Comparing John And Lorraine From 'The Telephone Marathon Game'

1. Compare and contrast how, and for what dramatic purpose, the writers of The History Boys and Oleanna present characters who display both vulnerability and villainy.

     Indeed, Louise Mallard and Kate Chopin’s lives are very similar and ironic. Louise’s life began once she came to the realization

Some students might argue that this early action of John establishes that he loves his wife and tries to please her, but Elizabeth remains separated from him. She appears somewhat aloof or withdrawn. This distance is obviously due to John’s

The beginning of this excerpt shows Chris’ disapproval of his parent’s way of life. He uses the phrase “tyranny of their conditional love,” to imply that he wants to escape their oppressive rule. This relates to the theme of nonconformity because in the end Chris rebels and refuses to give in to his parents. He left them and went into the wild, giving away his college fund to OXFAM and refusing to accept the new car his parents offered him. Alex demonstrates nonconformity by refusing to be controlled by his parents.

Laurence Yep and Greg Ridley View their fathers as someone who is disappointed in them, but unlike Lawrence who wants to bond with his father, Greg doesn't want to. Laurence feels like he is a disappointment to his father because his asthma prevents him from playing sports, and he will not compare to him and his billions of trophies, or his brother Eddy. Greg’s father is disappointed in him for his bad grades because his father wasn’t lucky enough to receive an education as good as his so his dad always makes him study.

This story represents both physical and emotional alienation as the separation of the younger brother was detrimental to both. In the story it states “For 20 years the little family I left behind wondered if I was alive, where I was and what I was like.” (81) showing that the family was deprived and missed the physical presence of the younger brother. They had no clue on what kind of a person he was and little to no recollection of his existence. The same thing can be said about the younger brother having no recollection of his family as he was taken away from a very young age. It was after twenty years, that the older brother was able to track the younger brother home; however the damage was already done. The older brother became quieter and more refined as he was deprived from a healthy brother relationship as stated by the author “It was hardest on my brother”(81). Also, the younger brother was completely isolated from his true family from an age of four, thus affecting him dearly as the author writes “… we don’t get that much time to visit anymore … brothers who never had the chance to age together” (82). The author also writes “At first it was tentative … we didn’t talk much” (82) showing how the isolation of the younger brother resulted in minimal conversations and alienated

3. Identify each of the following characters below by (1) their relationship to one another and (2) what can be inferred about their personalities thus far.

For example, Lorraine's mother always tells her “you’re not a pretty girl Lorraine.”, she also always calls Lorraine fat and ugly. Lorraine’s mother does not set a good example for Lorraine because she bullies her. Another example is John’s father likes to lie which rubbed off on John, one time John’s father went around bragging how he phonied up a car insurance claim to get a hundred dollars to replace a piece of aluminum on their new car, which he had really replaced himself. John’s father taught John that lying was not bad without even knowing. John’s family also had other issues because John’s father was an alcoholic and did not care if John drank beer. John was not old enough to drink beer but his father did not care because he was an alcoholic. Both families show that they have bad family values because they are mean and

As a result, the narrator views Carlton as more of a guardian than either of his parents. It becomes clear that the isolation of the parents is responsible for the unruly lives of their sons. Robert

The characters in this story are all within the same family. The narrator’s mother died, at an earlier time, due to eating poisonous fish. He had a brother, sister, and father who play major roles in the family dynamic. The narrator and sister are both young and not traditional in a way their father is. For example, “'You were swayed by certain -influences. Like so many others.” (____) The father is expressing his distaste for the way the sons generation acts; however, their father, being older, is a very traditional person compared to the children. The narrator feels uncomfortable around his father due to how uptight he is; furthermore, the narrator does not know how to hold a meaningful conversation with his father due to negative childhood memories as well as the failure of his business. The failure lead to the Watanabe family’s death, his business partner committed a murder-suicide. These differences create

Parent and children's relationships may be rocky because that don't understand each other. In Freaky Friday when Anna the main character and her mother have to switch bodies and live each others lifestyles for a day they realize how different they are. While being in each others bodies they learn much more about each other which brings them closer. Anna and her mother had two different

The most vivid example of King John’s patriarchalism is found in the character of John’s niece Blanche. Her entire life rests on the men in it, namely, King John and Lewis the Dauphin. King John marries her to the Dauphin, because, as Eleanor advises him,

They both have had tragic moments, but they always got through them. They either got through the painful moments by themselves or with their friends. The decisions that they made throughout their lives either helped them or harmed them. For Luisa, her life was changed dramatically by her father dying and getting adopted. Changing her life is her way of figuring out what she was going to do next in her life. Louis also felt this way when he got to America. He had no family around to help him if he needed it; he was all alone. Louis didn’t get in touch with the right people to help him find his self-identity. The people that he did find helped him become closer to what he wanted to be. Unlike Luisa, she was having trouble finding his identity. Luisa found a woman named Adele, who helped her to became who she wanted to become in the world. One person can make a difference on how they affect a person’s life; it could either make or break them. Knowing a person can ultimately lead to death or result in survival. Louis and Luisa had this happen to them in

Maureen and Mag are isolated because of their physical location and their relationship with each other. Maureen dreams of being free of her mother’s house and small town life in Leenane. She blames her mother and her sisters for her circumstances; however, she is faced with the hard truth that men don’t come to call. Farming towns like Leenane were previously communities built on supporting each other, but over time families grew more isolated from one and other, leaving people like Mag and Maureen without the help of friendly neighbours.

Willy and Amanda are parents who love their children very much. They can't accept the mistakes they've made in the past. This inability to deal with the past leaves them living in it. Their children are seldom given the example of how to work for the future. Amanda and Willy don't set goals for their children,