The Shoe Horn Sonata Essay

Connecting to others past experiences through distinctively visual elements allows the responder to mentally visualise images evoking an emotional and historical connection with the story, as they’re brought to life. “The Shoe Horn Sonata”, a play by John Misto establishes these experiences through the eye witnesses of the Australian nurses. In addition to Angelina Jolie’s film “Unbroken”, both exemplify dramatic visual elements to convey their survival experiences onto the audience.
As the play opens, halfway through scene five Bridie tells an unfortunate event of the killing of the Australian nurses by the Japanese in the water. This is evident in “sounds of machine gun fire...” The clever use of descriptive language and the loud upbeat non-diegetic
As the lighting descends upon the motel room, the utilization of a motel room setting established by the composer is a symbolism of personal identity and privacy, away from being the "spotlight" in the interview room. The audience can see the reality of the personal tension that Bridie and Sheila share. Combined with lighting, Misto effectively creates attention and a dramatic impact of the on and off set relationship between Bridie and Sheila. The following expression "Ya-ta" through the use of tone by both Bridie and Sheila, is ironic as the foreign word is juxtaposed with the harsh camp life that these prisoners of war faced. It’s this that enables the audience to relate the strong resilient and courageous tone in their voices, with the visualization of the horrendous treatment that they received in camp, bringing about a negative feeling. The underlying fear, uncertainties and trauma of their experiences during their life at camp intensifies the action as the composer has dramatically impacted the audience with a "blackout". It was Misto's purpose to bring about the heroism of women in the war from the personal experiences of Bridie and