How Does The Balance Of Power Change In Dna

How does the balance of power change over the course of DNA? In the play ‘DNA’ the balance of power shifts three times between the characters John Tate, Phil and Cathy. The change in power illustrates that power is precarious and sometimes erratic. The playwright, Dennis Kelly is interested in the power struggles of a gang of British teenagers who believe they have killed someone and their moral choices which result in framing an innocent man. In addition, throughout the play Kelly reveals power in the language, stage directions, behaviour and body language of the characters. Furthermore, the gang brings together everyone’s characteristics to create power through a system of hierarchy. This signifies that the power of individuals are insignificant

Phil is a calculating and manipulative character. Phil is sinister and makes violent threats which seen much more menacing than John Tate's. For example when Phil threatens Brian to take him up to the grille and to have the same fate as Adam in a very sadistic and graphic way. Phil in the play is a sociopath and they are often dominant leaders. In the play Phil takes advantage of the weaker members of the gang such as when he used Brian to tell the police about ‘the man’ in the woods. Phil purposely chose Brian as Brian is one of the more passive characters to be victimised and taken advantage of. Throughout the play Phil bullies Leah psychologically by not responding to her through torturous silences and continuously ignoring her. Since Phil is a sociopath he is incapable of experiencing guilt or shame for his actions but he is aware of the emotional and physical repercussions of his actions on others but he just doesn't care. Leah constantly competes for Phil's attention and she is desperate for him to acknowledge her. She even goes the extreme lengths of killing her pet hamster with a screwdriver but Phil just shrugs. Phil shrugging indicates that he doesn't care and is dismissive towards her. Phil's leadership means that the group will be responsible for cold-blooded murder and not accidental manslaughter. Furthermore Leah tells Phil “You’re not human.” This relates to Leah's speech

Cathy grows in status throughout the play because Phil trusts her to do more important jobs than the other character such as go with Brian to suffocate Adam with a plastic bag and to go and DNA from a man. Cathy is a sadistic and violent person who shows no remorse for her actions. In a matter of fact Cathy actually enjoys the drama and finds the situation “exciting” and “better than ordinary life”. This shows that she is detached from the situation and doesn't care. Furthermore, her excitement and prominence grows as she is invited to attend a TV interview. Cathy focuses on her own gain for example when she says: “they might even give me money for it, do you think I should ask for money?” Power corrupts Cathy and she becomes crueller as she grows in power. She sees the situation as an opportunity rather than a crisis. Cathy also obtains DNA evidence from an innocent postman without being asked, and when she is questioned about it from the other members of the gang she replies: “we showed initiative.” Also this proved that Cathy doesn't have any empathy and doesn't care who gets blamed along that it protects herself. In the last scene when Richard is sat with Phil, Richard says that, “Cathy doesn't care. She’s too busy running things… she's insane. She cut off a first year’s finger that’s what they say anyway.” This tells us Cathy maintains her power