Literature Entry Week 10- Innocence
Initially, I found Under Milk Wood to be a very difficult text, and I was at a loss for what significance it had to our study of both drama and 20th Century Literature. However, in this case, my Tutorial was a lifeline. After hearing an excerpt on tape (which Nikki brought in), I realized how very different it was when listened to aloud. After all it is called ‘Under Milk Wood- a Play for Voices’. Now the stream of dialogue flowed, from one unfinished piece of dialogue to the next, quilting a story which uses the subconscious of its characters to illustrate the “vision of innocence” mentioned in the Introduction. Still, however, the question needs to be answered as to how exactly it is drama. The obvious answer to this question is the presence of dialogue. Moreover, although this dialogue may appear simply as a stream of consciousness from Thomas, are in fact carefully structured; the result being lines which compliment one another- working towards a whole story (as mentioned above). This is very effective, as it establishes that none of the characters can exist without one another.
The overall message which I got from the play, however, was the importance of the seemingly petty. It is not necessary for us to be high brow all the time, we are also allowed to be silly- this is what makes us human. It is this innocence which Thomas is proving still exists within man. The everyday quirks which make us unique prove that we are human. Contextually this is a response to the vast inhumanity which Thomas himself witnessed during WWII.
I think that this is an important message for us all today.
Ignorant Innocence
In my room I sit, unmoving. I have been here a long time. I’m not thinking about time. I’m thinking about nothing but the milkshake which sits in front of me. Flashed back to a time, when a Super Dooper Milkshake was my first choice of drink. When I had nothing to care for except the next time I’d get to skip rope with my cousins. When the next social outing for me was Christmas with my family.
It’s today, and I’m worried about where I’ll go tonight, what I’ll wear tonight, what I’ll drink tonight.
But not in this moment. In this moment I am the 4 year old with the milkshake, knowing everything but understanding nothing. Ignorant to atrocity, aware only of my family and me.