History
TASK 2: Remind yourself of Act1 Sc5. What kind of picture is created here, and elsewhere in the play, of the state of the police service?
Murmuring Judges is a play set around the legal system investigating the ways in which it's corrupt and how the characters in their different job roles abuse their position. Murmuring Judges is one book from a trilogy which links into the writer David Hare and his book Asking Around. Asking around is a book compiled of a series of interviews that David Hare has conducted and will be what I use to make useful links to Murmuring Judges. In this essay I will talk about the state of the police service using relevant quotes and points from scene 5 and elsewhere in the play. Scene 5 starts by contrasting from the previous scene, it's busy and chaotic.
As Scene 5 opens the stage directions only state that there are 2 women present, 'SANDRA BINGHAM has appeared. She is in a uniform, a WPC, in her mid-twenties' as the description furthers there are no sign of any other women around indicating that David Hare is making the point that women are still seen as inferior in society this also being closely related to the position of the job being quite physical and women being seen as not capable of handling a situation like this. My second point being that there is a common motif, that of tedious paperwork, 'Policing's largely the fine art of getting through biros.' David Hare also mentions this factor in Asking Around, 'At Clapham, it is still markedly old-fashioned. There is a long desk at which the custody officer sits, surrounded by his paperwork.'
Surprisingly as the play continues we become aware of the fact that the police officers tend to use sarcasm to enlighten their role, 'I don't want to be here either. I want to be in bed with Michelle Pfeiffer.' I think that by using this sarcasm it helps the police officers to take control and almost mock the criminal representing the authority that's needed. For example in Asking
Murmuring Judges is a play set around the legal system investigating the ways in which it's corrupt and how the characters in their different job roles abuse their position. Murmuring Judges is one book from a trilogy which links into the writer David Hare and his book Asking Around. Asking around is a book compiled of a series of interviews that David Hare has conducted and will be what I use to make useful links to Murmuring Judges. In this essay I will talk about the state of the police service using relevant quotes and points from scene 5 and elsewhere in the play. Scene 5 starts by contrasting from the previous scene, it's busy and chaotic.
As Scene 5 opens the stage directions only state that there are 2 women present, 'SANDRA BINGHAM has appeared. She is in a uniform, a WPC, in her mid-twenties' as the description furthers there are no sign of any other women around indicating that David Hare is making the point that women are still seen as inferior in society this also being closely related to the position of the job being quite physical and women being seen as not capable of handling a situation like this. My second point being that there is a common motif, that of tedious paperwork, 'Policing's largely the fine art of getting through biros.' David Hare also mentions this factor in Asking Around, 'At Clapham, it is still markedly old-fashioned. There is a long desk at which the custody officer sits, surrounded by his paperwork.'
Surprisingly as the play continues we become aware of the fact that the police officers tend to use sarcasm to enlighten their role, 'I don't want to be here either. I want to be in bed with Michelle Pfeiffer.' I think that by using this sarcasm it helps the police officers to take control and almost mock the criminal representing the authority that's needed. For example in Asking