arguementive attitude along with Ned’s sarcastic way shows how both Dan and Ned connect in each other’s life as brothers.
I chose the subject about “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” written by Ken Kesey in 1962 for my research paper because my mother told me years ago of the accompanying film and how interesting it is. Two years ago a friend of mine came back from his exchange programme in the United States of America. He told me that he and his theatre group there had performed this novel. He was and still is very enthusiastic about the theme and about the way it is written. Although I started reading the novel, I didn’t manage to finish it till the day we had to choose our subjects at school. When I saw this subject on the list, which we were given by our English teacher Mr Schäfer, I was interested immediately. So I chose it.
On the other hand, ideally one should be true to one’s heart, if Disney’s Mulan is to be believed. But these are neither solid pieces of advice nor wise counsel; they are at best hand-wavy, wishy-washy statements that offer no guidance on traveling the minefield that is remaining true to oneself. In fact, given the wide swath of human experiences, it is difficult to imagine a panacea effective for each and every trial and tribulation people may encounter in maintaining the integrity of their identities; personally, I don't think one exists. Just as there are myriad events, emotions, and memories from which one’s identity develops, it surely follows that there are just as many ways social norms act to compromise one’s individuality, ostensibly for the worse. Therefore, it seems that an indirect solution would best serve individuals filled and bombarded with doubt about who they really are; namely, the unwavering support of a community would allow individuals to resolve, on their own terms, their inner conflicts stemming from outward
In the essay “In Defense of Masks,” by Kenneth Gergen, he states how people do not “normally develop a coherent sense of identity” (Gergen 2). Gergen talks about how we as people may “experience severe emotional distress,” (Gergen 2) instead of having a set identity. The difference between the idea of multiple identities that are represented by masks and having a coherent sense of identity of one’s true self, is that having a coherent sense of identity means that a person stays the same in every situation and never changes. On the other hand, having multiple identities that are represented by masks means that one’s identity is ever changing and shifting depending on the situation that they are in and the people who surround them. However, even
The Play of the Diary of Anne Frank starts out in the annex in the warehouse in Amsterdam, Holland where Anne Frank and seven others hid out during World War II. It opens with Otto Frank and Miep Gies standing in the annex alone in 1945. Mr. Frank had just come home from the concentration camps, being the one survivor from the annex. After conversing for awhile, Miep hands Mr. Frank Anne’s diary from the days of living in the annex. He starts to read the book, as it slowly flashes back to 1942 when it all began…
In the real life, it is hard to judge our personal identity: we are aware of who we are every second and minute, we also are able to check our appearance that we have known since we were born from looking at mirror. We know “I am myself” all the time.
“In Defense of Mask,” by Kenneth Gergen he states that it is not possible for humans to find a coherent self identity without having a solution. The idea of developing a “coherent sense of identity” makes us act a certain way to please the wish of others. Gergen wants to find intentions of an individual 's choice of mask and how outward appearances and inward feelings we all come across. The author proves his statement by experimenting on people who had a positive and negative reaction from an interviewer.Therefore, the “coherent identity” versus “multiple identities” is detrimental to many individuals when they are trying to perceive into someone that they wish to become. I agree with Gergen, because having a mask hides
“Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and that if we venture out, we will fall off the edge,” verbalizes Andrea Dworkin. Gender-roles have been ingrained in the every-day life of people all around the world since the beginnings of civilization. Both One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Hamlet portray typical female stereotypes in different time periods. Due to the representation of women in literature like Hamlet by William Shakespeare and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kessey, and pop-culture, evidence of classic gender-based stereotypes in a consistently patriarchal world are still blatantly obvious in today’s societies.
Fred Wright, Lauren's instructor for EN 132 (Life, Language, Literature), comments, "English 132 is an introduction to English studies, in which students learn about various areas in the discipline from linguistics to the study of popular culture. For the literature and literary criticism section of the course, students read a canonical work of literature and what scholars have said about the work over the years. This year, students read One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey, a classic of American literature which dates from the 1960s counterculture. Popularized in a film version starring Jack Nicholson, which the class also watched in order to discuss film studies and adaptation, the novel became notable for its sympathetic portrayal of the mentally ill. For an essay about the novel, students were asked to choose a critical approach (such as feminist, formalist, psychological, and so forth) and interpret the novel using that approach, while also considering how their interpretation fit into the ongoing scholarly dialogue about the work. Lauren chose the challenge of applying a Marxist approach to One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Not only did she learn about critical approaches and how to apply one to a text, she wrote an excellent essay, which will help other readers understand the text better. In fact, if John Clark Pratt or another editor ever want to update the 1996 Viking Critical Library edition of the novel, then he or she might want to include Lauren's essay in the next edition!"
A person’s identity is made from various characteristics that make the person who he is. It is partly constructed from physical characteristics like skin tones, hair color, and body shape. But it is also formed by more abstract ideas like religion, education, family, gender identity, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and personality traits. All of these things amount to an identity. Scholars and philosophers have debated for many years over how much humans have control over their identities and, if they do have any control, how much should they control? Philosophers like Albert Camus and Thomas Nagel would argue that humans have and should control their identities in order to escape philosophical suicide and to accept the absurdity of everyday life. However, it seems that writers like Chantay Leonard and Alice Walker are more in touch with the relationship between environment and identity. Although humans have free will to make their own choices, they are not in control of the environment and other people around them, and therefore, a great deal of their identity is formed without their consent.
The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own.
A person’s identity is not something that can be removed, It can only change over time. Some people may feel as if they have lost their identity, but they have not lost it. It is only hidden. Many people have different definitions of identity, but there should only be one, universal definition. The definition of identity is the values someone has, and how said person treats others.
As stated by Rockquemore (1998), identity is defined as a self-understanding that positions and describes a person; in social terms it establishes the what and the where for a person. This not only places individuals in a position where they can understand themselves and others but also where they can assess themselves relative to others. Thus, an individual can’t have a fulfilled identity without others who authenticate that identity. This bec...
“It’s a blessed thing that in every stage in every age some one has had the individuality and courage enough to stand by his own convictions.” The part of me that sums up my identity best is not the adjectives given by family, or the faults I find in myself. My identity is my desire to better myself, and my passion for children. My identity is who I want to be and what I do to accomplish my goals My identity is the feelings and emotions I pour into my journal every day, and the way I feel when I do something right. My identity is not what others thing of me or what I think of myself after a bad day. My identity is the love and confidence I have in myslef, and the beauty inside.
...can go through an entire lifetime and not really know how to define their own identity. In many cases people suffer through a great crisis to discover who they really are. If someone doesn?t know the meaning of their own identity, how can society apply a definition to the word? It leaves people to ponder whether or not there are some feelings and parts of life that simply cannot be explained. When defining the word identity scholars and common men alike must agree to disagree. It is a word so diverse in context that it is seemingly impossible to take it down to a simplified definition. There are some things in life that just aren?t meant to be completely understood, and one?s identity is among these things. Not until a person has a lived out their live could they sit down and tell you how their adventure has shaped them into the person they became in the end.
The play Rachel by Angelina Grimke provides insight about living situations among African Americans post slavery era, early 20th century. Grimke’s play presents real life situations about the livelihood of African Americans, which suggest that no matter what African Americans did would never have the same opportunities as white Americans. The play presents the idea that African Americans can earn prestigious degrees, and still are not able to receive a job due to the color of their skin. The play present two characters as brother and sister, who both received an education, and yet they were unable to get a job in their desired field. Rachel sees the cycle that African Americans are subjected too, thus vowing to never have a child of her own.