In David Mamet's Oleanna, both John and Carol are representitive of actual, real Americans and some of the struggles we all deal with. Carole is the stereotypical mid-college student that is trying her best to get by, but can't seem to ever get a leg up. She takes notes about everything she can in hopes that things will sink in and make sense for her, and even going to her professors for help. Her anxiety and disorganization comes from the way universities stretch its' students so thin on time and energy, most people have trouble keeping up with it. She represents the real life student as opposed to this 'prime example' of a student that universities want all their students to be. I believe everyone should be able to receive higher education, but not everyone is entitled to it necessarily. That being said, if you have the willingness to learn and the ability to pull yourself up, you should be able to get by and get that degree. This is hindered by many factors (having to work to support yourself, enough sleep, a social life) but no student should have to deal with sexual harassment or heckling of any kind, really. This leads me to John.
John is the typical messy, busy professor. Never having enough time to even stand and talk with you, always on the move and looking to the next thing without giving his full attention to the task at hand. Carol changed that. When she comes in he deals with her like any other student, but then changes because he actually cares about her well being. Being the hard, abrasive person that he is, he uses all his gigantic words to try to establish a hierarchy from the beginning. Just because he is up for tenure and has far too many obligations to handle (school board watching him, his wife and their new home, getting to that next step and preparing for retirement) doesn't give him the right to use his tone and belittle both Carol and the school he's working for. He yells, he always cuts her off, which creates a hostile environment for students to be in. "Some say it's a form of aggression. (What is?) ...surprise" This exchange shows that his worldview is that of the bourgeoisie, everything has a place, everything is filed in it's own area and nothing comes out of the blue. Total power and control. This is not the norm in college, at least in my experience, but the main point of all this is to say just because someone isn't from the same upbringing as the 'norm' doesn't mean they are any less capable of learning and becoming a valued member of society. All it takes is some true teaching, instead of this exploitative example of how professors can and do sometimes take their power to the extreme.
Good blog post Brad. I agreed with you when you said that anyone should be able to receive a higher education but you need to work on it to receive the education not just it be handed to you. And it’s true no one should feel as if they are being harassed in any way to receive a passing grade. Your evaluation on John sounds about right, from the vocabulary he uses to the controlling conversations. Good Post
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