Old Story Time Trevor Rhone Essay Example
Old Story Time Trevor Rhone Essay Example

Old Story Time Trevor Rhone Essay Example

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  • Published: December 1, 2017
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Miss Aggie tries her best to be a good mother to Len: A. L) Describe TWO things that she does which each has a positive impact on Lens's life. These actions. (Omsk) II) Show how Len benefits directly from (mm KS) B. L) Describe TWO things that she does which each has a negative impact on Lens's result of those actions. (Omsk) II) Show how Len suffers directly as a C. State, giving reasons for your conclusions whether Miss Cagy has failed or succeeded in her Job as a mother. (Omsk) In the play "Old Story Time" by Tremor Rhine Miss Cagy devotes her life to grooming her son Len to enhance his social standing in society.

Though her blinding ignorance led to her making some wrong decisions, her tremendous love for her son is an exemplary demonstratio

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n of good motherhood. Miss Cagy devoted her time and soul into ensuring that Len got the best education possible. Everyday, she walked an extremely long distance to the market with heavy baskets on her head Just to earn enough money to finance Lens's education. She also ensures that he always does his sufficient school-work at home and instills the values of work-ethic and studying into him. As a result Len is able to get a scholarship to University where he attains a doctorate in Economics.

He earns a well paying Job and is able to break free from the poverty that he lived in before. Moreover, Miss Cagy 'bowed down' to Reverend Greaves to obtain assistance from him for Len and herself. It was revealed that Len received food from the Reverend's family and even though

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he described it as 'scraps', it was the only way in which he obtain food given the severity of his poverty. The fact that Miss Cagy 'bowed down' to the Reverend's family as Len describes, to ensure that he was well fed shows her love for him. Len benefits because he got food that his mother wouldn't have been able to afford.

Being well fed, he was able to grow up healthily and perform well at school. It must be noted however that Miss Saggy did some things which impacted negatively on Lens's life. First of all, she pressures Len to write a love letter to Margaret who she handpicks as who Len should marry because of her high social standing. This however backfires on Len when George, Margarita's boyfriend humiliates Len by tying him naked to a pole and pelting stones after him. The incident was so embarrassing and emotionally devastating that Len stayed away from school for an entire week and even during his adulthood, it still haunted him.

Furthermore, in the belief that Lois performed Obey on Len to turn him against her, Miss Cagy goes to Obey man to do perform witchcraft on Lois. This puts Lois' life in grave danger and it also put her life at risk later when she wanted to sacrifice herself to save Lois. This puts Len under extreme stress and anxiety as he goes through extreme measures to protect Lois who he faced the risk of losing. Despite her faults, I believe that Miss Cagy succeeded in her Job as a mother to Len. Her sacrifices and devotion towards Len ensured that he broke out

of poverty and grew up into a man f class.

Despite her poverty she worked tirelessly in the market to ensure and gave up her pride to ensure that Len was well fed and received all his necessities as a child. She also she ensured that he received a good education, which was extremely rare for a black man in these times. Even though her stubborn belief that 'anything black nun good' led to some actions which negatively impacted on Lens's life, she did everything out of love for Len. After all, no mother is perfect and is always prone to mistakes, but Miss Saggy mistakes were outweighed by the good things that she did for Len.

Q: The play Old Story Time presents opposing views about inner and outer beauty. A) What opposing views about beauty are presented in the play? B) Discuss how Rhine uses characterization to illustrate the opposing views of beauty. C) Through Rhino's presentation of inner and outer beauty, what final impression does the audience have about the play as a whole? A: How Miss Cagy and Len see beauty are completely different. Miss Cagy sees judges a person's beauty based on their outer appearance especially their color.

She emphasizes throughout the poem her belief "anything black nun good" with her gusting impression of Pearl who she calls a 'Jiggered' and her hostility towards Lois whom she repeatedly aims her 'hold dog' phrase at. Instead she sees Margaret as the most beautiful girl in her eyes mainly because she is light skinned. In Miss Saggy eyes, beauty is light colored skin. She is only concerned about outer beauty, which only

deals with how a person looks on the outside. Len however, looks beyond the surface and values people inner beauty; their kindness, compassion and love.

This is why he married Lois, because she was a truly beautiful person on the inside. Len is oaken care of by Lois and her father after the dreadful Cassava Nova incident. She showed sympathy and compassion for him; an expression of inner beauty. Lois beauty is further displayed when she helps prevent the 'boomerang effect on Miss Cagy. Even though she was treated like filth by Lens's mother, she helped her in a desperate time of need. Rhine employs a blend of direct and indirect characterization to convey inner and outer beauty.

Pa Ben as the narrator directly reveals to us Miss Saggy personality and her view on beauty in the beginning of the novel. Muff have to understand Miss Cagy. She wouldn't even have a black chicken in her yard," he says in Act one. "Miss Margaret. Miss Margaret. That's all could ring in the boy ears year after year. " The rest is left for us infer indirectly from the various characters. Margarita's comment on Len in the flashback shows her lack of inner beauty although we can see that she is beautiful on the outside from her 'light skin' and 'long hair. ' She calls him a "black, ugly, little big lipped, ugly' boy.

She looks down on black people Just George does. George is the chief instigator of the Cassava Nova incident and a constant thorn in Lens's school life. Through his behavior in the play we can also infer of his inner 'ugliness'. From

Lois behavior however, we can see that she is beautiful on the inside. Her decision to take care of Len after his tragic experience and her important role in saving Miss Cagy shows the compassionate and loving person that she is. Through Rhino's illustration of inner and outer beauty the audience can see that color doesn't matter.

At first it might appear that the play is one dimensional and centered on racism and class structure. However the portrayal of beauty shows that schism is not the contributing factor to the conflict but the lack of inner beauty in some characters. If people like George and Margaret had a compassionate heart the Cassava Nova incident would have never happened. Or even more importantly if the whites in authority were 'beautiful' enough, racism wouldn't even have existed because they would give everyone equal power and rights regardless of heir color.

This illustration of inner and outer beauty also adds more depth to the plays meaning. Not only does it tell of real life problems such as racism, it can also be used as a moral tool for development. The difference between inner and outer beauty is important to a person and their betterment. This is shown in the play when Lois helps save Miss Saggy life. Old Story Time is not only a one dimensional play centered on racism and class structure but on a variety of other themes. This gives the play depth and diversity.

It also helps use the play as a moral tool for our own lives and development because the difference between inner and outer beauty is important in our lives. The portrayal

of inner beauty allows us to see that your skin color is irrelevant and it is your goodness of your heart that matters. After all it is he love that Lois showed for Miss Cagy that saved her, it is the love she showed to Len that helped him continue in life and it is the love that Miss Cagy showed to Len that helped him get a good education. Q: Describe the relationship between Miss Cagy and Len as a boy.

Discuss how the character of Miss Cagy illustrates the challenges of single parenting. Discuss how Rhino's dramatic presentation of Miss Cagy evokes different feelings from the audience. A: In the play Old Story Time written by Tremor Rhine, Miss Cagy is portrayed as a single mother whose love for her son fuels her desire for him to succeed in life. Miss Cagy however is a very controversial character in the story as her love for her son drives her hate towards his wife. Nevertheless Rhine uses her contradictory character to help develop the plot of the play.

Miss Cagy is first presented as a frustrated mother who is vexed at her son's decision to mingle with the "Jiggered" village girl Pearl instead of concentrating on his studies. This immediately signals the pressure that 'Mama' puts on Len to earn a good education. She sees education as a tool that could propel Len to the top of the financial hierarchy in society. Even though she is a very poor woman, she works hard in the market everyday to ensure that her son can get the basic necessities to thrive in school.

Miss Cagy also

wants Len to marry Margaret, a beautiful mulatto with long dark hair and light skin. Whilst she sees education as a way to break into the wealthy class, she thinks that engaging with a light skinned woman would help him gain social status. Miss Saggy pressure on Len and her overwhelming desires creates a tense relationship between Len and his mother leading to him hiding things away from her and confiding in Pa Ben instead. This is shown when Pa Ben reveals to us hat he had known about Lois way before Mama knew.

Len wants different from what his mother wants from him, and being aware of her ignorance, he doesn't want to cause any conflict between him and his mother. This shows Lens love for his mother whilst Miss Saggy love for Len is shown for her desire for her son to be as successful as possible in life. Miss Cagy is shown to have raised her son without the presence of a father figure. The most obvious challenge of a single parent family is obviously trying to make ends meet financially. Miss Saggy overwhelming desire and pressure on Len is a spin off from her single parenting.

The lack of extra financial help from another parent prompts her to place all her dreams and hope in Len and pressure him to succeed. She ensures that Len gets a scholarship because she know that she doesn't have the financial capability to send him to University by herself. Mama's belief "anything black nun good" may also possibly be as a result of a very frictional relationship with Lens's father; a black man himself. This

shows how strong of an emotional impact being a single parent can have on a person and even on their way of thinking. Rhinos centers Miss Saggy controversial character on an irony.

It is ironic that Miss Cagy herself is black and that her husband was black but she has this ignorant and persistent belief that "anything black not good. " It is this stubborn idea that the playwright uses in the dramatic presentation of Miss Cagy. Her hatred of Lois ultimately drives her to risking both her and Lois' life. Rhine also utilizes Pa Been role as narrator to present Miss Cagy. In the beginning of the play Miss Cagy is introduced by Pa Ben and it is through him which we get to know her personality, beliefs and her love and desires for Len. One can feel sympathetic for Miss Cagy.

She s ignorant to believe that black people are not good and this ignorance eventually leads to a near death experience for her. She Just wanted the best for her son and thought that having a black wife was not the best thing for him. On the other hand the audience can feel utter admiration for Miss Cagy. Even though she was extremely poor, she tried her best as a market woman to provide Len with the necessities for success. When Len asks why she didn't use her money to improve her house rather than buying a house for him, she says that she Just wanted to ensure that her son had a good place to live when he returned.

This shows her devotion towards her son Len, something that must be

admired. Lit EX. 2009 - A. Briefly describe Pa Ben's role in the opening scene. When the opening scene commences the first thing that you recognize about Pa Ben is that he is the narrator through his intonation of 'Old Story Time, Old Story Time'. He gives a brief history of the tradition of storytelling then sets the stage for the story by beginning "A did live in a certain big yard, next door to some a the people who the story concern. Throughout scene one, Pa Ben's uses narration mainly to fast-forward aspects of the play whilst explaining along the way. Such can be seen when he moves the play from Len as boy to Len as a man in England, from Lens's first letter to Miss Cagy to the letter with the picture of Lois and when he describes the year in which he and Miss Cagy weren't talking. He also uses his narration in small parts to direct the audience to crucial themes such as race and class issues and to control the action of the play.

Pa Ben is also crucial to the opening scene as a character. Since he is neighbor to Miss Cagy and Leonard, he is close to the action. Pa Ben acts like a father figure to Len and is why Len chooses to confide in him rather than in his other. He also has a friendship with Miss Cagy which is briefly broken by the year in which they did not talk to each other. B. How does Pa Ben introduce the concept of "Old Story Time" in this scene? Pa Ben is crucial in getting

the audience to experience the concept of Old Story Time at the beginning of Scene One.

First of all he achieves this by giving his own brief narrative of the past. He describes the setting when his father used to be the "Chief Storyteller"; how everyone would "gather round the shop piazza" and the use of fireflies as light to read. He also vividly describes the atmosphere of his past tortellini experiences; "everybody chatting, some meddling in people's business" and the sounds of the bamboo clarinet, the whistle of the fife and the lick of the drum. Pa Ben also introduces this concept by his choice of words and initiation of certain chants.

He repeats the words "Old Story Time, Old Story Time" twice during the opening scene and uses other phrases such as "those were the days. " The initiation of the folk song creates a cultural atmosphere in the minds of the audience and the reader. C. How does Pa Ben's role in the Act foreshadow his role in the rest of the play? Pa Ben's roles in the first Act give an indication of how he contributes to the rest of the play. In the first Act Pa Ben speaks to the audience on numerous occasions, bridging gaps in the plot using his narration.

He continues this in the Second Act and this is evident right at the starting of the Second Act. He also continues his little interjections after, before and during flashbacks. Furthermore, Pa Ben is always close to the action in Act One. This becomes even more evident in the rest of the play as Pa Ben is ultimately

critically involved in key parts of the play such getting Miss Cagy jack to Lens's house and saving her from the effect of the boomerang. Finally Pa Ben's role as the balance between Mama and Len & Lois in the first Act is also reflected in the rest of the plat.

First he keeps the secret from Miss Cagy that Len has married Lois, thus preventing much confusion for many years. In the latter part of the play, Pa Ben is ultimately responsible for bringing Mama to Lens's house to be saved and thus is responsible for uniting Len, Lois and Mama as a family. His demonstration of time sequences in the first act is continued in the second. Whether through fast-forwarding or -through flashbacks (e. Cassava Nova and Lens's School Days). He also continues to speak to the audience, filling gaps in between the plot and thus continuing his role as the narrator.

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