Maggie and Hobson in Hobson's Choice
The play "Hobson's Choice" is an invigorating character comedy set in
Salford, a town near Manchester. It is also a biting commentary on the
Victorian values that overhung into the early twentieth century, when
it was written. It pits Henry Horatio Hobson, an alcoholic old shop
owner, against his forceful daughter Maggie, who is determined to
break out of the dull boot shop and the life of genteel spinsterhood
that awaits her.
"Hobson's Choice" looks at the Victorian class and gender stereotypes,
and then blows them to pieces. Hobson himself has clear ideas about
the place of women, which he frequently expresses. His view is that "a
wife is a handy thing", yet that men who marry are "putting chains
upon themselves". This shows him to be a sexist hypocrite, but perhaps
he is a product of his time? His views on class are equally
pronounced, since he declares Willie unfit for Maggie to marry because
"his father was a workhouse brat", and similarly treats Mrs Hepworth
with great respect, though she -being in the class well above Hobson-
treats him with disdain. This shows that to some extent at least,
Hobson is merely reflecting the attitudes of his society.
Another theme relating to class is Alice and Vickey's marriages, and
their subsequent snobbery, about being in business not trade, and
their refusal to help Hobson when he needed it most. The location of
the play is also vital for its context- Salford, in Lancashire. The
play is entirely focussed on Salford, with Manchester being the only
reference to the outside world. Hobson is terrified of having his name
in the "Manchester Guardian" -...
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...nd allow the couple to raise a family of their own. Hobson is almost
certainly dimly aware of this, but has convinced himself in his
alcoholic stupor that he is in the right.
Maggie on the other hand shows us what a woman can be, even while
sticking broadly to the rules and expectations of the Victorian middle
class. She can run a business, though not in public, can choose her
partner, and will in all probability end up as a Mrs Hepworth -
strong, dominant, rich and independent. Despite Maggie's evident
success in the nineteenth century, consider what a woman of her
character and skills could be in the twenty-first century, and then
the injustice of her position is immediately obvious. Ultimately
however, "Hobson's Choice" is a play with a feminist message, and that
is all the more impressive considering its setting.
Another point I would like to make is how clever the author was in his time. He used women as the focus point of the play to make the audience members think about the woman’s social situation in society. He was able to get away with it because he is a man and the fact that the play was written during the war.
I think that Lydia and George are dead because they didn’t limit Peter and Wendy’s technology usage. www.the joint.com supports my claim because they state in one of their articles that's how using too much technology is dangerous“We have all heard that cell phones can emit radiation. Radiation exposure has been linked to cancer, and while there are no hard studies, the American Cancer Society does recommend limiting cell phone use, especially in young children.” This shows how that using technology too much can be dangerous even deadly. It relates to the veldt because George and Lydia let their kids do whatever they wanted and use their technology whenever they wanted and the parents got killed. Causing George and Lydia's death.
Daisy and Tom Buchannan represent the hollowness and recklessness of the upper class during the 1920s. The opulence and splendor of the Buchannan’s and their lifestyle are domains that are presented in a tragic manner. Although they are extremely wealthy there is little substance to their world. As the book progressed Daisy and Tom’s self-absorbent ways lead to both personal and social decline. This is best seen when Nick speaks about Gatsby’s death and how the Buchannan’s failed to attend his funeral, despite Daisy’s accident ,which caused Myrtle’s death and he selflessly took the blame for, and Tom’s major role in Gatsby’s death. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to
Eliza’s blatant disregard for the concern of those around her contributed heavily to her demise. Had she listened to her friends and family when they told her to marry Mr...
“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star crossed lovers take their life” (Shakespeare___). This quote is used to describe how Romeo and Juliet were destined to be although, was fate the only cause of their death? In william shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, the two focus points Romeo and Juliet, take their own lives hand in hand together because of risky choices and what is destined for them. Although Romeo and Juliet's judgement and choices are very poor throughout the play, the deaths of Romeo were caused by both impulsive decisions and fate.
Lizzie, another main character, is Fevvers’s adoptive mother, a fairly static character, and a “staunch Marxist feminist” (Michael 495), meaning she supports a theory of feminism that focuses on the inequalities between men and women in the economy and social situations. She is not afraid to share her views, and would even drive people away as a prostitute through her habit of “lecturing the clients” (Carter 292) on several topics, such as slave trade, women, suffrage, and political topics of 19th century England. She uses her views on these topics, as well as her idea that marriage is nothing but “‘prostitution to one man instead of many’” (23) to help Fevvers figure out which views she believes in, through discussions such as the one the
When a coin is flipped they are two likely outcomes heads or tails. The results are based on luck and chance. “We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us.”
William Shakespeare created the story Romeo and Juliet. This is a story told about love, hatred, and death. Shakespeare's story, Romeo and Juliet are famous for the ending of the book, and that they were both from feuding families. Also, this is such an intriguing story that really gets you into the purpose of it. The death of Romeo and Juliet was because of a few people, who did not mean for it to happen. The parents of the two, Friar Laurence, and Romeo himself is at fault for the death of both of them. Romeo is too rash and makes bad decisions. Friar Lawrence does not think things through very well. Lastly, the Capulets and Montagues were too hateful towards each other that they were barley thinking about their loved ones.
Life is very unpredictable in most cases and cannot always be shaped to our likings. We can never predict what is going to occur next in our lives. The line that separates choice and fait is seamlessly blurred and is hard to come in to our control. However, it is the choices we make that can direct us on different paths that reveal our uncertain future. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, the loving couple have made many erratic choices that have lead to the tragic death of both. The choice of Romeo attending the Capulet ball, the couple getting married, and Juliet going along with Friar Laurence’s hazardous plans were all impulsively made leading to their dreadful death.
Teenagers are capable of accomplishing anything an adult can achieve as well. However, due to the undeveloped parts, where logical thinking is involved, in their brains, they may not always make the right decisions and understand those consequences. In the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, both protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are teenagers who are in deeply in love with each other. However, as a result of the rivalry between Romeo’s family and Juliet’s family, Romeo and Juliet face multiple problems to be with each other. The teenagers do not always make the best choices during their struggles, and end up following their emotions rather than logic. These decisions identify them as tragic heroes, or characters
“In this life, we have to make many choices. Some are very important choices. Some are not. Many of our choices are between good and evil. The choices we make, however, determine to a large extent our happiness or our unhappiness, because we have to live with the consequences of our choices.” James E. Faust. This quote explains how people don’t think rationally about their decisions and that there can be either positive or negative consequences. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare writes about two teens from a feud between their families, the Capulets and the Montagues, were they make decisions without thinking about the consequences. Romeo Montague falls in love with Juliet Capulet and they get married in
During the 19th century men and women’s roles in life were drastically different as the men were the social-workers and the women were housewives. Marriage for women was completely different from now. The play “Trifles” illustrates a specific scenario related to a woman named Minnie Wright, whose husband became too much for her. Women during the 19th century didn’t have much say or rights, while the men thought that they were superior and had the majority of the power in the household. Since most men thought they were greater, most women or wives were too afraid to leave the marriage. Marriage meant a whole different thing during the 19th century, and during the play “Trifles” and other various plays, marriage is shown in the 19th
To begin with, the first change is made through the themes to transform the play “Trifles” to the story “A Jury of Her Peers”. When viewing the female characters in “Trifles”, Henderson and the other men make a key mistake in their assumption that the women derive their identity solely from their relationship to men, the dominant gender. For example, Henderson tells Mrs. Peters that because she is married to the sheriff, she is married to the law and therefore is a reliable follower of the law. Mrs. Peters' response is "Not--just that way," (567) suggesting that over the course of the play, she has rediscovered a different aspect of her identity that ties more closely to her experience as a woman than to her marriage to Henry Peters. Gender loyalty is one of the key themes in the play and in the narrative. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale help to solve the case but don’t include the men. Mrs. Hale tries to explain to Mrs. Peters about how bad Minnie had it. “I knew John Wright,” (567) as Mrs. Hale said,
Firstly I would set this play in the 21st century so that a modern audience could relate to it. Algernon, one of the main characters in the play, would live in a luxury apartment in the centre of London, over looking the River Thames. His apartment would have a minimalist theme to it and would be influenced by aesthetic; for example he would have a piece of abstract art on the wall for no reason other than that he thinks it looks nice.
There are situations where choices are 100% in the story. In act 1 scene 5, Capulet says, “He shall be endured. What, goodman boy! I say, he shall. Go to. Am I the master here, or you? Go to. You’ll not endure him! God shall mend my soul, You’ll make a mutiny among my guests.vYou will set cock-a-hoop. You’ll be the man!” Lord Capulet makes the decision to let Romeo be at peace while at his party. This is a major decision due to the fact that this is where Romeo first sees and meets Juliet. Which leads to the story about fate, choices, and two young lovers named Romeo and Juliet. In act 2 scene 3, Friar Laurence says, “Oh, she knew well, Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell. But come, young waverer, come, go with me, In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, For this alliance may so happy prove, To turn your households' rancor to pure love.” Friar makes the decision to help the young lovers by agreeing to marry them in secret. He means well to unite the families but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. As