Question 2:
I actually would have to agree with Mamet in saying that "no matter what side you choose, you are wrong." I agree with him because I believe that the characters are so much more complex than we originally think they are and there are two main characters so it's basically 50/50 for what side you choose. Not to mention, that since it is so easy to side with the professor, and hate on Carol, it almost seems that you have to second guess yourself and realize that maybe instead you should automatically side with the professor but that you should agree with Carol.
When it comes to having to decide between choosing who the protagonist and antagonist is, in this case, I almost feel like it can go hand in hand. Me personally, I think that the professor is the protagonist because in the movie, as a character I believe that his character was more developed than Carol's character. With the professor, we were able to get a little inside scoop with his personal life such as his wife, his son, buying a new house, and just how important his 10 year and job was to him. But when it comes to Carol, we don't know really anything about her. She says she was in his class and that she would talk about her "group" but we don't know for sure if she was really in his class and what type of group she was really involved in. I would name the professor the protagonist and Carol the antagonist.
Sydney Witt
The beauty of the play is it's ability to sway your opinions back and forth. At a cursory glance, it's incredibly easy to side with the good professor and denounce the actions of Carol. It's only after a more in-depth analysis of both character's motives and actions that we can begin to see the line begin to blur. I found that I naturally started on John's side, but slowly started looking more into the motives of Carol and what justified them. Since there are a lot of facets that aren't mentioned, the reasoning behind her M.O. is debatable. This, in my opinion, is what gives this story such a kick: it's the ambiguity of her actions that allow "colourful" debate to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that John is the protagonist and Carol is the antagonist. But I feel that the play does not reflect the " whichever side you are on, your wrong statement" . Though the play may be intended to reflect this statement, I feel that Carol's character is too over the top. The things she does in the play like claiming rape overshadows the mistakes that John makes. So I dont feel its obvious enough to the audience for the play writer to make this statement.
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