Cosi Fan Tutte Essay Example
..Year 12 English Essay..
Nowra's play is set in a 'burnt out theatre'. Discuss the importance of setting and imagery in conveying Nowra's ideas in Cosi.
The burnt out theatre in Nowra's play 'Cosi' represents the life inside an asylum, a life that the characters know all too well. Life inside an asylum is portrayed as a dark, cold and isolated place, where the outside world is not often talked about and for others almost doesn't exist. Most of the characters cannot handle reality but for Nowra is is about exposing the hard times and the difficult lives of the patients. Lewis is fresh out of university and took on a job as a play director at the asylum, but is a bit unsettled when he first inspects the theatre that they will be using, as it is burnt out, has a gapping hole in the roof, and the fuse box is temperamental.
The neglected, burnt out theatre represents the attitudes that society has toward mental health, and the lives that the patients live everyday. Society neglects the mentally ill and is almost oblivious to how they are treated in asylums as it is not something that is commonly talked about. Justin says; 'a madman is someone who arrives at a fancy dressed party in the Emperor's new clothes'.(Pg7) this represents that no matter where they are or where they go people considered 'mad' will always be out of the ordinary and will never truly fit in with the rest of society. However the faulty lights in the theatre represent young Lewis' lack of confidence and uncertainty within the situation he has put himself into, 'What is someone forgets to take their medicine?'(Lewis Pg5) is a classic example of how Lewis has little experience and wouldn't know how to deal with a serious situation if it was to arise.
Characters cannot handle life outside the asylum because reality is just to much for them to handle. Roy creates a fantasy to escape his depressing childhood memories and his time spent in the asylum; 'I had a dream Jerry' (Pg 63). Julie
Nowra's play is set in a 'burnt out theatre'. Discuss the importance of setting and imagery in conveying Nowra's ideas in Cosi.
The burnt out theatre in Nowra's play 'Cosi' represents the life inside an asylum, a life that the characters know all too well. Life inside an asylum is portrayed as a dark, cold and isolated place, where the outside world is not often talked about and for others almost doesn't exist. Most of the characters cannot handle reality but for Nowra is is about exposing the hard times and the difficult lives of the patients. Lewis is fresh out of university and took on a job as a play director at the asylum, but is a bit unsettled when he first inspects the theatre that they will be using, as it is burnt out, has a gapping hole in the roof, and the fuse box is temperamental.
The neglected, burnt out theatre represents the attitudes that society has toward mental health, and the lives that the patients live everyday. Society neglects the mentally ill and is almost oblivious to how they are treated in asylums as it is not something that is commonly talked about. Justin says; 'a madman is someone who arrives at a fancy dressed party in the Emperor's new clothes'.(Pg7) this represents that no matter where they are or where they go people considered 'mad' will always be out of the ordinary and will never truly fit in with the rest of society. However the faulty lights in the theatre represent young Lewis' lack of confidence and uncertainty within the situation he has put himself into, 'What is someone forgets to take their medicine?'(Lewis Pg5) is a classic example of how Lewis has little experience and wouldn't know how to deal with a serious situation if it was to arise.
Characters cannot handle life outside the asylum because reality is just to much for them to handle. Roy creates a fantasy to escape his depressing childhood memories and his time spent in the asylum; 'I had a dream Jerry' (Pg 63). Julie