Our Country's Good Purpose and Intentions

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Act 1 Scene 1

Purpose -

  • Interduce characters
  • Set the scene of play
  • By having Sideway being flogged, it reveals the theme of crime and punishment for the first time
  • Gives a slight insight into the history and personality of the other characters

Intentions - 

  • Audience to feel shocked at the flogging
  • Feel disgusted and uncomfortable with the language that Wisehammer is saying
  • Pitty for Mary and Arscott/ all convicts' hunger
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Act 1 Scene 2

Purpose - 

  • Introduces aborigine and the idea that they are being invaded
  • Portrays how the 'outsider' views the new convict fleet
  • The aborigine decides to leave them alone - the fleet are a new and scary thing to Australia

Intentions - 

  • The audience should understand how the aborigine is viewing the fleet 
  • It should also leave them feeling slightly confused at how little time the aborigine is there for
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Act 1 Scene 3

Purpose -

  • Shows the role of power
  • Introduces the idea of the redemptive power of theatre
  • Capital Punishment
  • The audience learns that Phillip is intellegent and wants reform instead of death. 
  • Phillip is more humane

Intentions - 

  • The audience should feel uncomfortable and distressed when the officers are discussing flogging and hanging so lightly and the details
  • They should also be left feeling slightly shocked and saddened by the line saying the 80 year old woman hung herself.
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Act 1 Scene 4

Purpose - 

  • Reveals Ralph's selfishness
  • Shows the negative effect that hanging has on the exercusioner
  • Ralph's need for a promotion
  • His thoughts are very disconected 
  • His disgust of the convict women
  • No one likes living in Australia

Intentions -

  • Feel pitty for Harry
  • Feel annoyed at Ralph's selfishness and greed for a promotion
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Act 1 Scene 5

Purpose - 

  • Reveals Ralph's niaveity
  • Reveals they have been in Australia for months
  • Reveals Sideway's love of theatre and wish to be viewed as someone higher than a pick pocket
  • Mary's shyness
  • Dabby's want for them both to be in the play, and play a role similar to herself

Intentions - 

  • The audience should laugh at Ralph's awkwardness around women
  • Become slightly simpathetic for Mary's shyness
  • And annoyed at Dabby's boldness
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Act 1 Scene 6

Purpose - 

  • Reveals Ross' dislike for the play
  • Introduces the characters personalities and how they clash
  • Shows how they all view the convict women
  • Shows Phillip's authority 
  • And view that the play could help them

Intentions - 

  • The audience should find Campbell funny, as he is very drunk and doesn't pay attention, but still chips in to the conversation if Ross tells him to
  • They should get frustrated how everyone has their own personal agenda
  • The should also find the bickering funny
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Act 1 Scene 7

Purpose - 

  • Shows the relationship between Duckling and Harry
  • Harry is very controlling
  • Duckling doesn't like Australia
  • Shows how easily Harry can be manipulated by sex
  • Reveal's Harry's insequrities and quick temper

Intentions - 

  • The audience should feel annoyed at how Duckling is ignoring him, as he is trying to be nice
  • But then they should feel sorry for her when they find how controlling and spitefall Harry can be toward her
  • They should feel hopeful when they finally get somewhere with a conversation, but fed up when he comes full circle at the end
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Act 1 Scene 8

Purpose - 

  • Reveals how much power Dabby has over Mary
  • Shows Mary's personality when she is only with Dabby
  • Shows how guilty and disgusted with her self Mary feels
  • Reveals the rivalry between Dabby and Liz
  • But they all come together in hatred towards Ketch
  • Shows negative implications of capital punishment

Intentions -

  • The audience should feel interested into the lives of Mary and Dabby
  • They should be annoyed at how Dabby basically sold Mary on the ship to get some food
  • They should be entertained by the rivalry between Dabby and Liz and both their need for Mary 
  • They should feel sorry for Ketch
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Act 1 Scene 9

Purpose - 

  • Offers Ketch a way to be part of something
  • Shows Ralph's sexual frustration
  • Both men have problems with women
  • Ralph's lonlieness and 'ritualistic release'

Intentions - 

  • Question Ketch's inocence
  • Sympathy
  • Belief
  • Uncomfortable/ embarrassed by his entrance
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Act 1 Scene 10

Purpose - 

  • Brings understanding
  • Background to characters/ Mary's guilt
  • Power of language
  • Foundation of Mary's choice
  • Mary has no romantic interest in Wisehammer
  • Wisehammer's need/despiration

Intentions - 

  • The audience should feel pitty for Wisehammer
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Act 1 Scene 11

Purpose - 

  • Growing sense of unity
  • Punishment vs reform
  • Chaos of rehearsals
  • Creativity helps
  • The group is fragile
  • Harsh reliaty
  • Development of Ralph and Mary's relationship

Intentions - 

  • Sympathy towards Liz - reveal that she has never been treated with respect
  • Demotivated
  • Sickened
  • Disgusted
  • Frustration
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Act 2 Scene 1

Purpose - 

  • Easily Manipulated
  • Unity
  • Sense of Identity
  • Shows the different experiences/environment
  • Theatre allows the characters to escape their reality
  • Product of society

Intentions - 

  • Feel sorry for Liz
  • Happy at their growing sense of Unity
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Act 2 Scene 2

Purpose - 

  • Ralph wants to give up
  • Phillip becomes a mentor
  • Nurture more than nature
  • Worth and Value of life
  • Phillip has an agenda - boost morale/ distration from lack of supplies

Intentions - 

  • Realise the importance of the redemptive power of theatre
  • Inspired
  • Disapointed in Ralph
  • Comic dramatic change in Ralph's opinions
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Act 2 Scene 3

Purpose - 

  • Duckling's humanity/ concern
  • Guilt/ negative effects of capital punishment
  • Harry's reality is indistinguishable

Intentions - 

  • Scared for Harry
  • Distress
  • Scared for Duckling
  • Pity
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Act 2 Scene 4

Purpose - 

  • Forshaddowing
  • Shows struggle to adjust

Intentions - 

  • Pity for the Aborigine
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Act 2 Scene 5

Purpose - 

  • Ross's control
  • They use the play to express themselves
  • Redemptive power of theatre

Intentions - 

  • Relieved at bravery
  • Depressing end
  • Negative
  • Sickened by cruelty
  • Uplifted by Liz and Sideway
  • Hatred towards Ross
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Act 2 Scene 6

Purpose - 

  • Show science of hanging
  • Calculations
  • Remose
  • Shows Liz's respect for Ralph
  • Feels her words would be pointless
  • Shows they all have no choice
  • Harry gets worse as Ketch speaks
  • Harry never wakes up

Intentions - 

  • Frustration that Liz wont save herself
  • Pity
  • Upset
  • Shocked by end
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Act 2 Scene 7

Purpose - 

  • Aborigine describes everything as apocalyptic
  • Knowledge of Ralph and Mary's relationship has spread
  • They use the words of the play to talk about their relationship
  • Interlectual engagment
  • Redemptive power of theatre
  • Comments on the play's structure
  • Helps them escape

Intentions - 

  • Sympathy for Arscott
  • Proud of their change
  • Conflicted of Mary's choice - heart or head?
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Act 2 Scene 8

Purpose - 

  • Shows how much Duckling loves Harry
  • Reveals negative effects of Capital punishment

Intentions - 

  • Leave audience to be upset
  • May even cry at Duckling's responce to Harry's death
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Act 2 Scene 9

Purpose - 

  • Shows the progression of Mary and Ralph's relationship
  • Uses the play's words to talk
  • Mary's change and confidence

Intentions -

  • Feel content and relieved that they have finally revealed to each other how they feel
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Act 2 Scene 10

Purpose - 

  • Shows how some characters do not want to hang Liz while others do
  • Argue about the effectiveness of the juctice system
  • Liz only speaks up when the play is mentioned
  • Redemptive power of theatre

Intentions - 

  • Hopeful
  • Relieved Liz finally speaks
  • Relieved that other characters are standing up for her
  • Suprised when Liz speaks so formally, showing how much she has grown in her education
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Act 2 Scene 11

Purpose - 

  • Aborigines are dying because of the English
  • Excitement of the play
  • Redemptive power of theatre triumphs over capital punishment
  • Shows that Dabby hasn't changed, because she never got involved
  • Shows their new found hope
  • Most of the convicts want to stay
  • Unity

Intentions - 

  • Feel happy at the resolution
  • Annoyed at Dabby
  • Relieved that it is mostly a happy ending
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Comments

BirssB

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Detailed and an absolute god send!

sam.mawhinney

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Awesome ! thanks

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