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What is Oleanna? Is it a perfect world, or is it a world The play Olenna by David Mamet gives us a real perspective on our modern education system and society. John the white male college professor is the victim in this play. And Carol the female student is the fascist. John is an exceptional teacher that love to teach and refuse to let the fascist takeover the academic freedom of our education.
Early in the play, both John and Carol are distracted by their personal interests. John is buying a new house to go with his tenure announcement. However, the house has not gone through, and the tenure committee has not Signed. Therefore, John is rushed, and unable to focus his attention on his student Carol. On the other hand, Carol is distracted by her grades, job as a student, and future. She could not understand any thing in Johns class.
In addition, she is confused of her self-identity. Carol believes she is stupid, and the fact that she comes from a different economic background; therefore cannot learn! John feels responsible to her failure. Moreover, to John teaching is more imperative than his other problems.
John tries to give Carol his personal experiences to relate to her difficulties. He talks about how he was raised to think himself stupid, how much he hated school, teachers, and education. He says: Why was I born to be the laughingstock of a world in which everyone is better than I? In which I am entitled to nothing.
Where I can not learn. At that point, John feels he has problems that are similar to Carols. John believes in order to help Carol, he must get personal, and brake down the Artificial Stricture, of Teacher, and Student. John explains to Carol how education process is hazing. The test people encounter in school, and in life were designed by idiots for idiots.
They are a test of your ability to retain and spout back misinformation. Of course, you fail them. Theyre nonsense. John says. And Carol responds: no In this case John is trying provoke Carol and to let her know that we should question the orthodox, and the very things that we take for granted.
And how education has become a ritual, something-other-than- useful. Thats because we believe we are all entitled to higher education. Therefore, Carol does not know what is going on in her class. and what it means to be in college. Later on, Carol asks John about her grades. John realizes that the grade was a distraction for her, and the most important thing is to awake her interest.
John wants Carol to stop copying notes, and just repeating it back to him. He wants her to use her own words. He is telling her once she has interest in the subject she is studying; shell have confidence, and eventually starts succeeding. John gives an example of how he have work his way out of the need to fail. He quotes If I fail all the time, it must be that I think of myself as a failure. If I do not want to think of myself as a failure, perhaps I should begin by succeeding now and again.
In the second half of the play, Carol unconsciously learns from John. And she uses that knowledge as her weapon to gain power against John. She files a list of unreasonable complaints on John. She says: Whatever you have done-to the extent that youve done it to me, do you know, rather that to me as a student, and, so, to the student body, is contained in my report. To the tenure committee. Carol uses her list of complaint as threats to Johns tenure.
She accuses him being a sexist, elitist, and rapist. Now Carol knows she has the power, and she will determines the truth. When John ask Carol Oh. My God, are you so hurt? She responds, What I feel is irrelevant.
All the weapons come out on behalf of her group. The plot plays on fears often expressed elsewhere: a comforting around the distressed students shoulder becomes sexual harassment, a hand put out to stop a premature exit becomes attempted rape. John respond with were just human. John now no longer has the power, and he is concerned with his personal interest (house, tenure). When John says his intention was devoid of sexual content. Carol responds I SAY IT WAS NOT.
Dont you begin to see? Dont you begin to understand? ITS NOT FOR YOU TO SAY. And John could only agree. At this point, Carol gives out her demand; She and her group present a list of books they wish banned.
This is Carol ultimate goal in all of those accusations against John. This request shocks John. He realizes his responsibility as a teacher and his honor cannot be traded for his comfort and security. He says: No, no. Its out of the question. Im sorry.
I dont know what I was thinking of. I am a teacher. EH? Its my name no the door, and I teach the class, and thats what I do. I have a responsibility to my self, to my son, to my profession At the end John takes Carols accusations and unconsciously become that violent abusive white male. He knocks Carols to the floor.
He yells After how I treated you? You should be Rape you? Are you Kidding me? This Pulitzer Prize winning play by David Mamet is a reflection of the corrupted education system and society we live in. How in the process of creating a perfect and politically correct world; we have taken away the foremost basic given rights of intellectual freedom. College student at UC Berkeley and many prominent colleges across the country burn books, trash new papers, and violent threats against those who speak up.
The Racial McCarthyism on College Campuses is driven by the lust of for power. Just like William Pfaff have put it no objective truth or value exists, nor disinterested scholarship, only power relationships. Power determines truth and intellectual life and scholarship are form of political struggle. We have come a long way to enjoy todays rights a freedom. Many people Have either died of put their lives on the line for the basic freedom we enjoy today.
But now in the 21 st century we not only we have abused those rights in a prejudice way. But we have set many new intellectual barriers. I do not believe this what Martin Luther King and all other freedom fighter fought for! Are we not just humans who are all very unique individually?
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Research essay sample on David Mamet White Male
