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I very much enjoyed reading "Bone China". I felt like it was a good read because I was able to relate to their emotions because of past losses in my life. I felt like this piece was sad because the two sisters seemed close and the fact that they lost their mother and then Lainie understanding that she was leaving her love ones behind got to me. One thing that I liked the most about the whole play was the imagery and the setting. I liked how Mavromatis opened up the setting and demonstrating the two sisters reminiscing their past life and their memories they had together. It made me understand that there was this connection they had with their mother and her memory of looking back at things their mother had saved of them. My most favorite of all was how through out the play there was sadness, for example Lainie realizes that she was going to leave her husband and her young daughter and her family and she knew what she was going to face but it was as if she was having some type of closure with her sister and her memories from her childhood house. As if you can understand that this play was going to end in a tragic way but to me I don't think it did. I feel like it demonstrated the way life is, Lainie understood her sickness and she was accepting it and saying goodbye to the things she loved. What I can take away from this play is that i learned through these two characters that life should not be taken for granted, life is so fragile and death can come in an instant. For example their mother who had been killed in an accident, and Lainie 'unexpectedly' had a tumor grow inside of her. Because of all that her and sister see life differently most from others. Others can grieve and have hatred but they did not seem like there was much negativity in their personalities. Despite all the bad things that was in this play, I felt like these characters were very optimistic about life. The dialogue was able to reveal that to me very clearly.
ReplyDelete-Aliza Longoria
It was interesting to notice all of the characteristics we have been adding into our own plays, and being more obvious and understandable in “Bone China.” The movement that took place represented the sisters and their feeling on the situation and their lives. Lainie moves with determination and motive. She is sorting stuff in the attic; her body language seems to represent decidedness and the acceptance of what is to come. She is okay in absorbing in the past. Marie moves with caution, and she seems to also not dive into the things in the attic right away. It’s like she is avoiding the reality of the situation. She stand far at the door, she even avoids the boxes and doesn’t want Lainie spending her time up there. Their was also a representation of this in the way Lainie grabs props and is touching them piling them, looking through things and Marie doesn’t do it with as much eagerness. Lainie also uses a thing of the past, the necktie, to try and bring Marie into reality. Marie tries to avoid it, pushing her away but in the end accepts it. Her final acceptance is in reaching into a box and discovering the teacup and the screwdriver, their means of escape from the locked door. So with props, and movement, disagreement between the sisters you could then see them being brought together to share the moment and not to worry. Another thing was at the beginning Mavromatics has purposely put “Lainie is wearing a scarf on her head” and once you understand she is sick you can fully grasp why. This distinct prop for the wardrobe helps the reader understand quicker, and gives the piece more meaning then just stating the obvious. I also saw a parallel in the way the title and the reference of the tea cups represented the girls. How Marie represents the first cup, bring strong, the rock of the family, and slowly by the end of the play they discover the second cup representing Lainie and her transformation to becoming strong along side her sister. The title makes sense when you put this representation into context. Bone China the strongest glass, the girls have both become the strongest they can be.
ReplyDeleteClaria Buddle
Bone China was a real pleasure to read. I really enjoyed it. Compared to the other plays we have read I felt like this one was very different because even though the setting doesn’t change, the characters, Lainie and Mary, don’t just talk about one thing, they dive into several different aspects of their lives that occur throughout their lifetimes. That is perhaps something that really allowed us identify with the characters and be able to see more of them, causing the audience or reader to get to know the character on a better level. I was a little confused as to how the title of the play tied into the story itself because it was only mentioned briefly at the beginning and then again at the very end. I know what china is but I didn’t see why it was the choice of the title. I know they find one lonely teacup without a companion and then the end closes with them finding another teacup, the “mate” of the lonely one. In way, Lainie might represent the first cup which is alone in the middle of all the stuff in the attic for she is the one who I guess might feel lonely too. More interesting yet was that they found the other cup with the screwdriver they needed to get out of their confinement in the attic which is in loose terms, the solution to the problem. I think it’s a happy story of a good relationship of two sisters who find each other, that together complete the china set. At the end they say “It’s a tea party after all” which I think I have heard or seen in other stories as “It’s a good life after all.” I also briefly thought that all the stuff in the attic was some type of congested setting that reflected the way they were living their lives but then after reading it I felt that the diction was positive and that the stuff was actually encasing their good life memories. All in all, this story was nice, the characters were very pleasant and it was not too simple or too complicated, it was cute I believe.
ReplyDeleteMayra Lopez
“Bone China” by K. Alexa Mavromatis was a great story to read it was different from the others which I liked. To me it was pretty sad due to the situation of the older daughter, Lainie. While reading this play you can see between these two characters, or sisters, how they are honest with one another, I thought it was pretty cute how they would tease each other. It reminds me how me and my sister are with each other. For the setting, I thought it was neat since they were interacting with one another in their old home in the attic, it brings them back into good old memories. While they are conversing with one another, it seems realistic how siblings react with each other. I thought it was pretty ironic how these two characters were having these random conversations or I guess you can say they would change the topic a lot they wouldn’t stay down to just one. What I like about Mary is that she’s trying to get her sister out there, she’s trying to get her out of the attic. As a reader, you can feel what Lainie is going through and what’s scared for herself and her family. She’s afraid of her child not remembering her and leaving both her child and husband behind. Losing a family member hits close to our hearts and many of us can relate to that. It’s hard to cope or deal with the grief of a loved one that’s passed. I lost two family members due to their illness, nobody expects or wants that to happen sometimes life happens that way and we have to accept it and move on. I could also tell that these two characters were both dealing with the unexpected death of their mother it was affecting them in different ways. With the ending, after they managed more hidden treasures and they end up finding another teacup along with a screwdriver to get out of the attic. I was not all in favor with the ending, I was hoping for a happier ending? I wanted more from it. I didn’t really see a closure in the ending. In my opinion, there’s two ways for this to work it can be Lainie getting better/worse or they begin to embrace life and escape the negativity.
ReplyDeleteAndrea Espericueta
Starting from the beginning of Bone China, the toys symbolize childhood and memories. This is also where the “Bone China” comes from; and although it is known to be the strongest, it is a teacup that is originally from a set of six and there seems to be only one. Lainie says it is the sole survivor, also the fact that her little sister Mary would take them, she is surviving sister. Mary was told that she probably threw them off the roof, as if saying that she is wasting her life. Mary is trying to make the best of her days, she sees spending a weekend in an old attic is a waste, but it seems if it were not for the door closing they would not have shared a nice moment together. The door being locked angered the sisters a bit, but after Lainie started to talk more about death and life, bringing the sisters closer because there is no sugar coating. Lainie is straight up how she feels that she is going to die, and she does not want to try to act like it is not there. This is a bittersweet moment, the way that Lainie see’s her cancer. She is against thinking about if there is a heaven, how her daughter is not going to remember her, but she accepts the truth and this is a way that she is not wasting her time left. A way by also going to the attic, they are also able to share their memories with their mother, because it would be their mother that would buy an expensive tea set. K. Alexa Mavromatis reminds me of Ernest Hemingway, in the way that there is much more to her sentences. By the way that she has her character so honest, even glad that their mother is dead, is how Nick Adams (a famous character in Hemingway's short stories) Hemingway writes his stories. It is also another good but sad moment that their mother is dead, because she would not have to see Lainie go through surgery. The teacup being found in the end shows that she may live, or that her spirit will always be with them.
ReplyDeleteSandra Villarreal
Bone China by K. Alexa Mavromatis is a story that gives you an insight on how to deal with the passing of love ones and the passing of future love ones. It’s a sad and very emotional topic to cover but she covers this topic rather in a positive light so that the audience can get something more than just a sad story. The setting and the time of the play made it a great way for the audience and or the readers even for the actors to really get the connection of attachment for the characters in this play. The description of the setting mentioning they are in the attic of their childhood home and the memories of their random stuff laid out around them makes the connection a lot stronger between the two characters. If those little descriptions weren’t involved it would have still been a strong connection but not as deep and powerful because it is their family going through all of this. The action is throughout the whole play so it really gives the reader imagery to play off the words and try to picture exactly what they are doing. This is also key for the actors to play off what the playwright is feeling and why he wants those certain actions in there. The play shows that loved ones passing away don’t have an expiration date on them these types of things can happen at any time and anywhere. The things that are left behind from those loved ones aren’t just random things but they are the memories that are attached to those things. And knowing that the end is near is something that brings you back to thinking about the old times and how they used to be. For these characters’ death is something that is going to happen sooner rather and later and while they have the time to appreciate the smallest and unexciting things in the world you should take advantage of that time. And the play shows that family will always be there looking after their loved ones families to share the memories and joys of that person.
ReplyDelete-Victor Vasquez
Bone China by K. Alexa Mavromatis is an interesting play. My favorite part of the play was the use of an object to represent more than one aspect of the story. I thought that it was done very well, and I really liked how the presence of the object, the bone china teacups, connected to the story, the title, and made a full circle in the play. The bone china i is representative of the sisters' relationship, but that is not all that it represents. One of the sisters comments that bone china is the most strongest of china and that it is a very 'fancy' gift for children, which is one way of alluding to its value and expense. Bone china sets are very expensive and precious. Four piece sets may cost hundreds of dollars; well-preserved antiques may be sold for thousands. They are the kind of items that are passed through the family and are things to be treasured. Like the bone china, the sisters' relationship is very strong and precious, although it might appear to be delicate (especially because of Lainie's illness and Mary's apprehension); but it is also representative of the oldest sister, Lainie. Although Lainie is terminally ill, she is very strong and practical, thinking ahead for her family and knowing the value of how she spends her remaining time. Even though her sister confesses to having kissed an ex boyfriend, Lainie is not angry or upset. Instead, she chooses to tease her sister, and she makes use of the revelation to joke around with her and lighten the mood. It is an insight into her character, although the play itself is short and the audience's time with these characters is short. It provides an almost voyeuristic view into the lives of these sisters.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to the usage of the object, the bone china is also the title of the story. This references both Lainie herself and the relationship between the sisters. I think it is worth mentioning that the word china has the same plural and singular form, therefore the title may simultaneously refer to one and both sisters.
Doris Tolar
I look through "Bone China" through the title first which strikes me curiously. China could be breakable, fragile even and it could also represent memories which are held within objects. It also could represent something that might be used as a prop later on within the story. As I reading through the setting and time, it felt like a Spring Cleaning thing going on. The description of what Lainie is doing is very vivid, I can almost see her packing and throwing objects away. It makes me remember the times when I would clean out my room and I would find things that I had from long ago then, show them to my mom and go on this story of how I got that object. It gives you that sensation of nostalgia along with fondness over the memories whenever you go through things from your past. The bone china does show up rather early, being a tea set for children and it gives me that sense of the fragility of the situation since I assume it's about the death of the sisters' mother. Death is a sensitive and rather painful subject and even more so when it involves a person you have an intimate bond with. Mavromatis writes this within a more optomistic point of view with the bantering of the sisters as they go through the stuff in the attic.
ReplyDeleteThe stories they talk about from their past really makes you feel they actually happened and it gives some insight to the characterization of Lainie and Mary. The next page felt really close to home for me since it does have that older sibling vibe from Lainie that wants to constantly look after Mary. I easily relate to it since I'm the oldest of two children myself, and I'm always worrying about my little brother no matter how old he gets. So, I can really feel that sense of wanting to protect her sister and constant concern from Lainie. Their banter is perfectly normal, almost amusing for siblings since that's how me and my brother often argue. You can feel their closeness through the arguing and teasing remarks as well.
The way the play ended was somewhat playful and sort of easygoing despite the conversation the two girls were having. All in all, it was a wonderful play and I enjoyed it.
-Alexa Rodriguez
Overall this play was pretty good, was a little confusing reading the first time, but rereading it really helped. I recently lost my grandfather, he lived with us for three years before he past, he has been gone for over a year, and I can relate to the emotions of these two characters. There was a part in the beginning where Mary asks “Isn’t that really good?” and Lainie replied “It’s the strongest”, I looked up what Bone China is, it looks really nice but delicate. To me I think the title represents the love towards the mother, it could be the strongest china, but it is still very delicate. To me, this doesn’t feel like a play though, this feels like it is in a young adult novel. Also, with their mother passing away from a drunk driver, the family really didn’t not prepare for her death, so it must have been really hard for them. For me, my grandfather had been sick, so it was kind of expected, just he went a few years too early. In the middle of the play you find out Lainie has a tumor where the doctor really thinks is really bad, so now she is worried about her kids not having a mother in their life. The kids will not know their grandmother and their mother which is really hard, because you need them in your life, especially when you’re at a young age. The play really makes you realize how short life really is, the mother died a few years prior to this scene, so she must have been between her 40’s or 50’s, she lived somewhat of a full life, but with Lainie, she is twenty-nine and she might be dying soon. Life is so fragile and can end at any moment, like the Bone China, it is so delicate can break if handled incorrectly, but it still so beautiful, and worth a lot more than what people perceive it to be.
ReplyDelete-Roberto Rodriguez
Starting from the beginning of Bone China, the toys symbolize childhood and memories. This is also where the “Bone China” comes from; and although it is known to be the strongest, it is a teacup that is originally from a set of six and there seems to be only one. Lainie says it is the sole survivor, also the fact that her little sister Mary would take them, she is surviving sister. Mary was told that she probably threw them off the roof, as if saying that she is wasting her life. Mary is trying to make the best of her days, she sees spending a weekend in an old attic is a waste, but it seems if it were not for the door closing they would not have shared a nice moment together. The door being locked angered the sisters a bit, but after Lainie started to talk more about death and life, bringing the sisters closer because there is no sugar coating. Lainie is straight up how she feels that she is going to die, and she does not want to try to act like it is not there. This is a bittersweet moment, the way that Lainie see’s her cancer. She is against thinking about if there is a heaven, how her daughter is not going to remember her, but she accepts the truth and this is a way that she is not wasting her time left. A way by also going to the attic, they are also able to share their memories with their mother, because it would be their mother that would buy an expensive tea set. K. Alexa Mavromatis reminds me of Ernest Hemingway, in the way that there is much more to her sentences. By the way that she has her character so honest, even glad that their mother is dead, is how Nick Adams (a famous character in Hemingway's short stories) Hemingway writes his stories. It is also another good but sad moment that their mother is dead, because she would not have to see Lainie go through surgery. The teacup being found in the end shows that she may live, or that her spirit will always be with them.
ReplyDeleteSandra Villarreal
In Bone China, by K. Alexa Mavromatis, Mary and Lainie play both protoganist and antagonist. Each have a desire dependent on the other’s perspective and attitude that revolves around the ultimate death of Laine. The mysterious condition of Lainie is the objective correlative putting the play forward. Additional objective correlatives are the bone china tea cups and the screwdriver. The tea cups serve as an analogy between Mary and Lainie. Now we go into the different desires of each character. Mary seeks to appease the last weekends of Lainie by offering to take her for a walk or a movie. Lainie, on the contrary, wants to remember childhood memories. While Mary’s motives are clearcut, Lainie’s motives of reminiscing are left to interpretation. However, further down, the reader learns of Lainie’s fear of not been remembered by her fairly young daughter. Lainie could have internalized this fear and connected it with the recent death of her mother. In retrospect, by going through the boxes filled with objects of their childhood, Lainie’s mother could possibly be remembered. Such is conjecture although. Mary, who initially did not want Lainie to be looking back and digressing, did not want her to continue looking. Then, as Lainie became more susceptive to helping Lainie down memory lane was another tea cup found. The first tea cup was no longer the only one in the set, and parallel, Lainie was not alone anymore remembering. The screwdriver makes a more gruesome connection as Lainie is still “screwed” with her condition. The screwdriver literally puts it into words.
ReplyDeleteThrough this negotiation of desire, I would like to argue that neither Lainie nor Mary are the sole protagonist or antagonist. Rather, depending on the perspective the reader inclines himself to reveal the position of the character. If the reader is inclined to Lainie’s story of how she will come to terms with her condition then she will become the protagonist. However, if the reader shifts perspectives to how Mary helped facilitate Lainie’s exploration in the attic and how she moderates her then she will become the protagonist. Once again, the ending of two cups rather than one serve to point the multiplicity in primary characters.
-Alejandro Sanchez
Bone China is a pleasant dialogue between two sisters that I enjoyed since it had many emotional twists throughout. On the one hand, there is the fact that the main characters’ mother recently died that sort of casts a pall over the whole play. Next we have reminisces from their childhood that sort of draws us all into that tender space between innocence and nostalgia. Soon another weird dilemma comes along: one of the characters, a twenty-something has some kind of sickness but we don’t know exactly what except it must have been grave by the way they speak of it.
ReplyDeleteThe plot soon thickens by an action when we find out the girls have been locked in the attic. The audience must therefore bare it out along with them as they share their sadness and insecurities about the death of their mother. Next one of the girls brings up the death of Grandpa Jack’s funeral. This play is dripping with death the way dew drops from a flower’s pedals, or tears flow down a mother’s cheek for the pain of her children.
Then the play takes a dramatic turn with the introduction of a little teenage infidelity prompting one of the girls to violently apprehend the other. Finally, we get relief when they discover a way out of the attic, and we the audience get a way out of this play, a way out of their heads, a way out of their grief. It’s been… sad? real? horrible?
The audience won’t be excitedly discussing the limitless possibilities of our two heroines as they quietly creep out of the theater, heads down, parents holding their children especially close while their little ones begin to wonder what it was all about. It’s over. The play is a catharsis of sorts and the audience must face death along with the playwright and actors. We’re left holding the bone china from our yesteryear, something dredged up from the coffins we placed way in the back of our minds. There will be no tea flowing here, no festive dance of death. We walk the earth, that somber realm between Heaven and Hell, treading through the dust that comes and goes like so many joys and so many aches, so much to say and so much left unsaid.
Elizabeth Barham
There is definitely an air of death in “Bone China”. It seemed to me as that everything was rather rushed. In addition to that people were dying left and right. The play has a very constricting setting, being stuck in an attic, and it would seem as though the story’s main focus lies not on the fact that Lainie’s disease is dangerous, but that they are in an attic. However, there is a sense of sincerity as well with Alexa’s piece. I think that some people can relate to what’s happening in the play and the dialogue rings true. I think it has the potential to be a full length play, but of course that’s not for me to decide. As aforementioned, there the language utilized sounds so much more like a conversation one would expect to carry in real life. And while the subject in regards to “Bone China” was in fact very dramatic, it was very casual, which I really appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThere are also noticeable shifts in this play, where we or at least I assumed it would be primarily about the death of Lainie’s mother, until of course focus is shifted from that to the predicted death of Lainie, based on a medical diagnosis.
Through the use of dialogue Alexa succeeded in fleshing out the characters. Lainie and Mary, the story’s main characters are indeed very close sisters. They tend to bounce off each other rather nicesly as one is optimistic and the other a worried wife and mother. The dialogue as well made good use of foreshadowing Lainie’s life threatening cancer. I didn’t need to be a seasoned literary investigator to discover that truth before the mentioning of a tumor.
Lastly, one can go so far as to say that aside from a physical tea party, there was a metaphorical one as well. Thought provoking, “Bone China” was sad. Each situation have us a little background on the family and both sisters and asks us the hard questions about our own lives. There’s a sense of closure in this piece as they sift and sort through their old stuff.
-Lucas Zamora
I loved “Bone China.” It just came across as so organic and I really found myself caring for the characters, which is difficult to do with such a small amount of text. I felt as if I knew them personally just from their conversation and their actions, especially how they play around with the scarf. It was a very thought-provoking piece in multiple ways. For example, the numbered weekends and what to say to a child when someone they care about is going to die. What exactly do you do when you know you are going to die? Go all out and tour the world and spend your last dime? Spend it with loved ones even if it’s just rifling through old belongings? What about the immense feelings of guilt about leaving people behind to live without you and clean up any messes you may have left during your time alive? Is it ok to patronize children by telling them a loved one is sleeping and not really dead? Or is it necessary at that age so they can digest it better? I do wonder about the significance of the bone china. I like to think that the fact they found the teacup means Lainie will somehow survive as bone china is, according to them, the strongest china there is. Or maybe it means she’ll find the strength to handle her situation with grace. The only thing I didn’t particularly like about this play is how they explain the mother’s death. It seems too straight-forward and makes me feel like I’m being spoon fed. Granted, this is a short play and there isn’t much time or room for lengthy hints or explanations but I feel like the sentence, “…a drunk guy crossed over the center line and that was it,” could have been formed better. Maybe something like “We couldn’t plan for it—drunk drivers have no schedule…” or something like that would have gotten the point across without it seeming so juvenile. Other than this small hiccup, I think it was a great piece and one that can really have a lasting impact when performed by capable actors.
ReplyDeleteJessica Rodriguez
This play was incredibly sad and heartfelt. There were so many elements that came together to really bring you into the situation the sisters were dealing with. They had already lost their mother in what appeared to be an auto accident and now one of them, Lainie, seems to be going through a battle with a brain tumor. There are a lot of heavy topics running through this play, but you read the story with ease. You feel the pain and fear these characters face. You understand their grief. This is what makes the title significant to the play. China in general is fragile and precious. It is often put in showcases on display, but bone china is one of the strongest. I found Lainie’s realistic view of what is to come as a sign of strength. Life is fragile, it is precious and hers was possibly ending but she stayed strong like bone china. The relationship between the sisters is strong and Mary appears to have taken on the burden of being the family caregiver. Again, she may be stressed and fragile but she continues on because she knows her family needs her. My own daughter’s name is Sarah, and it struck a chord within me when she was talking about what her daughter would remember about her once she was older. I honestly could not imagine how I would handle being in that situation. I have a friend dealing with tumors right now and deciding on the route she would take and is preparing her family for the worst outcome. She also has two young children. It is a scary thing when you have time to plan or are expecting death. You don’t know when it's coming, it can be fast, it can be slow and painful but you know it's coming. While the content of this play was bleak, I found it heartwarming to see these two sisters bond and share their worries. Things like that are never easy. Over all the play is easy to read, as it feels like it is a fairly modern setting with things we can all relate to. The sisters language is believable and easy to follow. While there does seem to be a lot of shifting in the action, I think it is necessary to make it believable.
ReplyDelete-Diana Zepeda
After reading “Bone China,” I can’t help but get chills. K. Alexa Mavromatis creates an emotionally driven play, and the audience is able to sympathize with the sisters in crisis. The setting Mavromatis decides to use is an attic, and for one, it is not a very lively place. In fact, the play unravels death everywhere. Mavromatis introduces a conflict right at the beginning at the mentioning of the character’s mother, and the audience’s attention is grabbed in a reverent manner. The playwright’s word choice in the dialogue was key for the development of the drama, and the actions that followed the dialogue felt natural. Through the characters’ conversations the audience is able to notice that Lainie and Mary are closely attached and each are experiencing afflictions.
ReplyDeleteIf I could use one line that wraps this play is when Lainie says, “I was growing life and death.” When I re-read this play, I thought about how Lainie was still growing life as she was able to spend time with her sister, but also how death slowly approached after each second. Once they were locked inside the attic, it became easier to speak about their issues. As the older sister, Lainie is preoccupied with a negative diagnose that might take her life, her family, and her marriage. The characters reminisce their mother’s death and they also discuss the death of an older relative back when they were small. Nevertheless, the playwright includes comic relief which works perfect in the context of their dialogue. A great example is when Lainie state, “My tumor- the one with the long-ass name I still can’t pronounce right.”
Clearly, Mavromatis is trying to get a message across, and I think it is that death visits without notice, it is unpredictable. The playwright also includes an important symbol by placing the old boxes in the attic. Perhaps, these resemble the memories that were stored and are now being exposed. The china teacup set, in particular, was the one I felt really did the job. The tea set initiated the characters’ conversations and also ended them. Throughout the play, the sisters are able to have a “tea party” and open up to each other. Thus, Mavromatis challenges the reader and the audience to see how fragile life and family is. Overall, there is a solemn atmosphere created through the setting, the character’s dialogue, and the symbols.
- Julio C. Manzano
Reading “Bone China” by K. Alexa Mavromatis I enjoyed the sister bond that she produced in this play. The begging of the story when the sisters talked about who broke the “Bone China” tea cup reminded me of my own childhood memory. I was in elementary and my sisters were there to witness me flying through the halls with a blanket and I accidently knocked over one of my mom’s tea cups. That moment was so terrifying, which brings me back to the play because I enjoy when readers can relate to the story.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was early to mention the title of the play, but I appreciated that the end of the play reintroduced the title. From the sisters drama to a happy ending I enjoyed the read overall. We hear enough drama throughout life so I did not mind that the issue was rushed off. I am sure that people in the class are not going to enjoy the happy ending because they are going to think it was a cheesy ending, which I understand because of the title relation, but many people can relate to this story.
What caught me by surprise was when it mentioned the mother’s death and Lainie with cancer. Mavromatis was able to start of the play with a tea cup and go into depth of the families personal issues. That takes creativity to think about wrapping all of this background with a tea cup. If you think about it, that is all it takes to have conversations with a family. When me and my family get together and we recall a favorite memory sometimes the conversation can take a turn for the worst, but then we want to boost up our happiness so we recall something happy. The theme of this play is recall. Even when bringing up about Mary kissing Lainie’s ex is about recall, I thought it was random at first, but when thinking about the theme it flows.
I enjoyed the craft Mavromatis produced, by not giving us obvious cues about the mother’s death and Laine having cancer. Having the play have so many topics, but still relate to each other is what I want to incorporate into my work.
Bianca Salinas
I think that the strong point of this play is the difference in personalities between the sisters and their outlook on the situation that their in. Lainie is accepting of what has happened to her mother and what is currently happening to her while Mary seems to be still struggling to accept the situation. The way that the playwright incorporates these things through their reactions to the things in the attic is really creative and gives the play an interesting tone. Mary doesn't even really want to be in the attic while Lainie is enjoying going through the things of the past. It isn't until the door is shut and they are locked in that Mary is forced to confront her mother's death and her sisters prognosis. It is only then that Lainie even talks about her sickness and the thoughts that she is having about her daughter not remembering her. It is ironic because the sisters are now talking about the grimness of the future to come while they are surrounded by their happy memories. I was thinking about what the title might mean and I think that the title refers to the strength that they have. At first there was only one bone china teacup. They mentioned earlier in the play that bone china was supposed to be really strong. After they have their talk about what is to come and what they will have to deal with, and Mary finally comes to an acceptance of what is happening, they find the second bone china tea cup. I feel like this symbolizes Mary finding the inner strength and acceptance that Lainie has. Over all I thought that this play was a really simple play with an incredible emotional depth below the surface.
ReplyDelete-Erin Valdez
In “Bone China” the audience gets the feel of realism in the play and also how the characters are likable. The two sisters are grown women that are dealing with the death of their mother and also how one of them is facing their own death. They begin to talk about the tumor that is in Mary and also how Lainie thinks her sister should be out and about and having fun with her life. Mary however, has different plans she wants to able to just spend as much as time with everyone she loves. This sense of realism is there because this situation can happen to anyone. Anyone can get a tumor inside their body and also suffer the death of a loved one. The playwright was able to have the audience, both reading and seeing the play, feel for the characters and be able to connect to them.
ReplyDeleteWhile rummaging through their old things and also reminiscing about their past and about everything they had done, including Mary having kissed her sister’s boyfriend, this gives that these girls are believable characters. Usually when young female characters in novels and movies and plays that have cancer, they are portrayed as innocent young girls that have always followed the rules and have never really lived life, however, Mary seems to be any young woman that aged and had fun in her life. When her sister asked if she kissed her boyfriend at the time when she was away, it just shows that she is human and that she does like to have fun with her friend and family.
Not only is this play real and also relatable, the dialogue is what really helps bring the characters to life. Just by what they say, by talking about the past, the past boyfriends, about their parents and many things that passed through their lips, that helps the audience get the view of who these characters are. The dialogue is what was the key to get insight on their personalities and be able to see what they think and how they function through their everyday lives. The playwright was brilliant to do that because usually when an author of an novel writes a book, basically they express the thoughts of the characters through words, but playwrights cannot write just words on a paper, they have to build the scene characters and the right things these chracters have to say.
- Andrea Serrano
I did not enjoy reading Bone China. At least to me, is an emotional story. I slightly relate with the story and nostalgia because of the losses we have had in our family, such as our parents, grandmother, etc. It is sad, and unfortunate for little two year old Sarah, who will grow without her mother. Poor little girl which happens to be my daughter’s same NAME!, and same AGE!....(it got me emotional, and thinking alright!). It is sad Lainie has a tumor and they both have also lost their mother to a car crash unexpectedly. I think this play is very vivid, it is the type of chat you have with family members due to recent or closing life events. I found the play is very warm and sincere. In my family, we are three brothers. We do not have the same type of chat obviously, but we remember our parents life and stories. And we have had similar discussions at similar settings: the warehouse. I believe we strongly relate to the feeling of death that is present, but not in a bad way, but as a feeling of something that is coming, or just occured and you have accept it and cherish the moments we have left. (I am not saying it is easy, we fight and we laugh a lot. but anyway….back to our story). Their father, and the father of Sarah is there, which is good. The play is staged in their attic, and they are going through several pieces of objects with sentimental value. I did not observe any relation to the objects. I thought the objects were bringing just random memories to their conversation. Whatever was brought up during their conversation was more valuable same as spontaneous reactions.
ReplyDelete-Francisco J. Aboytes
Out of the different formats of writing that we have studied and expanded upon in this class, I greatly appreciate dialogue above the rest. Well written dialogue can capture the subtle and exaggerated dynamic of everyday life conversation as well as including insight to the characters themselves.
ReplyDelete"Bone China" - I would say that this dialogue has a great balance of tension and release. The tension between siblings is apparent and believable from the start. I did like how the author did not give everything away about the girls mom dying, Lainies brain tumor, or the struggles of perspective between different people. I wonder if the door locking them in the attic means something more. Are they locked in the nostalgia for the past, trying to make sense of it all through objects that hold value to them? Is this dialogue is about growth? I think there are multiple themes playing themselves out.
Death is a big theme that the author chooses to explore. There are multiple aspects to the theme of death. It can be tragic, inspiring, and humorous. The sense I got from the dialogue was a simple attitude towards death. We all have our own personal feeling and attitudes towards death. It is very real, and because death is inevitable we conjure up ideas to transcend death. People leave objects behind that were special to them or worthless to them. Either way, the things we leave behind are an extension of ourselves beyond the grave, much like the bone china.
- Abran Garcia
K. Alexa Mavromatis’ “Bone China” is the first play from the ones assigned that I…didn’t particularly like. This is not to say that there is something FUNDAMENTALLY wrong with it or anything of the sort, but I found myself not really feeling anything for the play. I DO think that it was a touching story, but overall I felt the story was nothing to write home about. I do think that the characters are fleshed out as I do find myself believing that they are real people, especially sisters. Although it’s a little difficult to truly see myself as one of the characters having this “sisterly” relationship with my sibling because of my own relationship with my brother, I can picture this being how sisters act towards each other. I also do like how the story implies that one of the characters is going to “leave behind” loved ones, especially a young daughter who won’t remember her, as I think that it is a powerful emotion of sadness created from this situation. You can’t help but feel bad for this character as she must live on her numbered days while thinking that her daughter will ultimately forget about her. If I were to describe the theme of this play, it would be the passing on of loved ones. Although we like to think that everything will be ok once we pass on, we must realize that while we are living, it is much more painful. In the play, Lainie describes how her mother was killed by a drunk driver. We are told that their mother passed on in an instant, while her own death will theoretically be a slow one. There is a difference in their “passing” other than the way they die, it also has to do with the mentality. The mother passed on in an instant, so she was unable to live out her last remaining days in peace and partake in some events to satisfy her own life, unlike Lainie. However, Lainie must also live with the looming knowledge of when she will die, meaning that there is a form of guarantee of her death, so she must live every second while knowing this.
ReplyDelete-Pedro Conchas
“Bone China” was a tremendously powerful play. The play is elegant in the way the characters go on dealing with cancer as it presents a nondramatic conversation between sisters. The author hints to cancer early on in the story when he introduces the characters and mentions one of them has a scarf in her head. I really liked the flow in which the conversation moved between them, in a matter of minutes the reader comes to understand two sisters and the conflicts they must face. This play is a lot more nuanced than the straight forward interaction we are lead to believe is happening between the two. Although we get to listen to more of Lainie’s perspective, through the few remarks Mary makes we come to understand how hard her life must be. Lainie as well as Mary knows that she, Lainie, will die but they have already come to terms with it. We don’t know what Mary is thinking, we can only assume what is going on through her head. I liked that the conflict was them getting stuck in the basement and not the cancer since it’s not an issue they can resolve and they seem to be over that, or as over one can be about a life threatening illness. I think this play is really about Mary. Although the play can be interpreted as being largely centered on Lainie, Mary is the one who is demonstrated as being complex and being the heroic figure, if this play has one. She sacrificed years to care for her sister and her father in their time of need. She’s dealing with so much yet shows no sign of resentment or hatred for her father or sister. I’m still perplexed at the meaning of the title. I get that it’s from their childhood but is it supposed to have a deeper meaning? I’m a little frustrated because I have it engraved in my head that a title needs to have major significance or is supposed to add a layer to the work but I don’t see this happening in the story.
ReplyDeleteMaria Fajardo