‘The cultural context of a text is often revealed in key moments of a text’. Discuss this
statement in relation to a key moment/moments in one of your chosen texts.
Cultural Context is essentially the world of a particular text. When we say the world
of a text we make general observations about how people live and interact with each
other in the societies they inhibit. We uncover the CC by examining the actions and
attitudes of the text and also the society of the text, looking out for values and beliefs
of the people. Below I will discuss how the CC is often revealed in key moments of a
text firstly in Sive by John B. Keane and then in my other two texts, Bronte’s
Wuthering Heights and the classic 1942 film Cassablanca.
Sive as a whole has intriguing characters who bring the play to life and
they convey their values and beliefs and the attitudes of the wider community very
effectively through the key moments throughout the play. The values and beliefs of
religion and class structure are a major issue throughout along with the attitude
towards women in this 1950’s rural Ireland society. All of these in conjunction with
the key moments help reveal the CC of the text. Mena Glavin one of the most
formidable female presences to grace an Irish stage and her husband Mike along
with Thomasheen Sean Rua the colourful dynamic force in the play best reveal the
values and beliefs and the attitudes in the society in which they live.
The attitude towards women in society is present from the outset.
Thomasheen introduces the idea of the Glavin household receiving money for
marrying off the young Sive to a significantly older man. This highlights the way
women are objectified and looked upon as a commodity that can be bought and
sold. There is no respect for women in this patriarchal society. Mena verbally abuses
Nanna and Sive and both Mena and Thomasheen think it’s perfectly acceptable to
coerce Sive into marrying a man old enough to be her...