The Verandah

The Verandah
The play takes place in the summer of 1940 at the Costa Verde Hotel. It sits on a jungle-covered hilltop overlooking the morning beach of Puerto Barrio in Mexico. The play takes place all over the wide verandah of the hotel.

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Theme: Freedom


The next theme is freedom. There is a very significant part in the play where Shannon speaks of the freedom of the iguana, but by interpreting what he says, he is talking about himself.

Maxine: What are you doing down there, Shannon?
Shannon: I cut loose one of God’s creatures at the end of the rope.


He was a man of God and despite all of his troubles he still considers himself one and is finally freeing himself from all the destruction and hardships he has faced during the last few months. The rope to the iguana symbolizes the gold chain necklace he has around his neck, and both were taken off which represents that neither are no longer restrained.

Also, Hannah is a way is now free too. By the end of the play, Nonno dies and she is left to venture away by herself. Of course, the passing away of Nonno is devastating but this also allows her to be free with only the responsibility and obligation to herself. 

5 comments:

  1. My diagram relates to this theme of freedom. I guess what this is showing us here is that everyone has a rope or a chain that that they're to, but we all have to let ourselves loose from it. Shannon had this heavy burden on his back of being a former priest and being charged for rape. But Shannon let all that go and cut himself loose which represents he's a free man, a new creature.

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  2. Is Shannon's freedom completely achieved at the end of the book? he was turned down by Hannah and left with Maxine at the Costa Verdu Hotel, he might have let loose some of his demons but maybe he's to pay retribution by binding himself in a far away place for the rest of his life...felt like this book had a shitty happy ending if you could call it that

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  3. That's true too, he did agree with staying at the hotel to help Maxine run it in the end. He didn't go back to the ministry.

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  4. he didnt go back because hannah rejected him, so therefore the theme of freedom isnt really achieved in the end is it?

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  5. No, you're talking about freedom in another sense. In here it was discussed that he was free of God sort of way. So YES OBSAA!!! He is free.

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