Analysis Of Two Brothers By Hannie Rayon

Hannie Rayon’s play, Two Brothers, utilises the experiences of many of it characters to endorse the beliefs of Martin Luther King regarding the importance of speaking up about important issues. Written as a response to the political and social turmoil regarding the sinking of the Siev X, Two Brothers offers a commentary on the way in which politicians and the Australian media can spin and omit important issues to best serve themselves, rather than a greater good. During the play, Eggs Benedict crafts an elaborate omission of the truth regarding the sinking of the Kelepasan in order to preserve his position as a prolific politician. The destruction of his relationships with his wife and brother as a consequence of his silence represents King’s

Through their behaviours, many characters embody Martin Luther King’s belief that speaking out about the things that matter is integral to living a fulfilled life.

Due to purposely omitting the details of the sinking of the Kelepasan, Eggs Benedict remains silent about the tragic aspects of the refugee experience in order to further his own selfish agenda. His calculated silence contradicts Martin Luther King’s belief regarding the importance of speaking up about issues in order to serve a cause greater than oneself. Regardless of this, through his killing of Hazem and the hundreds of others aboard the Kelepasan, and his refusal to release the information to the public, Eggs ruins the relationship he has with his wife and his brother. Despite not realising it through his ambition and desire to “run the country”, Eggs’ actions have caused him to lose important aspects of his life, which metaphorically conveys Martin Luther King’s belief that one's life, or aspects of one's life, will begin to die when a person remains silent regarding important issues. Upon first hearing of the Kelepasan sinking, Eggs immediately urges the navy captain to take “no action” so that he may remain free from the Australian public’s

Despite convincing herself that she acts out of “loyalty”, Fi exemplifies Martin Luther King’s belief regarding one's life “begin[ing] to end” when they remain silent about important issues. When Eggs’ murder of Hazem becomes common knowledge within the family, Fiona remains passive and doesn’t confront him regarding the attack and still doesn’t “challenge” him and his actions. As a consequence of her inability to confront the situation, he has seemingly received no obvious punishment for Hazem’s murder, and Fi must resign herself to live a life alongside a murderer. Fi’s misplaced “loyalty” is representative of the “ridiculous parod[y]” of herself, she feels she must demonstrate to support her husband, a parody she must now continue as a consequence of lack of confrontation towards her husband. Fi embodies the words of King as she must live an unhappy life with Eggs as a result of her silence and inability to accost her husband for his horrific actions. Furthermore, Fi’s silence has not only denied herself the opportunity to “be free” of her husband, it has potentially condemned many asylum seekers to death, as Eggs receives no chastisement or retribution for his policies and beliefs regarding seeking asylum in Australia. Moreover, Fi’s passive nature supports the idea of women having a lesser position in a family. Lachie address her difficulty with