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Hobson is a very stubborn and ill-tempered man and his addiction to alcohol has ruined him, his relationship with his children, his business and his life. His drunken state which causes him to fall into the cellar is imagery used to show the audience Hobson's downfall through alcohol. He is proud of his status as a middle class man as we see when he says "I'm British middle-class and I'm proud of it. " and he avoids loss of status and personal shame at all costs.
At the beginning of the play we see that the daughters fear Hobson as it is visible when Albert checks whether Hobson is in before coming to court Alice.
However due to his state and personality they begin to lose respect for him and rebel. This gives room for the introduction of Willie and as Hobson keeps getting worse, things just get better for Willie. The foolish choices that Hobson makes at the beginning of the play such as to drink and to neglect his family all lead him to have no choice and admit defeat at the end.
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This is the meaning behind the title of the play 'Hobson's Choice' which means having no choice at all.
This theme is true for most of the characters in the play, for example Maggie who has no choice because her father forbids her to get married because she's "thirty and shelved". Although Hobson attempts to block Willie from progressing it is evident that Hobson is doing the opposite and is actually unwillingly helping Willie's development.
A perfect example of this is the episode with the belt when Hobson wants to punish Will we see Will proving himself. Throughout the play Brighouse portrays Hobson as a mean bully and an unlikable character. However towards the end of the play we feel some sympathy towards him.
Maggie is probably the main character in the play. The play's flow and the roles of the other characters revolve around her. This is mainly due to her influence and bossiness. Maggie is a modern woman, the opposite of Hobson, who is old-fashioned and is not open to modern ideas. He believes women are inferior he mocks his daughters' dress code and their choice of husbands. She is ahead of her time in that she stands for women's rights and equality of the sexes, which was not accepted at the time. Maggie stands for emancipation. She is unconventional, practical, bossy and forward.
It is she who proposes to Will for practical and business reasons and maybe somehow to spite her father. She is unafraid of marrying somebody 'below' her, the son of "A workhouse brat". Maggie has the vision and imagination to see what is hidden in Will and it is only through her that Will achieves his greatness. She uses her power to marry Willie and to send away Ada Figgins, who is a portrayal of Willie's life and class and is meant to show us how Willie would have remained what he was had he married her. Once she is married we see her become softened, less dominant and more loving and affectionate.
She schools Will and aids him to rise to his full potential. She has great pride in him and respects him. Maggie is constantly referring to "my husband" and places Willie in charge of decision making in order to lift his status and make people respect him. An example of this is when Willie must decide whether to allow Hobson to enter his home Alice and Vickey are the exact opposites of Maggie. Alice is very snobby and totally against Will entering the family. She is afraid to have Will as the brother-in-law of her rich husband Albert, because he is of lower class and used to be their shoemaker.
Vickey is not as particular as Alice about Willie entering the family, but she is often found making degrading comments about Will such as "He hasn't the spirit of a louse". Alice and Vickey are not involved as far as Will's development is concerned and although they are against it they cannot do anything to stop him from progressing. Once they see Will advance they still constantly treat him like an inferior person because they are unable and unwilling to absorb the development that Will has undergone. Albert is a contrast to Will.
He was born into a rich family and has not had to work hard or prove himself to reach his position because he has been served it all on a plate. Brighouse has introduced this character in order to shows us the differences amongst the social classes where some people must work hard to succeed and others have it the easy way. Albert Prosser and Fred Beenstock have no urge to progress and climb further whereas Will has a will to climb and rise to the very top. The words I wrote in the last sentence have brought up a very interesting point which I have not thought of before.
Perhaps Brighouse named him 'Will' because he is a representation of will power and determination to succeed. Tubby Waldow is the person that moulded Willie being the one that taught Willie how to make shoes. Willie's entire rise is due to Tubby because had he not made shoes that sparked Mrs Hepworth to compliment him none of the remainder of the play would have been able to occur. Tubby is also used to show us where Will would have remained had he not married Maggie. The language Brighouse uses in the play is quite an interesting subject to look at.
The play is written in a Lancashire dialect that includes words not used in standard English such as 'nowt', 'nay', 'lad', 'lass'. A different dialect is used when Dr Macfarlane is speaking. He uses typical Scottish words like 'ye' and 'ma'. Different social classes speak in different standards of English and the characters' personalities are shown in their lines. Willie Mossop is a low-class man. His manner of speaking misses out letters and slightly alters word such as "dunno" (I don't know) etc. Hobson, a middle-class man speaks with a proud Lancashire dialect which is relatively close to standard English and Mrs. Hepworth, a top-class woman has a very high standard of English.
Brighouse writes like a local in his area would speak, not always using the correct grammar and using a lot of slang. The play is all dialogue and is written in very short and jumpy sentences adding tension, conflict and demanding the audience's concentration. The play is well structured and therefore very appealing and exciting to the audience. Brighouse sets the play in only two places: Hobson's shop and Mossop's house/shop in Oldfield Road.
This enables the audience to concentrate and focus more on the interaction between characters and the story because their attention doesn't get diverted to their surroundings. Similarly each act ends with some excitement, action and turning points in order not to lose the audience's interest and to keep them thrilled and eager to find out more. An example of this is at the end of Act 1 when Hobson beats Willie. The play is also very dramatic and is full of dramatic devices. The rise and fall and reversal of roles between Hobson and Mossop are a perfect example of this. Another aspect of the play is humour.
Humour is a feature which appeals to the audience and. livens up the play. In this play it is often used to picture characters and their actions, for example when we see Vickey turn from Hobson's kind and loving daughter to a money-hungry woman. Messages can also be delivered using humour and often it is the case that people take messages and morals more seriously when they are conveyed in a funny way. In Act 1 during the visit of Mrs. Hepworth to Hobson's shop we have a comedy of errors. First we see Hobson apologising for nothing and then Willie bends down when Mrs. Hepworth says "Take that", expecting a beating coming his way.
The play is dramatic and full of action and it would not have had the same effect had it been a short story. One needs to visualize what is going on in order to understand the plot and to experience the tension and excitement involved. There are images such as the cellar and the ladder and themes which cannot be created simply with a short story. Furthermore the dialogues and interaction between characters, which is a major part of 'Hobson's Choice', can only be put to effect when written in play form. I think this play is perfectly suitable for a modern, twenty-first century audience.
Although the play contains many historical and cultural issues we are still able to comprehend and understand them because some of them such as the equality between men and women still apply today. We can relate to the characters and their actions because they are exactly like ordinary human beings who have troubles and experience the usual ups and downs of everyday life. An example of this being the struggle Willie goes through to reach the top. Apart from that the play is very enjoyable to read and to watch and since it is dramatic and gripping it appeals to all audiences.
In conclusion I can say that Willie's development is an amazing feat. The levels which he reaches in a year can only be reached by many in a lifetime. He has reached the top of the ladder and at the same time he has not let his success go to his head thereby remaining unchanged. We can take a lesson from this play that if one is ambitious and works hard one will be successful. Brighouse's play is about social, historical and cultural issues. He imaginatively explores relationships. The play is humourous and simply structured but nevertheless it is still full of content and meaning indicating the clever way in which it is written.
Very high standard of English. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/high-standard-english-8247-new-essay
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