It is desirable to believe that we as a society have developed farther than past times of caste systems and strict social classes. This separation of classes, and even degradation of lower classes are clearly demonstrated in the portrayal of Papageno as compared to Tamino. It can be easily observed through a close examination of a modern television show such as The Beverly Hillbillies that this situation has not changed. The lower class is still portrayed as humorous to the point of silliness, and is not nearly as elegant as the upper class, particularly in the way they speak. Perhaps between the time of Mozart’s writing of The Magic Flute and current times, society has not come quite as far as one might hope. The Magic Flute describes Tamino as being “of princely lineage (Mozart).” Tamino is the one the Queen of the Night deemed worthy enough to marry her daughter, and the one Zarastro ends up honoring as someone who completed the tasks sufficiently. Papageno, on the other hand is a servant to the Queen of the Night. He has spent his life thus far providing her with birds for her table, and relies entirely on her for his food, as is evident from the scene when the three ladies punish him by putting a lock on his mouth and providing him with only a …show more content…
A prime example of this comes from a conversation between the daughter, Elly May, the father, Jethro, and the Granny. Granny asks what a smog is, because they have heard they have smog in California, and Jethro answers, “I reckon it’s a small hog.” This statement sounds ridiculous to any person reading or hearing it, but it sounds especially ridiculous when the upper class neighbors are saying things like, “My last husband was an Earl.” This statement not only makes logical sense, but also further displays the air of sophistication the hillbillies’ neighbors have