The Carataker by Harold Pinter is a play, which focuses on complexity of human interactions and at the same time it blends different sub-genres such as, comedy, tragedy and psychological play. For the purpose of this commentary I am going to compare two separate but also to a certain extent similar scenes from the Act One and the Act Three. Both scenes deal with a seemingly trivial matter- the shoes. However, in both instances “the shoes” have a deeper meaning. Therefore, I would like to analyze them in terms of interactions between the two characters; namely, Aston and Davies, attitudes, motifs and how they fit in the context of the entire play. In the Act One Aston offers a pair of leather shoes to Davis who describes them as “Not a bad pair of shoes”. During the examination he is impressed with the quality of the shoes. However, he admits that they are too narrow for him. It seems that Davis is appreciative of Aston’s effort and concern to provide him with shoes. Perhaps it is related to the fact that it is the beginning of the play and both characters do not know each other yet and are still fascinated by the freshness of their relationship. In the scene in Act Three when Davies is offered with another pair of shoes, the interaction between Aston and him is quite different. This time he does not care to compliment the shoes. Instead he just complains that they do not fit but reluctantly he agrees to wear them until he receives a pair that will. After that he asks for laces and he hears that Aston only got the shoes for him. As a result, he exclaims that the shoes are not good at all without laces, so Aston brings him laces but of a different colour than the shoes. Yet again, Davies is not pleased about it although he finally accepts the shoes saying that “Well, they can do, anyway, until I get another pair”. In this scene, Davies indicates that Aston should try to get him another shoes. He does not acknowledge Aston’s efforts. Rather he uses Aston even though Aston is the man who gave him a place to live and a chance for a better future. Davies’s quest for obtaining a pair of shoes is an essential motif in the play. The shoes represent a social status and the notion of moving forward.
Banneker shoes logos by going into a very negative narrative of slavery, masking his anger with “sir”. However, he doesn’t choose to balance his accusations about “the injustice of a state of slavery” a second time; instead, he then builds his momentum up by quoting Jefferson from the Declaration of Independence to exhibit the obvious contrast between the speeches that Jefferson had made exulting his status as a slave owner and equality. When Banneker finally launches his allegations, his tone becomes more scathing as he mocks the
“A dramatistic explaination appears in terms that performers can comfortably employ in their efforts to stage events” (Pelias and Shaffer 62). This means that the process for understanding text in an aethestic manor needs to be simple and understandable to the performer so it can be clearly related to the audience. So, for the process to be effective it has to be true to reality, otherwise the message of the text will be lost. Pelias and Shaffer describe the questions in Burke’s Pentad as “fundamental of all human action” (62). The simplicity and familiarity of the concepts are comfortable for even the most inexperienced performer.
A Theme during the beginning of the play is the value and importance of dreams. Each person in that house has a goal that they want to reach but is delayed in t...
The main theme of the play is trying to put across a strong view to
It was difficult for me to find many parallels between this play and the works that we studied in Canadian Literature because this play does not follow a plot line and does not include many elements that could be relatable to the works we studied. It also does not relate to the themes that were emphasized in our course. However, I found the close analysis of the final scene of a play, acted out forty- three different times to be reflective of the close analysis’ we have done many times in class with poetry and prose. It was interesting to watch these close analysis’ to understand all of the possible interactions these characters could have had. It led me to question the endings of the works that ...
Chuck takes shoes from the body of one of the crew members. What are the filmmakers trying to tell us by this?
While one man warns the girls about the consequences of wearing the shoes by saying “Them are dangerous,” and “You girls too young to be wearing shoes like that”(41), others are not so kind. Most people (all of them male) only yell out derogatory remarks such as “Ladies, lead me to heaven”(41). These comments, however, do not seem to affect the naive girls very much, as they all agree that “these are the best shoes”(41), in the midst of their walk.The fear and realization comes when a homeless man calls Rachel “a pretty girl”(41), and offers a dollar for a kiss. Even though the girls run away from the man, they can never run away from the realization that they are constantly being judged by the people all around them. Esperanza and the girl’s obviously don’t enjoy this newfound attention as they “are tired of being beautiful”(42), and hide the shoes where they are eventually thrown away. These high-heeled shoes may seem innocent at first, but is is soon clear that they shift the perception of the girls and attract unwanted sexual attention they don’t
...particular play acts as a vessel for this message of mocking self-indulgence and the tragedy of the lack of true love and suspicion of relationships that seems to define the present generation.
Throughout poetry, there are many works that reflect society; however, few reflect it as it truly is. Among those few is “Wings” by Macklemore. Not only does this song express the emphasis that society puts on materialistic things, it explains that they are truly just materialistic items and nothing more. It does this through many lines of admirable imagery. Included is the line, “That air bubble that mesh… The box, the smell, the stuffing', the tread, in school… I was so cool… I knew that I couldn't crease 'em… My friends couldn't afford 'em… Four stripes on their Adidas.” Not only does it display imagery, but this line introduces the emphasis on materialistic items in our society, and implies that the shoes are what make a person great, and not raw talent. This is a key line in understanding the rest of the song, as it also exemplifies the fact that expensive items are what makes a person cool, as they are falsely related to enhanced
When the girls start wearing the shoes, the guys started to observed them more and women admonish the girls. The men aggravate the girls with sexual asserts.Esperanza wants to eat in the canteen since it’s not appealing for her to go back home to
Convention is an integral part to both Harold Pinter’s Homecoming and Brian Friel’s Translations , affecting both the plot and the way the audience perceives the two plays. The two playwrights explore the theme of convention in many different ways, including through the characters’ struggle to change convention, their relationships and historical conventions. The playwrights of these plays force the audience to question what they know about convention, both in a modern context and in the context of the plays, and decide what message the playwrights are trying to put across about convention.
...cquaintance (356)." Caroline then accused Elizabeth to have purposely walked to Netherfield in order to make a scene and hinted that it lessened Darcy’s view of Elizabeth “fines eyes”. He replied, “not at all, they were brightened by exercise (229).” Nothing is more impressive in the eyes of a woman then for the man she is affectionate towards, to defend her in public.
The idea of having the perfect pair of shoes to match a particular outfit swans in the mind of many people while shopping. Sneakers have evolved into an ideological object in today’s trendy culture. Sneakers have developed its own self-proclaimed culture, and has created terms for people who are a part of it. In older days, sneakers were mainly used for one purpose. To protect ones feet was the sole purpose years ago. The evolution of technology and resources has permitted sneakers to evolve into this international ideological object that possess the power to harm our society.
...mely kind and Elizabeth is rational, contrasting the sever candour of Darcy's character and the sheer superciliousness of Caroline. In particular, Caroline's verbal irony and often contradictory words highlight the disregard for one's own character when they judge the actions of others. Furthermore, the diction that is utilized in the passage, principally the recurrence of words such as "deserve" and "severe" by Darcy and "I" by Elizabeth, further exhibits the divergences in their character. Finally, each character's own benchmarks for accomplishment are pivotal to the expression of their innate temperament, for their expectations towards others are insightful in their perception of themselves. In the passage, the various characters argue their distinct opinions about accomplished women; in actuality, much more is unveiled about their own disposition in the process.
Randall’s use of descriptive imagery shows the mother’s love for her daughter and sets up the dramatic situation. “She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair” (line 17). Through the carefully combing of her daughter’s hair, the reader can tell the mother takes a tremendous amount of pride in her daughter’s appearance. The quote also shows how profoundly the mother loves her daughter. Then when describing the girl’s shoes and gloves, Randall selects the color white. The color is represents of her purity and innocence.