Misalliance

Title: MisallianceAuthor: George Bernard ShawBrief Summary: Misalliance is a Shaw drama set in 1909 in the house of John Tarleton, of Hindhead, Surrey. The play is centered around a middle to upper class family and their close friends: Johnny Tarleton, the son; Bentley Summerhays, the economically blessed, however socially undeveloped friend of the family; Mr. Tarleton, owner of underwear company; Ms Tarleton; Hypatia, rebellious daughter of Tarletons; and Lord Summerhays, father of Bentley. This so called "average" family goes through a turn of events to turn it upside down and inside out revealing the secrets to each person's true character. They have unexpected guests that literally "drop" in for a visit; Mr. Tarleton meets fate with the end of a loaded gun, and love triangles and infidelity are everywhere. Deceit and power, parents versus the younger generation, and the male female power struggle are the main themes that run throughout the book. The unexpected is the only thing that stays predictable through the play. Shaw does a very effective job of satirizing society's values, secrets, and powers with money. He uses the stereotypes of individuals to over dramatize the characteristics within this very dynamic group of people. The biggest obstacle in this book is getting past the introduction. Shaw uses more than the first half of his published work to set up and express his own feelings towards society's rituals and traditions. He digresses about his every thought; he holds nothing back. He touches on all the ideas that he will be satirizes in the play. After awhile, the repetitive criticism becomes monotonous, no matter how true his ideas may be. Overall I believe Shaw effectively gets his point across in an entertaining manner. I would rate the play as a highly effective satire of the privileged society's false superiority.

Misalliance is a fast moving play that centers around the effects of love. The elderly men chase the women while the women chase the younger men. It is a writen revolution for the way women should act and speak. The character Lina, who falls from the sky, takes full charge of everything around her. The women are impressed with her while the men become infatuated. Later, the soft spoken Hypatia begins to take charge of her own life. She ignores the Lord and follows her heart. The men throughout the play almost seem to be props for the women's next move.If you enjoy a quick paced play with humor, social change and romance then this is the play for you. Seeing the play acted out is ever better then reading it.

The play of Misalliance is centralized by the main idea of ¡¥How people live in the old world while waiting for the new world to come?¡¦ Also, surrounding the main idea, issues such as the interpenetration of parents and children¡¦s world, change in ideologies, social expectations verses personal desires...etc are raised in the play. Associated with these profound issues, Misalliance is filled with humors which will surely bring pleasure to readers. This play is packed with pace, humor, romance and concepts all in one; which not only expressed the author Bernard Shaw¡¦s beliefs thoroughly, but also bring supreme entertainment to readers. Being a youth myself and brought up in a traditional Chinese family, I find this play highly relevant to my life as I am constantly rebelling against my parents¡¦ will. This play truly brought out the minds of us new generation, and our opposition against traditional views. I recommend this book to readers of all ages, especially adolescents, for both deep reading and entertainment.

Misalliance is a play focused on the values and interactions among family. The play is based on the story and drama of two upper class families the Summerhays and Tarleton's. Throughout the play they discuss issues that are relevant to the time and heated topics that are not often discussed by families. The women such as Hypatia bring about issues of control and how they should lead their own lives while not letting a husband control their lives. The issue of older men cheating and chasing around younger women is another underlying topic throughout the play. Elderly married men from the play chase women around, while the women of the play try to go out on their own and establish their own being. I enjoyed this play and found it to be interesting because a heated discussion is carried throughout the play. The drama and conflicts of the characters and issues in the play carry the discussion right up until the end. This discussion evolves and changes as each character is introduced with their own beliefs. One thing I did not like about the play though was that the discussion was very lengthy and at times was not filled with anything exciting. Overall I would recommend this play to anyone who is looking for a discussion of family values and beliefs in one easy sitting. The humorous and social discussion that evolves throughout the play carries the book along and makes it an interesting story.