Murray Shisgals The Typists :: essays research papers

The play by Murray Shisgal, The Typists, is about two people who work during their lifetime at a firm, typing the addresses of prospective customers. Through their speeches we see that the play talks about hopelessness, routine and fear of change. Most of the character’s motives are explained through the Freudian concept of superego, or, in other words, the part of people’s psique which is related to discipline, judgment of the society, guilt, pride, self-discipline and self- punishment. In this paper, I’ll make an attempt to illustrate these themes in the play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hopelessness is seen through the setting. At the rear of the stage there is a window and through it the sun streams â€Å"as the play progresses it fades imperceptibly until, at the end, the room is almost in complete darkness.† Apart from the obvious reason, which would be the course of a day, the sun, here, is a symbol of glory, success and faith. We can interpret it by saying that at the beginning of the play, when Paul and Sylvia are still young, â€Å"at twenty-odd years of age†, they still have hopes of a better future. It is shown through Paul’s ambition of working and studying law to guarantee a better living, and Sylvia’s intentions of marrying and abandoning her family. As the time goes we notice only disappointments and attempts to change their lives. These attempts are not successful as they are hopeless, shown by their fear to abandon the firm and conquer a better job. Working in that office is for them the only way of livi ng.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another theme that appears in the play is the routine. Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot explores the same theme. Habit is something that makes us feel secure. It is a guarantee that we will be alive the next day as the present has a succession, which is to wake up next morning and do everything again. Since Paul starts working in the office, Sylvia passes to him her routine. Nothing can be alternated. She tells him: â€Å"strike each key with the same steady rhythm (†¦) don’t move your head, keep your eyes on the material you’re typing†. The steady rhythm to strike the keys, the expressions â€Å"don’t move† and â€Å"keep† refer to lack of alternation and it means routine. Not only this, when Paul suggests to break Sylvia’s habit of having lunch always at 1p.m. and have it at 1:30p.