In the play ‘A cream cracker under the settee’ I think the Alan Bennett is trying to convey a message about what old age pensioners are really like and what there thoughts are about modern life. The play was written in 1987 but the concerns of elderly people remain the same. The Play is focused on a woman called Doris. She is in late adulthood, widowed and lives by herself. Doris has no family or friends, she has been given a cleaner called Zulema by the council. Zulema comes once a week to clean Doris’ house. Doris was once married to a man called Wilfred but he died, she often talks to him or at least, his photo, and about him. In my personal opinion, I think Doris finds it easier to talk to Wilfred now he’s gone: as they had a very distant relationship, when Wilfred was alive. 'We're cracked, Wilfred'. I think that Alan Bennett inspires us to sympathise for Doris because she has a sad life, she had a miscarriage, never had any children, her husband died, and now she has no family and is extremely lonely. As a result of Wilfred dyeing, Doris now lives by herself. The only person Doris talks to isZulema(the cleaner). Zulema is often very patronizing towards Doris. I think that Doris’ relationship with Zulema is like a parent child relationship because Zulema is telling Doris what to do, and what not to do. Zulema looks down on Doris and she is also quite sharp with her as well. ‘For being on your own, for not behaving sensibly, for not acting like a woman of seventy-five who has a pace maker and dizzy spells and doesn't have the sense she was born with.' Doris doesn't think that Zulema does the cleaning very well and tries to do the cleaning herself. In my opinion Doris has brought the loneliness on hers... ... middle of paper ... ...lderly people are so isolated. I feel sorry for Doris because she has nobody to talk to and socialise with and is in extreme pain and nobody seems to care about her. Doris' P.I.E.S. needs are not been met. (P.I.E.S means physical, intellectual, emotional and social.) Doris' physical needs are not been met because she does not do any exercise and does not live a healthy and active lifestyle. I think if she is in so much pain she could undergo physio-therapy. Doris' intellectual needs are not been met because she is not doing any thing to help challenge her brain and keep it active. Doris' emotional needs are not been met because she cannot tell anyone her feelings and as a result is often upset and lonely. Doris' social needs are not been met because she has no friends, family and nobody else to talk to apart from Zulema who treats her badly.
This is a lesson that is still relevant today. Though the acting and dialogue seem to appeal to an older audience, young viewers can still enjoy and learn from this play. Prejudice, suspicion, and thoughtlessness are as prevalent as ever. For any problem, humans will look for a scapegoat. The War on Terror seems to bring similar feelings as those around during the Cold War.
...ical necessities and furthermore cannot trust any doctor anymore because people in Hopkins took her tissues and cells and exploited them.
getting weak and the family must understand the stress her body is under and must become a unit
To begin, in both plays the men dismiss the women as trivial. In Trifles, when Mrs. Wright is being held in jail for the alleged murder of her husband, she worries about the cold weather and whether it will cause her fruit to freeze which will burst the jars. After the women come across a shattered jar of canned fruit, they converse about Mrs. Wright’s concern about the matter. Mrs. Peters states, “She said the fire’d go out and her jars would break” (Glaspell 918). The women here identify with Mrs. Wright’s concern, because they understand the hard work that goes into canning as part of the demanding responsibilities women endure as housewives. The Sheriff’s reply is “Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves” (Glaspell 918). In other words, the men perceive the event as insignificant; they clearly see women as a subservient group whose concerns hold little importance. Likewise, the reader can relate to this treatment in A Dollhouse, when Torvald complains to Nora about spending Christmas time the previous year making frivolous ornaments instead of devoting it to family. Torvald says, “It was the dullest three weeks that I ever spent!” (Ibsen 1207). He believes her role i...
Linda was clearly in distress when Ashley mentioned this, however; she completely ignored Linda’s concerns and continue to push for long-term treatment. This is an example of DBC because Ashley focused mainly on the disease and the problem of having a stroke, instead of focusing on the patient's strengths and what the patient wants. Ashley treated Linda’s situation as the same as any other stroke patient, this goes against uniqueness of the person, which is one of the core values and belief about health, person, environment and
While Doris Goodwin’s mother and father were a very important part of her life growing up her sisters were just as important. She talks about how while Charlotte, her oldest sister was not around as much as her other older sister, Jeanne she was still very important to her. She goes into detail about a shopping trip that was taken with the oldest and youngest siblings and how after the shopping trip to Sa...
the play may be pass to modern society, that one may not learn, or even
Contrastingly, Mrs. Darling, his wife, is portrayed as a romantic, maternal character. She is a “lovely lady”, who had many suitors yet was “won” by Mr. Darling, who got to her first. However, she is a multifaceted character because her mind is described “like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East”, suggesting that she is, to some extent, an enigma to the other characters, especially Mr. Darling. As well as this, she exemplifies the characteristics of a “perfect mother”. She puts everything in order, including her children’s minds, which is a metaphor for the morals and ethics that she instils in them. Although ...
Neglect is the failure or refusal of a parent or care giver to provide the basic needs: food, safety, hygiene, and clothing. With famished children, Jeannette’s mother remarks: “Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour…when in the same amount of time, I can do a painting that will last forever” (56). What we perceive here, the characteristic conduct of Mrs. Walls, is an unwillingness to set aside her own interests in order to care for others (specifically, her own children). Rudely, her mother along with many other deteriorated parents are pre-occupied ...
Not all plays are character-driven, in fact a great many are not. So if the characters are not what keep the audience intrigued, well then what does? There are many possible answers to this question. Paper Wheat uses the history of a group of people, a specific message commenting on a time period, spectacle elements such as song and dance, and the genre of comedy to keep its audience both engaged and entertained.
People in their seventies and beyond have lived through many life experiences younger adults such as myself, could only imagine. While working closely with my partner, I believe I will strengthen my ability to communicate to others. I want to be able to openly express my thoughts on any given situation. Elderly people have so much wisdom and I am curious to view the world of the new generation through the lens of older people. This experience will gradually allow me to be more comfortable with story-telling about myself and how I am truly feeling without feeling the need to shield my emotions. In the same token, my partner may have some great life lesson to share or similar experiences when they were younger. Senior citizens are the people
On the other hand, as an example of why she thought she shouldn’t complain is because as I said before in the thesis statement. She doesn’t want to make the mistake of ruining other developmentally challenged kids chances of getting jobs. She feels that she should probably just put up with it and go on with her life. Especially because her brother has a very similar disease.
... the child and other mothers in the refugee camp. It shows the love that the mother has for her almost dying child and it also implies that she is not willing to let the child lose his innocence by being taken away by death.
...ve been suffering mental abuse by their husband. This play presents the voice of feminism and tries to illustrate that the power of women is slightly different, but can be strong enough to influence the male dominated society. Although all women are being oppressed in the patriarchal society at that time, Glaspell uses this play as a feminist glory in a witty way to win over men. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters solve the crime by reflecting on Minnie Wright’s unhappy marriage that leads her to murdering. Using the relationship between female and male characters throughout the play, Glaspell speaks up to emphasize how the patriarchal society underestimated women’s rights and restricted women’s desires.
The tragedy of old age is not the fact that each of us must grow old and die, but that the process of doing so has been made unnecessarily and at times excruciatingly painful, humiliating, debilitating and isolating through insensitivity, ignorance, and poverty (p. 2-3).