Analyzing Viola
Sarah Gersch
Viola's Identity
In the story Twelfth Night, Violas identity is generous and honest. In the beginning of the play, viola gets rescued by the captain and brought to shore. She was in a shipwreck and the captain saved her. In the play, to show Violas generosity showed. "For saying so, there's gold. Mine own escape unfolded to my hope,..." (I. i. 17-18). This quote is showing that Viola is generous because she is giving the Capitan money for rescuing her from drowning. She shows honesty to Olivia about how she feels about her. In the play, she says, "I pity you. That's a degree to love. No, not a grize. For 'tis a vulgar proof that very oft we pity enemies" (III. i. 113-116). Viola is telling Olivia that she does not have feeling for her, but Olivia is acting stupid and is telling her that there love is getting stronger and stronger. Olivia thinks that Violas trying to make her feel better even though she is not, she's telling the truth to Olivia.
Gender
In Twelfth Night gender plays a big role in this society. It is very uncommon for a women to work for a Duke or Queen, but males can very easily. So Viola acts like she is a man, so she can get the money from Duke Orsino and go back to her normal life as a women. In the play Viola says, "I prithee- and I'll pay thee bounteously- conceal me what I am, and be my aid for such disguise as hadly shall become the form of my intent. I'll serve this duke. Thou shall present me as an eunuch to him" (I. ii. 48-52). Viola is doing this because if she went to Duke Orsino as a women she would get turned away, but as a man she will be a worker for the Duke. Also she would not be able to meet Olivia, but because she is a women and just a random women, she would not be welcome anywhere.
Perception of Viola
The ways other view Viola is different that what Viola thinks of herself. Others see Viola as a man which she is dressed as. Others think that she is nice, generous, and handsome. Some see her as a threat and not a nice person. An example is Sir Andrew, "'Od's lifelings, here he is!- You broke my head for nothing and that I did, I was set on to do't by Sir Toby" (V. i. 177-178). Sir Andrew doesn't like Viola because he thinks that she like Olivia because Olivia likes her. Viola thinks of herself as generous, honest, and smart. She is holding everything together and keeping in low that she is actually a women.
Similarities/ Differeances
Some similarities that Viola and I share is that we both have brothers that look identical to us. We are both very honest, generous, and caring towards others. Also we would tell people the truth about how we view them so they know. Some differences that we have is if I found out my brother died on a shipwreck I would be very upset and cry, Viola took it like it was nothing. Viola dressed up as a man so she can get what she wanted, which is money, I don't think I would be able to dress as a man. Viola went really long and sneaky as a man, I would make it but not as far as she did.
Viola's Identity
In the movie She's the Man, Viola's identity is adaptable and opinionated. During the movie she was able to play with girls on her soccer team but since there wasn't enough girls to try out she went to go play with the boys and she got through it and she played with them. In the movie She's the man, Viola went to play at Illyria with the boys to prove that she can keep up with the boys, and girls are just as good as boys. This shows that she is adaptable because she is not afraid to play with the boys, to get dirty, or to get hurt. Also Viola is very opinionated because she is not scared to tell what or how she thinks. In She's the Man Viola tells Olivia that Viola is not her type and she should move on because she is never going to be with her. This is an example of opinionated because she tells Olivia exactly how she feels and she's not scared to tell her to her face. Olivia is taking this hard and is trying to impress her, but it's still not working.
Gender
In She's the Man Violas gender at Cornwall as a girl plays a big role. If you are a girl wanting to play in boys soccer you are not able too, but at Illyria at the end of the whole movie they don't care if there is a girl on their team. In the movie She's the Man, at the end of the movie when Viola reveals that she is really a girl and not a boy everyone is very shocked. The coach at Cornwall and the team that turned Viola down is all arguing that a girl can't play in a boys soccer game, but the coach and team at Illyria all say that she is a part of the team, even if she is a girl. Illyria does not care if you are a girl or a boy playing soccer, they are all apart of the team, but at Cornwall it all has to be one team of boys, not intermixed with both genders.
Perceptiin of Viola
In She's the Man Viola views herself different than others view her. Others view her as a weird person. Viola views herself as a smart, opinionated person, and generous. In the movie She's the Man, how others view her is, when Viola first gets there and tampons fall out, Orsino, Toby, and Andrew look at her weird. But how Viola views herself in She's the Man, she dresses as a guy and gets away with it well, she tells Olivia how she really feels, and she generous because she is helping Orsino and Olivia out. These are all signs of perception for Viola because these are all ways how others view her and she views herself in She's the Man.
Similarities/ Differences between Viola and I
Some similarities Viola and I have is that we are both not afraid to play in a sport that can make us get hurt. She played soccer with the boys and I played baseball with the boys. We are not afraid to go out and get dirty for the sport that we love. Some differences that we have are that she plays soccer, I don't. She would dress as a boy to play and try and get on the team, I would go as myself and play better than everyone else. Viola is very outgoing with things and would just express how she feels, I would keep it in and only say things that they should hear, not everything.