Our Country's Good Purpose and Intentions

Purpose -

• Interduce characters
• Set the scene of play
• By having Sideway being flogged, it reveals the theme of crime and punishment for the first time
• Gives a slight insight into the history and personality of the other characters

Intentions - 

• Audience to feel shocked at the flogging
• Feel disgusted and uncomfortable with the language that Wisehammer is saying
• Pitty for Mary and Arscott/ all convicts' hunger

Purpose - 

• Introduces aborigine and the idea that they are being invaded
• Portrays how the 'outsider' views the new convict fleet
• The aborigine decides to leave them alone - the fleet are a new and scary thing to Australia

Intentions - 

• The audience should understand how the aborigine is viewing the fleet 
• It should also leave them feeling slightly confused at how little time the aborigine is there for

Purpose -

• Shows the role of power
• Introduces the idea of the redemptive power of theatre
• Capital Punishment
• The audience learns that Phillip is intellegent and wants reform instead of death. 
• Phillip is more humane

Intentions - 

• The audience should feel uncomfortable and distressed when the officers are discussing flogging and hanging so lightly and the details
• They should also be left feeling slightly shocked and saddened by the line saying the 80 year old woman hung herself.

Purpose - 

• Reveals Ralph's selfishness
• Shows the negative effect that hanging has on the exercusioner
• Ralph's need for a promotion
• His thoughts are very disconected 
• His disgust of the convict women
• No one likes living in Australia

Intentions -

• Feel pitty for Harry
• Feel annoyed at Ralph's selfishness and greed for a promotion

Purpose - 

• Reveals Ralph's niaveity
• Reveals they have been in Australia for months
• Reveals Sideway's love of theatre and wish to be viewed as someone higher than a pick pocket
• Mary's shyness
• Dabby's want for them both to be in the play, and play a role similar to herself

Intentions - 

• The audience should laugh at Ralph's awkwardness around women
• Become slightly simpathetic for Mary's shyness
• And annoyed at Dabby's boldness

Purpose - 

• Reveals Ross' dislike for the play
• Introduces the characters personalities and how they clash
• Shows how they all view the convict women
• Shows Phillip's authority 
• And view that the play could help them

Intentions - 

• The audience should find Campbell funny, as he is very drunk and doesn't pay attention, but still chips in to the conversation if Ross tells him to
• They should get frustrated how everyone has their own personal agenda
• The should also find the bickering funny

Purpose - 

• Shows the relationship between Duckling and Harry
• Harry is very controlling
• Duckling doesn't like Australia
• Shows how easily Harry can be manipulated by sex
• Reveal's Harry's insequrities and quick temper

Intentions - 

• The audience should feel annoyed at how Duckling is ignoring him, as he is trying to be nice
• But then they should feel sorry for her when they find how controlling and spitefall Harry can be toward her
• They should feel hopeful when they finally get somewhere with a conversation, but fed up when he comes full circle at the end

Purpose - 

• Reveals how much power Dabby has over Mary
• Shows Mary's personality when she is only with Dabby
• Shows how guilty and disgusted with her self Mary feels
• Reveals the rivalry between Dabby and Liz
• But they all come together in hatred towards Ketch
• Shows negative implications of capital punishment

Intentions -

• The audience should feel interested into the lives of Mary and Dabby
• They should be annoyed at how Dabby basically sold Mary on the ship to get some food
• They should be entertained by the rivalry between Dabby and Liz and both their need for Mary 
• They should feel sorry for Ketch

Purpose - 

• Offers Ketch a way to be part of something
• Shows Ralph's sexual frustration
• Both men have problems with women
• Ralph's lonlieness and 'ritualistic release'

Intentions - 

• Question Ketch's inocence
• Sympathy
• Belief
• Uncomfortable/ embarrassed by his entrance

Purpose - 

• Brings understanding
• Background to characters/ Mary's guilt
• Power of language
• Foundation of Mary's choice
• Mary has no romantic interest in Wisehammer
• Wisehammer's need/despiration

Intentions - 

• The audience should feel pitty for Wisehammer

Purpose - 

• Growing sense of unity
• Punishment vs reform
• Chaos of rehearsals
• Creativity helps
• The group is fragile
• Harsh reliaty
• Development of Ralph and Mary's relationship

Intentions - 

• Sympathy towards Liz - reveal that she has never been treated with respect
• Demotivated
• Sickened
• Disgusted
• Frustration

Purpose - 

• Easily Manipulated
• Unity
• Sense of Identity
• Shows the different experiences/environment
• Theatre allows the characters to escape their reality
• Product of society

Intentions - 

• Feel sorry for Liz
• Happy at their growing sense of Unity

Purpose - 

• Ralph wants to give up
• Phillip becomes a mentor
• Nurture more than nature
• Worth and Value of life
• Phillip has an agenda - boost morale/ distration from lack of supplies

Intentions - 

• Realise the importance of the redemptive power of theatre
• Inspired
• Disapointed in Ralph
• Comic dramatic change in Ralph's opinions

Purpose - 

• Duckling's humanity/ concern
• Guilt/ negative effects of capital punishment
• Harry's reality is indistinguishable

Intentions - 

• Scared for Harry
• Distress
• Scared for Duckling
• Pity

Purpose - 

• Forshaddowing
• Shows struggle to adjust

Intentions - 

• Pity for the Aborigine

Purpose - 

• Ross's control
• They use the play to express themselves
• Redemptive power of theatre

Intentions - 

• Relieved at bravery
• Depressing end
• Negative
• Sickened by cruelty
• Uplifted by Liz and Sideway
• Hatred towards Ross

Purpose - 

• Show science of hanging
• Calculations
• Remose
• Shows Liz's respect for Ralph
• Feels her words would be pointless
• Shows they all have no choice
• Harry gets worse as Ketch speaks
• Harry never wakes up

Intentions - 

• Frustration that Liz wont save herself
• Pity
• Upset
• Shocked by end

Purpose - 

• Aborigine describes everything as apocalyptic
• Knowledge of Ralph and Mary's relationship has spread
• They use the words of the play to talk about their relationship
• Interlectual engagment
• Redemptive power of theatre
• Comments on the play's structure
• Helps them escape

Intentions - 

• Sympathy for Arscott
• Proud of their change
• Conflicted of Mary's choice - heart or head?

Purpose - 

• Shows how much Duckling loves Harry
• Reveals negative effects of Capital punishment

Intentions - 

• Leave audience to be upset
• May even cry at Duckling's responce to Harry's death

Purpose - 

• Shows the progression of Mary and Ralph's relationship
• Uses the play's words to talk
• Mary's change and confidence

Intentions -

• Feel content and relieved that they have finally revealed to each other how they feel

Purpose - 

• Shows how some characters do not want to hang Liz while others do
• Argue about the effectiveness of the juctice system
• Liz only speaks up when the play is mentioned
• Redemptive power of theatre

Intentions - 

• Hopeful
• Relieved Liz finally speaks
• Relieved that other characters are standing up for her
• Suprised when Liz speaks so formally, showing how much she has grown in her education

Purpose - 

• Aborigines are dying because of the English
• Excitement of the play
• Redemptive power of theatre triumphs over capital punishment
• Shows that Dabby hasn't changed, because she never got involved
• Shows their new found hope
• Most of the convicts want to stay
• Unity

Intentions - 

• Feel happy at the resolution
• Annoyed at Dabby
• Relieved that it is mostly a happy ending