Stage Directions and Dialogue in Billy Liar
In the play ' Billy Liar' the central character, Billy, has three
different girlfriends. Each girl has a dramatically different
personality, and the stage directions give a clear indication as to
the nature of these differences. The dialogue also gives a clear sense
of character, with each girl speaking and interacting in a distinct
way.
Firstly the character of Barbara is quite peculiar, the narrator had
described her as being a nineteen year old girl, who is large and well
built, dressed in a tweed suit with flat-heeled shoes, she is also
carrying a large handbag. From this description we are given, the
reader would have presumably had an image of an unattractive girl,
also with the types of clothes she wears, there is no evidence that
she is in to fashion. From the way Billy approaches Barbara, her body
language seems to be quite stiff and well reserved, this is shown in
the following lines in Act 1 (p.23):
[IMAGE][IMAGE]Billy-(moving to kiss her)
[IMAGE][IMAGE]Barbara-(moving away) stage directions
This is an example of a dramatic action within the play because the
character is making insignificant body movements, to stay away from
Billy. Billy reaction to Barbara's attitude is very slick, in order to
make Barbara a bit livelier, he is giving her passion pills. This is a
reaction by Billy towards Barbara's lack of concern for Billy. When
the character Barbara, is actually introduced, the reader would be
able to tell from her speech that she has 'no passion' and 'no
warmth'. The most peculiar behaviour of Barbara is her constant
'bovine- like' eating of oranges. At the tim...
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...rbara.
In the play 'Billy Liar', the characters show a lot of dramatic
action, including changes of attitude, resolutions and in some cases
insignificant body movements. These are all partly due to the stage
directions and also how the author wants the personalities of the
characters to be. The characters dialogue with others has also been
significant throughout the play because it gives the reader a clear
idea of what is happening in the play. We also see that characters
like Rita use slang and dialect to position her in the play with other
characters like Billy. There are a lot of strong characters in the
play 'Billy Liar' for example Rita and Barbara. The purpose of
including these types of characters is to create dramatic tension in
the play together with making the play more interesting and with more
action.
The characters address the audience; the fast movement from scene to scene juxtaposing past and present and prevents us from identifying with particular characters, forcing us to assess their points of view; there are few characters who fail to repel us, as they display truly human complexity and fallibility. That fallibility is usually associated with greed and a ruthless disregard for the needs of others. Emotional needs are rarely acknowledged by those most concerned with taking what they maintain is theirs, and this confusion of feeling and finance contributes to the play's ultimate bleak mood.
In the play, 'Brilliant Lies', David Williamson uses a number of techniques to expand on the concepts introduced in the title. He uses characters and their back stories to build a supporting argument to compliment the text's overall theme that everyone lies to protect themselves. Susy's sexual harassment claim contains the most evident form of lies throughout the text, however Vince and Gary's relationship, Susy's family history, and even Marion's favouritism with clients all help to identify the main themes to the reader.
...d, proud & beautiful as the beautiful swan that she has now become. Billy is now seen infront of a massive audience & he is completely grown up, we see him as a very strong figure, has stands up proud & strong with good posture which shows us his confidence in himself & how he has grown & transformed into a beautiful swan, both figuratively & as well as literally as Billy is seen playing the main role in Swan Lake as a beautiful swan, which is a direct link to show how he really has transformed & now become a beautiful swan & as he goes out & leaps across the stage we see how much he has transformed & now become very graceful.
In Laurie Halse Anderson’s book Speak, Melinda keeps her thoughts and feelings inside because she is too scared to speak up.The fact that Melinda’s trapped feelings causes self destruction suggests that sharing one's issues is the right thing to do. Melinda explains, “I opened up a paperclip and scratched it across the inside of my left wrist”(87). Self harm displays depression because of an event that might have happened. In Melinda’s case she did go through a traumatic experience last year that she denies happened everyday. If someone is depressed to the point where they have self harming thoughts they should tell someone they trust because that person can provide support and help them recover. Melinda tells us that the first hour of blowing
Playing with descriptions of characters is the way that Chandler fits them into stereotypical roles as women who should be feared. Carmen is crazy and Vivian is a seductress who has the same mental abilities as Marlowe. His descriptions of the characters are detailed and they tell the reader just enough to allow her to fit the character into an inappropriate stereotypical group.
The door swings open and Yuri stalks into the receiving room. He’s a mammoth of a man and his shoulders are nearly as broad as the door frame. The moment I see him I shrink in my chair and weep into the handkerchief. Yuri tries to smile kindly at me but his eyes narrow and it gives him away. Good, I think. He’s cruel. That means I won’t have to feel bad when he’s
After climbing the tree Scho found a place where several supple branches were knit to make a dangerous chair, and sat there with his head coming out of the leaves into the sunlight. He could see the other two boys down below, the ball going back and forth between them as if they were bowling on the grass, and Glennie’s crew-cut head looking like a sea urchin.
In the story Speak, the theme is to speak up for yourself. Some quotes and reasons on why that is the theme are, in the beginning of the story Melinda is an outcast, a quiet high school girl who splits everyone into factions who don't all get along very well. In the middle of the story Melinda thinks of herself as a loser, someone people shouldn't get close to and a freak. It is winter in the middle of the story, so the setting is cold and the mood is distrust for the reason Melinda doesn't think that she can trust anyone in believing her. In the end of the story, Melinda's mother thinks that Melinda can't cope with other people in the world just because of her silence. In this part of the story it's spring or as Melinda calls it, “mating season.” The mood in this section of the story is fear, and the reason for this is melinda shows fear towards Andy Evans, the fear is so strong she can't move.
Yes yes it is me I am the murdering man I kill other people. I have a good reason though they all made me mad in some way like DR.robinson he made me mad because well because he was annoying. I thought I made it clear that HE WAS ANNOYING BUT HE DIDN’T GET IT SO I GOT MAD AND KILLED HIM BLAMING IT ON MUFF WAS A great plan I didn’t take any of the blame and when they asked who killed him I could just he done it. That was the best part until those two rotten boys told on me they stink I was all fine until I realized that they saw me kill him. I kind of freaked out went all over the place then I did it I killed my self It was the noble thing to do even thought I ain’t noble, but I still can’t believe those two rotten boys are snitches I’d Aut
As Dill drank the Coca-Cola from my sack, the look on Scout’s face made me both amused, and a little offended. Everyone automatically just assumes I’m drunk all the time, and that's the way I want it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I'm a fan of being drunk. But if everyone thought that, they wouldn't judge me for what I do. I hang out with negoes all the time. And the look I get from people when they see me with my family, is as if I have committed a sin. What if, I have a coloured wife and mixed children. They’re people too. Of course, the white folks treat the coloured folks as if they’re trash. If I seem drunk all the time, people would just blame my behaviour on my state of intoxication. I find myself beginning to explain myself to Scout
The audience is privy to all the scenes, that’s what makes the play possible. The audience knows what is going on when the characters themselves do not. As each character disguises themselves, the audience can follow along which creates the humor aspect of the play. “His characters are manipulated into situations which are humorous and as a result mistaken identity or absurd confusion ensues. Thus, the characters are revealed only in terms of what they do”(Champion). As the play continues more deceptions seem to occur, and one begins to ponder whether Shakespeare meant for a deeper meaning in his plays. Once might conclude that he was trying to prove that sometimes being yourself does not always work at first, but in the end being yourself is what truly matters. Katherine never pretended to be anyone but herself, despite the horrible things her peers said about her. In the end, she found a loving husband that loved her for her. To truly be oneself, one has to fully accept whom they are inside and out. Shakespeare was trying to convey this message to his audiences through his
Deception and misunderstandings are important sources of humour throughout the play and both comedy features are predominately evident in Act 1 in the ‘cigarette case’ scene. In this scene, the audience is exposed to deceit and lies created by the main protagonist Jack (also known as Ernest in the city) and the deuteragonist, Algernon; which creates humour for the audience because of mistaken identity and deception together with dramatic revelation, chaos and confusion.
The play’s major conflict is the loneliness experienced by the two elderly sisters, after outliving most of their relatives. The minor conflict is the sisters setting up a tea party for the newspaper boy who is supposed to collect his pay, but instead skips over their house. The sisters also have another minor conflict about the name of a ship from their father’s voyage. Because both sisters are elderly, they cannot exactly remember the ships name or exact details, and both sisters believe their version of the story is the right one. Although it is a short drama narration, Betty Keller depicts the two sisters in great detail, introduces a few conflicts, and with the use of dialogue,
A County Attorney, Mr. Henderson, enters with the Sheriff, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Hale. Following behind them are the protagonists, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale who “Come [came] in slowly, and stand [stood] close together near the door” (Glaspell, Opening Scene). Already, gender conflicts are being depicted when the women kept their distance from the men, the antagonists of the play. The play takes place in the 1800s, and the physical setting of the play is utilized to portray the rebellion of women on men. For example, after underestimating women’s cleanness, the County Attorney is scorned by Mrs. Hale who said, “...towels get dirty awful quick. Men’s hands aren’t always as clean as they might be” (Lines 109-110). Usually, women are quiet and respect the men’s opinions, but in this case, Mrs. Hale is fighting back. Falling into the rising action, Mr. Henderson command the women to “keep an eye out [in the kitchen] for anything that be of use to us” while they examine the bedroom upstairs (Line 133).. Therefore, the setting of the play, the kitchen, is use to shape the conflict rising among the two genders, while at the same time, the men’s arrogance lead to the actual
His character, method, and goal in life make a man. Ultimately, a person’s behavior, speech and function, and objective in life determine the man he becomes. In Harper lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a prominent lawyer, Atticus Finch, faces an arduous case through which he exposes his nature, declamation skills, and intentions. Through this trial, he displays three main things: his humble disposition, rhetorically proficient manner of speech, and ultimate pursuance of the greater good or truth. Evidently, these qualities prove profitable and distinguishing and share in Christ’s character, for Christ was meek and displayed oratory prowess and his end goal was to promote and lift up the Father and speak truth. Thus, from the previous two statements, it can be deduced that Atticus