There is a great and obvious contrast between Colonel Manly
and his servant Jonathan and Dimple and his servant Jessamy. The pairs seem to be on opposite sides of a
spectrum. Colonel Manly and Jonathan are
honest and sincere while Dimple and Jessamy are snobbish and unfaithful. Dimple and Jessamy seem to be overly
concerned with how they dress and act.
Colonel Manly and Jonathan on the other hand, keep things simple and
dress and act how they choose.
The
first pair, Colonel Manly and Jonathan, are very patriotic Americans. Colonel Manly fought in the Revolutionary War
and he still wears his soldier’s coat. Jonathan
is very much like Colonel Manly. The
second pair, Dimple and Jessamy, are not patriotic in any sense. They seem to idolize the high society of
England and very much so wish to be a part of it.
As stated
before, the first pair is honest and sincere and the second pair is snobbish
and unfaithful. This together with the
first pair being patriotic Americans and the second pair idolizing the high
society of England suggests that being American is better than being
English. The play was written just after
the Revolutionary war. With that historical
background information, these ideas make a good bit of sense.
I agree with you. Colonel Manly and Jonathan surely are patriotic, honest, and sincere. Therefore, they have to represent America. And Dimple and Jessamy are certainly snobbish, unfaithful, and therefore represent England.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be in line with the ideals of the time. Around this time, while the revolutionary war may have ended, tensions still existed between the British and the Americans and hence the contrast. Since the French allied themselves with the the United States, those who follow their customs are tied in as the "good guys", while the British followers are painted as the "bad guys".
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