ONE ACT PLAY 3 :Gray Matter by Jeanettee D.Farr

ONE ACT PLAY 3 : Gray Matter by Jeanettee D.Farr

Introduction- Jeanettee D.Farr is a contemporary American woman playwright. She has produced and directed a variety of plays. It is a short play about an encounter between an elderly White woman and a Black youth in the waiting room of a police station.

The Theme- Russell, a Black youth accuses Marge, a sixty six year old White woman of being racist but she denies it. By the end of the play, the woman realizes that appearances can be deceptive.

The Affected Youth- Russell walks into the police station. Marge is seated inside. Immediately, she moves her purse closer to herself. Russell is taken aback when he notices her quick reaction. He accuses Marge of distrusting him because of his colour.

Troubled Marge- Marge is very upset when Russell blames her. She pretends that she had only wanted to take a piece of gum from her purse. Russell asks for a piece of gum and Marge gets irritated. She had immediately assumed that he was a criminal because of his dark colour.

Russell’s Inquisitive Nature-Marge tries to excuse her actions by saying she was only making room for him by moving her purse away. Russell sits in the chair closest to Marge and notices her reaction. He asks her why she felt nervous by his actions. When she denies it, he tells her that he had come to see his parole officer.  She feels her fears are justified.

Tactful Russell- Russell tries to know Marge’s name. First, she refuses to tell him. Then she lies to him that her name is Sheila. Russell is sarcastic and calls her a liar. He adds that only a beautiful, young woman could have such a name. Marge says that she was named “Sheila” but had grown old.

Russell reveals the truth- Suddenly, Russell says he wasn’t truthful to Marge a minute before. He adds that he hadn’t come there to see the parole officer. He didn’t have a police record. He adds he was on his lunch break and had to return to his office. He then shows her his hands. He makes her admit her distrustful nature. She had thought him a criminal the moment he walked in, even though she knew nothing about him. She tells him that was her gut instinct. It is then that Marge suggests that Russell should get himself a nice suit and groom himself well.

Marge’s comments on Russell’s looks- When Marge asks Russell how he had come to the police station, he says he came by car. He adds that he had got it by his hard earned money. He accuses her of judging him only by his looks. He says she wouldn’t have been worried if it had been someone of a different colour.   In order to pacify him she is willing to share a secret recipe `pot roast’ with him. She adds she wouldn’t share it even with her sister.

Marge’s reason for visiting the police station: Hesitantly, she begins complaining that she has been waiting for a long time to file a complaint. Unwillingly, Marge tells Russell that she wasn’t upset because of the colour of his skin. She is not willing to trust anyone at that moment as she had lost her wallet on the road. She was upset as the wallet had lots of money, her driver’s license and the photos of her grandchildren. She adds with a touch of irritation that someone would have swiped her gold card and taken all her money by then. After a moment she says that, that was not the main reason she was upset. The fact that someone on the street knew her identity and details about her was frightening. So, she wanted to file a complaint at the police station. She was hoping that there might be someone truthful who would actually return her purse if they found it.  But, she says in a dejected tone that such a thing is not likely to happen. She gets ready to leave. Russell asks her to wait for a minute and adds maybe there were still truthful people in the world. 

Truthful Russell- Russell calls her “Marge”. She is startled. He adds that she looks like “Marge”. He admits he has seen her name on her license. He had found her wallet and had brought it to hand it over at the police station. He returns her wallet. He assures her that he hasn’t taken anything from it.

Marge is overwhelmed- She accepts the truth and says her name is “Marge”. To make amends for her behavior, she shows him, her granddaughter Sheila’s photo. Russell remarks that there is a resemblance to Marge.

Conclusion- Both Marge and Russell realize that they don’t have to wait for anyone. Then, both of them cross out their name from the signed list at the counter. As they leave, Russell reminds Marge to take the purse which she has forgotten again. The playwright brings out the message that looks are deceptive. “We should never judge a book by its cover”.

One Act Play 2: A Sunny Morning

One Act Play 2: A Sunny Morning

Introduction: ‘A Sunny Morning’ is a comedy in one act. It is written by Serafin and Joaquin Alveraz Quintero, known as the ‘Golden Boys of Madrid Theater’. The play revolves around two characters Don Gonzalo and Dona Laura, who in their youth were passionate lovers but torn apart by the cruelty of fate.

The meeting in the Park: The play begins on a sunny autumn morning in a quiet corner of a park in Madrid, Spain. Dona Laura, a handsome, white-haired lady of about seventy, refined in appearance, is feeding pigeons.  Don Gonzalo, a gentleman of seventy, gouty and impatient enters. He shares the same bench on which Dona Laura is sitting. Both of them annoy each other at first. Laura is angry because Gonzalo scared her pigeons. Gonzalo feels irritated as Laura is annoying him.

Snuff unites Gonzalo and Laura: Gonzalo takes out his snuff box and offers a pinch of snuff to her. Both of them say that they will sneeze three times after taking a pinch of snuff and finds it to be a strange coincidence. This unites Laura and Gonzalo after the disagreement. Then they start talking of their hometowns and other things. Now Laura reveals that she lived in a villa at Maricela, near Valencia-one of the largest cities in Spain. Gonzalo is startled to hear the name “ Maricela”. He then tells that he knows a girl who lived in that villa, who was perhaps the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. He also reveals that the girl’s name was Laura Llorentee. Both of them realize that they were formerly lovers.      

The love episode of young Gonzalo and Laura: In her youthful days, Dona Laura was known in her locality as ‘The Silver Maiden’. She was fair as lily, with jet black hair and black eyes. She was in love with Gonzalo. He used to pass by on horseback every morning through the rose garden and tossed up a bunch of flowers to her balcony which she caught. On his way back in the afternoon she would toss the flowers back to him. But Laura’s parents wanted to marry her off to a merchant whom she disliked. One day there was a quarrel between Gonzalo and the merchant, the suitor. As the merchant was wounded, Gonzalo fled from his hometown to Seville and then to Madrid. Even though he tried to communicate with Laura through letters, all attempts failed. He then joined Army and went to Africa. Both of them realize that they were in deep love once they were young but never ever reveal it now.

Laura and Gonzalo devise stories of their own deaths: The old Laura says that she knows the woman named Laura; known as ‘The Silver Maiden’ and that she was her friend during her young age. She also lies that, she knows the tragic story of her love affair with a gallant young man named Gonzalo. The old Gonzalo says that he is the cousin of the young man. According to him the young Gonzalo had to leave his place as he was involved in a fight with a merchant, the suitor of Laura. Then he joined Army, went to Africa where he met with a glorious death. The old Laura reveals that without finding her lover her friend went to the sea shore, wrote her lover’s name on the sand and sat upon a rock. The tides rose to the rock and swept her out to sea. But in reality after three months Gonzalo ran off to Paris with a ballet dancer. Laura got married after two years. Both know that they are still lying.

Conclusion: At the end of the play they agree to meet at the park again, still not acknowledging what they both know to be true. However, the whole play can be viewed as a satire of a mockery over those who pretend to be true Romeo and Juliet. It leaves a message that nothing is stable and people are not ready to reveal their bitter truths.

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One Act Play 1:THE NEVER-NEVER NEST – CEDRIC MOUNT

One Act Play 1: THE NEVER-NEVER NEST – CEDRIC MOUNT

OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY:

*INTRODUCTION

*JACK AND JILL

*OWNER BY INSTALMENT

*CONCERVATIVE AUNT JANE

*COMPLETE OWNERS

*NEVER NEVER NEST

*CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION: The One Act Play ‘ The Never-Never Nest’ is a comedy about a young, naive couple, Jack and Jill. They believe in buying things in installments. When Aunt Jane visits the couple, she finds them leading a luxurious lifestyle. The play brings out the buy-now-pay-later marketing system which enables the low-income group to own things, which they cannot buy easily on their own. On the other hand, the system also makes people extravagant and makes them fall into the habit of borrowing.

 JACK AND JILL: Jack and Jill were a young married couple who had a small baby. Jill was a housewife. Jack and Jill had purchased a villa in New Hampstead, a car, furniture, a radiogram, a piano and a refrigerator. Aunt Jane is a relative of Jack and Jill. She visited their new house. She was surprised to find that they lived in a beautiful house with all comforts. She finds it hard to believe that Jack could afford to buy all these things. She was worried that she had given them 2000 pounds as a wedding gift instead of 200 pounds. At this point, Jack informed her that they had bought their house and all the expensive things in installment basis.

OWNER BY INSTALMENT: Aunt Jane understood that though Jack and Jill had everything, they did not own anything. Only a steering wheel of the car, a wheel and two cylinders had been paid for. And only one leg of the sofa that Aunt Jane sat on, belonged to them. Jack’s salary was six pounds a week but the total amount of installments he had to pay was seven pounds and eighty eight pence. When Aunt Jane asked how he could pay the extra money, Jack said that they could always take a loan from Thrift and Providence Trust Corporation. Again, the loan had to be paid back in installments. Aunt Jane was glad that Jack and Jill had everything but she didn’t like the idea of borrowing money to pay the installments.

CONSERVATIVE AUNT JANE: Aunt Jane was shocked at the way Jack and Jill lived in debt. Aunt Jane believes that one should not owe money to anyone in life. She believed that one should spend less than what he earned. She refused to sit on Jack’s sofa and travel in his car because the sofa and car was only partly owned by Jack and Jill. She scolded them severely and asked Jack to take her to the bus station. Before she left, she gave them a cheque for ten pounds and told them to use it to make at least one thing completely their own.

COMPLETE OWNERS: While Jack went with Aunt Jane, Jill sent the money to Dr.Martin. Jack came back and said that they should use the money given by Aunt Jane to pay the installments on the car. But Jill said that she had already used it to pay the last installment to the doctor. According to them, they had purchased their own baby from Dr. Martin in installment. Finally, Jack and Jill become complete owners of their own baby. The end of the play is ironical. The play is really a satire on the materialistic bent of modern man.

NEVER NEVER NEST:   The ‘nest’ in the title literally refers to the home of birds. Birds take a lot of time and work very hard to build their nest. But, in this play, both Jack and Jill have instant gratification for luxuries by installments without saving any money. The double negative in the title emphasizes the impossibility of home.

       CONCLUSION:  The play criticizes the new trend of young middle-class couples who have the habit of buying many household items and houses in easy installments. The playwright feels that such couples would make a nest easily but they will never settle happily.

SHORT STORY 2 :The Night Train at Deoli - Ruskin Bond

SHORT STORY 2 :The Night Train at Deoli - Ruskin Bond

Introduction:  “The Night Train at Deoli” is a short story by Ruskin Bond.  It narrates the story of a short meeting that takes place between an eighteen year old college student travelling by train and a young girl selling baskets on a railway platform.  He meets the girl only twice during his travels.  He understands that the girl had stolen his heart.

The first meeting : An eighteen year old college student travels from the plains to his hometown of  Dehradun every summer. He prefers to travel by the overnight train. Early in the morning the train stops in the  small village of Deoli. The student does not understand why the train had to stop there as no one either got on or off the train at that station.On one such trip, the student notices a pale girl selling cane baskets on the platform. She appears to be poor, but moves with grace and dignity. Her shiny black hair and dark, troubled eyes attracts the author. The girl offers to sell baskets to him. He initially refuses to buy and later when she insists, happens to buy one with a little hesitation, daring not to touch her fingers. Both of them just look at each other for quite some time without speaking a word. It seems to form a bond between them. As the train moves away he asks  her whether she would be there on his return journey. Though she says something, he is unable to hear it because of the train's noise.

The second meeting: On his return journey he looks for her and finds her. They are happy to see each other like long lost friends. Though they do not speak a word, their silence speaks more than words. He feels like taking her with him but does not do so. He tells her that he needs to go to Delhi and she replies saying she need not go anywhere, perhaps expressing her helplessness. Both of them separate unwillingly as the train leaves the station, with the hope of meeting again. The meeting helps to break the monotony of his journey. It gives a sense of attachment and  responsibility towards the girl.  Both during his journey and for a long time later on, he keeps thinking of the girl he met at the station at Deoli.

The narrator's disappointment: The next summer, soon after his college term finishes, he hurriedly leaves for Dehra. His visit to see his grandmother is just an excuse . He is eager to meet the girl once again. This time she is not to be seen at the Deoli station though he waits for a long time. This deeply disappoints him and a sense of foreboding overcomes him. On his way back to Delhi, he again waits anxiously to see her, but it ends in vain. On enquiry, he comes to know that the girl has stopped coming to the station to sell her cane baskets  and nobody knows about her .  Once again, he has to run to catch his train. He makes up his mind that he would definitely break journey there, spend a day in the town, make enquiries and find the girl who had stolen his heart.

The narrator's subsequent visit: The following year in summer, he again walks up and down the platform hoping to see the girl, but somehow, he cannot bring himself to break the journey to look for her. He seems to be afraid of discovering the truth about her. He is afraid that he might find out something unpleasant about her which is not acceptable to him. He just wants to retain his sweet memories of her. But he suggests to his readers that he did not want to project himself like a hero of a movie where the hero would meet his beloved after undergoing all hardships and finally win  her over. He prefers to keep hoping and dreaming, waiting for the girl.
Conclusion: We know very little of the young man's family or circumstances, we can see ourselves in him. We all remember moments of fantasy-like love; feelings of strong attraction toward a person we barely know. We know what it is like to build someone up in our imagination. The narrator never moves beyond that place. He never acts, and he is filled with remorse because of it. Because Bond's narrator is a kind of "every man," it is easy for readers to empathize with him.

SHORT STORY 1 :THE UMBRELLA MAN- ROALD DAHL

SHORT STORY 1 :THE UMBRELLA MAN- ROALD DAHL

OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY:

*INTRODUCTION

*ABOUT THE STORY

*VISIT TO THE DENTIST

*THE GENTLEMAN

*SUSPICIOUS MOTHER

*THE EXCHANGE

*THE TRICKSTER

*CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION:  Roald Dahl is a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screen writer. He was a renowned short story teller for children in the 20^th century. Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are some of his best known works. Most of his stories had an unexpected ending.

ABOUT THE STORY:  The story takes place in London. A twelve year old girl is the narrator. Her mother is thirty four years old. The mother and the daughter are befooled by a stranger who is a trickster.

VISIT TO THE DENTIST:  The mother took her daughter to the dentist. The girl had a hole in her back tooth. She got her tooth filled in without being hurt. After visiting the dentist, they go to a café. The girl had a gorgeous banana split and her mother had coffee. As they leave the café, it starts raining. They waited to hire a taxi to get back home.

THE GENTLEMAN:  Many taxis sped past them with passengers. As they were waiting, an old man approached them. He seemed to be around seventy years of age. He was well dressed and appeared to be polite. He spoke to the mother and said that he had forgotten his wallet at home. He wanted to hire a taxi to get back home.

SUSPICIOUS MOTHER:  The mother was very suspicious about strangers. She questioned the man about how he could come there without any money. The man just said he had the habit of taking long walks every day. The mother asked him if he wanted only money. He immediately refused and said that he only wanted her to help him. He said that he had an umbrella for which the mother could offer a pound in exchange. He also added that he could hire a taxi with that pound.

THE EXCHANGE:  Both the mother and the daughter wished to get one such umbrella which the stranger offered for a pound. The girl did not like her mother to take the expensive silk umbrella for only a pound. So, the mother offered to give the old man the money for the taxi fare. But he refused. He gave his umbrella and took the pound in exchange.

THE TRICKSTER:  After taking the pound, the old man walked swiftly across into a building. The mother and daughter were astonished to see that he didn’t hire a taxi. They followed him and found that he entered into a pub. They could see him ordering a drink. The mother guessed that it was a treble whisky which cost a pound. After the drink, he went to the coat rack and grabbed another umbrella.

CONCLUSION:  The author shows that the old man was a person who wished to get his drink at the cost of others belongings. He was in the habit of taking others’ things from the pub and selling them to people like them on the street.  Thus he asked help to get only a pound for his costly drink. But for the mother, though she was suspicious about strangers, she has the heart to help the old man after a while.