The Impact That Mable Has on the Drama Making History - Essay Example

of the of the Concerned 26 March 2009 Comparison of the Impact that Mable has on the Drama Making History to that of Taylor and Ella in Vernon God Little ‘Making History’ written by Brian Friel and ‘Vernon God Little’ authored by DBC Pierre are the two extremely engrossing plays drafted by two different writers and delving on times, characters and events that stand way apart in their context and salient features like social and political mores and circumstances. Still these two plays are quiet similar in the sense that in both these plays, the female characters not only qualify to be the central characters in a way, but they also have a decided impact on the scheme of events and climax. While the character of Mable definitely commands a considerable influence over the male protagonist in ‘Making History’, the characters named Taylor and Ella push the male protagonist in ‘Vernon God Little’ in two utterly diverse situations that further adds to the conflict of characters and situations inherent in this drama. ‘Making History’ by Brian Friel is a historical play that deals with a unique moment in the Iris history defined by a tribal chief Hugh O’Neill. This play is as much a dramatical elaboration of the historical facts, as an amorphous display of the human endowments like the strength of character, frailty of temperament, identity and pride. O’Neil is delineated by the writer as an astute character that is discernibly torn between his loyalty for Queen Elizabeth who elevated him to the position of Earl of Tyrone and his devotion to the Catholic cause in which he is aided by Archbishop Lombard and his close friend Hugh O’Donnell. If history could be interpreted as a conflict between a thesis and antithesis that is eventually resolved through synthesis, then the character of Mable is certainly the one that helps in bringing to fore this conflict inherent in O’Neill’s consciousness. In fact Mable is the one that to a great extent unravels the duplicity and complexity inherent in O’Neill’s character to which Lombard alludes to as a “random catalogue of deliberate achievement and sheer accident (Making History 67).” Thus ‘Making History’ involves mature characters with complex and intricate personalities. Hence the influence of Mable in this play is very subtle, refined and indirect that most of the times borders on the verge of unpredictability and nebulousness. On the contrary, the impact of Taylor and Ella in ‘Vernon God Little’ is not so wispy and suave though being influential as this play is more of a contemporary urban sociological commentary that relies on the intricacy of events then on the complexity of characters to catch the viewer’s attention. ‘Vernon God Little’ is the enticing yet predictably simple story of a modern day teenage martyr Vernon Gregory Little (Swartz 1). Vernon falls a victim to the media propelled lynch mob mentality unleashed and focused at him after his close friend Jesus Navarro ends up being the frustrated perpetrator of a school shootout. Vernon has to bear with the worst that could happen to a teenager, including his mother getting involved in a steamy affair with the unscrupulous TV reporter Lally who harbours nefarious plans against Vernon. Thus unlike O’Neill, Vernon is not an exalted individual standing on the verge of history, suffering from a split consciousness, who affords to be sovereign and choosy about his decisions. For Vernon, the line between the friends and the foes is quiet clear though shifting. It is this very fact pertaining to the male protagonist in this play that differentiates the scope of Taylor’s and Ella’s impact in this play to that of Maple’s in ‘Making History’. Taylor and Ella are the two central female characters in the ‘Vernon God Little’ that are typically the antithesis of each other in the sense that whereas Taylor is explicitly charming and shallow, Ella is understanding and self sacrificing. It is as simple as that. In no way are these two female characters shrouded in a mist of complexity as is the case with Mable. Mable is a far well rounded character as compared to Taylor and Ella that gradually evolves and matures as the play proceeds. To begin with, Mable is presented as being a victim of a wreathing consciousness, suffering the gender and ethnic biases that defined her times. However, with the passage of time she reconciles to the fact and consequences of being the wife of an Irish earl and eventually comes out as being really sharp and outspoken, a trait that was not particularly associated with the women in those days (Goddu 3). In doing so Mable in a way transcends the limitations heaped on her by her English Protestant identity and the political constraints of the times in which she lived. Thus the character of Mable metamorphoses from being a young and enervated wife depressed by the ramifications of her elopement to being a discerning partner that commands a circuitous yet impressive influence over O’Neill (Goddu 2). Taylor and Ella tend to differ from Mable in the sense that they are not given the creative and intellectual space and scope to grow and evolve. In fact they are introduced in ‘Vernon God Little’ as the central female characters endowed with discernable personalities and moral traits and are merely required to make a choice in the scheme of events. Their impact in the play is defined by the choice they make at a particular point of time. Thus where Taylor further aggravates Vernon’s predicament, Ella tries her best to rescue Vernon amidst a chaotic and jeopardizing trail of events bent upon landing him on the death row. Thereby Taylor and Ella simply symbolize two opposing trends invading the contemporary urban consciousness that is panache for media spectacle and instant justice and a predilection for transparency and sympathy being extended to the extent of self debasement and suffering. Thus if the impact of Mable in ‘Making History’ is complex, evolutionary and predominantly indirect, the impact of Taylor and Ella is direct and decisive. Total Words: 1,012 References Goddu, Jenn. “Drama focuses on the life of an Irish tribal chief”. Post-Tribune. HighBeam Research. 26 March 2009 . Friel, Brian. Making History. New York: Faber and Faber, 1989. Swartz, Mark. “Vernon God Little”. Artforum. HighBeam Research. 26 March 2009 Read More