Analytical Essay Essays

Analytical Essay Essays Analytical Essay Essay Analytical Essay Essay Essay Topic: Analytical Discourses have powerful social effects and can empower some, while marginalizing others. In the texts Lost Property and Muriel’s Wedding the dominant discourse is relationship. The audience is positioned to see Josh Tambling from Lost Property as having tough relationships as he is the one who is expected to pull through. While Muriel Heslop from Muriel’s Wedding is portrayed as unreliable and selfish as the story is told. In the early stages of both texts it is obvious that Josh and Muriel have different relationships, as Josh is respected and dependable while Muriel is rejected and a failure. Josh is trustworthy towards his friends which make him respected in his relationships. For instance, he shows his loyal and respectable values and attitudes in the first chapter as he tends to a woman customer who has lost her cardigan. â€Å"A cardigan. What colour was it, Madam? † Josh asks politely to help the woman. (p3). Josh also shows that he is dependable by singing songs in the band which are chosen by the lead guitarist Neven, despite not liking the song. After viewing the first couple of scenes of Muriel’s Wedding, it is clear that Muriel is rejected and has complete different relationships than Josh. In the first scene, she attends an engagement party. While there she is confronted by the police and a woman accusing her of stealing the dress she is wearing. As she arrives home in a cop car, she is then ridiculed by her family which leads to her father, Bill Heslop, bribing the police men and leaving with a carton of beer. In the first text the audience is positioned to recognize Josh’s deeds as a reliable and honest person, whereas Muriel is some what felt sorry towards for being unwanted and a disappointment. As the plot progresses the bonds between relationships are strengthened. For example, when Josh meets Gemma, he realizes that she is unlike his girlfriend Alicia. Josh has an in depth conversation with Gemma about God, which earlier he tried to have with his girlfriend. This, however, has an unfavorable effect on his relationship with Alicia. Josh’s relationship with Clive, his supervisor in the lost property shop, is as well strengthened when Josh accuses Clive for stealing. Which later on he finds out Clive was keeping these items for people who needed them for sentimental value. â€Å"No, all these things belong to someone else. That’s what the Lost Property Office is for, to get lost things back to their owners. † says Clive. (p115). Even though Muriel is not liked by many, she still manages to get a job with the help of her father, as a beauty consultant. During this time, she is abandoned by her high school friends who afterward go on a holiday. â€Å"You embarrass us. † stated by Nicole, one of the three friends confronting Muriel. Shortly after she had been abandoned, Muriel takes money from her father’s bank to fund for the same holiday as her friends. Whilst on the holiday, Muriel meets Rhonda, who helps Muriel by keeping her company on the holiday. Muriel is then hassled by her father about the money she took, under the pressure, she then moves to Sydney with her new found friend Rhonda. The audience is placed to see how both Josh’s and Muriel’s relationships grow as the narrative unfolds. The last stages of both texts are very similar, nonetheless the discourse of relationship remains the same. At first it looks like Josh is not going to have a happy ending, with Alicia breaking up with him and then Josh dropping out of the band. But Josh manages to keep his life steadily on track after facing his brother in Mackay. He later forms a new relationship with a girl from Fidelis, Isobelle, and at the same time mending his relationship with the band. Michael, Josh’s older brother finally comes home, not by himself though, he ends up bringing his girlfriend and with them their new born son. â€Å"Mum and Dad, this is Kelly,† Michael says proudly, â€Å"and this one here†¦is your grandson, Stuart. † (p266). On the other hand, Muriel’s Wedding ends unfortunately with Muriel’s mother dying as she commits suicide from the pressure of her depression. But not all is bad for Muriel as she returns to Sydney with her friend Rhonda, after she is in a wheelchair from not recovering from her cancer. Although both texts end in a different way, the audience is still positioned to see Josh and Muriel as people who have difficult relationships but in the end rewarding. In conclusion, both Lost Property and Muriel’s Wedding mobilize the discourse of relationships. The reader is positioned to see Josh and Muriel as being pleasing people, who would do everything for their friendships. Throughout both texts Josh and Muriel are constructed as characters who display loyalty and respect towards their friends, supporting them through the harsh periods in their lives.