Comparing the Andy Griffith Show and Plautus' Miles Gloriosus

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Comparing the Andy Griffith Show and Plautus' Miles Gloriosus

In The Andy Griffith Show and in Greek and Roman Comedy the viewer or reader, whichever the case may be, will notice the dominating fatherly male character, the male character who is always confused, the person who is in need of help or looking for answers, and the female who is needed for the male. The sitcoms of today are similar to some of the Greek and Roman comedies of the past. The reader or viewer may also notice that there are many differences between the two. The most dominating differences are the changes, which have taken place in society. The people of today are encountering some of the same situations, but the outcomes and solutions have changed. The roles of women and men have changed, and because of the changes the presentation of comedy to the public has been forced to change.

In the play Miles Gloriosus by Plautus the reader will notice Palaestrio as the father character of the sitcom. Palaestrio is the mediator in the play. He is the one who has to help everyone else solve his or her problem. In The Andy Griffith Show the father character is Andy. Andy is the town sheriff, and he is also the father of Opie. The town of Mayberry never encounters many criminals, but the people often have life lessons to overcome and Andy is always there to help. Andy usually helps the townspeople indirectly. He tries to help them without their knowing that he is helping them. He wants the people to think that they came up with the idea on their own. Palaestrio does the same thing with Pyrgopolynices. Palaestrio convinces Pyrgopolynices that it is in his best interest to move Philocomasium out and date Acroteleutium. Palaestrio does this by tricking Pyrgopolynices into thinking that it is his own idea. Characters like Andy and Palaestrio are still needed for the plot of comedies.

Sceledrus, a slave, is like Barney, the deputy of Mayberry, they mean well but they might be easily tricked into believing something is not what it seems. Palaestrio tricked Sceledrus into believing that he was seeing two girls rather than one. When Sceledrus found the truth in the end and told his boss, Pyrgopolynices, Sceledrus did not seem surprised he acted like the truth had been obvious to everyone. Andy often tricks Barney, because he wants to help him solve a problem and think that he has discovered the solution on his own.

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