The Drawer Boy
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The Art of Violence: Healey’s Character Representation in The Drawer Boy
Reviewed by Word Press critic Michael Dykstra, the Canadian play The Drawer Boy, by Michael Healey, has been suggested to be a play containing “no violence” (Dykstra); however, this conclusion deserves further analysis. In the play, the author uses violence as a way to create an identity for Angus, a main character, as well as a method to develop Angus’s character. Through this play, Healey creates a personality for Angus that, although innocent at first, evolves through his exposure to violence and establishes within him an aggressive disposition.
In the first two scenes of they play, Healey portrays Angus as being easily distracted, or as Marlene Moser writes,“ childlike and simple” (Moser 232);however, the author later hints that there is more to Angus than meets the eye. As a result of Angus’ violent accident in the Second World War, Healey is able to guide his audience in seeing what type of person Angus really is. The author subtly lays out an identity for Angus by revealing certain behaviours that have remained logged in his subconscious even with his terrible memory loss. For instance, the act of Angus getting Morgan a spoonful of water when he is hurt by the tractor, tells a bit about the type of person Angus is. When Angus first “shoves the spoon in Morgan’s mouth” (Healey 538) it seems odd, but the motion is later related to the repeated action of his lover Sally feeding him a spoonful of medicine when he was injured. Once Angus realizes Morgan is hurt, his reaction is to give him ‘medicine’ so that he may get better. A second action Angus repeats is that of making a sandwich. The significance of this activity, is that more than once does Healey create a pattern where “Morgan takes the sandwich” (535) and then “Angus starts to make another sandwich” (535). Angus continues to make sandwiches throughout the play as long as
Presented to:
Course Code:
Date:
The Art of Violence: Healey’s Character Representation in The Drawer Boy
Reviewed by Word Press critic Michael Dykstra, the Canadian play The Drawer Boy, by Michael Healey, has been suggested to be a play containing “no violence” (Dykstra); however, this conclusion deserves further analysis. In the play, the author uses violence as a way to create an identity for Angus, a main character, as well as a method to develop Angus’s character. Through this play, Healey creates a personality for Angus that, although innocent at first, evolves through his exposure to violence and establishes within him an aggressive disposition.
In the first two scenes of they play, Healey portrays Angus as being easily distracted, or as Marlene Moser writes,“ childlike and simple” (Moser 232);however, the author later hints that there is more to Angus than meets the eye. As a result of Angus’ violent accident in the Second World War, Healey is able to guide his audience in seeing what type of person Angus really is. The author subtly lays out an identity for Angus by revealing certain behaviours that have remained logged in his subconscious even with his terrible memory loss. For instance, the act of Angus getting Morgan a spoonful of water when he is hurt by the tractor, tells a bit about the type of person Angus is. When Angus first “shoves the spoon in Morgan’s mouth” (Healey 538) it seems odd, but the motion is later related to the repeated action of his lover Sally feeding him a spoonful of medicine when he was injured. Once Angus realizes Morgan is hurt, his reaction is to give him ‘medicine’ so that he may get better. A second action Angus repeats is that of making a sandwich. The significance of this activity, is that more than once does Healey create a pattern where “Morgan takes the sandwich” (535) and then “Angus starts to make another sandwich” (535). Angus continues to make sandwiches throughout the play as long as
Cited: Burgess, David. “The Writer and the Director Boy.” Canadian Theatre Review 108 (2001): 24-28. Print. Dykstra, Michael. “The Drawer Boy: The Power of Art.” Word Press. 11 May. 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. Healey, Michael. “The Drawer Boy.” Literature and the writing process (year): 535-573. Print. Heering, Jan. “Phobia Fear Release: Do You Suffer from Fear Of Change?” Morpheus Institute. 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. Loo, Tristan. “What Causes Anger.” Ezine Articles. 9 Aug. 2005. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. Moser, Marlene. “Ideology as Behaviour: Identity and Realism in The Drawer Boy.” Modern Drama 45.2 (2002): 231-245. Print. Pratt, Catherine. “Why Am I So Angry All The Time.” Life with Confidence. 2005. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. Preston, Andrew. “ How the 1970s Sank Communism.” Globe and Mail. 13 Nov. 2009. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. “Violent.” Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. 1st ed. 1998. Print.