8/10/2019 Part B Scene Analysis

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8/10/2019 Part B Scene Analysis

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Vincent Minh Bui, Ms Novacowski, Standard English

5. John Mistos ability to broach a contentious and unfamiliar topic with a

contemporary audience can be attributed through the integration of projected

images, dialogue, and music. This seamless approach allows Misto to recreate the

wartime experiences of female nurses, effectively propagating meaning to an

audience and eliciting from them a powerful response.

For instance, the plays thematic concern of Truth and Honesty is examined within

scene. This excerpt from Sheilas account The British asked if they could borrow our

diaries they didnt want anyone to know about us so they burned our diaries.

emphasises the actions of the authorities in attempting to conceal the truth and

construct their version of it. The passage allows us to look beyond the experiences of

the female P.O.W.s at the wider social and political context that has allowed their

experiences to pass unacknowledged. Moreover the passage compels audiences to

be openly critical of the way in which history is constructed and communicated, and

also to question the concept history is written by the victors.

Furthermore the scene examines another of the plays concerns War and Atrocities.

For instance within Scene XIII on the screen we seea photograph of the atomic

bomb that destroyed Hiroshima the infamous mushroom cloud. This is followed by

a photograph of the devastated city.These images of the mushroom clouds

following the nuclear explosions at Nagasaki and Hiroshima are symbolic of World

War IIs end when peace was declared and hostilities ceased. These images provide a

stark contrast with Bridies and Sheilas recount, because for them the war had not

ended and it was business as usual and more and more women perished every

day. We are therefore enriched with the understanding that war is a destructive

force that continues to have a physical and psychological impact on individuals well

past its end. Furthermore it allows us to reflect on the disgusting way in which

human beings treat fellow human beings in wartime situations.

In this regard, the elements of dramaturgy in Mistos Shoe Horn Sonataare

undeniably instrumental in recreating the experiences of female nurses. In

recreating their experiences, we are driven to criticise the authorities in omitting

their experiences from the officialaccounts. Moreover, we are led to reflect upon

degenerate behaviour and treatment of individuals during war, and also upon the

physical and psychological suffering that individuals can undergo long after a wars

end.