FREE ESSAY ON AWAY

AWAY

KRISTY HEWITT 11B
"AWAY" ANALYTICAL ESSAY
Throughout "Away" many characters go through changes, Gwen changes from a nagging
housewife into a sympathetic and more balanced individual. Roy goes from being very
insecure about life to knowing how to deal with his problems and live life as it comes.
Coral, is also very insecure about life after the death of her son, she is longing for
attention and doesn't know how to be around people. By the end of the play she is at
least trying to be social and be around people. 
At the beginning of the play Gwen is a nagging housewife. She is always right, well she
thinks she is anyway. She changes into a more sympathetic and balanced individual. Vic
has showed her to put love, not possessions and status, first. She was obsessed with
orderliness and comfort because of her deprived childhood. This has ruined her
relationships with her husband and Daughter. Towards the end of the play Gwen hears of
Tom's illness (Leukemia) this turns her towards more humane and fitting values. Gwen at
the Beginning: Act 2 Scene 2 "Well do you think they'll pack themselves?" "Do you think
holidays happen on their own?" to Gwen at the end: Act 4 Scene 1 "What do you think of
me? You must hate me? Why do you still bother?"
Roy goes from being in complete denial as he lost his son in the Vietnam War to being a
little more caring and understanding toward others. He doesn't talk to his wife Coral
very much except to patronize her and give her lectures about "snapping out of it" his
insensitivity extends Coral Grief period beyond what it need be. He threatens her with
Electro-compulsive therapy (a physical horror to follow her mental one.) This forces
Coral into total isolation and to run away. By the end of the play Roy is seeking for
forgiveness, as well as love and reconciliation from Coral. (When he kisses her hands.)
Roy at the Beginning: Act1 Scene 3 " I thought I told you to stay in the car!" to Roy at
the end: Act 3 Scene 3 " Coral? Sweetheart? Come back to the party."
Coral was deep in grief at the beginning of the play, her worldview was distorted by the
pain she can not escape. Her husband Roy is of little help, so she turned to others in
hope of their willingness to help. The substitute son Rick and to some extent Tom. The
play "The stranger on the shore" helps express her predicament and the taking of belief
in life that she has found. In the end she is finally reunited with Roy and this changes
her life. She begins to over her grief and live life as it comes. Coral at the start: Act
2 Scene 3 "I don't ignore anyone." To Coral at the end: Act 3 Scene 3 " I like to talk."
Everyone goes through changes thoughout their lives some are noticeable and some are not
so noticeable. Some changes are drastic and some are only minor. You can never know when
someone will change it just happens. We all change at different stages of our lives.