|
Post by 2c30sunyu on Jul 20, 2008 6:29:23 GMT -5
Character Traits in Emily of Emerald Hill
As we read through the play "Emily of Emerald Hill", we formed impressions on the characters in the play (e.g. Emily, Richard, Kheong, etc.). After much discussions on the characters and the relationships among the characters in our Literature classes, lets share what we know and think of the characters and their relationships here.
[e.g. we may think that Emily is ambitious or that Richard wanted independence when he went to England, etc.]
Cheers, Sun Yu
|
|
|
Post by 2cmarcusgoh08 on Aug 16, 2008 8:54:26 GMT -5
LOLS HI SUNYU..
anyways i think im gonna talk about Richard. i think
So we read about Richard as kind of a mummy's boy throughout the story. Emily makes all his decisions for him, and even the decision to go to England was not his. Of course, there are many interpretations to what Richard's character was, but this is what i think.
Some may say that Richard wanted to be independent. Maybe, but i think it was the drive to get away from his mother's dominant nature that made him so. Perhaps, he let his mother run his life until then because he trusted her to let him do only the things that were right or would benefit him. However, even though he went to England, he disobeyed her orders to study there because he did not like it.
Is this a case of defiance ? I certainly think so. All his life he had not minded his mother running his life because he did not exactly resent the things that Emily was making him do. However, he hated to study in England but kept it from Emily because he did not want to make her sad. Later, (I assume), because he was safely, far away in England, he thought that he could defy her because she was unable to do anything to stop him from doing what he wanted because she was in Singapore. He, however, did not expect Emily to go to England to meet him and reprimand him to change his ways.
|
|
|
Post by 2cisaacng23 on Aug 16, 2008 10:05:44 GMT -5
Hey I'm gonna talk about the relationship between Emily and her family. In the play, the relations between Emily and her children seems a reflection of power-relations at the centre of patriarchal society. Patriarchy is the structuring of society on the basis of family units, where fathers have primary responsibility for the welfare of their families, hence having authority over them. In this case, Emily profoundly feels that she should have a certain power over her family, as reflected clearly when after Kheong's death, she expresses her views of wrapping the family around her finger and making them dependent on her. This can be traced by to earlier parts of the story, when Emily suffers a lack of respect from Kheong's family, thus leading her to embark on her quest for power with a rather fixed message in her mind that she will only be respected and held in regard when she makes the family dependent on her. This idea is found ubiquitously in the entire play, with Emily organising dinners and functions etc. Hence, in the patriarch society of the play's era, Emily's need for security and respect through seizing power is regarded as the erosion of Kheong's authority. This is met with resentment in the family, leading to Richard's suicide and Kheong's refusal to see her before he died. The extent of her unawareness, her incapacity to place her situation within any larger perspective and her total self-absorption is displayed clearly in this manner. She also uses mothering as a narrow but deep channel for her will to power, met with resentment by her children, but she remains totally unaware of it. Hope I made sense
|
|
|
Post by 2cmarcusgoh08 on Aug 16, 2008 11:07:16 GMT -5
crap ended prematurely and i dono how to edit. so i continue here
anyways, Emily did go to england to see richard. Even when Richard was so big and mature, and yet was in a faraway country, Emily doubted her son's decision and personally objected to it. This infuriated Richard although he did not show it. In the end, richard commited suicide, which was his way of showing defiance in a way such that his mother could not do anything about it, and neither could anyone else. Was it to prove the point that he badly wanted to teach horse riding? ( and that if he could not get his way, his mother would not either ) probably.
Thus, Richard was actually fine with his mother running his life until she took his future into her own hands without consulting Richard at all. This made him angry and resent her because she did not allow him to do the things "he lived for". Since he could not do those, he ended his life, and in a way his mother's life. THE END waha
|
|
|
Post by 2akeithgoh13 on Aug 20, 2008 8:36:48 GMT -5
LOLS HI SUNYU.. anyways i think im gonna talk about Richard. i think So we read about Richard as kind of a mummy's boy throughout the story. Emily makes all his decisions for him, and even the decision to go to England was not his. Of course, there are many interpretations to what Richard's character was, but this is what i think. Some may say that Richard wanted to be independent. Maybe, but i think it was the drive to get away from his mother's dominant nature that made him so. Perhaps, he let his mother run his life until then because he trusted her to let him do only the things that were right or would benefit him. However, even though he went to England, he disobeyed her orders to study there because he did not like it. Is this a case of defiance ? I certainly think so. All his life he had not minded his mother running his life because he did not exactly resent the things that Emily was making him do. However, he hated to study in England but kept it from Emily because he did not want to make her sad. Later, (I assume), because he was safely, far away in England, he thought that he could defy her because she was unable to do anything to stop him from doing what he wanted because she was in Singapore. He, however, did not expect Emily to go to England to meet him and reprimand him to change his ways. Hi, I certainly agree with Marcus Goh from 2c. I think that the sudden change of actions from Richard before he went to England and when he went there was a form of defiance. For example, he did not follow his mother's instructions, which is to study and return home with a degree which I think he would have done if he was studying locally. I think that he has reached his limit and has decided to defy his mother's instruction and do as he wishes. Cheers, Keith Goh 2A13 ;D
|
|
|
Post by 2alibo31 on Aug 29, 2008 23:13:37 GMT -5
hi bubs well just like to point out some distinguished character traits in the play Kheong - in a normal society, the male is usually deemed superior to that of females in the family, as usually they are the main source of income for the family. however in this play, kheong is seen as manipulated and controlled by emily. at the start of the play, kheong was seen being king/caring towards emily(pg.11) throughout the play, it is clear that they had a deteriorating relationship, to the point which khoeng moved out of the house and not speaking to emily when he was in the hospital. the above poutrays kheong as someone who wants freedom and self-dependent(does not like to be controlled) Richard shared similar traits with his father, someone who wants freedom, even to the point of openly defying emily when he was in england. when he comitted suicide, it can be also seen as a final/only solution when he realised he could not get out of her control. thats it for now.(feel free to comment) cheers. libo
|
|
|
Post by 2a03benjamintoh on Sept 6, 2008 10:19:37 GMT -5
this is not meant to respond to the topic but i would like to comment on libo's thoughts
this is a bit too informal "hi bubs"
and some spelling errors that you have made like those in your "model" essay.
oh and in my opinion, i agree that Richard committed suicide as he realised he couldnt get out of emily's control. i think that he didnt want to go back and study and wanted to have a carefree life horseriding. thus when his wish was not granted, Richard committed suicide in protest as a result
|
|
|
Post by 2akeithgoh13 on Sept 7, 2008 0:43:36 GMT -5
Hi all,
Firstly, Benjamin, just give Libo a break man. This need not be too formal.
Secondly, i will give some reasons as to why Libo says that Richard openly defies his mum.
1. He had enough of her controlling his life.
2. He wanted to show her that his life cannot and will not be controlled by her.
That is all for now.
(P.S. Libo i think you should seriously check your grammar and vocab. There is a "spell check" function if you did not notice)
|
|
|
Post by 2alibo31 on Sept 7, 2008 6:00:30 GMT -5
yeah keith i agree with you man. i totally agree with keith in supplementing my point earlier. gd job! but are the 2 points the same? we all know that richard did not do what his mother wanted because he wanted to get out of her control. however, we need to take into account that what he does were of his own interest(not attending the cambridge and went to help mr green), which conflicts with his mother's expectations of him. that may be another factor you guys want to consider. farewell for now... libo ------------------------------------- open defiance-5 demerits xD
|
|
|
Post by messyhair on Jul 23, 2011 5:45:47 GMT -5
I guess Richard just wanted to get away from his over-protective mother. He felt asphyxiated by her and wanted his freedom. He was also insulted when Emily said 'I should have h**ged myself first before having a son like you' (quoted from book) and thus he committed su*cide to make his mother remember what she had said to him, and to make her to regret for life, tormented by this day and night.
|
|
|
Post by Sofia Ng on Sept 28, 2014 2:04:53 GMT -5
Okay, guess I will be an outsider here, because I don't belong to your class or whatever and this thread was started in 2008. Nevertheless, I will post my thoughts here in hopes to help all students who need help with Lit, Richard's character in particular.
Richard? Defiant? Maybe.
But I have found Richard to be a very submissive and filial son. He NEVER goes against his mother, but I guess that when he went to England to pursue a subject he had no interest in, he finally cracked. But then again, if he had cracked, wouldn't he have said something when Emily confronted him? He did fight for his passion, but judging from the way Emily responded, he didn't talk about Em's domineering nature. It striked me as very odd.
It is my belief, rather, that Richard hung himself because of his rather... delicate nature.
Think about it: Richard had two choices. One, he could go back to Singapore and admit defeat, where he would be chained to an extremely controlling mother and trapped in a job that he had absolutely no interest in. Or, he could choose to stay in England and wait for the entire plan to crash down on him.
I think, honestly, that Richard killed himself because of his pride and pessimistic nature.
You might, then, ask me why Richard refused to follow his Mother's instructions in England. Richard was away from his parents for the first time! He could do and say whatever he wanted and he would never face Em's direct wrath. He was FREE, and we all know that freedom does not always equals to the most filial son. He probably felt exhilarated, and obviously, with no Emily around, he was allowed to slack for as much as he wanted for as long as he was in England.
Hope this helped everyone.
xoxoxo, Sofia
|
|
|
Post by hogohnoh on Jun 9, 2015 9:13:41 GMT -5
Hi
|
|
|
Post by gunggengleng on Jun 9, 2015 9:19:40 GMT -5
hi nice thread
|
|
|
Post by AhriellePLMGSS on Nov 11, 2016 0:48:38 GMT -5
Hi, i'll be doing Emily. So, I feel that Emily wants control over the situation and her husband and Richard because of her upbringing. In the story it says that when her father died, her mother was going to leave and she pleaded with her mother to bring her with her. Instead she was abandoned and was dumped with her relatives. I feel that later with Richard, she wants to bring him under her control for the fear of him forgetting about her and leaving her. The same with her husband. . .she is fearful that he will leave her for Diana and therefore tries to bring him under her control. I think the character of trying to take control kicked in after she could not control her mother to take her. From then onward, she feels that if she is not able to take control of the people she loves, they will just slip from her grasp. For example, Keong and Diana and Richard and his love for horses. THANK YOU!!!
|
|
|
Post by kbh on Nov 11, 2016 0:51:54 GMT -5
n v k
|
|