The Shoe Horn Sonata Character Analysis Essay

It has been said by many including Vera Harms and Martin Luther King Jr. that the times that are tough, seem unclear and challenging bring out the power of the human spirit, friendship and the instinct to survive. John Mistos play The Shoe Horn Sonata is a perfect example of these things. Misto uses his characterization skills to portray the deep friendship between Sheila and Bridie. The music throughout the play was very influential in conveying the power of the human spirit and the stage directions showed the amazing amount of instincts the women had to survive.

Paragraph 1: friendship – characterization

In the play the characterisation of Sheila and Bridie showed their very deep friendship, this is evident through Mistos detailed characterization.

Their friendship with each other helped them get through the painful and very challenging circumstances they were out into. It was by the power of their friendship that they would to anything for each other.
“I’d go to the Japs.

Again if I had to and I wouldn’t think twice – cause Bridie’s my friend and that’s all there is to it” (Misto, 1996 2: 13, p 86)

The friendship between Bridie and Sheila was very close in the war camps but it is seen from the beginning that there was obvious tension between the two women. Misto used the women’s predicament as a metaphor for life that one cannot move on with life until one’s past is resolved. Through the characterization the audience interprets that Sheila has not been able to get past the war because she was hiding a major part of her life away from the world. When she was finally able to let that go her character changed and that is very clear through Mistos

characterization.

Paragraph 2: Power of human spirit
Misto conveys the power of human spirit brilliantly during the course of the play.

He has been able to do this with the aid of music. By using the music he has showed that although one can sing alone, singing in a group like in the camp can cause a bigger noise and represent a thirst to be heard. In scene three, act one young Sheila is singing Jerusalem. She sang it as a cry of help to have to strength to continue and to just hold on until she was found. The lyrics bring her hope that she will be found and saved because Britain will be victorious and take care of their people. Music was also used in the camps where the women formed the choir. This was a shining hope for the other people in the camp that it was possible to get out and gave spirit and fire back within the camp.

“- even though we were starving we were all in tune. And while we sang there wasn’t a war. There was only peace on earth” (Misto, 1996, 1:7, 53).

When the prisoners formed the choir it was the first act in the ‘rebel’ against the Japanese and brought all people hope in the camp that even if they were there and things happened they would not let it bring them down. The power of the human spirit was so strong that all the prisoners in the camp were filled with hope and a joy that the detainers could not take from them.

Paragraph 3: Instinct to

survive
Throughout the play the audience becomes aware of the huge instinct that Bridie and Sheila had to survive. Misto did this through his stage directions and the dialogue between the women. This is apparent when Sheila finally opened up to Bridie about what she did to keep her alive. It was not only that if Bridie died Sheila knew that she wouldn’t have the strength or the same instincts to survive by herself. In the stage direction that the camp introduced no work no food the women in the camp had to work really hard to get food for themselves and their children or they died from starvation (Misto, 1996, 1:6, 48). Their instinct was to never give up and to keep working. Both the women relied on each other throughout the war and each was the others motivation to keep trying for each other. This is particularly apparent in scene thirteen act two where Bridie was expressing her feelings when they were set free.
“So Sheila and I walked out of that camp. And on four wobbly legs we went down to the village. Sometimes I dragged Sheila. Sometimes Sheila dragged me. The main thing is we got there. And we could never have done that alone.”
Misto has deeply developed his stage directions in a way that extends the characters moods and feelings. This is especially prominent with the tone and delivery of the lines. The audience is given a clear understanding about what the characters are doing, saying and feeling. Directions like ‘fondly’, ‘disapprovingly’, ‘casually, trying to make light of it’, ‘very calm’ are used to make the audience focus on the characters emotions as well as the story they are telling. It was through the challenging events that the women faced that made the audience pay attention to the information and facts in the stage directions.

Conclusion:
It is through the tough and hard times that are when the real power of human spirit, the instinct to survive and the importance of friendship are truly tested. The author has used techniques such as stage directions, dialogue, music and charactersation to make the audience question and think about the themes.