Post #5

After reading "P.C. Power Play: Language and Representation in David Mamet's Oleanna" I completely agree how influential the use and structure of language is to this play. When Betchel refers to "Mamet's characters ... are their language", this reminded me of the saying, "you are what you eat". Ultimately your actions, in this case the language that is used defines who you are as a person. 

In the first act, Carol seems to be very confused. As a failing "student" she continuously states that she does not understand why. Her the structure of her sentences are very short and the way she projects her voice shows that she has little confidence. On the other hand John speaks very precisely, showing authority and power, after all he is a professor at a university. During his conversation with Carol he often uses verbiage that is difficult to understand. The majority would have a hard time deciphering what he is saying without being very knowledgeable in the English language.

One quote that stood out to me was, when Carol questions the meaning of his book's thesis... "Now: I said "hazing." It means ritualized annoyance. We shove this book at you, we say read it. Now, you say you've read it? I think you're lying.I'll grill you, and when I find you've lied, you'll be disgraced, and your life will be ruined. It's a sick game. Why do we do it? Does it educate? In no sense. Well, then, what is higher education? it is something-other-than useful." She then goes to ask John why he teaches if education is so bad and pointless, and he answers by saying because he "loves it". After reading this I can understand how Carol might have interpreted this. To her she views John as an elitist who mocks the system of higher education and decides who passes or fails solely based on biased opinions, regardless if their work does satisfy all the requirements. (This situation reminds me of Marxism) Seeing this as wrong, she decides to bring justice upon his actions.

As the story continues the way the characters speak drastically change. With the influence of Carols "group" that she represents and the numerous amounts of pieces of evidence she posses against John, she gains a tremendous amount of power. The structure of speech, in "acts two and three find her in much greater command of language, using words like "countenance," "patriarch," "transgress," and "hierarchy," to name but a few". Conversely, John seems to be more "friendly" in his speeches, his tone changes from an authorial teacher, to someone that is trying to rationalize the situation by being nice. He is often confused at times and asks many questions to why things are happening. Im not sure of the exact quote but I think at one point he asks Carol "Why are you doing this?" and she replies, "Because Im trying to teach you!" I find it very ironic because she is doing to him exactly what he has stated in his book. On a whim she had ruined his life, which is what he had done to her by giving her an F, making it impossible for her to be accepted to the school she was applying to. 

I really enjoyed this play even though it was two people talking the whole entire time and honestly not understanding half the things they were saying. It showed me how powerful speech can be and the ways you interpret them.