Introduction to Paper 2 Prompt

Prompt: Masks can be used literally or metaphorically in drama. Discuss to what extent, and for what purpose, masks have been used in A Streetcar Named Desire and Hedda Gabler.

Introduction/Thesis:

The female protagonists in Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire and Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler use metaphorical masks in order to convey the theme prevalent in both dramatic productions, the protagonists’ manipulation of others in order to isolate themselves from society. Williams uses tentative diction, the motif of the Varsouviana Polka, and dramatic devices such as visual imagery on stage in order to convey that Blanche’s metaphorical mask is being uncovered. Ibsen’s use of uniform setting, the motif of General Gabler’s pistols, and visual imagery such as Hedda’s black hair color to ostracize Hedda as an aristocratic individual, illustrate her metaphorical mask.

Topic Sentences:

Williams uses visual and auditory imagery such as pronounced lighting and the tune of the Varsouviana Polka in order to convey both Blanche’s disoriented mental condition and her swelling desire to find another partner.

Ibsen indicates that Hedda does not have true emotions for Tesman by illustrating Hedda’s suspicious diction and delayed syntax.

Ibsen establishes the theme of manipulating others to isolate oneself through auditory imagery, such as Hedda firing shots outside the window with her personal set of pistols presented to her by General Gabler.

Successes & Difficulties in the Production of Oleanna

The production of Oleanna is a difficult task, as the entire play itself consists of only two characters. Moreover, all three acts take place in the same location, John’s office. Any film production needs to be engaging in order for it to be worthwhile for the audience, however this is difficult to achieve when the play primarily consists of dialogue.

I strongly believe that the ending of the production was a failure. John says “oh my God” after physically beating Carol, however these lines are never mentioned in Mamet’s actual play. They add a completely different context to the scene, and virtually change the entire ending of the play. For example, I interpreted the “oh my God” and Carol’s ensuing “Yes. Yes, that’s right” as a signal that John realizes his inconveniently placed brash behavior has given Carol evidence of rape and abuse to bring to the tenure committee. At the end of the production, I found that Carol was satisfied; however at the end of the play, I felt that she was frightened. If a production of the same play suggests an alternative ending, then overall it has been a failure.

However, there are significant difficulties that the production overcame. For example, while reading the play it was difficult to fully understand Carol’s transition from a meek girl to an unperturbed college student. Yet in the production, the director’s usage of clothing truly shows Carol’s transformation. Additionally, I grew relatively frustrated with Mamet’s choice of syntax, such as placing ellipses in almost every sentence to convey the power struggle between John and Carol. However in the production, the auditory imagery made it far easier to understand the struggle in conversation between student and teacher. Overall, the production succeeded in uncovering the irony of the play; despite the entire play being a dialogue between two characters, they are unable to communicate.

How Does Mamet Convey Theme in Oleanna?

David Mamet’s Oleanna is a two-character play involving a university professor, John, and one of his female students, Carol. The setting remains constant over the course of the three acts, with John’s office being the location where all of the action and conflict takes place. The rigid setting is significant, as it help conveys the idea of transformation. For example, Carol progresses significantly over the course of the first act to the second, returning to John’s office with an increased confidence and expanded vocabulary. These shifts in the characters’ characteristics combined with the constant setting emphasize how Carol has grown as an individual following the alleged “sexual harassment”. Evidently, setting and characterization play a large role in conveying Oleanna’s theme: feminism’s power struggle.

Another literary device used to convey theme in addition to setting and characterization is tone. Carol’s tone is weak-willed and shy in the first act, something I took notice of both while reading the play but even more so while watching the film adaptation. Moreover, her knowledge for legal proceedings is significant as well, as it foreshadows the impending conflict between her and John. Additionally, she criticizes John’s use of scholarly words such as “paradigm” and “transpire”, yet she begins to sound a lot like John in the second and third act when she reveals that she is collaborating with a group, one which she does not reveal the identity of. Therefore, diction and tone also play a large role in conveying theme.

Lastly, Mamet’s use of motifs demonstrates John’s character. When Carol and John engage in an interruptive conversation, we can see that their inability to converse stems from their lack of concern for the role of the other in conversation. John thinks he is of a higher stature than Carol due to his profession, and Carol believes that she is fighting for a righteous cause and needs her views to be accepted by the “elite”. Mamet motifs of John’s continuous phone interruptions and Carol’s aggressive verbal interruptions emphasize the communication barriers between the characters, the distinction between student and teacher, but most importantly, the disparity between man and woman.

Is Carol Who You Think She Is?

The prologue quotations originating from “The Way of All Flesh” by Samuel Butler and a folk song highlight the true character of Carol as they provide insight into her background. The initial purpose of Butler’s semi-autobiographical novel “The Way of All Flesh” is to attack Victorian-era hypocrisy according to Project Gutenberg, which draws parallels with Carol’s criticism of the education system and elitism.

The “absence of a genial mental atmosphere” suggests that Carol came from a tough upbringing yet has successfully managed to fight her way to college. As Butler states, “Young people have a marvelous faculty of either dying or adapting themselves to circumstances”. These remarks suggest that Carol’s realization of her ignorance as a child has caused her to turn into a cunning, tumultuous individual.

Although the audience would never see these quotations, they give an indication of David Mamet’s tone and the setting he had in mind for Oleanna. “Even if they [children] are unhappy….how easily they can be prevented from finding it out, or at any rate from attributing it to any other cause than their own sinfulness”. This serves as another example of irony within the prologue, as it suggests that children will not become sinful once they realize the “fresh air” and “genial…environment” they lacked during their childhood. Once we begin reading Mamet’s work, we witness Carol’s sheer destructive nature and determination to destroy John’s profession as a college professor. After completing the entire play and reflecting upon the prologue quotations, I have been able to reach certain conclusions about who are the protagonist and antagonist in this dramatic production.

Moreover, the quotations contradict each other. The prologue quotation from an anonymous folk song states that “Oh, to be in Oleanna, / That’s where I would rather be,” is a direct reference to a 19^th century utopia. This contrast is ironic as it suggests that Oleanna is a fabricated paradise, while in reality the play is more of painful tragedy.

Samuel Butler challenges the characterization of Mamet’s female character, and the folk song raises questions regarding the overall purpose of Oleanna. I believe Mamet intended for these quotations to challenge each other, just as he intended for Oleanna to spark conflicting reactions within the audience, angering women in the first act and men in the second with the simple question: who is right, Carol or John?

JStor Critical Essay – Hedda Gabler

A Note on Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler”

Weller Embler

College English , Vol. 7, No. 8 (May, 1946), pp. 456-458

Published by: National Council of Teachers of English

Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/370462

Weller Embler argues that Hedda Gabler is Henrik Ibsen’s purest tragedy. He states that Hedda “has been suffering from incipient boredom for a long time; and Tesman is only the final cause of its breaking out.” I agree that Hedda’s husband Tesman is a bore, and that she is discontent with her relationship. Hedda has been almost imprisoned in a class struggle since her aristocratic childhood, and subject to the “bars of Victorian propriety, her emotional life has grown turbulent and explosive”. However, I question the validity of Hedda Gabler being a tragedy.

I am aware that Ibsen wrote the play Hedda Gabler when he was lovesick and frustrated. Society frowned upon his love affair with 27-year-old Emilie Bardach from Vienna. However, the tone of the play is relatively pointed and has a wry sense of humor, atypical of the traditional tragedy. Moreover, Embler contends that Hedda seeks desperate power and control. True, I believe that she is in a fight against society’s rigid values and is determined to reach its pinnacle. However, he states that “the fulfillment of power in the caprice of destruction—this is what Ibsen foreshadowed in the frustrated protagonist of his “purest” tragedy”. How can Hedda be considered a tragic hero, when all she seeks is destruction? Furthermore, Hedda is not in a new environment; after all, she has been fighting this class struggle since childhood.

Embler views Hedda’s progression over the play as a “study of decay”, yet I disagree with the idea that Hedda is decaying. Rather, she is continuing her struggle against the aristocratic values that have constricted her from passions, ranging from “…very much to dance” to “threaten[ing] to pull [her] hair up”. Hedda Gabler does end on a tragic note, with the suicide of the main character. However, throughout the play we do not experience any tragic events other than this suicide. Instead, we see a Hedda who facetiously toys around with her pistols, flirts with men who enter Tesman’s home, and lies to her husband about her true emotions. Based on my interpretation of the play, I found Hedda to be more of an antagonist due to these characteristics and hardly a tragedy.