Preview

Hannie Rayson - Inheritance

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
739 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hannie Rayson - Inheritance
Topic Question: 3 – "We all got trapped into doing things that we didn't want to do." Are all the characters trapped or do they act out of self-interest?

Hannie Rayson's complex play, "Inheritance", is a dramatic capture of the contrasting lifestyles of city and country folk in the 20th century and how inheritance proves to be an important role in the development of lifestyles of generations to come. People do not always inherit what they wish for, however they have the choice whether or not they will live there their lives around what they have inherited, or around there own desires. The characters inherit a range of valuables though many forms such as marriage, relational inheritance, and lifestyle and feel they are trapped when in fact the others act out of self interest for there own personal gain.

Marriage is a binding contract and although Dibs is the inheritor of Allendale (the family farm), though sadly she does not share the farming country spirit her husband Farley portrays. William furiously announced to Dibs "You've been whingeing about this house all our lives." Dibs has always wanted "her own brand new home, which she's dreamt of all her life" but William claims "the key issue for mum (Dibs) is that she is going to have to get some help with a certain person". As she is not willing to follow her actions of self interest as long as her marriage is intact. She is trapped due to her loyalty to her marriage and isn't freed until the end of the marriage at Farley's death.

Direct inheritance from pass downs from a parental figure to a child is always a valuable event that is non negotiable. William is trapped through his mother Dibs into (through being a descendant) into ownership of the farm. However, he acts through self interest wants to sell the farm for his partner Kevin which he advises "is my family". Dibs argues with him that he has no children "that's the difference. You don't know what it means to put yourself second. And as a result you

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Eragon is the first instalment in the Inheritance Cycle. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini is a four book sequence set in the magical land of Alagaesia, which currently ruled by the evil usurper Galbatorix. The only hope that the rebels have is a dragon hatched to a farm boy named Eragon in a remote settlement at the edge of the Empire.…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Inheritance by Hannie Rayson is a play about the war between two families, the Delaneys and the Hamiltons, over property. Rayson questions the authenticity of Australian values, due to the human weaknesses the characters present in the play. The Australian values Rayson challenges in this play include a fair go for all and strong family ties.…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story A Raisin in the Sun, written by L. Hansberry, the Younger family resides in a small, beaten down home. In this family, only one member is well educated. Miss Beneatha is attending school and plans to become a doctor. Her mother, Lena, receives a life insurance check from her husband who has passed. Lena uses part of the check as a down payment on a new house for the family. She gives the rest of the check to her son, Walter, trusting him to put a portion of the money back for Beneatha’s schooling. However, Walter is irresponsible and spends the entire check on himself (Hansberry, 1959). This situation is similar to the events of the play Fences, written by A. Wilson. In this story, a little boy named Cory is also part of a poor family. Cory dreams of becoming a professional football player. However, his father believes that because he is black, he will not be successful as a professional player (Wilson, 1987). In these stories, both Beneatha and Cory have high hopes for the future and the resources to act upon them. However, after the unforeseen circumstances in each character’s situation and the attitudes of society in the time period, Cory is…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Linda Hogan’s poem “Heritage” is an insight into all the things the speaker feels they inherited from their family. As I was reading “Heritage”, I was thinking about my family and everything I inherited from them. This poem made me think not just about the concrete things I inherited like hair color, but also the behaviors and emotions I learned from growing up with family. This poem talks about how the speaker inherited certain traits from his parents, uncle, and grandparents. This made me think of all the things I inherited and learned from all parts of my family.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    unfortunate death. Although, the narrator is very critical of her at the beginning, I personally think he is wrong to and in this essay I shall try to explain why.…

    • 1269 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the moment we enter the world until the moment we die, each and every one of us carries a legacy. Whether we like it or not, the lessons learned and labels worn by our ancestors are passed down to us. Although the legacies of our ancestors do not define us, our reactions and what we choose to do with these legacies do have a large impact on our lives. Some people choose to honor their legacy, some try to forget their legacy, and others make an effort to either erase or change their legacy. In August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, Berniece struggles to accept her ancestors past and come to terms with her legacy.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A sense of belonging can be created from the connections people make throughout their lives. Belonging can also allow for people to form positive connections; however there are also many barriers to belonging. Some of these barriers are explored in peter Skrzynecki’s poem “Ancestors”. The poem shows Skrzynecki’s failure to comprehend his own cultural identity. Skrzynecki uses the idea of ancestors and ghosts to show familial, cultural and historical belonging.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the free-verse novel, The Simple Gift, author, Steven Herrick, subverts normative conventions of gender and class to present the possibilities of economic and social freedom to his young adult audience. This subversion can be seen throughout the conscious characterisation of three distinct characters: Billy, Old Bill and Caitlin- each of whom has different social and financial positions, yet deliberately challenge the expectations of their gender and class to construct complex, even contradictory, identities. Throughout this essay, I will examine how the deliberate decisions made by each character reveals the extent to they wish to challenge gender and class-based norms, as their identities are consciously informed by their previous social…

    • 116 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Grover’s Corners, a small town in New Hampshire, is the setting for Thornton Wilder’s play, Our Town.Throughout the three acts, we follow the conventional lives of two families: the Gibbses and the Webbs. As the play progresses, we see everything from morning routines, to first loves, to heartbreaking losses; overall, pretty commonplace, small town lives. Here, hidden in the ordinary, Wilder begins to weave one of his themes and uses Mrs. Gibbs to advance it. She is raising two children, married to the town doctor, and just a regular housewife. Hers is a perfect life for Wilder to expand upon the theme of finding extraordinary in the ordinary. Mrs. Gibbs as a character strengthens the idea that even the most ordinary, run-of-the-mill lives can be special and meaningful to the people living them.…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    the giraffe

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages

    1. In This story,The characters make a decision . What were their choices? give me Specific answers exaples from the story.Explain why they make the choice they make.…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Simple plan

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Symbolism of heir. The audience cann relate to Hank and Sarah;s desire to provide a better life for their child than the crad-to-grave money worries characteristic of their ecpceirence in the late 20th century. ld is symbokic, we are able toe relate to simple pna more than we can relate to Macbeth, epmahise with the character better can understand his decision. Farms didn’t work,. Educated was not needed…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Inheritance is given in many forms. This could be what is left in the parents will, but it can also be the character inheritance. Character inheritance is the things learned from the previous generation on how to behave or morals. The inheritance passed down is what shapes Sanders as a man in the short story “The Inheritance of Tools”. The tool used to convey this is the hammer. Sanders’ father had it before him and before him his grandfather used it. Though new handles for the hammer had been made; the generational inheritance is buried within it. Each owner used and passed it along, as will Sanders to his son. The hammer symbolizes the passing down of inheritance to each new generation. Sanders uses the emotions of his father’s death, the…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    |Patriarchy |-“How got she out?” |-This aspect is highlight with gender conflict in the |…

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The play includes numerous examples of characters trying to trap other characters. Choose three examples, and write an essay in which you explain the situations and consider ways the examples reinforce themes of the play.…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The play “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen opens on Christmas Eve. From the beginning of the play, the audience is introduced to Nora Helmer. She seems completely blissful with her life, and feels fortunate for the way her life she is turning out. She responds with affection to her husband’s teasing; Torvald Helmer. She also feels excited about the extra money her husband will earn from his new job as a bank manager. Nora does not seem to mind her doll-like life. In the play Ibsen portrays the little importance that the sacrifices that the women of all economic classes make by “giving up honor for love” (Ibsen 1359) .Women are seen as delicate, innocent, and uneducated in the business world. Symbolism plays a major role in understanding the play. The Christmas tree, New Year’s Day, and the Tarantella are symbols that weave the life of the characters and what they stand for.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays