Explain how Churchill uses language to establish a particular character’s identity, class, or social status. First decide on a character, then analyse the specific language selected by Churchill for this particular character. Include direct quotes and dramatic techniques. Remember to consider both representation and identity in your response. Respond in paragraph form.
Chosen character: Marlene
The protagonist in the play; Marlene is an affluent woman who has a high-flying job of being a managing director of the Top Girls Employment Agency. Marlene has achieved immense success for being ruthless, cunning and incredibly strategic in the business world and answers to no man. Throughout the text of top girls its evident that Marlene is more well educated than the rest of the other characters. Marlene uses proper sentence structure and grammar when she speaks, Churchill used this to show the contrast between her and her sister Joyce who are the polar opposite “I don’t see why you couldn’t take my money” Marlene says to Joyce, from this specific quotation we can see how well off Marlene is and how wealthy she is compared to her sister Joyce. It’s almost as if Marlene is flaunting her wealth to Joyce in a condescending manner. Marlene says to Joyce “I know a managing director who’s got two children, she breastfeeds in the board room, she pays 100 pounds a week on domestic help alone and she can afford that because she’s an extremely high powered lady earning a great deal of money.” As Marlene continues to say this to Joyce it can be seen that Marlene is being argumentative and comparing Joyce’s skills of raising “her” child as insufficient in comparison to the woman she has compared her too in this quotation. Its evident that Marlene is implying that she would make a better mother than Joyce would. Marlene is also showing off the many wealthy people she is friends with and associates with. Marlene considers herself superior to everyone else and thereby thinks its ok to be blunt with those who she deems as second class.