the real inspector hound presentation - west ada school ......inspector hound was the murderer and...
TRANSCRIPT
The Real Inspector Hound
Presentation
Trisha R., Lisa S., Jonathan T., Ethan T., and Fox V.
Author’s Choices
Game Motif
In the play two different games are played, tennis and
cards
The games are used to quite literally represent conflict
between characters
In the first game, tennis, Felicity and Cynthia are fighting
over the affections of Simon
Later, his trickery revealed and Magnus in the mix, the
characters are all playing against Simon, shown by his
winning both hands
This choice directs the flow of emotions and intentions in a
play where the character’s motivations are otherwise
obscure
Telephone Motif
The telephone and the associated call is a present factor
throughout the play
The telephone is representative of uncertainty and unease,
with characters never knowing who is on the other line or
what they want
However, while the telephone is a source of unease, its lack
of presence later on also creates problems
By cutting the line, the characters are effectively cut off from
the outside world
In this way the telephone is used to create tension both
through its presence and absence
Having the telephone be a recurring issue throughout the play
Plotline
Mise en abyme- French term for a ‘story within a story’
Technique wherein a subject contains a smaller copy
of itself, which seems to recur infinitely
Sub-texts mirroring each other to express things to the
characters
Ex: Moon’s muddled version of reality and
Birdboot’s affairs with the two actresses
Used in deconstructionism as a model for how
language never exactly reaches the foundation of
reality
Genre
The play belongs a genre often called the Theatre of the Absurd
This genre is known to express the belief of the meaninglessness of human
existence. Characteristics of this genre are broad comedy mixed with
tragic images, characters in bad situations forced into repetitive and
meaningless actions, cliche dialogues, and cyclical plots.
Stoppard’s play contains many of these characteristics about a series of
murders with many repeating scenes and satirical and cliche dialogue.
Parody of The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie
Literary Devices
Repetition - Several scenes within the play are repeated
exactly; however with different “actors” as the characters.By repeating scenes, it makes the reader feel that no progress towards the
end has been made
Even the actions that happen are the same
Its interesting to see that Moon and Birdboot’s narratives match up with the
characters’ in the play
Story Elements
Imagery - Within the stage directions gives the reader or
actors information on the mood of the scenes and feeling
towards the given situation.
Stage directions including the fog at Muldoon Manor and others that direct
the experience of the play
The comedic view of Inspector Hound poking fun at his authority and
intelligence as the stereotypical detective
Story Elements
Justice - Most of the characters in the play want to stop the
murderer in the play, and by the end we realize that the
inspector hound was the murderer and that the real inspector
was hidden as Magnus to catch the real killer.
Although, Magnus is played by Puckeridge, who in the parlor mystery kills
Higgs, Moon, and Birdboot to become the top critic.
It seems that we never reach a point where all good overrides all of the bad
actions committed; by the end, Puckeridge is still on the loose
Critical Lenses
Marxism
Literary criticism based on socialist and dialectic theories that aims to assess the
political aspects of a literary work, and thus determine whether its social
content or its literary form are progressive.
Analysis of class constructs demonstrated in a literary work
Examples:
Mrs. Drudge
Interactions with guests
Setting up of the card table
Informing Lady Muldoon of Simon’s arrival
Marxism-Themes
Power dynamics between characters with false identities
influence the realities of other characters and create an
illusion for the reader.
One must occasionally lie or take on a new identity in order
to integrate into a higher social class.
Deconstructionism
Introduced by French Philosopher Jaques Derrida and literary critic Paul de
Man
A critical theory that seeks to “deconstruct” the ideological biases (gender,
racial, economic, political, cultural) and traditional assumptions of a literary
work
Relationship between text and meaning
Nothing is “whole” and everything includes contradictions and inconsistencies
Use what something is not to explain what it actually is
Words have meaning only because of contrast between other with other words
Destructionism Examples
Binary
Pair of polar opposites (No two things truly have nothing in common)
Birdboot and Moon versus the characters of the ‘internal play’
Differance
Individual actions/words do not convey meaning i.e; house
Birdboot and Moon’s discussion lacks qualifiers
Play
Meaning is never stable. Concepts behind ideas/words are always changing.
Deconstructionism-Themes
How we determine meaning is entirely dependent upon context and personal
experiences.
If the meaning behind a word or action is not clearly stated, then ambiguity
derives from individual interpretations.
Reader Response
A literary theory that focuses on the reader (or the audience) and their
experience of a literary work
How their experience adds meaning to the text
Examples:
Moon is not considered Higgs’s killer until ‘Magnus’ reveals it to the
audience
Is this factual given the audience’s knowledge of the situation?
Moon’s soliloquies
In reality, Puckeridge was the one who killed Higgs
Fast paced ending
Reader Response- Themes
The way in which we perceive morality is limited by our own experiences and
knowledge of the world.
People use proper context to clarify their own decisions and to justify
themselves.
Creates fallacies within the play
Video Clips
The Real Inspector Hound Portland Community College
Spring 2014 Play
17:49-18:00
46:35-50:55
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS5TzBGwQlI
1:06:33-1:09:21https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS5TzBGwQlI
Discussion Questions
How does the involvement of Birdboot and Moon in the play within The Real
Inspector Hound affect the theme of reality and illusion?
The role and symbolism of the phone
Complexity and confusion created
How does the cyclical repetitiveness of the events contribute to the meaning
created by the play’s genre?
Theatre of the absurd
Identical recurring events
In what ways is the closing scene of The Real Inspector Hound similar and
different from the closing scene of Hamlet?