Discuss the themes addressed in Over the Wall and the devices used :: English Literature

Discuss the themes addressed in Over the Wall and the devices used to express and examine these themes The play ‘Over the Wall’ is very interesting and unique, in that instead of having names for each part, the parts are numbered from 1-9. This removes all pre-conceptions you may have had of the characters. The characters keep changing to different numbers throughout the play; this is to highlight the different types of people in society. Any number can play and the narration may be shared out. The play tells the story of an island community living on an island with a wall running straight down the middle of it. These people like to keep themselves to themselves and continue with life the way it always has been led. They have totally no interest in the wall and all of the questions that go with it. Except for the one! He is the one asking all of the questions and searching for the answers. This quest is not shared at all within the island community and everyone chooses to ignore this ‘nut’. They are all happy to carry on with their daily routines in their pointless lives and see him as an outsider. At the beginning of the play it sounds almost like a fairy tale, â€Å"there was once an island†. It then twists this idea by saying, ‘if you believe it’. However it quickly shows us the real point and meaning of the play. The narrator comments on many different social members in this play and in the first narrator speech he makes a disparaging remark towards the unemployed, â€Å"everyone had a day’s work (which in those times was considered a blessing)†. He also comments on people’s attitudes in general towards the young and the elderly, â€Å"the old were looked after, as long as they didn’t outstay their welcome.† The young also were â€Å"respected as individuals – within reason.† This is so true in modern day societies. The young are not respected because they are seen as immature and the elderly because they are boring and frustratingly slow. The narrator’s first speech ends with â€Å"for, while they were not exactly happy they were not exactly unhappy either.† I think this highlights the fact that people in society are happy with their daily life being very mediocre. We put up with this because we are afraid of change. We sit on the same seat on the bus every day; we have the same routine when we get back from work. There are so many examples of these day to day rituals because we are unimaginative. The characters in the play are stereotyped defined by their language. Discuss the themes addressed in Over the Wall and the devices used :: English Literature Discuss the themes addressed in Over the Wall and the devices used to express and examine these themes The play ‘Over the Wall’ is very interesting and unique, in that instead of having names for each part, the parts are numbered from 1-9. This removes all pre-conceptions you may have had of the characters. The characters keep changing to different numbers throughout the play; this is to highlight the different types of people in society. Any number can play and the narration may be shared out. The play tells the story of an island community living on an island with a wall running straight down the middle of it. These people like to keep themselves to themselves and continue with life the way it always has been led. They have totally no interest in the wall and all of the questions that go with it. Except for the one! He is the one asking all of the questions and searching for the answers. This quest is not shared at all within the island community and everyone chooses to ignore this ‘nut’. They are all happy to carry on with their daily routines in their pointless lives and see him as an outsider. At the beginning of the play it sounds almost like a fairy tale, â€Å"there was once an island†. It then twists this idea by saying, ‘if you believe it’. However it quickly shows us the real point and meaning of the play. The narrator comments on many different social members in this play and in the first narrator speech he makes a disparaging remark towards the unemployed, â€Å"everyone had a day’s work (which in those times was considered a blessing)†. He also comments on people’s attitudes in general towards the young and the elderly, â€Å"the old were looked after, as long as they didn’t outstay their welcome.† The young also were â€Å"respected as individuals – within reason.† This is so true in modern day societies. The young are not respected because they are seen as immature and the elderly because they are boring and frustratingly slow. The narrator’s first speech ends with â€Å"for, while they were not exactly happy they were not exactly unhappy either.† I think this highlights the fact that people in society are happy with their daily life being very mediocre. We put up with this because we are afraid of change. We sit on the same seat on the bus every day; we have the same routine when we get back from work. There are so many examples of these day to day rituals because we are unimaginative. The characters in the play are stereotyped defined by their language.