A Taste of Honey How does Shelagh Delaney present the changing factors of Jo’s character? Essay

In this essay I am going to be looking at the play a taste of honey and looking at the factors of Jo’s character. This play was written in 1956 the writer Shelagh Delaney was only a teenager when she wrote this play Helen and Jo are mother and daughter and they live in tatty flats. Helen meets a man named peter and they get married. Helen leaves goes to live with peter. Jo meets a boy who is in the navy. They spend Christmas together Jo gets pregnant and the boy leaves. Jo meets another boy called Geof and they set up home together. Geof is bisexual. Helens marriage breaks up because peter goes off with a younger woman. Helen comes back to and moves back in and get rid of Geof and he leaves and then it is mother and daughter again In the play Jo is the main character as she is always present in the play. In the play Jo meets Jimmy who is the father of her child and she also meets Geof who is bisexual and they have a relationship, Jo also has relationships with her mother Helen. Jo and Helen doesn’t get on well with each other and Helen leaves Jo at home when she goes out in the play a lot happens too Jo her mother leaves she gets pregnant, she lives with a bisexual and her mother returns Thought out the play Jo’s character changes at the start Jo is critical as she says to her mother â€Å"your knocking them back worse than ever† she is capital and organised as she says â€Å"I hate to see an un-shaded electrical light bulb I will put my scarf around it†, â€Å"im not just talented im jeanious† When Jo meets peter her character changes she becomes as she says â€Å"she’s jealous† she says this because she is jealous of her mother. Jo becomes quarrelsome when she says â€Å"I can’t bear to see me being affectionate with anyone† Jo also becomes annoying. When her mother Helen leaves Jo becomes resentful of her mother as she says â€Å"you don’t half knock them back these days† this is her being resentful of her mother. Jo is also hurt as her mother has left her when she says â€Å"you like to leave me alone† she says this because she does not want here mother with her because she has hurt her. When her mother leaves she also feels unloved by her mother. Jo changes again when she meets Jimmy she becomes flirtatious when she says â€Å"I love you† and when Jo says â€Å"I can’t resist myself†. Jo also becomes coy when Jo says â€Å"it’s my school girl complexion† and â€Å"anything might happen† Jo also likes attention because she did not get any love of her mother. Jo also says to Jimmy â€Å"you enjoyed it as much as I did† she says this because she is getting the attention she wants. Jo character changes again when she meets Geof she becomes insulting my calling him â€Å"a big sister†. Jo also becomes cynical â€Å"it’ll always be number one by itself† and becomes frightened when she is heavily pregnant, she is frightened when she says â€Å"I don’t want this baby I don’t want to be a woman†. When Jo’s mother Helen comes back she gets rid of Geof this is when Jo is in labour and becomes less assertive when she says â€Å"are you coming back† Jo becomes resigned â€Å"by baby will be back† she becomes less assertive when she can’t argue back when she is in labour. Shelagh Delaney uses dramatic devices to show the changes into Jo’s character, the first one I am going to write about is Conflict and fights that take place between all characters; there are quarrels between Helen and Jo there is also quarrels and fights between Jo and Peter. When Jo physically attacks peter this is because he is taking her mother away from her. Helen and Jo have had another argument about Helens engament to peter. There is also conflict between Helen, Jo and Geof when they argue about the care of Jo. When Helen and peter are about to split up there is arguments’s between them. It is to avoid conflict that Geof leaves to avoid conflict as he is very selfless. In the play there is a lot of contrast there are love scenes juxtaposed with quarrels with Helen and Jo; Helen and peter and which Jo and Jimmy where they say â€Å"Will you marry me† and â€Å"I love you† and Helen shows love to Jo â€Å"why don’t you lie down† which is another love hate relationship In the play there are two very different people Jo is frightened, Critical, Determined and insecure; Helen is Selfish, bossy, neglectful, and disorganized. There are also 3 different men who visit the flat they are Peter who drinks, insults, and is homophobic; Geof who is bisexual, caring, supportive, and hard working; and finally there is Jimmy who loves, immature, persuasive, and reliable. In the play there is a use of music and dance, each character is introduced with some music can suggest aspects of there character the music gives a surreal effect and can help gives the time gaps in the play Use of dramatic unities is clear unity of place is shaven when everything in the play is in of near the flat people visit the flat, and leave. The only person who stays in the play the whole way thought is Jo. The unity of time is clear when in the play everything happens in a year Jo moves from a school girl to a working loving partner into a loving relationship to a parent. The unity of action is shown when the play comes full cycle. It is cyclical that Helen and Jo are alone in the flat and the cycle of deprivation continues but there is a new life on its way. Jo mirrors Helen in that they have both a failed relationship. In the play the use of language reveals the factors in which cause Jo to change; there are insults between the characters. There is also a use of expletives like â€Å"Silly Bitch† and â€Å"little bastard† and â€Å"sour faced old bitch†. The educated language of Helen shows her using impressive vocabulary like when she says â€Å"The only conclusion I can find in your immediate presents is your ultimate absents†. Jimmy also has an educated language as he has knowledge of Shakespeare. The social conclusions manifest aspects of Jo’s character. Poor housing is clear in Jo’s character; Jo lives in a small 1 bed-roomed flat and it has a shared bathroom with the other flat. The flat is in Manchester and it is by the ship cannel which is polluted; the flat is also by the gas works which smells, this means that the cost of housing in the area is low. Helen has a low income as she is a prostitute and Jo has 2 low paided jobs. Geof has a student grant from the government and he makes clothes for the baby as it is cheaper than buying them. Helen is a prostitute she properly became a prostitute because she might have had no money and she also had a child to support.