The first Bell for a Surprise
How can
the students surprise the teacher? I didn’t think much about class room
surprises from students till I knocked the closed door of fifth semester B.A.
class room on 10.10.2013 at 9.30. The unheard melody of the flute heard
conquered my ears, the smell from the incense sticks made me anosmic, with the
smoke which blurred my vision. Behind the curtain of fumes, I saw the tombstone
of the Salesman, Willy Loman.
After
the first round analysis of the play, Death of a Salesman, I asked my students
whether they can enact the second act. Since the University examination is
standing on the threshold, at the last minute we compressed our dream to a
classroom performance on the Requiem. When I entrusted the task on them, with
my usual, vague directions, I couldn’t imagine that they would perform it as a
real requiem, though in Uniform. As far as I can remember the only effort from
me was that I prompted them to nominate the director, and the stage-manager in
addition to the actors. Later, I came to know that credit goes to the whole
class as each of them dedicated their effort, as the crew members of the
performance. A few snaps , I kept in my mobile phone are displayed here , to
motivate them in giving more surprises to themselves and to the teachers and
thereby encourage the coming generation of learners, to break the cocoon of
passivity of the listener to become active by acting out the acts.
Production
Team: All V semester B.A. English students ,guided by Husna
Music:
Naseema Thasneem
CHARACTERS
Linda :
Shahida Muhammed Ali
Charley:
Mariam Wafa
Biff:
Shameema Thasneem
Happy:Jisha
Key note from the Director, Athira
REQUIEM
CHARLEY
:
It’s getting dark, Linda
.
(Linda doesn’t react. She stares at the grave.)
BIFF
:
How about it, Mom? Better get
some rest, heh? They’ll be
closing the gate soon
.
(Linda makes no move. Pause.)
HAPPY
(deeply angered)
:
He had no right to do that. There was
no necessity for it. We would’ve helped him.
CHARLEY
(grunting)
:
Hmmm.
BIFF
:
Come along, Mom.
LINDA
:
Why didn’t anybody come?
CHARLEY
:
It was a very nice funeral.
LINDA
:
But where are all the people he knew? Maybe they blame
him.
CHARLEY
:
Naa. It’s a rough world, Linda. They wouldn’t blame
him.
LINDA
:
I can’t understand it. At this
time especially. First time in
thirty-five years we were just about free and clear. He only
needed a little salary. He was even finished with the
dentist.
CHARLEY
:
No man only needs a little salary
.
LINDA
:
I can’t understand it.
BIFF
:
There were a lot of nice days. When he’d come home from a
trip; or on Sundays, making th
e stoop; finishing the cellar; put-
ting on the new porch; when he built the extra bathroom; and
put up the garage. You know something, Charley, there’s more
of him in that front stoop than
in all the sales he ever made.
CHARLEY
:
Yeah. He was a happy man wi
th a batch of cement.
LINDA
:
He was so wonderful with his hands.
BIFF
:
He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.
HAPPY
(almost ready to fight Biff)
:
Don’t say that!
BIFF
:
He never knew who he was.
CHARLEY
(stopping Happy’s moveme
nt and reply. To Biff)
:
No-body dast blame this man. You
don’t understand: Willy was a
life. He don’t put a bolt to a
nut, he don’t tell you the law or
give you medicine. He’s man way
out there in the blue, riding
on a smile and a Shoeshine. And when
they start not smiling
back — that’s an earthquake. An
d then you get yourself a cou-
ple of spots on your hat, and
you’re finished. Nobody dast
blame this man. A salesman is got
to dream, boy. It comes with
the territory.
BIFF
:
Charley, the man didn’t know who he was.
HAPPY
(infuriated)
:
Don’t say that!
BIFF
:
Why don’t you come with me, Happy?
HAPPY
:
I’m not licked that easily. I’m staying right in this city,
and I’m gonna beat this racket!
(He looks at Biff, his chin set.)
The Loman Brothers!
BIFF
:
I know who I am, kid.
HAPPY
:
All right, boy. I’m gonna show you and everybody else
that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream.
It’s
the only dream you can have — to come out number-one man.
He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it
for
him.
BIFF
(with a hopeless glance at Happy, bends toward his mother)
:
Let’s go, Mom.
LINDA
:
I’ll be with you in a minute. Go on, Charley
. (He hesi-
tates.)
I want to, just for a minute. I never had a chance to say
good-by.
(Charley moves away, followed by
Happy. Biff remains a slight
distance up and left of Linda. Sh
e sits there, summoning herself.
The flute begins, not far away, playing behind her speech.)
LINDA
:
Forgive me, dear. I can’t cry. I don’t know what it is, I
can’t cry. I don’t understand it.
Why did you ever do that? Help
me Willy, I can’t cry. It seems to
me that you’re just on another
trip. I keep expecting you. Willy
, dear, I can’t cry. Why did you
do it? I search and search and I search, and I can’t
understand
it, Willy. I made the last payment on the house today.
Today,
dear. And there’ll be nobody home.
(A sob rises in her throat.)
We’re free and clear.
(Sobbing more fully, released.)
We’re free.
(Biff comes slowly
toward her.)
We’re free... We’re free...
(Biff
Linda sobs
quietly. Bernard and Charley come together and fol-
low them, followed by Ha
ppy. Only the music of the flute is left
on the darkening stage as over the house the hard towers of
the
apartment buildings rise into sharp focus, and the curtain
falls.)
