Brief Shoe Horn Sonata Essay

A knowing man once said, In the end we will remember non the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends. Two women who go by dint of terrible scenes of war and ill treatment of the Japanese but their friendship is what gives them purpose, nurture and strength to carry on. Though after fifty years of the struggle and of being separated they have no ill feelings toward the Japs but be emotionally torn by their separation. This is the story of The Shoe Horn Sonata.The Shoe-Horn Sonata is characterised by having a both act structure, twain main time frames, two settings and two main characters. The two sets ar the television studio and the motel room. These are visually presented de in-personised and simple, allowing theatrical flexibility. The inter tactical maneuver of dialogue, music, sound effects and projected images work unneurotic to create wartime setting and an extra emotional dimension to the play.The listenings proximity to the stage enhances the intimacy created by the bareness of the stage and the re-connection of the two main characters Bridie an Australian Army Nurse & Sheila a British Civilian. The blanket(a) emotional feel of the play is embedded in the dialogue of the book of account that uses idiomatic expression and juxtaposition to individualise the characters personalities and backgrounds. Descriptive Language is utilise to recapture the past, exposing fears, secrets and hopes. Humour is also employ to soften some of the horrors of the past.The informal tone of the interview sessions add explicit detail while establishing the creditability of the witnesses. medication complements the visual action of the text. The lyrics of songs and the chosen music illuminates multiple interpretations of sonata inwardly the play in that the music often functions to relay historical events and the more personal story of Bridie and Sheila. Even when the numbers in their choir decimated they continued for they fantasy it was up to them to carry on.We sang our sonata whenever we could so the camp would know in that respect was still music left. Music therefore became pivotal to their survival, a symbol of willpower and determination. This is seen in Act One, Scene 3 with the tattle of Jerusalem. It highlights the historical context of the scene and it is also sung by Bridie and Sheila to help them get through their ordeal of waiting in the wet when their ship had been sunk. These projected images reinforce the historical accuracy of what is being said.It allows the audience to visualise not only the action between the two main protagonists but also of the projected images. These images juxtapose and resonate deeply within the responder. These images are a background to the dialogue and show a coup doeil in the past containing photographs of ships burning in Singapore Harbour, the Japanese assault and the malnutrition of prisoners at war. They efficaciously communicate information and ideas as well as link ing the past to the present.Light is another among the many other visual devices used in the play to help develop solutions and characters. It is used simply and effectively to create atmosphere within the text, as well as to conduct attention to the characters. This is done through the interplay of light and dark, via positioning, blackouts and fade outs. When Bridie and Sheila are emotionally separated they are often lit separately, whereas once reconciled by the end of the play, they are lit in partnership.This also highlights the power of the theme friendship in the play. As they dance, the lights gradually fade while the spotlight shines on the shoe horn. This visually indicates its symbolic importance, as an object that brought them together, oblige them apart and then in the end reunited them. Therefore it is evident through the various effective visual and literary techniques, that this distinctively visual texts canalise distinctive experiences and therefore change the way we view visual elements and our experience of them.