“the Modern Academy Raging in the Dark” Essay

In Act 1, John’s higher status over Carol as is established. He condescendingly listens to her and interrupts her many questions with an expanded vocabulary which is barely understandable, especially not to Carol, whose vocabulary is very simplistic.

“What is it, little girl” he said. ”Don’t go walking about like that- you’ll get cold.”(Gilman, ) John’s “love” to her was like a father to their child. It’s as if he’s trying to “protect” her, but she does not feel protected. As a matter of a fact, she is starting to feel oppressed.

In both Oleanna and History Boys the writers include many controversial subjects to portray the characters in the plays to be both vulnerable and villainy. In Oleanna, Mamet involves sexual harassment and power throughout the play. Although, instead of using scenarios of sexual harassment near the time of the play (Clarence Thomas vs. Anita Hill) Mamet elects to centralize the subject of sexual harassment within the relationship of John being a college professor and Carol who is Johns student. However, the understanding of sexual harassment, and moreover rape doesn’t

During their conversation in act one, Carol is quiet, confused, and a vulnerable student. MacLeod failed to realize that the “group” may have also used manipulation, the same way Carol did to John, for their own

She fails to realize the fact that Carol is essentially naive, and gains power over her professor as she further believes that she is sexually exploited. Carol especially becomes more powerful as she turns to her “group” for guidance. If Carol truly believes that she is being harassed, her friends will believe her plea for help and support her through it. Unless Carol’s accusations are one large ploy by a very clever group that lack sensible morals – a feat that seems very unlikely against a professor who is about to be rewarded tenure for 20 years of teaching – than Carol’s intentions were never to arrest her professor, but to seek help with her education. Carol’s lack of experience expresses how she would be otherwise incapable of even attaining more power – something she never wanted – if it was not for her “group” and her gender.

On Sunday April 17th, 2016 the curtain time was 2pm. I had the experience to see a play, which was, required reading in high school, which left a memory in my mind and other classmates. The play was To kill a Mocking Bird by Christopher Sergel, based on the novel by harper lee. The manatee players in collaboration with legal aid of Manasota preformed the play. The performance was held at manatee preforming arts center in the Kiwanis theatre, the ticket prices was thirteen dollars for students. This award winning production of this play has also been on film. The novel sold over fifteen million copies. This play takes place in Macomb, Alabama this was a time in the history of America when citizens were in a struggle with the civil rights movement. In this play the goal is to help you understand racism and the effects of social injustice. To summarize the play it is about a black man whom is accused of forcing himself on a white girl and sexually assaulting her. A white attorney who does not measure people by he color of their skin or social economic status represents him. The characters represent the stereotypes of small town southern inhabitance, with the mind of pre-civil rights culture. My impression is we continue in this time period to have social injustice and racism, not to the degree portrayed in the play but it is the elephant in the room and in the news.

John's change of behavior may be due to the fact that elementary school was a demoralizing experience for him. He could be fearful of his own children having the same type of experience he did. It would appear as though this change did not come about until after Sherrie started having some difficulty with math, therefore he may be having a hard time with associating Sherrie's new challenge to his unfortunate personal experience in Elementary school when he struggled academically and socially. The feelings he had as a student may have reemerged, and he may think that he is unable to help her.

Another display of White male patriarchy attempting to maintain hegemony is in the play Race by David Mamet. Susan’s racial project of black women is that they are defenseless and week against the oppression of the white man. She gives the victim a voice “She’s a poor girl. She loved the dress. It meant respectability.” Susan’s co-worker Henry who is black never trusted Susan’s but Jack was afraid of being sued for not hiring an “Ivy League” educated black woman.

Mamet's play is a highly masculine world, where verbal aggressiveness is as much the currency as the real estate the men are wheeling and dealing. The real estate office is intensely competitive, and even though they work for the

Today, Professor Shillington will be speaking first. She is a very successful professor at Harvard University. Professor Shillington teaches a literature course for many students throughout the school. She chose the classic Ulysses because she thinks that it portrays an exciting adventure. Professor Shillington encourages her students to make books like Ulysses because it follows someone’s adventure across the sea. Professor Shillington thinks that her opinion of Penelope is right not only because of her experience with this book, but also because she supports in women’s rights. She believes that women should be treated with the same respect as men do and nothing less. She sounds like an intimidating debater,

She speaks as though her opinions to do not count anyway, but she is very accepting of this. She belittles herself several more times throughout the story. "I meant to be such a help to John, such a real rest and comfort, and her I am a comparative burden already" (Barnet 747). Having read the text through to the end we know that she is in a mental hospital, a reader could most likely begin to imagine what John may have been thinking to have witnessed his wife go through such disturbing mental anguish and that he was only going off of the knowledge available at this point in time. How would the story be different if it had been written from John’s point of view?

Throughout the story, the dominance of John over the narrator is very evident. John’s assumption that his knowledge and wisdom is superior to that of his wife’s, leads him to misjudge and dominate his wife. Gilman shows John's domineering attitude many instances. Firstly, John disregards all suggestions made by the narrator for her own treatment. Secondly, He overrides any decision that they are to make as a couple.

John starts to raise his voice, which hints to the reader that he is no longer thinking as clearly and intellectually as he was in Act one; Carol starts to match John at his own game. This sets John behind in the argument and shifts more power towards Carol because of. At the end of the act there is foreshadowing of John completely losing himself as he grabs Carol “restraining her from leaving.” This was the first threatening mistake John makes in the play which completes the process of the power shifting from John now to Carol.

For example – although he fails to admit it – in the first act, John holds power over his life, and his students. He is on the edge of being secured in his job, he has a family, and his is about to have a new home. In saying this, he speaks to his student, Carol, freely and is able to say what he wants, with the belief that there are no repercussions. However, the power shift takes a quick turn when Carol makes her accusation. As a student, accusing her teacher of wrong, Carol automatically has the upper hand – especially because she recorded John’s actions so specifically. In doing so, Carol is able to manipulate John into being much more sensitive than he was in Act I. In addition, John is now asking Carol for forgiveness and for her understanding. Despite this, Carol believes that she holds no power and she is simply choosing actions based on what is right for the student body as a whole. Both characters believe that their power is something that they do not actually use to their advantage, when in actuality, both characters have used it to get something they want in

Carol then responds with “So? You like it,” sending the message of doing things because you want to and not because others tell you to do so. Towards the end of the movie when her relationship with Carol blossoms, she is seen to defend herself from other’s opinions and threats, just like how Carol does it. Carol is seen as her inspiration to become a better