Saturday, April 18, 2020

What is reality, Dad Dont know, son Essay Example For Students

What is reality, Dad? Dont know, son Essay Frederick Neumann looks happy. Ruddy and white-haired, the 67-year-old member of Mabou Mines, New Yorks legendary avant-garde collective, breaks into a grin so beatific that, like the Cheshire Cats, it seems to linger in the room long after its owner has departed. For that matter, Neumanns conversation has a slightly Carrollian cast. Ask him a question, and his response will originate in deepest left field, as if in response to some other query. Minutes later, when he slams the point home, you realize he was never off the point in the first place. As we sit in the rehearsal studio of the picturesquely crumbling East Village schoolhouse that Mabou Mines calls home, Neumann talks about the troupes upcoming Reel to Real, which he has written and directed, and on which he collaborates with his 28-year-old son David. The piece will be seen in New York April 4 24 at the experimental venue the Kitchen. We will write a custom essay on What is reality, Dad? Dont know, son specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Although not a member of Mabou Mines, the younger Neumann is a Bessie award winning dancer and choreographer, best known for his work with the Doug Elkins Dance Company. Father and son have appeared together as actors before most notably in the New York Shakespeare Festivals 1989 production of Cymbeline, directed by former Mabou member JoAnne Akalaitis. Reel to Real, Frederick Neumanns first original work, is their most substantial collaboration to date. Vintage Hollywood   Steeped in the language and imagery of filmmaking, the plays reference points include exploitation films (especially women-in-prison potboilers), existential road movies and vintage Hollywood melodrama. The first thing we see is a projected image: a closeup of a man driving in the rain, ruminating as the windshield wipers slap back and forth. The audience hears his thoughts on tape, and discovers that he is a B-movie director trying to reach a soundstage so he can finish the last scenes of a film called Y. A light comes up through a scrim, and we see the soundstage through the projection of his face as though were peering directly at the images flitting through his agitated brain. The projection fades out, and we watch the activities on the soundstage. Three women, convicted of murder, sit in prison cells; they are waiting both for the commutation of their sentences and for the director to arrive. The film crew serves as Greek chorus, commenting on the action through movement and occasional bursts of filmmaking jargon. David Neumanns choreography is especially crucial to Reel to Real, since the five actors-dancers who comprise the film crew bear so much of the plays thematic weight. According to Frederick, The art of making movies is expressed through their gesticulations, their body language, how they act individually, how they act as pairs how they act as a mass. In a way, they are like the audience. They are onlookers, not participants as the performers who verbalize their parts are. I feel that they are the heroes of the piece the eventual public that would be the consumers of this kind of film. Perhaps it was inevitable that David, raised in an atmosphere of intense creativity, should become an artist himself. Less expected is the intuitive rapport between father and son the mutual admiration, the relative absence of familial tension. Although the elder Neumann admits that he cant help acting like Dad every now and then, he feels that he and David have similar sensibilities. We know how to wait out a knot, a place where we might not understand each other, or where impatience gets in the way. But on the other hand, I understand that he is somebody else and that other person is not my son. Its something of his own making. .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd , .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd .postImageUrl , .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd , .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd:hover , .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd:visited , .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd:active { border:0!important; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd:active , .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1a34010945ddc86e32a65074026dd7fd:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: An Inspector Calls Missing scene Essay Typically atypical   Reel to Real cant necessarily be described as a typical Mabou Mines piece, since there aint no such animal. Perhaps the one thing it shares with its predecessors works ranging from stark and incantatory Samuel Beckett pieces to political burlesques such as Dead End Kids is its ability to juggle a number of massive themes without losing its sense of playfulness. The action takes place on several planes at once, and its simultaneous use of theatre, film and dance can be seen as representing the multilayered nature of everyday experience. Fact and fantasy blur (the women may be imprisoned, or may only be acting; the director exists only as a projection). The form suggests that art and life bleed into one another at indeterminate points, and that we may pattern our own lives according to preconceived images fed to us by movies. I didnt wish to be doing some kind of Pirandello play, the author says, but it begs comparison because of all this playing around with what is real and what is not real, and how the so-called unreal sort of takes over. Theres a kind of dark, dark thing about this piece that would suggest that this is terribly dangerous. That some of us are completely lost in the imagery of a life that we think were living. A disturbing thought especially coming from someone who makes a quasi living dreaming up fictional scenarios for audiences to consume. And yet what really comes across in this intergenerational enterprise is the two Neumanns overriding faith that art heightens and clarifies reality more than it distorts it. Thus, by closely examining the reel, we can if were very, very careful come closer to understand the real.

Saturday, March 14, 2020

Hardships of Southern Sharecropping essays

Hardships of Southern Sharecropping essays For many people in the 1930s living conditions were not as adequate as they needed to be. The stock market had just crashed in 1928, and the US was in the midst of the Great Depression. Many people suffered from lack of money, and many others suffered from lack of food. One group of people who suffered greatly during this time period were the southern share croppers. Factors that caused the substandard living conditions of the southern share croppers in the 1930s include lack of education, poor health care, and inadequate living facilities. The first factor that caused the substandard living conditions of the southern share croppers was their lack of education. There were several reasons the share croppers didnt get the education they needed. One main reason was because many children didnt go to school. Harold Walker writes that Southern cotton states ranked lower in rate of attendance for each student enrolled than any of the other states in the nation (4). A factor that contributed to this was their excessive mobility, which inhibited many children from going to school (Corder 27). It is common knowledge that any child who constantly moves around will not be able to attend school on a regular basis, and even if they go to a school when they get a chance they will be so far behind they would have a difficult time catching up. Another factor that impeded on a childs attendance at school was the fact that they never went to school when there was cotton to be picked (Walker 8). This may not seem like a large task, but some times it could take weeks to pick all the cotton. These few weeks that a child spent picking cotton was valuable learning time, and missing it could put a child too far behind to catch up. Another reason share croppers didnt get the education they needed was because many southern rural schools had short...

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Bazaar Ceramics Studio Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bazaar Ceramics Studio - Research Paper Example Bazaar Ceramics has a wide range of products to meet the needs of clients both nationally and internationally. The studio produces exquisite one-off sculptural pieces for the individual and corporate collector. IT systems have become increasingly critical to the smooth operation of a company, and arguably the economy as a whole, the importance of ensuring the continued operation of those systems, or the rapid recovery of the systems, has increased. This plan aims to avert larger losses in the event that the businesses do not continue to operate due to the risk occurring. The objective of this plan is to document critical resources and personnel requirements to protect the company if all or parts of its operations or computer services are interrupted by an outage or disruptive event.   Information such as; critical business processes, technology components required, manual workaround procedures, identified alternate recovery sites, and key personnel contact information will be documented.   Vital. The business process areas under this category would include accounting and finance, and sales. The hardware under this category includes Cables, Router/Switch, PCs, Printer, and phone and fax machine. The software and data would include MYOB and MYOB Data file. These functions cannot be performed by manual means or can be performed manually for only a very brief period of time. In applications classified as vital, a brief suspension of processing can be tolerated, but a considerable amount of "catching-up" will be needed to restore data to a current or usable form. Sensitive. The business areas under this category would be purchasing and human resource management. The hardware would include: Cables, Router/Switch, PCs, Printer and the software and data would be the same as in the critical business process. These business processes can be performed, with difficulty but at tolerable cost, by manual means for an extended period of time. Sensitive applications also require "catching-up" once restored.

Monday, February 10, 2020

Answer One Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answer One Question - Essay Example Imagination is also the mother of innovation that enables entrepreneurs to create new products and services that would add value and profit to the business. It also enables entrepreneur to look for better ways to improve the business to make it competitive and profitable. The every day object chosen that could be transform into something new and different is the hairbrush. Typically, we just used the hairbrush to comb our hair. Other than that, it no longer has any use. If one will dry his or her hair, one has to use a dryer. And if one wants to set his or hair, he or she has to use a gel or a setting wax. I am thinking of having all these devices rolled into a one hairbrush. Thus, taking into account my definition of imagination of reframing or seeing things differently, I would transform the brush not just a device to comb my hair but also a device that would dry and set my hair all rolled into one. The hairbrush is now transformed to a dryer and a setting wax in addition to its regular function of combing the hair (or scratching one’s back). My major is Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises and my major would be surely put to use by this object because I could further develop the object to become a revolutionary product that people could use. I would transform how people would look at the application of brushes as merely objects that combs the hair. Instead, it would now become a complete device that would dry and set the hair. With this object turned into product, people can now discard their hair dryers and setting wax because they will be replaced by my new version of hairbrush. I would also patent the object to make sure that it will not be copied. The element of my blog that served as the source of my inspiration are design, format & customization of own blog. I will have the design of the product to be

Friday, January 31, 2020

Move and position Essay Example for Free

Move and position Essay 1:1 Outline the anatomy and physiology of the human body in relation to the importance of correct moving and positioning of individuals The anatomy which the physical structure of the body and physiology which is the normal functions of the body help individuals to move their limbs. Muscles have the power of contraction thus it produce movement of the body and allow the bones to work like hinges. When moving someone/individual it is important to remember that the muscles can only move the joint as far as the bones will allow them. 1:2 Describe the impact of specific conditions on the correct movement and positioning of an individual If an individual has suffer from a stroke this may cause loss of movement in the limbs on one side of the body (hemiplegia). In that case it is very important to remember that when you are assisting an individual with regards to dressing you need to dress the individual firstly the bad side and when undressing him/her you do the bad side lastly to prevent discomfort. Read more: Identify any immediate risks to the individual essay Therefore that mean by following this procedure you are not pulling their muscles in the wrong direction. 2:1 Describe how legislation and agreed ways of working affect working practices related to moving and positioning individuals How legislation and agreed ways of working affect working practices: Current, local, UK and European legislation affects procedures and practices. This include Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended 2004), Reporting of Injuries, Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (England, Wales and Scotland) Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) order 1 978, Lifting operations and lifting Equipment Regulation (1998( LOLER, The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995, Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR) 1999; Disability Discrimination Act (1995), Human Rights Act (1998). In the workplace there is Code of Practice and Conduct, Standards and Guidance relevant to individual’s role and responsibilities eg health and safety policies, moving and handling policies, moving and handling techniques, Policies on information sharing, risk assessment documentation, individual care plans, infection control procedures, recording and reporting procedures ect. All these policies and procedures can affect our working practices for example Manual and Handling is about supporting the weight of someone or moving them yourself by using an equipment, If you do not carry this procedures safely it could result injury to self, to service user and other individual that are working with you. The Health and Safety Work Act (1974) state that 50% or all accident reported each year are from assisting people with manual and handling. The regulation that are set impose duties on employers, self- employed and employees, they state that employers must avoid all hazardous manual handling activities where it is practical to do so. Employees must follow the work system set by the employer to promote care for the health and safety of self and others, comply with the requirement imposed on the employer, never misuse or interfere with anything provided for health, safety and welfare. Also use material or equipment only according to recommended procedures. 2:2 Describe what health and safety factors need to be taken into account when moving and positioning individual and any equipment used to do this Health and safety factors that need to take into account when moving and positioning individual and any equipment used to do this are as follows: Environmental hazards: wet or slippery floor, wires that are hanging or are on the floor and items in the immediate area that could cause a trip or a fall or preventing you to move freely when using equipment, precautions for infection prevention and controls, ensuring any equipment is ready for use and fault free, individual trained in the use of any equipment and have the skills for the moving and positioning required; any factors that might affect the individual’s ability to move or position others eg physical disability or injury, pregnancy or other medical condition; procedures to minimise risk of injury (back injury) to the individual carrying out the moving and handling; importance of not dragging including effect on pressure sores; importance of wearing suitable clothing that allows free movement when bending or stretching; suitable, safe footwear, equipment eg hoists, slides, slide sheets, slings, pillows. 3:3 Identify any immediate risks to the individual: The immediate risks to the individual are as follows environmental factors, equipment, service user and person involved in the moving and handling. The service user could be in danger or harm if procedures has not carried out correctly, individual could be at risk of infection, it could cause pain, discomfort or friction from moving, not having proper moving and handling techniques could be a risk to individual. Those assisting in the moving and handling, others within the environment and servicer. Equipment can be faulty. Risk can occur any time at your work place that why it is important to always check and identify risks and try to correct it straight away ( ie) if you are using a sling to hoist a service user and it has a tear on it no matter how small the risk is, if it is not being corrected straight away this could lead to a big risk and may cause detrimental damage to self, service user and others involved. Therefore a risk assessment plan should be in place so that it can be changed and implement as to requirement of service user’s needs. 3:4 Describe actions to take in relation to identified risks Action that needs to be taken in relation to identified risk are as follows: To report it to Nurse in Charge on duty or Manager so that risk assessment plan can be updated. Ensure service user and all people involved in the care are made aware of the changes, ensure staff are implement procedures according the update risk assessment. Ensure the plan design comply with the trust requirement policy and staff are working within those guidelines. Communicating with the team to find out from staff whether the plan in place are working or any changes needs to be done. 3:5 Describe what action should be taken if the individual’s wishes conflict with their plan of care in relation to health and safety and their risk assessment Policy and procedures in relation to moving and handling may conflict with service user wishes. Due accident that happening in workplace due to lifting. Many workplace has now adopted NO-Lifting policy which means that hoists are to use according to their needs. However on many occasions service user do not want to be hoisted and if dealt with it incorrectly, it could leave service user feeling scared, undignified, humiliated, distressed and degraded. As much as employees has to follow policies but you find yourself in trouble due to basic human right may have been violated. .To prevent conflict between service user and workplace policies relating moving and positioning you must involve service user in their own risk assessment and mobility service plan if appropriate. . Risk assessment to be focus on service user needs only on Employer needs. . Patient Centred Care Plan with agreement to service user taking into account requirement needs. . Wishes of service user need to be balanced to ensure employer are not putting themselves at risk through moving and positioning activities. By involving service user in their care this will promote independence, autonomy and dignity. Service user may change and mobility can improve or deteriorate – which may lead changes to their mind on how they wish to be moved or positioned. If their wishes conflict with their plan of support, it is important to document this in the service user care plan and inform the manager and outside agency that are involved in the care of the service user. 6:1Describe when advice and/or assistance should be sought to move or handle an individual safely You would seek advice: . When individual that need moving has preferences that conflict with safe practice. . When risk cannot be dealt with . When equipment appears to be worn, damaged or unsafe to use . When techniques or equipment used require more than one person to use it safely . When working unaided would exceed personal handling limit . When individual care plan and/or risk assessment cannot be follow as planned . When Organisational policies and procedures cannot be followed. 6:2 Describe what sources of information are available about moving and positioning Sources about moving and positioning is available within the work setting such as policies, procedures and manuals, there is also advice from other practitioners such as nurse, welfare officer, physiotherapist or team advising on health and safety eg back care, sources external to the setting including local authority, primary care trust and organisations promoting health and safety and caring for those with physical disability, Back care advisor (BCA).

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

How Is Violence In The Media Perceived In Society Essay -- essays rese

The world today has a variety of problems and violence is one of the most prominent. It is seen on the front page of the newspaper and as the â€Å"Top Story† on the eleven o’clock news. Unfortunately, it is also widely used for entertainment purposes. In the New York Times a 1998 article by Faye Fiore stated: "On average last year, one act of serious brutality was found for every four minutes of entertainment." Today, violence is a major part of electronic games, television, and the film industry. Violence becomes such an everyday scene for us that many believe it desensitizes us to the real world. That is why the majority of the time violence is perceived as the cause of many of society’s ills. One individual who feels this way is the author John Grisham. John Grisham had a friend who was killed by two young lovers whom he believed were influenced by the Oliver Stone film â€Å"Natural Born Killers†. This belief was not unsubstantiated. The young female said that the two lovers watched the film shortly before embarking on their journey. She said that her boyfriend was greatly influenced by the film. Grisham was extremely angry at the way the killers’, Micky and Mallory, violent lifestyles were glamorized in the film. Grisham felt that this type of glamorization leads the youth of America to approve of this type of lifestyle. Oliver Stone disagreed with Grisham. Stone believes that violence is in some instances necessary for an artist to get the point of his work across. He believes that an artist’s freedom of speech allows him to do whatever he wants to in his work regardless of the social implications. Stone condones violence in the media. Another area of the media where violence is perceived as entertainment is the electronic gaming industry. There is a game called Soldier of Fortune which was is scheduled to be released soon in the US. This game is designed along the same lines as games such as DOOM and Quake; but it has one important difference it is often advertised as one of the most violently realistic games ever. Shots to the head result in a variety of results such as caved in faces, heads split in half, heads with the top removed exposing the brain, and complete removal of the head all together. Needless to say this is one of the most highly anticipated gam... ...at and fires with his automatic weapon. The level-headed member of the group fires one shot at this man scoring a direct hit. Needless to say, the two (one?) men are able to take over the ship and rescue the hostages kept below deck. This movie gives a very unrealistic view of violence where the good guys always win and where they can commit any violent act they want and they do not have to face any consequences. The two main characters commit a ridiculous amount of murders yet they walk off into the sunset with little if anything said to them. This movie only portrays violence as bad when committed by the bad guys. In general, violence is mainly perceived as entertainment. But as stated earlier the perception of the violence depends greatly on the viewer, reader, or listener. Although the use of violence for entertainment can have harmful effects on the youth who experience it, it is up to the parents to regulate and moderate what their children watch. They can’t use the television for a babysitter and then complain about how the violence on TV affects them. They must be active in raising their own kids, because good parenting starts with the parent.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Compare the ways Brian Friel presents ideas about divided identity in Making History with Michael Frayn in Spies

Divided identity is shown in both Spies and Making Historyfrom the beginning. Stephen Wheatley has two voices, his older self (Stefan Weitzler) and his younger self, which forms a prominent split in his identity. Hugh O’Neill’s split self is displayed a little subtler in the stage directions. O’Neill is described to speak ‘in an upper-class English accent except on those occasions specifically scripted’. The word ‘scripted’ makes me think of acting and implies O’Neill’s front is a feigned identity he puts on. This could also show that he is perhaps embarrassed by his Irish roots which contradict his betrayal of England later on in the play. This relates to Spies as Stephen Wheatley speaks the English language with an English accent, when he is actually (unknowingly) German. Stephen Wheatley’s father reminds me of O’Neill too as he is betraying his German background by working as an English spy, much like O’Neill working as an Earl for England when he originates from the opposing country Ireland. O’Neill seems to be uninterested in the important events he needs to attend, butmore focused onsuch as the flowers he’s decorating the room with and how he looks in his jacket. This gives the audience a first impression of O’Neill; he is more enthusiastic about his new English wife rather than his (important) role. This lack of interest could show O’Neill has a short attention span explaining, for example, his various affairs and marriages. This mercurial nature reminds me of Keith in Spies – he starts out the enthusiastic leader of the investigation into whether his mother is a spy or not, but loses interest as time goes on and matters become more serious. However, you could also say that Keith is much unlike the temperamental O’Neill as he is much like his father; structured, organised and somewhat obsessive. Frayn shows this not only through how he was obsessing other his mother being a German spy, but through the fact he constantly wanted control of the mission and got angry when Stephen showed ‘initiative’. Frayn draws a parallel between Keith’s bedroom and his father’s garage; Keith’s toys, like Mr Hayward’s car, are in perfect condition and are very rarely played with. We see that Hugh’s habit of switching comes from his background; fostered by Irish parents when young, he then lived with an upper-class English family who taught him to act ‘properly’ so he could serve Queen Elizabeth as an Earl in Ireland. Thisblurring of culture, nationality and religion makes it difficult for O’Neill to recognize who he really is – is he English or Irish, Roman Catholic or Protestant? The fact he’s just married Mary Bagenal is significant as he is risking his friends (O’Donnell calls her an ‘upstart bitch’) and powerful rolefor his new love. O’Donnell’s ignorance towards Mabel’s origin reminds me of Mr and Mrs Hayward’s prejudice towards Stephen and the rest of the street – they are shown to very rarely directly speak to Stephen and never socialise with their neighbours (besides Auntie Dee). The way they speak to Stephen could be xenophobia as they could somehow know Stephen’s real nationality, however I think it is more likely that they just have a fear of the unknown. This could have been influenced by Mr Hayward who seems to be the most paranoid of the family carrying his protective bayonet around everywhere. Flowers and plants are used frequently as metaphors in both the two texts to represent different identities. When Mary is talking about seeds she states not to ‘plant the fennel near the dill or the two with cross-fertilize†¦ ou’ll end up with a seed that’s neither one thing nor the other’. This represents the mixing of English Protestants and Irish Catholics, in other words; the relationship between Mabel and O’Neill. Additionally, this could relate to when we are told Mabel is pregnant; the baby is the cross-fertilized, Irish/English, Protestant/Catholic seed. Even the props on stage O’Neill is using are symb olic as they area Spanish broom, ‘Genista’. Spain was a Roman Catholic country at the time and they (ineffectively) fought with Ireland years on in the Battle of Kinsale, which is what the entire play is based around. The Genistas reminds me of Mr. Hayward’s obsessing over his roses, although a different, frightening, tension is portrayed with him doing this. Frayn uses repetition and lists when describing Keith’s work on his garden (‘Keith’s father worked and worked – and as he worked he whistled’ or ‘around the house, forever digging and dunging, and trimming and pruning, forever undercoating and painting, and wiring and rewiring, forever making perfection yet more perfect’)to present the character’s compulsive attitude. The attention of his gardening tends to be on the roses which could be symbolic in a patriotic way – roses are a typical English flower – and the way he is described to be planting them sounds like he’s building a fort to keep out ‘enemies’ (the German, Wheatley family). The privet flower (a misspelling of ‘private’ by Keith) signified privacy, but had a suffocating smell; whenever Stephen was in the ‘privet’ with someone else there was often a stifled atmosphere. I think this smell indicated the uncomfortable stage at the start of puberty, where people start to discover their identities in more detail. The elder trees were outside the safe cul-de-sac, near to Uncle Peter’s hideaway which similarly represented Stephens’s admission into the adult world and puberty. In the first scene, O’Neill presents Mabel with a ring which is symbolic as it was made in London – the capital of the country Ireland are enemy with – and the only person to have one is the Queen of England, Elizabeth. This moment is like the initiation of Mabel’s new identity when Mabel changes ‘we’re a tough breed the upstarts’ to the ‘O’Neill’s’ being the ‘tough breed’. This is similar to Mrs Hayward wearing her cravat to cover her abuse symbolising the initiation of her oppression. The second scene occurs about a year later in the same room and Mabel has undoubtedly added her touch as it is described as more ‘comfortable and colourful’; this perhaps indicates that she could have changed O’Neill. In the first scene we saw that Mabel was quite naive and had little knowledge of the Irish (she believed O’Neill’s taunts of shaking hands with an archbishop turns them black), and now we see not much has changed but in fact gotten worse. She is sat alone (showing she has not settled in or made any friends) and her reaction to horseplay (‘her eyes are shut tight. She sits frozen in terror for a few seconds – even when it is obvious that the screaming is horseplay’) shows that she is still frightened of the Irish. She is almost desperate for her sister, Mary, to stay which again shows her lack of company. It is apparent that Mabel is unhappy living in Ireland, however when Mary tries to hint for her to come home, her answers are uninterested as if she were satisfied in Ireland– she uses single words such as ‘Yes. , ‘Really? ’ and ‘Good. ’. There is a pathos felt for Mabel’s isolation in this scene which is similar to what is felt for Mrs Hayward when she is kept prisoner by her abusive husband in her own house. Mrs Hayward is especially shown in a sympathetic light when the only person she can turn to is Stephen; this involved downgrading herself to sitt ing down in a dirty privet bush wearing makeup and best clothes at an attempt to persuade him to help her. O’Neill is not the only character with a divided identity in the play; Mabel has one too. When talking with Mary she puts on a facade that she is loyal to Hugh and the Irish, however when alone with him she disapproves of his ‘politics’ or betrayal to England and tells him not to go to war, and condemns his ‘culture’ wanting the ‘tramps out of here’, showing her misery. What's more, we unexpectedly see that she has other abilities than being O’Neill’s wife and ‘doing delicate and complicated lacework’; Mabel seems very knowledgeable, wise and trustworthy in the areas of politics. Her divided identity reminds me a lot of Mrs. Hayward’s. Primarily, she is seen as the faultless, serene Mrs. Hayward who relaxes with her feet up and a book, but when we find out she is in love with Uncle Peter this is disapproved of not just by Mr. Hayward, butthe rest of the street, like Mabel’s love is disapproved of by her siblings, England and Ireland. O’Neill’s feelings change for Mabel; the mistresses show that he is bored of her and he has apathy towards the fact she is pregnant. O’Neill has a mercurial nature, which is perhaps the cause of all these different wives, loyalties (and disloyalties) to opposing countries, and the arguments with Mabel and later with Harry. Act two begins with O’Neill in a rougher location than the wealthy house we’re used to, with such lack of furniture that he has to use a wooden box as a desk. O’Neill even tells O’Donnell ‘What you see is what I have’ showing the loss of all the materialistic things that he had before. For the audience, it is immediately made obvious that Ireland have lost the war and O’Neill is symbolically on his knees as he is writing a letter to Queen Elizabeth begging for forgiveness and his old job. When Harry arrives in the scene, he comes with news of Mabel’s death through blood poisoning, which is representative that she’s been poisoned by O’Neill’s Irish blood. In Spies, there is a recurring theme, just like the blood in Making History, of the train getting closer and closer which builds tension until finally Uncle Peter significantly killed by it. Frayn again uses repetition to create this suspense all throughout the book, from just mentioning the train line to the intimidating ‘huge thunder of the train’ when he is in the tunnel. My final point is of course about the making of the history itself. It is apparent from the start that Lombard was going to exaggerate in the book, but by the end we know he used O’Neill so Roman Catholics could have an idol. This shows when the grieving (even after many years) and drunken O’Neill is staggering about his room, reading sentences like ‘noblest son of noble lineage’ and that he grew in ‘comeliness and urbanity, tact and eloquence, wisdom and knowledge’ that supposedly describe him. Divided identity is the main theme of the play, whereas in Spies it is just one of the many readings of the novel. Why?