R&G Are Dead Summary/Analysis

Main info:

• Tom Stoppard
• Play
• Genre:  tragedy, drama, comedy, absurdism

 Setting:

• Time: never says it outright, but assuming around... 1400? 1500? (same time as Hamlet)
• Kingdom of Denmark
• Set in the castle, area immediately surrounding it
• Tavern
• In a nondescript tavern in a blank area R & G open with why they have been summoned to Denmark, and go over the time/coin flipping
• Forest
• Beginning (and in film, the ending place). Meet the players
• Castle - player's performance, confrontation with Hamlet, etc.
• Wandering the rooms and grounds of the castle R & G interact with other characters and conundrums. Specific rooms and areas of the castle are not usually specified, but R &G seem to "float" through the castle
• Boat
• Where R & G travel with Hamlet, are captured, in the brig, meet the players, and play out their last scene (and die)

• Stage/setting boundaries -while it has the premise classic, traditional portrayal of a Shakespeare play, setting doesn't seem to have much affect of R & G. As mentioned earlier they wander in and out of rooms and scenes almost like their in their own world.
• Action: actors observe confines of a castle, walk across, around, interact with other actors the stage normally
• Exception: off-stage implied scenes, R & G breaking the fourth wall, shouting into rooms and to people offstage

• Social environment: 
• Power structure/struggles: 
• Rosencrantz & Guildenstern - Part of what makes these two so relatable and realistic is that they each have their own distinct personalities and traits. Playing off the dynamic, Rosencrantz is the more "ditzy, child-like" one, while Guildenstern is the more "calculating, grown-up" of the two. In a sense has the upper hand when he always cuts down 's musings, and, in the film he is always ignoring or destroying R's inventions and discoveries.
• Hamlet & R&G - Both do a sort of word play/power dance, trying too see what the other is getting at, and sometimes getting the upper hand
• Claudius & R&G - illustrating the social hierarchy of the time, Claudius (the king) obviously has power of R&G and shows it in his orders and instructions regarding R&G's relationship with Hamlet
• Women in society - the main female roles, Ophelia and "Alfred" are depicted as objects of ridicule and downfall. Ophelia caught up and tossed around in Hamlet's game  Alfred used abused by the players.
• The Player King & his troupe - the Player King not only seems to control R&G's outcome & comings & goings, but he also shows his power as the leader of the acting troupe. With this troupe at his command he provides entertainment, live action role play, and possibly...death
• Vulnerability: characters are vulnerable emotionally & physically
• Physically vulnerable: threat of death: Claudius --> Hamlet, Hamlet --> Claudius// R&G --> Hamlet, Hamlet --> R&G, Player King/fate --> R&G//Alfred being vulnerable as well
• Emotionally vulnerable: Ophelia & Hamlet's feelings for one another make them vulnerable to manipulation, as do R&G's close friendship with one another and their double-sided betrayal involving Hamlet

• Passage of time:
• Time...so umm....there is the potential of time standing still (cion flips) and it the basic confines of time and place are not clear

Plot: 

• Freytag's Pyramid: The Elements of Plot
• Status Quo: intro of characters, setting, & conflict at the beginning
• Introduce R&G - in tavern, coin flipping, travel, meet players, trade money, travel to castle
• Rising Action: events that complicate/intensify the conflict
• R&G wander the castle, discovering things about hierarchy, betrayal, and power, while pondering identity, fate, etc. The payers arrive and put on their "premonition" performance, more interaction, conflict and wordplay with Hamlet/Claudius, they embark on their sea voyage
• Climax: point of greatest tension
• The pirates storm the ship and R&G are taken captive(?), the Players emerge, there is a fight...
• Resolution: where conflict may/may not be resolved
• ...darkness, R&G discuss death...and "die"
•  What conflicts does it dramatize? 
• Identity, fate, time, reality, etc.
•  Qualities of protagonist & antagonist:
• Protagonist (physical): R&G - team, friends, confused, desperate, vulnerable/out of control
• Antagonist (physical): n/a?
• Antagonist (metaphorical): Fate? R&G struggle with this concept the whole play. With their potential unknowing role play with the players, power struggle w/Hamlet & Claudius, and their questionings of the physical and metaphorical confines of this world as we know it
• External/Internal conflicts
• External: civil unrest/power in the kingdom
• Internal: R&G's minds/ponderings - paranoia, cynicism, hope, ideals, confines of their own minds

Significant Characters: 

• Hamlet - dynamic, depressed, "internal", holds people to certain ideals/standards - and is often unfair/cruel when they don't meet his preconceived ideas, focused, intelligent
• Claudius - static, Hamlet's uncle/Gertrude's old husband's brother, murderer, manipulative/resourceful
• Ophelia - dynamic. Gertrude's lady-in-waiting, Hamlet's love interest, subservient to her father, bows to pressures, "fragile" - Madonna vs. Whore (?), goes insane, commits suicide
• Polonius - static, stays manipulative throughout the whole play, controls/manipulates his children, power play w/them & Claudius, watches out for himself - likes to be on the winning side
• Player King - static, although he comes and goes his mindset and ideas/ideals remain the same. He does not change.
• Rosencrantz & Guildenstern - ...both?, although they are still unclear at the end of the play they have learned much about themselves and their surroundings. At the same time they are both almost running in circles. I think their small discoveries and final death speech put me at more of a "dynamic"

Narrative voice/author's style:

• Point of view:
• Following R & G we see what they see, hear what they hear, and learn what they learn. At the same time the audience is aware of things R & G are not (their death, and depending on how familiar they are with the play, the smaller themes and hidden meanings - "never stop acting", "time on  off stage", fate, etc.)
• Tone: (I'm a bit confused about this bit.)
• Nonsensical
• Absurd
• Dramatic...
• Layered meanings
• Imagery/Symbolism
• repeated images/symbols: coins, life & stage, confusion of the world, Our Father, gambling

Quotes

• "Audiences know what to expect, and that is all they are prepared to believe in."

•  This quote has several layers of meaning. (Then again the whole play has several layers of meaning!) Literally this deals with R&G seeing the actors act out their own deaths, and the Player King's response to their reactions. It deals with control because in a sense we control what we see and choose to believe. It also pokes at the idea of how we view the world as a whole, and the dangers and "ignorance is bliss" that can be lost and gained through this mindset - something woven throughout the entire play.

•  "Words, words. They're all we have to go on."
•  This kind of covers the duality of language. There's playing with words, and the falsehoods represented through words. Shown through their own confusion with words the the intentions and actions of those around them, this line sums up the multiples aspects and motives and reliabilities that R&G - and the reader - deals with. 

Response to Course Materials (3/10/13)

Having wrapped up R & G are Dead and moving on to Ceremony, I find myself missing the familiarity of older English. I never thought I'd miss Shakespeare's age-old ideas, the never-ending biblical references, and the unending loop of Hamlet's themes. Throwing out all these old Western ideas, alliterations, and Foster's themes has been difficult. I never realized how much I depended on their basic components to guide me through a piece of literature!
That being said, the constant theme of identity is something that seems to present in everything we've read so far, and that definitely carries through into Ceremony. Although I find myself having to find my footing once again, I'm fascinated by the culture, ideas, and literary art used in the book. I love poetry, so the poems and excerpts scattered throughout are really interesting. It makes me wonder what it must be like to write a story with so many levels and ideas. If I struggle a little as a reader, I can't imagine what it must be like lining everything up and tying everything together while writing.
When I asked one of my friends who had taken AP Lit last year what their opinion of Ceremony was, the response was something along the lines of "Oh my god...((putting hands to their head and cringing)) that book was the biggest literary mindf*** EVER! The plot! And..and the twists!...Sparknotes. Use Sparknotes. Oh my godddddd... I never knew what the hell was going on!  ((brief pause)) ...Can I have your copy when you're done? I want to re-read it."

Open Prompt Revision (2/17/13)

Link to original post: http://agingerjournal.blogspot.com/2012/11/open-prompt-3-111112.html

2010, Form B. “You can leave home all you want, but home will never leave you.” —Sonsyrea Tate

Sonsyrea Tate’s statement suggests that “home” may be conceived of as a dwelling, a place, or a state of mind. It may have positive or negative associations, but in either case, it may have a considerable influence on an individual. Choose a novel or play in which a central character leaves home yet finds that home remains significant. Write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the importance of “home” to this character and the reasons for its continuing influence. Explain how the character’s idea of home illuminates the larger meaning of the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

   In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller character Biff Lohman moves out West in an attempt to find himself, but ends up coming back home. Holding both negative and positive associations, his ties to his father and mother's home in Brooklyn are something he picks up from his father's mindset.Willy states, "Work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there's nobody to live in it." Although Biff living back at home is full of tension, it is vital for his development in financial drive, personal goals, and spiritual realization.

     The Lohman family is constantly struggling with money. Whether it's a broken refrigerator or the final down payment on a car, the Lohman's are always bringing up money. Happy and Biff, in their late twenties/early thirties, are not yet financially independent. One of the face value reasons Biff returns from his time out West is to live with his parents while he tries to find a job as a salesman, attempting to find himself through financial success. 

     One of Biff's main reasons for moving West and working on ranches and farms was to get away from his father's shadow and find himself. Although that's where he claims to be happiest, he returns home because he feels like he isn't accomplishing anything with his life. “And whenever spring comes to where I am, I suddenly get the feeling, my God, I’m not gettin’ anywhere!” Not trusting in himself enough to make his own decisions, feeling lost, he moves back home, hoping to find a purpose. Unfortunately he states "And now, I get here, and I don't know what to do with myself." He's lost, and sees home as an attempt to find himself again through personal drive.

     Although Biff frequently reflects on, and talks about, his time in the West, Willy is ashamed of his son's venture away, stating "Tell him you were in the business in the West. Not farm work." This is only one small point in the tension between father and son. Very much alike in demeanor, the two have different mindsets - Willy strives to be the best in his business, while Biff is content being "a dime a dozen". Coming back home to his father's expectations and disappointments, although painful for both, was necessary for Biff to find himself. While trying to live up to his father's expectations he realizes "I even believed myself that I’d been a salesman for him! And he gave me one look and – I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been!" A question of fiscal vs. personal success, their differences come to light with the two of them living in the same house, showing how Biff's personal goals have set him apart from his father.

   Biff's mixed feelings regarding his home are rooted in his past issues. Although he may move away, Biff's problems keep taking him back to his family's house in Brooklyn, N.Y., proving that no matter how far away one travels home will always have an influence.