In 1787, when The Contrast was published, America had been removed from the Revolutionary War for four years and the America we know today had not been established yet. As a newly independent nation, America was trying to establish its own identity. I believe that Royall Tyler created the character of Colonel Manly as a true American and wished for those in the audience to be influenced by this man’s character.
Colonel Manly shows the traits of an American throughout the play. In ACT II, scene 1, Charlotte criticizes Manly’s clothing because it is not what society finds acceptable, “your coat looks as if it were calculated for the vulgar purpose of keeping yourself comfortable…now another type of coat is fashionable.” Manly wears the coat so he remembers the brave men who fought in the war and the government they had helped create.
In Act IV, scene 1, Dimple criticizes the amusements of America and says those in Europe are far better. Manly is once again defending his nation against Europe as he had done in war by saying, “I love my country; it has its foibles undoubtedly; some foreigners will with pleasure remark them…we, her [America] children, should blush for them in private, and endeavour, as individuals, to reform them.” I read this as Manly saying that if foreigners find errors in America, we must strive to correct them and show the world that no nation is superior to our own.
I believe that Tyler wrote this play as a way to make the citizens of America more patriotic. True Americans must be like Colonel Manly and honor the soldiers who gave their lives fighting in the Revolutionary War and not make it their goal to criticize the faults of their country, but identify those faults and fix them in an attempt to make this great nation better. I believe that Tyler created the characters of Charlotte and Dimple as a way to show what happens to Americans who are not fully detached from Europe. They become selfish, evil, manipulative, and become blind to the greatness of their own country.
I agree. However, I was surprised that many of the things in the play that were considered to be American are still things we value/do today so I don't think you can say with that the America that we know today had not been established. I think it's better to say that it was being established.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point!
DeleteI like how Tyler chose the names of his characters. I agree that Manly is the protagonist and the "ideal American man" and Tyler gave him a masculine name. Dimple's name, on the other hand, is not masculine. It made me think of a dimple on a cheek, which I wouldn't consider to be a compliment. Tyler named him contrasting characters appropriately.
ReplyDelete