Analysis on "the Open Window" by Saki

EST Tutorial 28.08.2012

Questions:

Search for the Open Window by Saki on the internet. Read this short story thoroughly. Based on the short story:

1.      Identify 3 literary devices in the short story and their significant.

2.      Where is the climax in the short story? How is this achieved?

3.       Describe the setting of the short story?

4.      What is the lesson that you can learned in this short story?

5.      In the short story, does Vera shows hospitality to Frampton Nuttel? If Vera were Malaysia, would she have in like manner?

6.        If you were Nuttel, would you trust every word Vera said? Why?

Answers:

1. The first literary device that can be found is symbolism. The symbol in “The Open Window” is the open window itself. When Mrs. Sappleton’s niece, tells Mr. Nuttel the story of the lost hunters, the open window comes to symbolize Mrs. Sappleton’s anguish and heartbreak at the loss of her husband and younger brother. When the truth is later revealed, the open window no longer symbolizes anguish but the very deceit itself. Saki uses the symbol ironically by having the open window, an object one might expect would imply honesty, as a symbol of deceit. The next literary device is irony. Mr Nuttel first came to Mrs. Sappleton’s house was to find “peace” or to find cure for his. However, instead of finding cure, his condition got worse when he was deceived by Vera that her aunt is grieving over her dead husband and younger brothers. That she still leaves the window open so that they may walk back through it. Mrs. Sappleton then arrives and introduces herself and tells Mr. Nuttel that she is waiting for her husband and brothers. Mr. Nuttel looks through the window and comes to find that there are three men walking towards that window, looking exactly how the neice described them. A voice from one of the men yells out to Mrs. Sappleton and Mr. Nuttel rushes out of the house.  The final literary device is personification. The personification is defined as a representation of a non-living things or objects which have human’s attributes or qualities. The personification in this short story is found in paragraph 14,  the phrase "a treacherous piece of bog". A bog is defined as a soft, wet ground. And in this short story, the bog is called as treacherous because it is where Mrs Sappleton husband and brothers were missing and can never be found as it has “engulfed” them. 
2. The climax of this short story is where Mrs Sappleton’s husband and her two brothers came back, along with the dog. This climax is achieved by the used of suspense. When Mrs Sappleton’s husband and her two brothers came back, along with the dog, readers can feel the suspense when Mrs. Sappleton keep on looking at them and the horrified Mr Nuttle. The suspense increases when Mr Nuttle looked at the terrifying looked from Vera’s eyes.
3. We can describe the setting of the short story the Open Window into 3 parts which are time, place and society. In this novel, there is no specific dates are mentioned in the story. However, it is assumed to take place in the early twentieth century, most likely during the reign of King Edward VII. While for the place, most of the plot is set entirely in one room of an English country home belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Sappleton. Finally, the setting of society in the novel the Open Window is describes as the upper class of English society. 
4. The lesson that we can learned in this short story is we must check the validity of a story before we trust it completely. Even the person who tells us about the story itself is a teenager like Vera, but we cannot assume that they will tell us the truth. Maybe their body is small and younger than us, but who knows what they have in mind. So, no matter wherever we are and whoever the person or society that we lived in, we must ensure the truth of a story before we believe them and make our own about opinion the story. 
5. After a period of hard time doing research on “The Open Window”, by the well-known “Saki”, we discovered the answer of this question. It was long night. For us, we absolutely come with one opinion. We believe Vera was not giving our protagonist, Frampton Nuttel, hospitality. Based from the “Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary”, hospitality is “friendly and generous behavior towards guest”. Telling lie is obviously is not a type of hospitality and that what we learned in school. Vera told lie and make Mr. Nuttel flee away. As the host of the house, she should not do that. She supposed to serve him better and let the man of the house talk. Of course, that is not Malaysian style. Not even the Singaporean. We Malaysian, we serve our guest the best. Mr. Nuttel came here for peace. But instead of peace, he found chaos. “What an ironic moment!” said Wandi. We will serve our guest better than any services that provided by the any 5 stars hotel around Bukit Bintang. In fact, not only as Malaysian, but as anyone from anywhere all around the world, we must show our guest a great hospitality. Umofian also taught their people to serve their guest even their guess come only to collect debt. Simply, no matter where you come from, Malaysian or Singaporean, or anywhere across the map, we must honor our guest, show the best hospitality and don’t tell lies. Even if you were came from Venus.
6. Based from “The Open Window”, by the great Saki, we finally come out with this. After a long thrilling discussion; we all agree not to believe in Vera. “Why must we believe in 15 years old girl? We don’t even believe to 40 years old politician. Bribing is anywhere”, said Joe. People started to lie at their beginning of life. Teenagers nowadays mostly influenced to do negative activities and practicing bad habit mostly from the mass media. Based from the short story, Vera also told lie to Mrs. Sappleton at the end of the story, so obviously that she often lie in her daily life. Besides, as Mr. Nuttel, you should not believe in anyone because you just arrived and met them. You should be more careful and aware because you don’t know who you are talking with. She can be an American most wanted, or a 15 years old serial murderer. Maybe they are small, young, innocent and a girl, but your life is more important as a guest. By the end of the day, you are the one that suffered. 

Critical Perspective on Florence Drama

In analysis of Alice Childress’s work, Jeanne-Marie A. Miller says, “To Childress, however, the black woman is the most heroic figure to emerge in America.” At the heart of Childress’s plays, Miller notes, is an ordinary woman “whose life is uneventful until circumstances force her to rise to the fullness of her strength”. According to Miller, “the black woman not only transcends her own predicaments but often functions as a catalyst for change in those whose lives she touches.” How does Mama fit this characterization?

To answer this question, we need to make the sound clip. Here we upload the clip. Hope that everyone will enjoy it.

Explanation

Mama fits the characterisation of being a catalyst for change in those who lives she touches by having the faith in her daughter, Florence, that she can be anything she wanted to be. This can be seen in dialogue 253. Besides than that, Mama also rejects Mrs Carter’s help by tearing the paper which contains information given by Mrs. Carter. This can be seen in dialogue 243. She believes that Mrs. Carter would make her daughter as a maid. Mama also mention that neither Marge’s nor Mrs. Carter’s can make her daughter, Florence, come back. This can be seen in dialogue 253. Mama’s action show that she had influences her daughter’s life by not taking her back home but instead, she lets her daughter to pursue her ambitions in becoming an actress. 

READING AND REACTING

4. Florence is set in the South during the late 1940s. How might the play different if it were set in the North? If it were set today?

    There will be no railing built to separate the whites and the coloured. Since the people in the North are usually not racist, there will be no boundaries for the whites people and the coloured will communicate with each other. Also, their status will also be considered as equal, which means that the people in the North especially the coloured people will have the opportunity to pursue their ambitions. Of course it will be set so that all the people especially in South will follow the culture of the North people.

5.  In line 17, Marge tells Mama that she had better buy some food because she “can’t go to the diner.” Then again in line 23, Marge says that Florence has “notions a Negro woman don’t need.” What situation is Marge alluding to? Find other references to this “situation” in the play.

    In question number 5, Marge is alluding to the separation of the facilities and service that a Negro gets in the train and train station. The evidence for my answer is that in the same line that is being mention in question number 5 that is line 23, the full sentence is “(touches rail) Well, you got to be strict on her. She got notions Negro women don’t need.” In the sentence we can see the word in the bracket showing that Marge is touching the rail. This evidence proves that they are at the train station and showing that Marge is giving advice to Miss Whitney at the train station. Besides, people always give advice to their family or someone closed to them about the transportation they will use if they are going to somewhere far away, for example in this story, Miss Whitney wanted to go to see Florence that is far in the northern. Other reference for this situation is in the line 163, “Mrs Carter: (slowly walks over the ‘Colored’ side near the top of the rail). In this line, it shows that the rail in the train station is dividing between the white and the black people.

6. Does Mrs. Carter think of herself as a racist? Do you agree with her assessment of herself?

    My idea is Mrs. Carter is trying not being a racist. I can see that this white lady try to introduce herself to Mama that she is not a racist when she trying to stop Mama from “maming” her. Probably she doesn't want the idea to locate the “whites” on the upper level above the “colored”, even though she called porter that almost fifty years old as “boy”. Besides she doesn’t to be labeled as a Southern even though she was born there, Memphis. I can say that she like the Northern maybe because in North, people were more open minded and independent on that time, late 1940s. In the other part, when they talked about Jeff’s novel, she suddenly stops talking about Jeff’s novel when she feels she is being too racist. Then she asks Mama to forgive her and Mama is fine with that. Based from this part, I conclude that Mrs. Carter is good in controlling her words and way of talking. At first, when I saw the list of characters of this play before I read the whole play, I thought Mrs. Carter is the antagonist. This is because I already detect the racisms in this play then my set that the “whites” are always racist on that time even though I am brown, close enough to white. But I was wrong. She trying as hard as she could to avoid racism in their conversation and try to understand negro’s mind like what did she said on line 164, but still her mind is limited where she thinks that black women is limited and they only able to be maids or housewives on that time. But still I agree with her assessment because she realizes that racist is a matter of problem that prevents civilization. I like her.

7. What causes Mama to disagree with her brother’s book? What does this disagreement tell the audience about both characters?

    Do you think, what causes Mama to disagree with the white character, Mrs. Carter about her brother’s book entitled Lost My Lonely Way, where she wrote about Zelma that kill herself because she  was ‘almost’ white but still black where her ambition to be a lawyer was failed? Mama disagrees on Jeff’s book because the main character in that book does not have to kill her because she is black. Mama thinks that this is insanity. People commit suicide just because of their skin. Mama also tells Mrs. Carter that there’s someone who is black but she is respected by the white people. For example, her friend Essie Kitredge daughter and her cousin Hemsly that I assumed as mulattoes where I read http://www.etymonline.com/cw/mulatto.htm, mulattoes produced by a “whites” and a “blacks”. I conclude that this disagreement tell the audience that both of them have different way of thinking. Mama thinks the way of these Negros think because she is a part of it. But Mrs. Carter think and describes black people based on the whites idea on blacks for example, she thinks that maids and housewives are the only professions that fit on Negros women but Mama thinks that Florence can be anything she wanted too even though she is Negro. On the other side, I can tell that Jeff wrote that book according to the White’s mind on that time. 

8. Does Mama’s view of Mrs. Carter change or remain the same as the plot develops? Why does Mama ask Mrs. Carter to help Florence? What does she learn that causes her to reject the “help” that Mrs. Carter’s offer?

    Mrs. Carter advised Miss Whitney to stop her daughter, Florence, from pursuing her ambition but Miss Whitney believed that her daughter would succeed. Mrs. Carter also said that the career which Florence pursued was not very profitable because if there’s a play then, the actors will be paid but if there’s not a single play, the actors would not be paid until there’s a play again. After that, Mrs. Carter offered a help to Miss Whitney. She said that she wanted to help Florence in pursuing her ambition but actually Mrs. Carter was trying to betray Miss Whitney. Miss Whitney was very overjoyed but while having the conversation about the “help”, Miss Whitney felt a sense of betray. Mrs. Carter wanted to make Florence as a maid for Melba Rugby by giving Miss Whitney Melba’s phone number. Then, Miss Whitney asked Mrs. Carter to help Florence to pay the rents and things. Miss Whitney refused the “help” from Mrs. Carter because she knew that her daughter could be anything she wanted rather than become a maid.

9. What is Mama’s opinion of her daughter at the beginning of the play? How does this view change by the end? In what ways is Mrs. Carter responsible for this change?

    At the beginning, Mama didn’t agree with Florence’s idea to become an actress. So that she plans to pick her up and bring she home. But at the train station, Mama met with Mrs. Carter that incidentally changes Mama’s opinion about Florence, her daughter. Mrs. Carter tells Mama about herself that once work as a dramatic actress. However, even though she is a white woman, but she still cannot fight the competition in this industry. To prove that Mrs. Carter is wrong, so that Mama wants to support Florence to achieve her ambition and success in this industry.

10. Although the play bears her name, Florence never appears on stage. In what senses is Florence nevertheless a character in the play? Why do you think Childress names the play for her?

    I think that Florence never appears on the stage because the plays are actually about people around her. From them, we can define the character of Florence. Furthermore, we can also know about her family through the dialogue between the characters in the plays. In addition, I think the writer names the plays based on the Florence’s name because the play is actually dedicated to her ambition, her family, and her life. Even though she does not appear on the stage, but most of the dialogue and the plot is based on her. 

11. Should Mama have confronted Mrs. Carter directly? What do you think would have happened had she done so?

    I think Mama shouldn’t have confronted Mrs. Carter directly because she is not a kind of person that has strong racism sentiment. In line 115, she tells to Mama not to call her “mam” because its sound southern. Actually Mrs. Carter born in southern region, but she is now living in northern region where we the racism sentiment is not as tough as in southern. So, she didn’t want Mama to call her like that to show that she is not really racist rather than other white people. I also think Mama should not have confronted Mrs. Carter directly because that would get both of them into an argument. If Mama confronted Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Carter would get insulted because at the time, the blacks were underestimated by the whites. Mrs. Carter would throw many harsh words to Mama on humiliating the blacks due at the time, the blacks were not great as the whites. The blacks were just deserved to be working in low profile jobs.

12. In analysis of Alice Childress’s work, Jeanne-Marie A. Miller says, “To Childress, however, the black woman is the most heroic figure to emerge in America.” At the heart of Childress’s plays, Miller notes, is an ordinary woman “whose life is uneventful until circumstances force her to rise to the fullness of her strength”. According to Miller, “the black woman not only transcends her own predicaments but often functions as a catalyst for change in those whose lives she touches.” How does Mama fit this characterization?

    Mama believes that her daughter can be anything she wanted to be because it’s her right. In this play, Mama can be the first ever coloured woman to let her daughter to pursue her ambition even if there are a lot of obstacles especially relating racism. Therefore, Mama can change the perception of the white people who look down towards the coloured people. Not only the white people, but also the coloured people so that they will realise that it is their own rights to achieve success in their life.

Group member:

·         Halim

·         Joe

·         Nazmi

·         Rabani

Reflections on Designing the Cover for Florence

"A Book Cover for Florence"

After creating the cover for the play Florence by Alice Childress, you are now required to reflect on the following and put them in your respective blogs:

1) What was my role in the designing of the book cover?

In designing of the book cover, I played an important role. I helped my friends by giving some ideas and opinion that help to produce this creative book cover. We work together so that we can give our best to complete this task. During creating the book cover, we did not just randomly put the symbols, writings and the background colours. Each of them brings their own meaning and what they symbolize. Well, we divided this task exactly into 3 for each of us.  Joe Wadle surveyed ‘Florence’ on internet then passed the information to Abdul Halim, Abdul Halim decorated creatively according to the information given while Muhammad Nazmi created based on Abdul Halim’s order by using his computer. Then we presented it together.

2) Was my opinion taken seriously by the others? Why?

Yes, indeed. Since this work is a group work, each member’s idea or opinion will be taken seriously and analysed. If they can come out with a concrete fact and supported by reasonable examples, then we can accept their ideas and put them on the blog. Furthermore, we don’t really have much choice instead of the time was really short.

3) What have I learnt from this task?

Well, the first thing that I have learnt is cooperation among members in a group. We work together and share ideas in order to finish this task. Besides that, I also learn, not only me but also my group member, we learn that we need to be more tolerance towards each other especially when we give out our own ideas and opinion. We listen to our friend’s ideas and if they can come out with excellent ideas, we will consider putting it on this blog. We can say that everybody was trying to donate good ideas for this task and wanted to do the best. Maybe this is because our maturity. We agreed to say that it was hard to consider others ideas at first but the next 20 minutes, we already adapted to survive the situations. 

My Thoughts on Drama

Its 2012 now where almost everything has turn around. It’s a whole new year, and it is a whole new life for us. Now, we have to face the whole new challenges in every aspect such as sports, academic, diet, financial and relationship. But inside this pain, we can see that a beautiful flower that shines our sight every day, it is Drama that we will learn in English Studies. It is a flower that looks pretty with dew drops on it. We love it.

For this week, we are required to blog on the following:

1. Would I be willing to spend my money watching an excellent play/drama? Why?

Yes. To us, watching a play/drama is like a once in a lifetime chance as it seldom held in our hometown. Other than that, watching a play or drama can give us a lot of input because play/drama usually portrays the real life of one or more individuals. So, by watching it, we believe it can influence not only our life, but also others. Therefore, we truly think the money that we spent is really worth it.

2. What do I expect from a good play?

 In return of our investment, for sure we want a good play that will satisfy our heart for the whole day. The good plays that we expect to see are the good acting by all the actors and the actress especially the main character. The dialogue, the script, and the setting for the play should be according to the plan. The character must play their role efficiently because it will give a profound impact to the audiences.

3.  “Do I feel comfortable to act in a play? Why?”

 Yes! We like this questions.  We even fight to answer this question. Basically, drama involves the presentation of a situation or the telling of a story in terms of some kind of physical action, whether it is that of savages dancing around a totem pole, that of strolling players presenting their characteristic given. For us, we are ready to act as anything in any play because we already got our own experiences in acting. Some of us were good in acting and acted for our ex-school before. Besides, we watched too much drama presentations and movies. Just order us to act anything. We are ready!