Summative test paper 2

Some literary texts, although set in a particular place or time, convey ideas that are universal. In what ways i this true in The God of Carnage?

The God of Carnage is a play about 2 set of parents who due to a fight that has happened between their children meet together, which over time reaches to a personal level of conflict, building the tension and aggression in the characters. The play was published in 2009 in France, it has been translated to English and became a popular play. It is set in an apartment in France, where the characters build up conflict through impatience and misunderstanding. The God of Carnage conveys has two universal ideas implemented. Firstly, the idea of parenting being challenging which can lead to misunderstanding and conflict. Secondly, expressing and determining social status through language, action and position in society.

The first universal idea is about parenting being challenging and it can lead to misunderstanding and conflict. The play's origin has a significant amount to do with parenting, because it is about a fight between 2 children where one was hit with a stick and lost multiple teeth. On page 8, there is a conflict starting. "Alain: He realizes what he's done. He just doesn't understand the implications. He's eleven. Veronique: If you're eleven, you're not a baby anymore. Michel: You're not an adult either! [...]". In this quote we can see that there is a difference in perspective on what good parenting is in this particular situation. This has lead to a misunderstanding, thus creating a conflict between the parents. What sticks out in this quote is the irony of Michel's line. He believes the children can not resolve the issue on their own, because it would lead to conflict. He thinks that only adults can do this, whilst the parents are creating conflict over a small matter themselves, showing that they are acting as children. Another example on page 16. "Alain: He ought to do any number of things, madame. He ought to come here, he ought to discuss it, he ought to be sorry for it, clearly you have parenting skills that puts us to shame [...]". In this example we can see that Alain comments on the parenting skills of the other couple. He mentions that their son "ought to do a lot of things" which he is not obligated to do. This created a conflict between the parents, because an insult has been said. These 2 examples show the universal idea portrayed in this play, that parenting can be challenging and could lead to misunderstanding and conflict.

The second universal idea is that we express and determine social status through language, action, and position in society. All the roles at some point in the play mention their job, which creates status. As you can see on page page 8. "Veronique: And what field are you in? Annette: I'm in wealth-management. Veronique: Is it at all possible [...]" The last sentence of this example drifts away from Annette's job. Veronique interrupts Annette and changes the topic to keep her social status compared to Annette, Veronique works as a writer and in a bookstore, thus having a lower status than someone in wealth management. There is also a battle for status outside of their jobs, as we can see on page 23. "Alain: You're not supposed to be listening to my conversation. Michel: You're not obliged to have it in front of me." In this example we can see that Michel is trying to shift the perspective from a financial or intellectual status to a moral or ethical status. This shows the battle for a higher moral status. The examples show that social status expressed through language, action, and position in society is often a large topic portrayed in literary texts such as The God of Carnage, making it a universal idea.

The 2 universal ideas implemented in The God of Carnage are the idea of parenting being challenging which can lead to misunderstanding and conflict, and expressing and determining social status through language, action and position in society. The points that were given were that the parents often create conflict due to impatient insults or a different perspective on the conflict between the children. For social status we can see that your position in society affects your status, as well as your intellectual status during conversations. There is irony in this play related to parenting and social status. Some of the parents believe that the children cannot resolve the whole issue on their own, because it would lead to conflict. They think that only adults can do this, whilst the parents are creating conflict over a small matter themselves, showing that they are acting as children. This is often portrayed in literary works as well through the use of parental issues and social status.