9+Th

Whose Life is it Anyway? In-class analysis, 9/9/10 (reviewed by Richmond with a few minor additions and clarification on 9/10/10. Thanks to Delaney these provide a very good record of the class observations!)

General impressions of play: liked use of humor, grew to appreciate dilemma and argument presented, although points raised were valid, they seemed rushed and at times random, protagonist was very likable person, difficult to understand character of John through reading play, characters were all very three-dimensional and allowed readers to make their own choice about right to live/die

Backstory of play: Ken used to be a sculptor (and taught sculpture), was engaged, then got into car accident and became paralyzed below neck; physicians put a lot of effort into getting Ken to state of health he is at during play, invested a lot of time in his care and grew attached to him

Who is the protagonist/antagonist? Ken is protagonist: faces an obstacle, story centers around him, he has the most lines, he is always on stage, even if not speaking Emerson must be antagonist: he opposes Ken's decision and desires, believes that his job, according to the Hippocratic Oath, is to save, not take, lives

Play only raises issue of church/religion through nurses; right to die dealt with largely as a secular issue

Social/Economic Status of Characters: Ken is not dirt poor, but he makes his living as a sculptor and teacher and likely does not have large amounts of money

Mood of Play: Sardonic humor, not deeply serious, character of Ken keeps play from becoming depressing and morose, he is a unique, witty character (many actors strive to play a character like this, to have to keep audience's attention for 2 hours using only head, neck, and voice is a great acting challenge)

Presentational or Representational? Representational, very life-like. Staging possibly has elements of presentationalism about it, all of places mentioned in play must be created on one stage; unlike film that easily allows you to set scenes in different rooms and locales

Time element of play? Time fluctuates throughout play, but most likely relatively resent. However, time period does not really matter; subject matter is timeless. However, time period must be decided so that costuming of characters can be accurate.

Relationships between the characters (helpful to map out with boxes for characters): Ken respects Dr. Scott, Dr. Scott (likely) loves Ken; Ken does not like/is opposed to Dr. Emerson; John is likely an added character to give Ken a male character with whom he can be more natural with, more at ease with (however, John might be on same side as Emerson; he points out the economic consequences of expending huge amounts of money to keep Ken, a non-functioning, noncontributing member of society alive, just as Emerson mentions that the beds in hospital are needed for people in critical condition)

Dramatic Question: Is Ken ever going to be allowed to cut the tether connecting him to the medical profession, allowed to decide his own fate?

Conflict/Obstacles: Ken against himself because he wants to kill himself but is physically unable to do so, his mind is perfectly capable but body is not; Ken is unable to carry out desires/lust for Dr. Scott because his body is unable: his mind and body are at odds with each other Ken against society: society tells us that we cannot take our own lives (or take drugs like marijuana to ease pain) Ken against nature/result of fate? Fate has posed a problem that Ken is now caught in: how can Ken get free of his inability to move/function

Climax of play: trial, hearing of judge's decision about Ken's right to decide his own fate; followed by quickly falling action to end of play

Stasis: (where is the action set, when does the action take place, who are the people involved in the action, and what brings them together at this point in time?) modern time period, in hospital in England, dialogue as written provides no hint of different accents/backgrounds between the characters (John's character possibly does)

Intrusion: this is the thing that jumpstarts the dramatic action. (where is it in the play?)

Themes of play: free will, right to make own decisions; the nature of professionalism (is professionalism to help/comfort the patient or to shield the provider from attachment to patients?); reasons for a person to live/ what constitutes a human being or a life?; what is sanity?; what constitutes appropriate interaction between doctors, nurses, patient? where is the line between appropriate and inappropriate?; how is justice/decision making determined?; when is a person deemed alive versus being dead?

Why is play so admired? Every conversation is one that could really happen, the issue of right to live/die is very relevant to current/continual concerns

Additional information needed to really analyze play: Playwright's background and experience? Past productions of show and their staging? Any literary material about playwright and analysis of the play? Theatrical practices at time when the play was first produced?