Drama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drama - Essay Example â€Å"Well, all right. (Pause) Let’s see. (He reads.) I find that I am sexist. That I am  elitist. I’m not sure I know what that means, other than it’s a derogatory word, meaning â€Å"bad.† (Mamet, 2004). Also invasive in the play is the playwright’s use of the telephone, which never stops ringing and interrupting the characters, especially at key points of tension. â€Å"in class I†¦ (He picks up the phone.)  Ã‚  (Into phone:) Hello.  Ã‚  I can’t talk now.  Ã‚  Jerry?  Ã‚  Yes?  Ã‚  I underst †¦ I can’t talk now.  Ã‚  I know †¦ I know †¦ Jerry.  I can’t  talk  now† (Mamet, 2004). Mamet chooses the phone and office because they represent John’s threatened work life, and also, in the case of the phone, to introduce a sort of third, unintelligible, character. The use of the office changes between Act I and Act II of the play, but its purpose remains essentially the same: it is the space of tension in the play, as the audience tries to figure out what happened, and whether or not Carol was harassed. The office also informs the behavior of the characters, such as John’s patronizing, self-aggrandizing tone. â€Å"That I That I insist on wasting time, in nonprescribed, in self-aggrandizing and theatrical diversions  from the prescribed  text  that these have taken both sexist and pornographic forms here we find listed† (Mamet, 2004). When they are immersed in the world of the office that Mamet creates, the audience has to pay attention to the dialog and relationship between the characters. They are not distracted by different sets and a lot of decorations; the drama becomes the focal point. â€Å"All right?  Ã‚  I’m sure it’s going to be †¦ (Pause)  Ã‚  I hope so.  Ã‚  (Pause)  Ã‚  I love you, too.  Ã‚  (Pause)  Ã‚  I love you, too.  Ã‚  As soon as †¦ I will. (He hangs up.)† (Mamet, 2004). The office is also a space which, even though it technically remains the same, changes between Act I and Act II in terms of the way in which the audience sees