Style Analysis

I.                   Introduction

Style is the way the playwright presents the drama. In this paper there are three short dramas that will be discussed, they are ; “Pregnant Pause” by G. L. Horton, “The Story of The Man who Turned into a Dog” by Osvaldo Dragun  and “Waiting on Train” by D.M. Larson.

“Pregnant Pause” presents a story about the owner of a branch maternity wear shop named Gloria Clark who is her shop being rated by the Regional Manager of the chain (Tad Kramer & Phyllis Dixon). Her store rate is not enough to keep the shop runs (minus 1 point) and it become more difficult when the manager sees her heavily pregnant sales clerk (Megan Jackson). The manager assumes that Megan should be fired because she looks bad as a Ghost of Pregnancy and he certain that Megan makes the rate of the store is falling. Gloria defends her by saying that she work well and the customer like her as well, in addition she says that it is a kind of discrimination to fire her just because she is pregnant. Until the end of play, both of the women and the men are still holding their own opinion.

“The Man Who Turn into a Dog” is story about a man who suffer his life with being a dog to keep survive. He is a poor husband who has a high willingness to work. He has responsibility in his family so he will do anything to earn money. He asked whether there is a vacancy for him but there is no vacancy unless someone died, retired or fired. As it happened, the watchman’s dog died, and he applied to be a dog. He refused to bark and stand on fours but finally he did it to get the job. His wife felt that life didn’t go right bus he kept asking her understand. At the end of the story, he acted like a dog and didn’t care what others said.

“Waiting on Train” present about a ticket window woman, called Verna who didn’t respect with her customers, Kirk and Sue, the business people who are waiting for the train. The play begins when Kirk waiting for the train and he works at his laptop computer, Verna sang a song, badly. Kirk feels disturbed by her and got angry, he came to ask her to turn down the radio and stop singing. After that, Sue (a business woman) came immediately to Verna and asks the schedule of the train. While Sue’s mobile phone rang, Rut (a gentleman called a bum) try to annoy her with his annoyance. He thinks that Sue is God, and Sue very disturbed by him. Sue thinks that was a very noisy while she has an important call. Then Sue met Kirk which they are both having known each other. While they started talking about their business, Verna comes to follow their conversation, but they ignored her. In a few minutes to New Year, they share about their plans and ambitions for New Year. At the end of this story is when the midnight train to Seattle has arrived. Kirk and Sue grab their bag and rush out to the train. While they are running frantically, Verna remembered that Kirk forgot his computer that has been charging in Verna’s area. Then, she tries to turn it on but failed.

II.                Style Analysis

1.1.    Pregnant Pause

“Pregnant Pause” Pregnant Pause takes place in the Gloria’s shop. The place that is being rated by the regional manager of Eleganza Momma. The setting of time is in the operating hours of the shop. There are four characters in this drama. The first one is Gloria Clark, the owner of a shop that a part of Eleganza Momma’s chain. She is a god boss of her sales clerk, and she is smart. As her sales clerk, she is pregnant too. The second one is Phyllis Dixon. He is Tad Kramer’s assistant. He is an ambitious and workaholic business man (all of his life and his time are use for his job and career). The third character is Tad Kramer who is the regional manager of Eleganza Momma (30 – 55 years old). He is the person who will decide whether Gloria’s shop can keep running or will be closed. Like Phyllis, he is a workaholic as well. And the last character is Megan Jackson who is around 20’s. She is Gloria’s heavily pregnant sales clerk. She is friendly to the customer and pays much attention to the customer as well.

This drama does not have plot or plot less, because it is a one act drama and only has one event or happening that is the rating process of Gloria’s shop. The drama is made up by dialogue development each character. Sisterhood mainly to solidarity of powerful man is the theme of this drama. It means even the men are powerful than her, but as a woman, Gloria has the ways to protect Megan from the manager. The point of view of this drama is from woman perspective.

The style of this drama is debating and binary opposition. There are many arguments that could be found in this drama. Both of women and men are still holding their arguments until the end of the drama. This short drama contain social critics and gender differences between men and women.

      

1.2.    The Story of The Man Who Turned into a Dog

A watchman works at night makes the setting of the man who turned into a dog is at night. The place setting is at factory where a watchman dog is needed to protect the factory. The main character of the man who turned into a dog is a protagonist. He will do anything to get money even his wife doesn’t support him. He is asking for his wife understanding that this is the only way to keep survives. The other characters, who support the main character to be a dog, are antagonist. They pushed the main character to walk with four, barking and sleeping in a dog house. The wife of the main character who tells that she doesn’t want to have a dog as a father of her baby is also antagonist. “The Story of The Man who Turned into a Dog” have a double plot where the main plot is plot less.

Poverty leads dehumanization is the theme of the drama. The drama shows us that people especially lower class will do everything in order to earn money and to keep survive. The point of view of this drama is from the lower class (worker class).

The Style of “The Story of The Man Who Turned into a Dog” is story telling because it is a story that told by a friend. It contain social critics about the poor person who have to survive even they have to lose their humanization to earn money.

1.3.    Waiting On Train

The drama takes place at a train station in a overgrown hick town. The setting of time is December 31, 1999. It’s about 11.00 p.m. to 12.01 a.m. There are four characters in this story. Verna is a ticket window woman; she is rude, crude and unacceptable. She gives bad services and little information to her customers; Sue and Kick two business people who are waiting on trains. She also annoys Sue and Kirk when they have conversation. She always wants to know what they are talking about and also tries to follow their conversation. She is also included to people who have no knowledge about technology (she can’t use the laptop computer). Kirk is a business man who wants to be a president of the company he works; he is a diligent man and friendly. He has divorced with her wife but has no plan to have a new wife and kids anymore; at the time being a successful businessman is all he wants. He does not appreciate Verna’s attitude because she gives a bad service when he was waiting on trains.   Sue is a business woman who was waiting on trains. She is arrogant; the important thing in her life is business. She never rest in holiday and waste her time for unimportant things. She is an ambitious woman who wants to be a rich woman that all people in the world know her in order to make her father proud. She also try to never be optimistic about anything because she does not want to be disappointed. She doesn’t think to be a house wife likes her mother because it’s so futile for her and she thinks she cans life without love. Rut is a gentleman who is known bum by some. In the beginning when he meets with Sue he thinks that Sue is God that make Sue was disturb and got angry. He doesn’t have family and house.

There is no plot in this drama (plot less drama), it is only a dialogue development where two business people are waiting on trains and sharing about their life and goals for New Year. They get annoyances and jokes from a ticket woman and a bum while waiting a train until the New Year come. Poor people could be more fun and more relax than higher class is the theme of the drama. The point of view of this drama is from Lower Class perspective.

The Style of “Waiting on Train” is binary opposition. There are so many arguments between the characters in the drama. It is also contains social critics from the lower class to the upper class.

III.             Conclusion

After analyzed the three short dramas, we can find that all the short dramas do not have plot (plot less) and the dramas made up from the dialogue development only. Beside the dramas also contain social critics and use many arguments (debating style)

Beside those similarities the three short dramas also have some differences, they are:

Ø The dramas have different theme. The theme of “Pregnnat Pause” is sisterhood mainly to solidarity of powerful man, but the theme of “The Man Who Turned into a Dog” is poverty leads dehumanization, and the theme of “Waiting on Train” lower class could be more fun than higher class.

Even the contain of the drama is social critics but the authors have the different way to present the social critics. Also the perspective of social critics itself are different between the three short dramas.