20 mark question Flashcards
what is Rosie’s first key scene?
her first monologue, talking about Emmanuel. she reveals his exploitation, she’s presented as needy
- pained and confused facial expression
- gazing off into the distance, shows how she’s thinking back to the time
- hands coming from the blackout shows her family wants her home and to keep her young and innocent
- she’s copying their motions, showing their closeness
- stylised movement shows Bob holding Rosie like a baby, wanting her to stay young
- CONTEXT: YOUNGER GENERATION’S URGE TO TRAVEL ABROAD
what is Rosie’s second key scene?
Mark is saying goodbye to his family
- Rosie is speaking in a fast paced and high pitched voice, she’s desperate to try and keep things from changing too much
- she’s childish, keeps asking egocentric questions, showing her childishness and how she doesn’t understand how to handle the situation maturely
- Mark tells her to ‘stop loving us so much … we’re fucked up’
what is Rosie’s third key scene?
she rejects Bob as she moves on, just like Mark rejected her. she’s growing up
- the children are all holding hands. Rosie steps away - letting herself grow up has meant she’s let go of the perfect family she’d always imagined
- Bob doesn’t want Rosie to go alone (reluctant to lose his last child)
- Rosie uses an upset tone of voice, she doesn’t want to hurt her dad but is determined to grow up
what is a final scene that Rosie shows maturity in?
her monologue after Fran dies. shows maturity, she speaks more thoughtfully and insightfully. despite the tragicness of the accident, maybe this was the needed catalyst for her to break apart from her family and understand her self more
- her monologue shows strength and growth
- slow pace and sad, painful facial expression, many pauses for silence (reflection) showing her pain when delving back into her childhood
what’s one word to describe Rosie (at least during the majority of the play)?
naïve
what are a few words to describe Pip?
lack of affection, core anger, victim complex
what is Pip’s first key scene?
Pip and Fran’s argument
- huge distance between them on stage, lots of pauses in their speech, creating tension between the two, showing their negative relationship
- very fast pace, angry tone, maintaining eye contact when they speak, and then when the other speaks they look away. shows how they’ll never see eye to eye and won’t stop to listen to each other
- lack of affection, victim complex, unhealed trauma
what is Pip’s second key scene?
tells Bob that a woman has to feel more than a ‘fondness’ for her husband. she has (physical) needs that Steve isn’t meeting
- perhaps arrogant? defeating gender stereotypes of a subservient woman who is loyal to husband - becomes individual
- could show why Fran is so jealous of her. Fran didn’t feel much more than ‘fondness’ for Bob, but had to stick with him for the children. resents the fact that Pip isn’t doing and suffering the same as her mum
what is Pip’s third key scene?
The letter from Pip to Fran
- they mirror each others actions, showing how similar they are and therefore highlighting their hatred for each other
- avoiding eye contact highlights the distance in their relationship
- can only tell her the truth, that she did lie, when she’s thousands of miles away, showing a lack of trust between them
- reminding Fran of what matters (a man of passion), also reminding Fran of her jealousy and resentment for Pip
how is Bob at the beginning of the play?
distracted, doesn’t engage with emotional things, lack of interaction. tends to avoid confrontation
describe Bob’s second key scene:
Finds out Ben has been ‘skimming’ money from work
- Fran has a calm tone of voice, contrasting to Bob’s explosive, aggressive tone, loud volume and violent nature
- Fran wants to do everything possible to help Ben, and this contrasts to Bob who wants to let him go to prison. much harsher on Ben
describe Bob’s third key scene:
Fran’s death
- high-pitched screams at a loud volume, which are an explosion of all of his built-up pain, makes the audience uncomfortable
describe Fran’s first key scene:
she banged her head against a tree, desperate action
- fed up of her life, could link to the resentment she feels towards Pip, who is free to leave her husband and live a much happier life than Fran could ever live
- she feels stuck - rigid gender stereotypes at the time were trapping her
describe Fran’s second key scene:
argument with Pip, angry, aggressive, unforgiving tone. doesn’t hold back in her insults against her, showing her unhidden hatred and resentment of her daughter. apparently she ripped a chunk of hair off her Pip’s head when she was younger
- ‘treat someone like a princess….you get a fucking princess’ Pip says ‘you’re going to annihilate me’
- this contrasts to Fran’s treatment of Ben. does his laundry, has a calm tone of voice when he reveals his scandalous secret to his parents, wants to do everything possible to help him
describe Fran in general:
tries to be the ‘strong one’ for her family, but no human can take that level of intensity. this leads to anger and frustration on everyone’s part, but especially her - frustration in marriage, sex life, taken out on tree/Pip
- CONTEXT: TENSIONS BETWEEN GENERATIONS AND RIVALRIES WITHIN FAMILIES. parents have made sacrifices to give their children advantages (i.e. education, travel) they didn’t have themselves, only to realise that their children have different hopes and plans, and are still dissatisfied
describe Mark’s first key scene:
comes out to parents as transgender
- Bob makes a joke about Mark being a girl and he raises his hands to his face, creating tension
- Mark is stood away from his family, showing him being/feeling isolated
- Bob maintains direct eye contact with Mark, begging him not to do it, tries to guilt trip him into not changing (unreasonable). shows Mark’s family’s unaccepting and unforgiving nature. Bob ‘puts his foot in it’
- ‘afraid’, ‘confused’, ‘not ashamed’, ‘known about myself for many years’
- lack of eye contact highlights how he’s an outsider
describe Mark’s second key scene:
He leaves for a new life in Sydney, for gender hormone therapy
- uses firm tone of voice, tries to force Rosie to be a grown-up and face reality. biggest role model for Rosie, they have such a close relationship, and he’s probably the biggest help in shifting her. he helps her to understand the world, the nature of family, independence. she follows in his footsteps by also moving to a big city
describe Mark’s costume choices:
- given a blue shirt when it’s raining which he doesn’t put on properly, representing the idea of how society is trying to force the idea of masculinity onto him. he feels uncomfortable and dislikes it
- when he is saying goodbye, he packs away the masculine dark blue clothing into a cardboard box, symbolising him packing away his past. he then throws this cardboard box away, showing his complete rejection of his past
what are some overall interpretations of Ben?
- always detached from family/conveniently in a rush
- babyish - his mum does his laundry for him
- motivated by money and reputation over morals
describe Ben’s first key scene:
Ben avoids Rosie’s return party.
- wants to be detached from his family, they seem to remind him of his humble upbringing, which he feels ashamed of after working and having gone to school with people from a much richer, private school background
- shows how he values reputation and money over family and morals
- Bob disapproves of this, as he has a ‘village mindset’ and believes in a close relationship between family members. he disapproves of Ben’s ‘flash’ new car
- CONTEXT: BARBECUE ‘MOST SUNDAYS’, GARDEN IS CENTRAL TO FAMILY LIFE. has a dream that their children will settle down near them and have lives which are ‘better versions of use’
- Ben gets Bob a new coffee machine, when Bob doesn’t even drink coffee. values the quantity or monetary value of things over the sentimental value
describe Ben’s second key scene:
Ben tells his parents about how he’s been caught skimming money from work. he’s also high
- his voice usually has a dismissive, jokey tone, so the desperation and worry in his tone during the breakdown is more shocking and dramatic
- physicality - lack of eye contact, rushed, the drug use is becoming visible
- distant, avoids touch
- mouths an apology to his mum, wants her to believe that he isn’t bad and that he’s sorry. emphasises their close relationship
- his desire to seem more wealthy and classy to his colleagues has got the better of him. he sets such high expectations for himself that it’s impossible for him to live up to them, and he breaks down
describe the context of Bob’s redundancy:
- financial crisis of 2007-2008 led to the subsequent loss of factory jobs, including car manufacturing. use to be an important Australian industry, but in 2009, production drastically reduced and most cars became foreign imports. Bob is made redundant
- Bob is therefore irritated at Ben’s purchase of an expensive European car
describe Hallet Cove, Adelaide, and the Australian’s relationship with the outdoors (context):
- Hallett Cove has a reputation for being a safe, comfortable place to live, popular with families and retired people
- houses here are usually single storey with generous gardens
- Australians enjoy spending time outside, especially because of the pleasant climate in Adelaide most of the year
- as Pip says, ‘This garden is the world’, and it has been the site of many events in the Prices’ and many Australian families’ lives
