examining conflict in one day

8/13/2019 Examining Conflict in One Day

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Examining ConflictWe live in a world where, without conflict, there is no entertainment. It is a convention of drama that there must be conflic t between characters in order for it to be

entertaining, and thus be successful. We can consider a text to be successful if the playwright is able to convey a view of a theme or issue to the audience that challenges

our views as he or she originally intended. Through the conflicting views of characters, the audience is often exposed to att itudes and opinions different to their own. TheOne Day of the Year, by Alan Seymour, is a play that examines how through both theinternaland external conflictsof different characters, we are exposed to an array ofcontrasting opinions, therefore validating the statement that this is successful drama.

Your Job is to: Explore the conflict between characters and explain the reasons behind the conflict and give evidence to support your response. I have provided someexamples/prompts to set you on your way (just to demonstrate the detail I would like you to go into). Characters like Wacka and Jan have been left blank (so you can think

about sources of internal and external conflict).

Conflict between Characterslf Dot Hughie Wacka Jan

On the Issue of National identity/ANZAC Day:Alf isa steadfast believer in Australia's superiority over

other nations. He is jingoistic, xenophobic and

stubborn. Example: The first impression the reader

gains of Alf is from his opening statement: "I'm a

bloody Australian and I'll always stand up for bloody

Australia."(Pg 27) But more importantly, he believes

that Anzac Day is the one day of the year where he,

and others like him, are considered heroes, and

consequently can celebrate their heroism by getting

blind drunk.

The character of Dot is conflicted inthe sense that she cares for both

Hughie and Alf, and is unwilling to

take sides when the two are fighting:

(proof pg 83)

On the Issue of Nationalidentity/ANZAC Day:

Hughie, on the other hand,

works towards exposing

Anzac Day for what he

believes it truly is- an

excuse to get drunk.

Hughie has been brought

up with Alf's version of

Anzac Day celebrations,

and it is this which has

shaped his anti-Anzac

Day views. These two

points of views are in

direct conflict with each


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other, and are made all the

more shocking by the fact

that they belong to father

and son- a relationship

that is not traditionally in

opposition. This conflict

brings the audience's

attention to the issues

being explored, because

these issues are the source

of the conflict, and cannot

be dismissed. By placing

the opinions of Alf and

Hughie towards Anzac

Day at the extremes,Seymour forces the

audience to consider a

different point of view

regardless of what their

previous stance on the

matter was.

Why Alf feels so passionately about his own

superiority on Anzac Day:

It is the conflict that the character of

Dot harbours which commences the

act of acceptance and forgiveness in

the other characters:

Why it is Alf's inflated

sense of ego on Anzac Day

which Hughie objects to

most:

Dot is the non-committal mediator:

(find proof and explain why

Seymour has chosen to do this)

The main conflict he holds

with Alf is due to his

objection to the way Alf


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celebrates Anzac Day:

Consider Hughies

childhood as an

explanation(p78) and

Hughie's inner conflictstems from the fact that he

is more educated than the

rest of his family, and this

makes him an outcast in

his own home:

examining conflict in one day

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