“A Taste of Honey” Shelagh Delaney Essay

In A Taste of H iy Shelagh Delaney presents Jo as a junior woman looking for security and grapple. Compare the family affinitys she has with Helen, her beau and Geoff. To what achievement does she find security and delight with each?Shelagh Delaney the writer of the shrink from A Taste of Honey was born on November 25th 1939 in Salford, England. It was in school when she saw her first carry, an amateur performance of Shakespeares Othello. She was only twelve at the meter, and the play made a grand impression on her.When she was seventeen, she began writing A Taste of Honey as a novel only if later dated that it would be a custodyd as a play so it was first performed in 1958, for sure by Joan Littlewood, a famous director of the Political Theatre who strongly believed that plays should be about ordinary people.A Taste of Honey is chiefly about a young working class girl who refuses to correct to her dreary surroundings and dash of flavour.When the play was introdu ced, it was rare to find all(prenominal)(a) of the situations portrayed in whatsoever former(a) plays as the circumstances of each of the characters in the play were polemic and unaccepted by a remiss society.Keeping up the appearances was an important factor in life, and at the time public disgrace was a horrendous situation to be twisty in., so it near became a day to day struggle to h anile differents satisfied with a suit commensurate mortalal image that no one had the remunerate to question. People were often precise prejudiced about affairs bid origin and race, d win onual inclination, promiscuity and sex before marriage. To be twisting in any(prenominal) of those things was a serious act for c erstwhilern from the family and members of the community.At the time people were very religious and strict with regards to homosexuality, promiscuity and sex before marriage, in households from the 20th century, there was rarely a determined back mentality when these s ituations happened in the conventional life of an ordinary psyche. It was very common for a youngster to be involved in any of the above, as the senior members relied on their traditional customs and philosophies and took a business deal of make do in their all move.Ironically this play doesnt go on along very concerned with all the issues that emerge from that society, and casts it a ofttimes more(prenominal)(prenominal) rebellious and interesting play to watch.However interesting it was, non everyone concur with the content of the play, as some reviewers confessed that this was the first play they had travel ton with a slanting person and a homosexual man.Jo is a 15-year old girl who counts to invite been unfortunate in life ascrib adapted to the circumstances that we see her in at the pioneer of the play.By the focus of life she leads, we learn that she is non happy or satisfied with herself or with her only relative, her mystify. She displays inappropriate doings for a teenr of her time, I shamt owe you a thing. By registering this we learn that she has particular respect for Helen and is very yon from her, she too sounds angry and frustrated because she knows she deserves practically more and also because Helen has non been a proper mother to her in any way.Something else, which we are capable to see from Jos lifestyle, is that she is frequently exposed by her mother, to divers(prenominal) men glide slope in and out of Helens life. The best example is Peter, a close friend of Helens. This is evidently an unsuitable environment for a teenage girl, and pretendly shows that Helen is non very concerned about the image she is creating in Jos mind. We dope conclude that Helen is not only cosmos a terrible example for little girl Jo, but also is offering no security in the sense of stable human relationships that can benefit Jo in a good way. Helen doesnt stand firm in preceding of Jo and by inviting men into her house, sh e is loosing all sense of respect for herself and most importantly, for her daughter. Its almost homogeneous Helen and Jo are friends who take boyfriends in for intimate relationships.At the start of the play we learn that Helen has a strong drinking paradox, drink, drink, drink, thats all youre fit for. You make me sick. Jo is directly affected by it, as she has to co-exist with this habit in Helens life. We know that she clearly dislikes it and mentions how her mother isnt good for anything else apart from drinking. This can represent the way Jo feels, since the time she started to realise her mothers dilapidated treat you make me sick, Jos frustration has become so great that she has started to hate her mother for universe such(prenominal) a bad parent. By mentioning thats all youre fit for Jo tells us that Helen has been a total failure in every aspect of motherliness and wasnt able to demonstrate even the smallest target of care and affection for daughter Jo.Perhaps Hele n mentation that alcohol could process alleviate the pain of not being able to be a good parent and offer fill in and security to Jo. But once again we see that Helen makes the wrong choice and whitethornbe un cognizantly office not realise how much this is also affecting Jo.This drinking problem is once again an appalling example that Helen is transmitting to Jo, as she faculty think its acceptable to drink in order to ease the pain and attempt to sort out problems infra a more relaxed but less rational approach.Some readers may think that at the point of Helens response to Jos comments about drinking, she is altogether under the dominion of alcohol, and responds in a cynical way, Dont righteous stand there shivering bewilder some of this if youre so cold. My re natural action to this answer was of utter amazement as I am unable to believe the extent of Helens brutality and stupidity. She has clean been told by Jo how much she dislikes the habit and still persists on ac ting irresponsibly and offering an intoxicating drink to her underage daughter. She should confirm been a little more considerate and ruling of a more reasonable issue to Jos request. This once again leads us to believe that Helen is offering Jo no security, or protection in any way.Unexpectedly Jo enquires about her go unspoilt as her mother is getting ready to marry peter. As she is not pleased with what her mother responds, she declares her as a liar You liar look at me. This response was obviously generated from the way Helen answered Jos question, which evidently wasnt tactful or sensitive. Until this point we learn that Jo is unaware of who her capture is, and this sort of conversation appears to be a serious issue betwixt mother and daughter. Jo seems to feel resentment towards her mother, by the way she says you liar. By hiding this important piece of information to Jo, I believe that Helen has disrespected her daughter in various aspects.Jo as being the product of an intimate relationship between Helen and the man in question is in her full right to demand respect and to know who her progenitor was.This reveals sort of a fold about Helens personality, as she demonstrates cowardice at the single thought of facing her daughter and telling her the truth about her origin.When Jo says look at me, it becomes clear to us, that she has to prove or disprove her mothers silver dollar with a single glance at her eyes. Jo is not entirely sure of this answer and proves to us that she does not trust her mother in her reality and actions.Helen and Jo go by an uncharacteristic relationship because its not one of mother and daughter do neither a friendly one. They just dont seem to be able to understand each other as such and therefore study lost all vernacular respect and affection, simply because Helen is far too selfish to give up her way of life to ultimately benefit her daughter and herself. Its like theyve swapped roles, Helen being the daughter and Jo being the mother, one more responsible and conscious than the other.Jo acts like an adult in many ways, as she shows a clear disapproval upon her surroundings and her mothers drinking habits, she certainly feels self-conscious at the men coming in and out of Helens life. Youve emptied more bottles d sustain your throat in the last few weeks than I would have thought possible. If you dont watch it, youll end up an old down-out boozer knocking back the meths Jo is warning Helen that if she isnt careful with her habits, she leave alone be alcoholic and drinking illicit beverages meths. Jo sounds like shes wan by her mothers succeeding(a) and has a precautious tone in her voice that makes her sound like a worried mother or wife.At the start of the play, when we meet Helen and Jo, their relationship seems very weak, and doesnt seem to get any better as the play proceeds because of this I can predict that as they dont dedicate commensurate time and effort to form stronger bond s they will not be able to progress and comprehend their individual needs and circumstances.Anyway, its your life, ruin it your own way Helen makes this very strong remark that suggests a very offhanded thought with regards to Jos future.She uses a common tactic that allows her to show a dignified attitude, by offering Jo sufficient freedom to ruin her future and hold her responsible for her actions, consequently saving herself from her daughters commit and pain of failing. This shows how careless she is at offering support in Jos plans ambitions and dreams. In a way this is a very sad thing to do, because not only does Jo lack financial stability, but also crawl in and emotional security.On the other hand Jo is conscious of her mothers intentions with regards to a good life for her. Ruining my life. After all, youve had plenty of approach pattern this blame on Helens performance as mother is sort of serious and is good at describing their relationship in general. This allegati on is also good to prove the fact that Helen has offered no security or love to Jo.However do matters worse Helen accepts this accusation and unconsciously hurts Jo to a deeper extent saying yes, give praise where praise is due, I always say pessimistically she responds with no glimmering of shame at what she has created in Jo, because of her neglectful behaviour.I dont think that during the play their relationship gets to evolve in a positive or a negative way even Helen may start to look at Jo as a woman rather than a girl due to the consequence of her relationship with boy and her pregnancy.In act 1 scene 2 Helen leaves her daughter Jo to go and get married to Peter, which in some way helps Jos emotional state, as it is supposedly the end of a most detest cohabitation, and the start of a new independent life. I believe that this action taken by Helen was by far the best thing she has do to benefit Jo, perhaps unconsciously but for the benefit of twain sides.Helen has been a bad mother because she has neer been able to offer Jo pure and compulsory love, instead she has made Jos existence imperfect and complicated without a reasonable purpose. I am not trying to justify un-motherly conduct, but she probably was never prepared to facet he responsibilities of a parent.It was completely inappropriate form Helen to allow men and alcohol form a barrier between herself and daughter Jo. Nearer to the conclusion of the play Helen returns to Jo, not to rectify her mistakes but only to make matters worse for poor Jo and her baby, I feel that she came back in a mood of pity and not love for a future single mother. However she may see herself reflected on Jo, and may feel is her duty to come to aid her.I feel great sympathy for Jo at the end of the play, because it seems to me that her life is a cycle that repeats itself over and over again. She is lonely even though she is due to have a baby and has her mother with her.Sadly Helen is still an alcoholic, and is poor just as Jo is, which will unmistakeably make the baby suffer because of the circumstances.I also feel that since Jo and Helen have avoided resolving their differences and issues, their relationship will gallop on deteriorating to a greater extent, until they will not be able to interact any eternal as a team or family.Boy holds a fairly important role in the play, as Shelagh Delaney may have used him in order to represent a race and a whole group of people at the time. He is a twenty year old sailor that manages to infiltrate Jos heart and lighten up her life to a certain extent, for a short period of time.The reason why Shelagh Delaney doe not pop the question boy with a name, is because he ends up leaving her and breaking all his made bargains, of returning and marrying her. His role in the play is of a young adult who meets Jo and eventually becomes her boyfriend. He also becomes the father of her baby, even though he is not aware of this.The relationship boy has with Jo is completely different to the ones she experiences with all the other characters, this one is of love and mutual under stand up. I love youbecause you are daft. I believe that the most important factor with regards to Jos feelings and other characters is that perhaps it is the first time she falls in love with someone, and is answered back in the same way.Even though buy offers love to Jo, he certainly doesnt offer much security. This is because he enjoys having caper wherever he goes and is not able to make a promise and keep it. youre the first girl who Ive met who really doesnt care this quote shows that he is someone whos had many relationships in the past, analyses different behaviours, and therefore has gained experience in the subject.I reckon that Shelagh Delaney wants to make the audience judgemental towards boy because of the way his relationship ends with Jo, and leaving to never come back. In my opinion boy only used Jo to sleep with and never really felt anything spe cial for her, this truly shows the type f person he is. The audience may find that he is genuine and safe about his feelings but thus turns out to be insincere and false, however what really damages his image to a higher extent is how he took advantage of Jos naivety and innocence.Geoff is another important character in the play, as Shelagh Delaney may have chosen him to represent the fears, hopes and dreams of a hidden group of people, who were judged by their sexual inclination. He is false a person who provides Jo with a strong friendship and some security that perhaps she took for granted.Geoff is someone who lacks self-confidence and is in desperate search for acceptance security and companionship, he wants Jo to look at him as a man with defects and expects from her as much as she receives from him. They have a peculiar relationship as Jo refers to him as a big sister or a womanly symbol in the house, you are just like an old woman really. You just unfold your bed, kiss me goodnight and sing me to sleep. This kind of remark may have resulted embarrassing for him as he is a male and much older than Jo.Shelagh Delaney is very effective at revealing Geoff qualities, by telling us the large amounts of efforts he puts into Jos house and the way that he takes care of her, someones got to look after you. You cant look after yourself. You would not expect this type of behaviour from a stranger and man in a male dominating society. other good way the reader can see the qualities in Geoff is by comparing him to Helen, who is the total opposite of her and has taken better care of Jo in a short period of time than she has.From analysing Jos and Geoff relationship we can learn that during the time they spend living together they have both been happy and able to co-exist with each other, which is something Helen and Jo were never able to achieve. However there was always this barrier between Jo and Geoff, generated by their different attitudes towards life and ot her issues that revolved around their respective characters.While Geoff was optimistic, Jo was fairly negative and resembled Helens personality to some extent. This factor never really allowed them to enjoy their relationship and their time together to the maximum. I think it would be best if you left(p) this place Geoff I dont think its doing you any good being here with me all the time this tells us that Jo is being honest with him and knows about his need to experience a womans desire to prove whether his inclination towards a men is real.To some stop Jo is a little bit arrogant as she declares that she can be self-sufficient and doesnt need from Geoff to carry on living a normal life. Nobody asked you to stay here. You moved in on me, concoct? If you dont like it you can get out, cant getGeoff is a maternal figure to Jo as he is making a great effort to help her out with the preparation for the coming of the baby something Helen would be more appropriate at doing.I thought yo u changed. Motherhood is supposed to come natural to women he explain this which such patience and care that almost sounds like he has passed through motherhood himself. This maternal figure is very rare and distinctive in the play as he is the only in the play who offers this sort of care and guidance, despite him being a man.Geoff is nothing like Helen simply because they do not share any qualities or even defects. The only way in which he may resemble Helens behaviour is at the end of his role, when he decides to leave Jo and not rebel against Helens prejudices and author to throw him out of Jos and the babys life. just as Helen did, he ends up deserting Jo, and not thinking of the possible emotional crisis she may start to go through.At the end of the play Jo is left standing by herself lonely without anyones help and support to hep afford the conceiving of her baby, and the rest of her life she may still have to live.The mood is quite bleak, grim and dull at this point most o f the relationships between the characters have broken up. Helen has been thrown out of Peters house and longer is she able to enjoy financial stability or Peters company as a husband. I believe none of the relationships in the play were really meant to work just as much as Geoff and Jo would have never been able to coexist considering their different circumstances.Shelagh Delaney may have chosen the cognomen A Taste of Honey because in a way all of the characters in the play find a hint of happiness for a short while, and then just as it came it cursorily diminishes and becomes difficult once again.I believe that Shelagh Delaney was correct in choosing this title for the play because it is indeed a sequence of events that resemble the ups and downs in life and the way one can taste something good but then its taken away. Its never really a invariant patch of happiness throughout, but a constant struggle to keep going as much as possible.