Summer Of 17th Doll Review Essay -- essays research papers

Year 12 Literature SACSummer Of The Seventeenth DollThe play Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll is a mixture of good deals inability to grow up and let go of dreams, in a typical Australian atmosphere in the nineteen fifties. Ray Lawler focuses on sharpening the characters fin every(prenominal)y waking up to their lives and realizing they dont live in heaven, within in a simple plot. These techniques allow readers to connect and attend the disillusionment suffered by these Australians in this time.Our setting for Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll is a Melbourne suburb, Carlton. Australia in the fifties had just began massive societal and economical development. During the war Australia had relied on the United States of America for stand out, meaning now in post war Australias main partners had swapped from United Kingdom to them. With their support came their influence. Australians some-what simpler, laid grit lifestyle was being altered. A new unstable Australia full of uncertaint y in social values and ethics had evolved. Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll questions the previous Australian dream and asks f it erect survive in the new country evolving. Carlton a now seamy but once fashionable suburb of Melbourne was an industrial, working class area. Our characters find themselves in the working class status.Ray Lawler uses a group of friends, lovers, to show the catalysts of change evolving around Australia at the time. For seventeen years Roo and Barney had been traveling down from Queensland for they layoff season. Waiting for them were their girlfriends Olive and Nancy. These four characters each represent a key field in the play. The ability to link them all together and show their enchanted world crumbling around them is what makes the play one of Australias finest. Roo and Barney are the typical Australian larrikins. They rare the representation of mate ship and freedom in Australia are known for. In the play their relationship acts as one of the first things to free fall in their paradise. Roos position as head cane cutter was taken by Dowd. Roo finds his masculinity diminished. As most larrikins he cant accept the fact he is not one of the best. Roo leaves early. To add to the reality of things, we learn Barneys girlfriend Nancy has gone at got married. Their world begins to fall.It is Nancys spousal that plays a key role in forcing the group ... ... their world. With nothing left of their once happy world Lawler prepares us for the dramatic end. As Roo feels he can no longer live up to his previous life her scrambles to build a new one, even if it only slightly mimics the old one. He believes by proposing to Olive they will both still have a form of what they had before, by doing this he shows he knows what they had is over and can never return, he understands that he must grow up. Olive wont allow this to happen. She is still clinging to her world youve got to go back, its the only hope weve got. She attempts any thing to piece it back together. Emma enters and sees that Olive is gutted she cant accept the new reality. With the rejection from Olive Roo becomes a beaten disheartened figure. Each character now knows they cannot stay here, they must all move on for good.Ray Lawler concludes the play and has expressed the characters as far as they can go. He created Australia compelled by the demand for liberation of women, but killed by the disintegration of mate ship. Lawler leaves the audience knowing their dream, their world cannot survive the new Australia, and we must all allow it, and us to evolve.WORDS 974