The short story “Teacher” by Guy Vanderhaeghe, supports the idea of what authority and power is. It shows how it can affect others, by its uses and abuses of it. The author portrays totalitarianism by using Mrs. Dollen, where she has absolute power over her grade 6 students. Sometimes, it is not such a good thing to want to control and take advantage of everything because it might just come right back.
Vanderhaeghe goes in depth with Mrs. Dollen’s physical description, which helps her maintain control. She is described as “Dark complexioned, monumental, and easily the most physically imposing teacher in the school”. This illustrates how intimidating she is and how students are afraid of her appearance. The author also points out that “her …show more content…
The one which said: “Dear Mrs. Fart Sucker,
You’ll be glad to hear I stood up for you the other day. Somebody said you weren’t fit enough to eat a shit sandwich and I said you most certainly were.” There is a change in Myles attitude and character. Even though this incident is a mistake, he realises he does not really feel as bad as he should. He regrets it but at the same time he finally says what he’s only dreamt of saying to her.
Mrs. Dollen’s reputation is to uphold dominance, and no one dares to test her except for Wayne, who fails to pass her class. He is so used to her after so many years of redoing grade 6, that he has no respect for her whatsoever and is not afraid to oppose her demands. He likes to provoke people because he does not care. She brings Myles’ anger out, and as the story moves forward, he becomes more aggressive. He gets rattled by Wayne when he is at the top of the hill. When Wayne harasses Myles to let him ride the toboggan. Myles shows anger when he “threw the toe-rope at his feet” and says “you want to fly, go ahead. Take it. Just leave me alone”. Myles physically demonstrates frustration, which he would never do
Vanderhaeghe goes in depth with Mrs. Dollen’s physical description, which helps her maintain control. She is described as “Dark complexioned, monumental, and easily the most physically imposing teacher in the school”. This illustrates how intimidating she is and how students are afraid of her appearance. The author also points out that “her …show more content…
The one which said: “Dear Mrs. Fart Sucker,
You’ll be glad to hear I stood up for you the other day. Somebody said you weren’t fit enough to eat a shit sandwich and I said you most certainly were.” There is a change in Myles attitude and character. Even though this incident is a mistake, he realises he does not really feel as bad as he should. He regrets it but at the same time he finally says what he’s only dreamt of saying to her.
Mrs. Dollen’s reputation is to uphold dominance, and no one dares to test her except for Wayne, who fails to pass her class. He is so used to her after so many years of redoing grade 6, that he has no respect for her whatsoever and is not afraid to oppose her demands. He likes to provoke people because he does not care. She brings Myles’ anger out, and as the story moves forward, he becomes more aggressive. He gets rattled by Wayne when he is at the top of the hill. When Wayne harasses Myles to let him ride the toboggan. Myles shows anger when he “threw the toe-rope at his feet” and says “you want to fly, go ahead. Take it. Just leave me alone”. Myles physically demonstrates frustration, which he would never do