Social Class Struggles

Throughout Wicked it is clear that social class and high society are very important to many people. The citizens of the Land of Oz have clear-cut social classes, and to most, these social classes are very important. For example, Melena, Elphaba’s mother, is described by her nanny as, “Only a pampered little rich girl who flitted about from music lessons to dance lessons with neighborhood children equally rich and stupid as [her].” Melena came from a well-off upper-class family and often complained of the situation she got herself into by marrying a lower-class minister, Frex. She once commented, “This view was the only thing she had seen since leaving the elegant mansion of her family, the only thing she would ever gaze upon again….” Melena also thinks to herself, “Look at me, showing my breasts to the child I couldn’t give milk to for fear of amputation. I who was the rose of Nest Hardings, I who was the beauty of my generation!” She is saddened by the drop in class that she has suffered. Even Frex, Melena’s minister husband, is not immune to thinking prejudice thoughts about certain social classes. Frex, when presented with Melena’s kindness toward Turtle Heart, the Quadling, contemplated, “Perhaps she [Melena] was adjusting to country life after all. Because, mercy, a Quadling ranked about as low on the social ladder as it was possible to get and still be human.” Quadlings were considered the bottom of the barrel when it came to social classes. Galinda (Glinda) too, payed copious attention to the social ladder. When Galinda first arrived at school she noticed, “Looking about her, she could tell that some of these dollies came from families much better off than hers. The pearls and diamonds on them!” Galinda is also found fretting about a roommate when she thinks, “Ama Clutch, the old fool, would have fixed her up nicely with someone just a notch or two above on the social ladder! Near enough that Galinda would suffer no shame, and above enough to make it worth while of socializing. But now all the better young misses were linked together.” Galinda’s main concern when arriving at a very prestigious school was that her roommate not embarrass her with an under-privileged background. It is continuously clear through out the remainder of Wicked that social class and prestige are very important to a lot of people.

Reality or Illusion?

Three characters in particular take advantage of the fact that society celebrates and values innocence in, “The Bad Seed.”
First there is the obvious evil character of Rhoda. Rhoda is the cruelest person in the play, but ironically she is given the sweetest and most innocent image. Perhaps the more awful you truly are the harder you must work to uphold an outstandingly clean appearance. Rhoda, an 8 year old girl, is described as, “the most satisfactory pupil [her] school has ever had. She’s never been absent. She’s never been tardy….And she’s the neatest little girl I’ve ever encountered,” by Miss Fern, the school master. She is also described as wearing perfect cloths which she never spoils and having a smile that, “ought to be patented.” Beneath all of her prim curtseys and proper manners that society blindly adores, however, she is usually scheming and plotting the demise of another who is actually more innocent than she.
Leroy is the second character that caught my eye. Leroy’s innocent image is accomplished by acts of stupidity. Usually, society views and accepts dumb people as being more innocent than the smart, conniving ones. Monica describes Leroy as a lowly janitor who has, “the mind of an 8 year old….” However, beneath his innocent guise Leroy is actually one of the smartest people in the play. Leroy is the one who figures out Rhoda’s guilt first. But because of his assumed retardation Leroy is left alone, presumed too unintelligible to possess more than a simple, innocent soul. I think Leroy was Rhoda’s fiercest competitor in the battle of wits.
Finally, the third character, Mrs. Penmark, took advantage of society’s celebration of innocence to hide her awful heritage. Mrs. Penmark, adopted daughter of Richard Bravo and biological daughter of a serial killer, always had a haunting nag in the back of her mind that she was descended from evil. To try to counter-act her bad blood I think Christine Penmark subconsciously did all that she possibly could to behave as perfectly and innocently as possible. She was the perfect daughter, wife and mother and she had a good conscious and good morals. Despite her pristine character Christine was too foolish to make sure her evil daughter died before she commit suicide. Unfortunately this play seems to portray the fact that the truly innocent people are often times less intelligent than the non-innocents.

Medea vs Trifles

Both Medea and Trifles deal with sexism and male-dominating societies. In Medea we can see evidence of male-dominance when Medea states, “Of all things with life and understanding, we women are the most unfortunate. First, we need a husband, someone we get for an excessive price. He then becomes the ruler of our bodies. And this misfortune adds still more troubles to the grief we have.” In this Medea is implying that women in Corinth are all dependent upon men for survival. She also alludes to the fact that women must pay a pricey dowry to be married and that once they are married they lose control over their own bodies. She also later adds, “For a divorce loses women all respect.” By this statement she is saying that although men may divorce with no consequences, for a woman a divorce is devastating.
In Trifles we see evidence of male domination in the way that the county attorney, the sheriff and Mr. Hale treat the women. The men addressed the women as lesser-beings with empty minds. Mr. Hale states that, “Women are used to worrying over trifles,” implying that women only occupy their minds with simple things. The Sheriff also mocks the women when stating, “They wonder if she was going to quilt it [a quilt] or knot it!” Then the men are described as laughing while the women look abashed.
Despite the fact that in both plays the women are considered less valuable then men, in Medea the main female character does not sit around and take the sexist abuse. The women of Trifles do. Medea is characterized as strong, intelligent and opinionated. She is feared and respected by kings and friends alike, and although she is living in a sexist society she refuses to give up and assume the passive role that is expected of her. The women of Trifles are never seen as strong or boldly argumentative when talking with the men. These women seem to have made peace with their roles as docile mothers and house-keepers.
Although both women face the obstacle of sexism they both end up smarter and more victorious than their fellow male counterparts. I really liked how the women succeeded over the men in their missions in both plays.

Feedback

Over all I really like this class. It offers me a change in my usual academic regiment. I don't have to memorize chemical equations or decipher Spanish literature. Instead I get to simply enjoy English poetry, literature, and drama. So far I have liked most all of the works we have discussed/read. My favorites are "The Lady of Shalott," "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," and "The Lottery." One thing I think we could have done with out was "Kubla Khan." I felt like we spent almost no time deciphering that poem and it's better left out of the curriculum, or if it's necessary, then we should spend more time reviewing it.

I also really like the English blogs. I feel that by answering the blog questions I get a better grasp of the works we are studying. I like reading about what other people think about the works too, because it often shows me a completely different opinion of the work. I think the blogs should definitely be incorporated into future syllabi.

I have no real complaints; I don't even mind the grading being slow. It must take an awfully long time to go through all of our papers. One thing that I wish for in the future, however, is a little bit more leniency when grading papers. Sometimes I feel like the grades I receive on some of my past papers do not reflect how much work and effort I put into them.