Aggressive Bystanders In The Removalists By David Williamson

The famous The Removalists is a play written by David Williamson first published in 1972. The play focuses on the basic authoritarianism, the confrontation between the sexes which so often passes for human relationships and the violence that is found in Australia, both domestic and within the law. Williamson has created a number of plays, including The Coming of Stork, Don’s Party and The Club. After publishing The Removalists Williamson became Australia’s most sought-after dramatic writers. Williamson’s cleaver use of black comedy in The Removalists led him to win multiple prizes and captured audiences with the “bottled-up aggression” that is portrayed within Australian society. The Removalists became so popular that it had to be reprinted

It is also about the discrimination of women and how they are treated with little to no respect. One characteristic of violence would be that it spreads; it is a contagious fury that affects the surrounding people and it affects each of them differently. There are usually three types of Bystanders. Aggressive bystanders can either join in and become bullies or remain passive and silent, not saying or doing a thing. Supportive bystanders would step in and help the victim. The sexism that is portrayed in the play was seen as ‘normal’ in 1972, in comparison to today’s society; women have more rights and cannot be treated the same

Though the problem is mainly Simmonds, Ross is just as bad as he is both a bystander and excessively abusive at the end of scene two. Simmonds has no respect for women, and this is clear right from the start when he takes advantage of Fiona right in front of her sister Kate. Simmonds convinces Fiona to let him help her and the removalist unpack, though this is only a scam to get into her apartment and into her pants. When he finds that Kenny, Fiona’s husband is home, Simmonds cuffs him to a door to get him out of the way. Kenny obviously gets mad at the unnecessary act of the policemen. With that Simmonds starts to beat him in the stomach and face, telling Ross that he knows how to lay a painful punch without it leaving a brush, suggesting that he has been doing this for a long time. Simmonds just makes Kenny angry and that anger spreads to the other characters. Ross close to the end of scene two goes ballistic and beats Kenny nearly to death. This is something nobody should have to experience from any cop or person of law, though this is sadly not the case and there are multiple cases in today’s society where police officers have killed defenceless people. The worst of these police fatalities occurring in