- I'd like you to try to describe what you expect to see when you see the play performed.
- Why are scenes 9 and 10 formatted differently than the rest of the play?
- In 10 when Blake shoves himself away from the computer why is he shivering? Why is it significant that the last word is "Mom?"
- What happens in the last scene?
- Why is it significant that the parents appear as zombies?
Welcome to the blog for Prof. John Talbird's English 220 class. The purpose of this site is two-fold: 1) to continue the conversations we start in class (or to start conversations before we get to class) and 2) to practice our writing/reading on a weekly basis in an informal forum.
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Finishing Neighborhood 3
As we finish up the play this week, I'd like us to consider the following questions:
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I feel like the change of format signifies how the children are effected in reality by their actions in the game. It creates a parallel of real and fake. Zombies are a metaphor for maybe for the cliche association of zombies eating the living or brains is supposed to mean how the parents suck the life out of their children. Zombies are mindless creatures which is probably how the kids view their parents.I think when Blake says "Mom" it is his reversion back to childhood. Children are concerned with growing up it seems like and not being submissive to their parents but at the point Blake realized what if his mom really was not there. In the game Blake kills his mom and it almost feels like a question. Like you complain so much and you disregard her so much but would you really be able to rid yourself of your mom.
ReplyDeleteScene 9 and 10 are formatted differently then the rest of the play because this where in the story everything kind of wraps up. Before only dialogue was important because it was just concern and character development throughout the story, now the setting was important and what was happening around the characters were important as well not to mention the mom joy had to move up and down the stairs to see what was going on and also to check in on blake who was in a completely different part of the setting which was a house/2 floors. Hes shivering because he realizes the game is coming to life and he it ends with mom because he was in a empty room which means his mom disappeared so he was no longer in his room in actuality. I think its significant that the parents appear as zombies because none of the parents actually played the game so if the end was what I thought the kids going into another world. The parents could not have been there or they were all murdered in real life due to being zombies in the other world (the game world).
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest things I'm curious about is how they're going to stage the play and how they'll distinguish between the first 8 scenes and the last two. It seems that Haley wants these scenes performed differently or staged differently and so I'm curious to see if the production does or not. I'm also interested to see if there are only four actors performing all the parts.
ReplyDeleteThis play also raises the interesting question of Why zombies? What do zombies signify for us? Why are they such a major part of American culture? What do they mean in the play?
I expect to see exactly what i read in the play. As i read this play, i saw images in my mind right away. I got a lot of imagery very quickly. I like when i get he imagery right away because it's interesting to me and as i get ready to see the play i expect to see the scenery the same way i see it in my mind. I also expect to see the characters fit the role as they are in my mind. Although, I wont probably see the way i saw things as i read the play, I am looking forward to how different it will look so i can see the difference of what i picture compared to on stage. I think scenes 9 and 10 are formatted differently because the last complete scene in 9 seems to be the exact role play of how the game works. In the other scenes through the other conversations, the conversations were based on the other teenagers and parents of the teenagers talking about how the game actually worked and some characters went missing, in the conversation with Blake and Joy, there was full proof. Blake and Joy's scene seem to show more of the realization of the game.
ReplyDeleteWhen Blake shoves himself away from the computer and is shivering, it is clear that he has finally come to the realization that the video game mixes with actual reality. He's petrified of what he has done to his mother. The fact that he calls for her using the name Mom at the end signifies that he really is just a child that was caught up in this game. He is weak and vulnerable and
ReplyDeleteWhen I see Neighborhood 3 performed I expect to see and obvious difference between whats real in the play and the scenes from the game. The walkthroughs are glimpses of the actual game. Therefore, I expect there to be more of a gory or uneasy setting. While the other scenes should appear normal or resembles the typical suburb with houses that look like. I also expect for the characters attitude change according to the scenes. For example, in the walkthroughs the characters should be more engaged than usual. However, the other scenes the characters are uninterested in the real world and only get excited when talking about the game.
ReplyDeleteThe scenes 9 and 10 are formatted differently than the rest of the play because there is a clear separation between reality and the video game. Throughout the play scenes from the games are walkthroughs and the other scenes are reality. Whereas, in the last scenes Blake either become confused with reality and the video game or is so taken up with the video game that whats happening in real life no longer occurs to him.
I expect the play to not be exactly the same as the book since a lot of the times when someone brings words/book etc, to life, they're similar but have a lot of differences. I do expect to see the same characters, and I think the play might actually be a little more "serious" than how it is in the book.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the ending bits of the book from scenes 9-10 were confusing. Even the ending, how it ended. I think so many things can be put into that scene to try to put it together. After watching the play, I think a lot of the confusion will be clarified.
After reading the book and seeing the play it was surprising the same. I understand what you meant when you said after reading a book and seeing if come to life that its different but this play is exactly like the book.
DeleteI feel like in chapter 09 he realized that the game was real specially when his mom told him about barbera being kill in the front of their home. But then when his mother went to give him a hug he thought he was still in the game and this is when he kills thinking that she is a zombie and gets back to the computer. After he gets back to the computer he calls out for his mom, thinking that she is still alive and see's the empty room making him realized that he actually killed her and everything that was happing in the game was real.
ReplyDeleteI think scene and 9 and 10 is formatted different because they final reached the final house. The house that everyone has been trying to reach. No1 know whats happens at the finally house until they get their and when they get their. The see thats its actually their home. Blake is shivering because he realize that he wasn't in a game, everything he did was real. He killed Barbara because he thought he was in the game. When he mother told him that Barbara was found dead outside on their lawn, he started putting the pieces together. Blake saying the word "Mom" brought him back to reality. In the last scene Blake killed him mom after she reentered his room with the hammer that he left on the steps from killing Barbara. I think the parents are zombies because in real life the kids are zombies because their addicted to the game. In the game the kids see the parents as zombies because in real life the parents are addicted to something.
ReplyDeleteI think Blake is shivering because he comes back in to the realization of reality and because the game is exactly like the neighborhood he lives in and the characters int he game that are part of the neighborhood come to life makes him snap out of the game and freaks him out. When he lasts says "Mom" i think it's also because he comes to a realization of the relationship he has with his mom and realizes the way he treats her. I think because he knows how he treats her and she is the one to do everything or him, he kind of feels like he's unsure i she is still there and it scares him after sitting there and playing the video game because despite how he treats her, he needs hi mom.
ReplyDeleteIn the last scene, the way i read it, i thought he killed his mom, but after having a different understanding from it, i think it was wake up call to reality.
I think its significant the parents appear as zombies because i think at some point every teenager feels they can relate to their parent being called a "zombie" in a sense parents always have certain ways they want their kids to do things and for the better and zombies kind of eat away at things and teenagers at some point in their life feel that way about their parents.