Miscommunication In The Play Oleanna

In life, human beings are constantly communicating with one another—the world revolves around communication; however, one must be aware that miscommunication can affect one’s life. In Mamet’s play Oleanna, the readers learn that the play surrounds the consequences of miscommunication between the two protagonists, John, a college professor, and Carol, his student. This miscommunication is affecting John’s personal and professional life. Throughout the course of this paper, the readers will get the opportunity to view the play in a different perspective—the play’s casting is being changed; such change will enable the readers to visualize in their minds how changes in the casting of Oleanna raise different miscommunication issues. The casting …show more content…
At the beginning of act one, the readers learn that John is a cautious, caring, and powerful human being—this allows Carol to take advantage of him; for instance, the play opens up with John having a conversation with his wife on the phone, regarding the house that they are in the process of purchasing. The professor ends his conversation early so that he is able to address Carol’s concern regarding her grade and performance in the course. At first, the readers learn that John attempts to end his meeting with Carol early; however, instead John attempts to comfort Carol while she cries. Such kindness enables the readers to argue that John is the epitome of kind professor—who cares about the students; therefore, the readers are able to argue that a kind professor-student relationship is present. Nonetheless, the readers go on to learn that Carol joins a support group who persuades her to believe that her professor is sexually harassing her. This is how Carol gains powerful over her professor, she reports John to the tenure committee. One is able to claim that a